DR spelling

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
Should we be surprised by the spelling of this individual?



2cgj31y.jpg



Yes, he is un limpiador de cristales but he most likely was not always one and his sign does reflect what people see regarding spelling in the Dominican Republic. Hand written spelling that’s considered public signs have awful spelling.

For me the issue is always the same:

The spelling is terrible and if you analyze it you will observe some constant errors:


In my opinion, there is too strong of an influence of the Dominican vernacular across all levels. What I am referring to is the ‘s’ not being written in the plural. As we know even though it’s dropped in the spoken language it needs to be written in formal writing. Confusion between ‘s’ and ‘z’ for e.g. Conosco instead of conozco, confusion between ‘b’ and ‘v’ for e.g. viene is correct biene is not. There is no debate here.

This ties into the broader debate that I formulate in my mind when I see this which is:


How do you advance a country when the general populace is semi-illiterate? It’s just mind boggling and unfortunately, we see this way too often in the DR. Lately, I have been seeing more and more articles in newspapers of other Spanish-speaking countries regarding the need for better education. Students of today are not getting enough of the basic and fundamental requirements of education -reading, writing and spelling and are just getting by.


https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...a-actitud-del-alcalde-david-collado-IF7689497


Now in terms of the message that this window washer is trying to convey to the mayor about his situation and many others like him what is your opinion?

Responses in Spanish are welcome!



-MP.
 
Last edited:

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
A lavishly produced "bilingual" magazine on the east coast has a feature making fun of semi-literate spelling in the DR yet they use automatic translation or a human translator with very limited English skills for their English version.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,697
8,127
113
I was talking to a friend who made a sign once with terrible grammar like this person.

I told him "you know you spelled that wrong, right?"

He replied "you understood it, didn't you?"
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
A lavishly produced "bilingual" magazine on the east coast has a feature making fun of semi-literate spelling in the DR yet they use automatic translation or a human translator with very limited English skills for their English version.

I am not defending the magazine because it would be the pot calling the kettle black but in their self defense they would most likely say – ‘we don’t speak English so the errors you see here are okay’. Whereas my thought would be if you write in a foreign language it needs to be correct.

Spelling in the DR is puzzling because when you try to analyze it you can’t limit it to rural vs. urban or one social class vs. another. It’s just so prevalent across all levels. When I see correct spelling in the DR, I am always shocked.



-MP.
 
Last edited:

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
I was talking to a friend who made a sign once with terrible grammar like this person.

I told him "you know you spelled that wrong, right?"

He replied "you understood it, didn't you?"


Yes, I feel that is the mindset of many. I used to have a Dominican friend who said that to me. I helped him with his resume and pointed out to him the typos and/ or spelling errors he made and he told me- Eso no es importante. ¿A quién le importa eso? ¿Tú entiende(s) verdad?. I told him yes, I understand but I am not the one looking for a job.

What a way of thinking! A very poor mentality (when it comes to education and professionalism).


-MP.
 
Last edited:

rafael

Bronze
Jan 2, 2002
1,633
28
48
61
www.dr-tourist.tv
Should we be surprised by the spelling of this individual?



2cgj31y.jpg



Yes, he is un limpiador de cristales but he most likely was not always one and his sign does reflect what people see regarding spelling in the Dominican Republic. Hand written spelling that’s considered public signs have awful spelling.

For me the issue is always the same:

The spelling is terrible and if you analyze it you will observe some constant errors:


In my opinion, there is too strong of an influence of the Dominican vernacular across all levels. What I am referring to is the ‘s’ not being written in the plural. As we know even though it’s dropped in the spoken language it needs to be written in formal writing. Confusion between ‘s’ and ‘z’ for e.g. Conosco instead of conozco, confusion between ‘b’ and ‘v’ for e.g. viene is correct biene is not. There is no debate here.

This ties into the broader debate that I formulate in my mind when I see this which is:


How do you advance a country when the general populace is semi-illiterate? It’s just mind boggling and unfortunately, we see this way too often in the DR. Lately, I have been seeing more and more articles in newspapers of other Spanish-speaking countries regarding the need for better education. Students of today are not getting enough of the basic and fundamental requirements of education -reading, writing and spelling and are just getting by.


https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...a-actitud-del-alcalde-david-collado-IF7689497


Now in terms of the message that this window washer is trying to convey to the mayor about his situation and many others like him what is your opinion?

Responses in Spanish are welcome!



-MP.



You forgot confusing R and L porfavol mi amol.

Also forgetting H as y yo lo ise.

Combined with horrible or no punctuation, and combining words instead of maintaining separate, we get a mess.

My fave is hay dios mio hay un problema por hay.
 

tflea

Bronze
Jun 11, 2006
1,839
164
63
There is, or was a glossy magazine in Puerto Plata with the name, Tá Tó. Don't know if it's still around. I guess the owners or editors thought it was quaint.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
i am not surprised of such spelling by a person who clearly has minimal education. that's the way it is, maybe he's done his best. but it is a bit sad that schools do not bother to teach spanish properly like showing students how to use dictionary and thesaurus so that they know how to check correct spelling and they expand their vocabulary to re-word a sentence if needed, to avoid mistakes.

what i find truly puzzling is errors in national newspapers. there is such indescribable mental laziness to it: unwillingness to do even the simplest research, inability to use spell check and just general, dare i say it - stupidity.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
You forgot confusing R and L porfavol mi amol.

Also forgetting H as y yo lo ise.

Combined with horrible or no punctuation, and combining words instead of maintaining separate, we get a mess.

My fave is hay dios mio hay un problema por hay.

No I did not forget that example. I was simply giving a few. In all honesty the list of errors and grammar points are extensive.

The R and L change in my opinion falls under a different analysis because it is known as what is callled 'trueque' in Spanish. This linguistic phenomenon has been studied and is not limited to the DR. It occurs in Spanish namely Cuba, DR and Puerto Rico. I personally have heard speakers from all three island nations interchange the letters especially Puerto Rico. If you ask other Spanish speakers which nation of speakers is known for 'amol' they will say Borinquen faster than they will ever say DR.

I agree with your other points.



 -MP.
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
12
38
I have friends in Barahona pretty intelligent, but their spelling is atrocious. Spanish is not far from being phonetic, and far easier to spell than English. I can understand why kids abbreviate stuff on cell phone text messages, but many of the abbreviations do not make sense. the letter k (rarely used in Spanish) is pronounced ka, (rhymes with ba) not que (rhymes with bay).
\






The substitution of L and R is common in southern Spain and in the Canarias. here seems to be a lot of influence of Canary Islands Spanish in the RD. The Canarias were Spain's first colony, (c. 1380) and the inhabitants resented the Spanish. One way of getting rid of rebellions was to send them away to the colonies, especially Hispaniola. The original Canarias natives were related to Moroccan Berbers and settled in the Islands before the Roman Empire.
 
Last edited:

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
i am not surprised of such spelling by a person who clearly has minimal education. that's the way it is, maybe he's done his best. but it is a bit sad that schools do not bother to teach spanish properly like showing students how to use dictionary and thesaurus so that they know how to check correct spelling and they expand their vocabulary to re-word a sentence if needed, to avoid mistakes.

what i find truly puzzling is errors in national newspapers. there is such indescribable mental laziness to it: unwillingness to do even the simplest research, inability to use spell check and just general, dare i say it - stupidity.


What you say is true and what you see happening in newspapers could be a case of:

En tierra de ciegos el tuerto es rey...


They have the job because no one dares to call them out regarding their poor Spanish skills. Those journalists would not survive if they had to write for higher grade papers of other Spanish-speaking countries. I am talking about countries like Spain, Peru, Uruguay and Colombia.


-MP.
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
842
113
In a county that is nearly devoid of books its to be expected. If you do not read you cannot spell. If you read poorly its a distasteful chore and you avoid doing any reading wherever possible. I have some Dominican friends who are very clever yet can barely read. As far as writing its the same. Ever try and find a pen or pencil here?
Maybe I am hanging with the wrong crowd?
The books I brought down here all were eaten up by mildew and then the termites ate the bookshelves.
 

Fulano2

Bronze
Jun 5, 2011
3,287
621
113
Europe
I was talking to a friend who made a sign once with terrible grammar like this person.

I told him "you know you spelled that wrong, right?"

He replied "you understood it, didn't you?"



That  represents the whole DR mentality, as long as it serves the needs it's ok. Why drinking a 2000 pesos whisky in a whisky glass? Take a plastic cup, will do the job. Why dine at a nice decorated table? No we watch tv while eating with a spoon.
This country will never develope this way, it will always be a Toyota driving, platano and yuca and la bandera eating, etiqueta negra (the best whisky in the world, ask them), Presidente drinking (best in the world, oww they don't know it in Europe ? ) country.
Sad but it is the genes. Must be the pirate blood.
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
2,845
6
38
Para ser honesta, me impresiona que un limpia cristales logre expresarse tan bien. Sí, tiene errores pero para alguien que no puede conseguir otro trabajo que ese (asumo), no esta tan mal. A diario se ve muchísimo peor en las redes sociales, personas supuestamente educadas o por lo menos con trabajos que les permiten tener ciertos lujos sencillos.

Una cosa que nunca he podido entender es cómo profesores de primaria y más puedan tener tan mala ortografía. Yo aprendí el español a la mala, sin estudios ni profesores y muchas veces me encuentro corrigiendolos. Que se puede esperar de los alumnos cuando ni siquiera los profesores saben escribir correctamente?

Sent from my SM-G800M using Tapatalk
 

dulce

Silver
Jan 1, 2002
2,524
211
63
There are Dominicans living in the town next to me in Massachusetts.
One of them has a sign that says se vinder limber. Meaning: lumber for sale. Funny how I understood it right away.
 

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
So why aren't there any lavadores de carros o coches. I don't believe i ever saw one Car wash in the country that wasn't named Car wash. Why always in English?
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
Para ser honesta, me impresiona que un limpia cristales logre expresarse tan bien. Sí, tiene errores pero para alguien que no puede conseguir otro trabajo que ese (asumo), no esta tan mal. A diario se ve muchísimo peor en las redes sociales, personas supuestamente educadas o por lo menos con trabajos que les permiten tener ciertos lujos sencillos.

Una cosa que nunca he podido entender es cómo profesores de primaria y más puedan tener tan mala ortografía. Yo aprendí el español a la mala, sin estudios ni profesores y muchas veces me encuentro corrigiendolos. Que se puede esperar de los alumnos cuando ni siquiera los profesores saben escribir correctamente?

Sent from my SM-G800M using Tapatalk


Entiendo tu punto de vista respeto al limpiador de cristales, pero la realidad es que muchos dominicanos que no son limpiadores de cristales escriben así. Siempre me quedo boca abierta cuando veo frases que adultos han escrito en español (su propio idioma). ¡Que barbaridad!

Echo la culpa a los gobiernos dominicanos, es decir, tanto los del pasado como los del presente por la situación educativa del país. Después, culpo a los que pueden mejorar su propia situación y no lo hacen. Supongo que es por falta de interés o quizás piensan que no vale la pena educarse porque en la República Dominicana no van a conseguir trabajo que pague bien. En mi opinión, saber leer en tu idioma es menester.

No hablemos de algunos de los profesores en la RD. La triste realidad es que consiguen trabajo porque saben un poco pero su dominio del idioma deja mucho que desear.

Quizás, no soy quien para decirte eso, pero yo que tú no dejaría pasar ninguna oportunidad de estudiar el idioma. El español es un idioma que vale la pena estudiar y te darás cuenta de las cosas que dices bien y de las que no dices bien. Puedes aprender otra manera expresarte en el idioma de Cervantes. Cada vez que termino un libro en español le doy las gracias al mundo por haber tenido la oportunidad de leerlo y siempre hay cosas que aprendo. Puede ser un nuevo dicho, léxico, un punto gramatical etc. Pero el aprendizaje nunca se acaba.

Actualmente estoy leyendo una novela de Mario Vargas Llosa (por primera vez), el renombrado escritor peruano y el nivel de su literatura es increíble. Aunque sus libros son buenos o no ahora entiendo por qué forma parte de ese grupo de escritores especiales de la literatura española.


-MP.
 
Last edited:

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
There are Dominicans living in the town next to me in Massachusetts.
One of them has a sign that says se vinder limber. Meaning: lumber for sale. Funny how I understood it right away.


I don't understand how that mistake can be made because they are writing in Spanish. To express 'something is sold here' is always- se vende xxx. I suppose that they don't know that in their own language or speak so badly that they are actually saying se vinder. Unbelievable at any rate!



-MP.
 

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
I don't understand how that mistake can be made because they are writing in Spanish. To express 'something is sold here' is always- se vende xxx. I suppose that they don't know that in their own language or speak so badly that they are actually saying se vinder. Unbelievable at any rate!



-MP.

One even sees "C bende"
DerFish