The acculturation process that took place after the conquest (XV century), completely eradicated this language in the archipelago between the XVII and XVIII century, only some words remaining, especially those related to livestock raising activities, flora, and numerous toponymes.

It originated from the Berber language, which is the tongue spoken by the Berber tribes in northern África. There is a very strong relation between these two languages, and it is known that the Guanche language is a dead language similar to Latin.

In Tenerife it was spoken differently from the other islands, emitting guttural sounds. In the present day their language still is differentiated from the dental sound of the peninsula due to that guttural characteristic. Many words derived from the original Guanche have been named guanchismos and many are used by the shepherds to drive their livestock.

GUANCHE WORDS