Hi, Maudionisio,
Hope I got your name correctly this time...I just thought Mau would be "Mauricio"? I could be wrong. Still on the topic and pronunciation of past tense. Good observation, Mau. Indeed, that's how the majority of Andaluz speak...llamao, callao, (callado), acabao (acabado) and so forth. Well, Portugal is next door to Spain, the nearest province would be Huelva, the last province after Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia. I've been to Portugal many times in the 80's when it was still a backwater and very poor. Their accent is similar to the Gallegos (or Galicians since it is also bordering Portugal, I think northwest of Portugal is Galicia). The Portuguese language is a poor imitation of the French or even, sometimes, Catalan, if I'm not mistaken...one expects many Portuguese to speak Spanish too. As you can see, Christian Ronaldo, the Real Madrid footballer speaks very good Spanish. As for the Galicians or Gallegos themselves, they too have their own language and culture. I read somewhere that the Irish originated from Galicia! That's why the Irish are called Gaelic. They even share the same music, dance and that irish instument they play...As for Gibraltar, yes, it was Anglicised by the Brits of course but you're right about the origin of the name...but I think it used to be Gibral Tarik...again, I could be wrong. Last week after dusk, I managed to take photographs of North Africa. I could send you photographs if you give me your email. Mine is hillrob53@hotmail.com. if you're interested since North Africa and Gibraltar are right in front of my place on a good day. It's 1'1/2 hours from Marbella to Gib.