How Dominican is your Spanish?

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Whether you live full-time, part-time or visit the DR how would you rate your Spanish-speaking skills? This includes your accent, fluency, grammar control, ability to read newspapers or just your basic communication skills?

I hear so many people talk about wanting to sound Dominican or xxx depending on what country they are visiting and they may be going to the DR on vacation for just a week. Wow! You want to sound like a local in a week and don’t speak the language? That is asking a lot of yourself. Just enjoy your vacation. If you learn some local words-great! Someone asked me for help in Spanish for an upcoming vacation in Punta Cana the first week in January. I thought I am just going to look for some links that cater to tourist Spanish. I think that’s logical.

Learning a language is not easy depending on so many factors like your age, exposure to the new language, learning ability (learning a language is easier for some and more difficult for others), informal vs formal learning, exposure to the new language etc. Are your Spanish skills at the level you want them to be? Has being in Spanish-speaking environment like the DR helped your language skills and fluency? Do you speak Spanish in general or when in other Spanish-speaking countries or in the USA. The USA has 50 million approx. Spanish speakers. If you want to learn Spanish there is no shortage of opportunity in certain states and cities.



You can reply in English or Spanish.


-MP.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
After all these years, my Spanish still needs a lot of improvement. I get my point across, but I trip up on the past and future tenses.  I’m told I don’t speak with an American accent though.  I’ve been asked if I’m Colombian several times, the last time was in a Dominican restaurant in NJ.  
 
Sep 4, 2012
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Dominican accent is the ugliest among Spanish speaking countries, I coudl fake any accent depend what country I happen to be at but for the most part Spanglish accent I tend to go by default is either Panamanian or Boricua at times.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Dominican accent is the ugliest among Spanish speaking countries, I coudl fake any accent depend what country I happen to be at but for the most part Spanglish accent I tend to go by default is either Panamanian or Boricua at times.



Can you clarify that? What do you mean ‘for the most part Spanglish accent I tend to go by default is either Panamanian or Boricua at times?’ 

What is a Spanglish accent by default? You are saying you can imitate or speak like every Spanish accent?



 -MP.
 

jd426

Gold
Dec 12, 2009
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What I love about Dominicans when they speaking to each other, they always seem to be Happy and Laughing.. most of the time anyway... Like they dont have a care in the world in that moment .. of course sad things do happen from time to time, but generally ,their tone and manner of speaking is usually upbeat..

Other cultures are always way too serious , especially Europeans . Its almost depressing sometimes listening to them.

hope that did not deviate too much from the topic of the thread .
 

keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
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Like AE I get my point across. Might have to repeat it a few times but it works. I have more trouble with slang words when people use them with me. It is a work in progress still after 23+ years...
 

Garyexpat

Bronze
Sep 7, 2012
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I have to remember not to use the word "chin" when outside the D.R. I was recently in Colombia and I told someone "dame un chin". The girl gave me a blank look. I had the same experience using chin, in California speaking to a Mexican person.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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After all these years, my Spanish still needs a lot of improvement. I get my point across, but I trip up on the past and future tenses.  I’m told I don’t speak with an American accent though.  I’ve been asked if I’m Colombian several times, the last time was in a Dominican restaurant in NJ.  


What’s up with the dislike of my post? I am not sure if it’s my post or your Spanish. 



-MP.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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I would say my Spanish is more or less fluent. I have spoken almost only Spanish in the DR for the last 17 years, having come here with none at all, although I was a linguist by trade, having studied French and German at University. So it was not that difficult for me to learn Spanish - having said that I still learn new words and expressions all the time. I also work as a translator, especially for legal documents, from Spanish to English so that has helped to learn more words too. As far as speaking like a Dominican is concerned - yes I do, basically as I learned Spanish from hearing people speak, without knowing what the actual word looked like. So I knew if something was rubbish it was "diparate", if someone was resting "tacotao".I also spend a lot of time helping ladies to translate the text messages from their boyfriends or husbands and those can be very challenging - but easier to do if you read them out loud.

Matilda
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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My guess is my spanish is very dominican, as other spanish speakers have trouble understanding me :/
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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What I love about Dominicans when they speaking to each other, they always seem to be Happy and Laughing.. most of the time anyway... Like they dont have a care in the world in that moment .. of course sad things do happen from time to time, but generally ,their tone and manner of speaking is usually upbeat..

Other cultures are always way too serious , especially Europeans . Its almost depressing sometimes listening to them.

hope that did not deviate too much from the topic of the thread .


I don’t know if you heard of the expression ‘una forma jocosa de hablar’. I think this describes what you hear when Dominicans speak. You are referring to a certain joy ‘alegría’ that is unique and most likely refreshing. I know what you mean and it could be said to be a characteristic of the Dominican vernacular.

I laughed at your comment about Europeans. Would that include Spaniards?


-MP.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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I’d say I’m rather fluent in Spanish although I make mistakes in conversation that I wouldn’t make in written Spanish. My accent is 100% dominican since I learnt Spanish here, although I try not say things like “como tú ‘ta”. 

I wish I could speak Spanish with the accent from Spain, which sounds much better to me than the Dominican accent. (Especially the Z, S, C differences and the way J has a sound).

I also would like to improve my spoken Spanish to be 100% fluent, without having to hesitate on certain expressions or conjugations.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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I would say my Spanish is more or less fluent. I have spoken almost only Spanish in the DR for the last 17 years, having come here with none at all, although I was a linguist by trade, having studied French and German at University. So it was not that difficult for me to learn Spanish - having said that I still learn new words and expressions all the time. I also work as a translator, especially for legal documents, from Spanish to English so that has helped to learn more words too. As far as speaking like a Dominican is concerned - yes I do, basically as I learned Spanish from hearing people speak, without knowing what the actual word looked like. So I knew if something was rubbish it was "diparate", if someone was resting "tacotao".I also spend a lot of time helping ladies to translate the text messages from their boyfriends or husbands and those can be very challenging - but easier to do if you read them out loud.

Matilda

Interesting. You say you speak like a Dominican but do you sound Dominican? There’s a difference.


After 17 years in the DR have you travelled to other Spanish-speaking countries and what was your experience?


-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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Like AE I get my point across. Might have to repeat it a few times but it works. I have more trouble with slang words when people use them with me. It is a work in progress still after 23+ years...


I think there are a lot factors involved in that like some of the examples I mentioned in my first post. However, at least you try to communicate. I think that is important. 

No te des por vencida.


-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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I have to remember not to use the word "chin" when outside the D.R. I was recently in Colombia and I told someone "dame un chin". The girl gave me a blank look. I had the same experience using chin, in California speaking to a Mexican person.


Yes that is one aspect about having a very localized way of speaking. When you are not in a specific region you have to neutralize. Un chin outside of the DR will give you blank looks for sure. Un chin means nothing to a Spanish speaker outside of the DR. Un poquito, un poco, un pedacito depending on what you are referring to become the standard.


-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
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I’d say I’m rather fluent in Spanish although I make mistakes in conversation that I wouldn’t make in written Spanish. My accent is 100% dominican since I learnt Spanish here, although I try not say things like “como tú ‘ta”. 

I wish I could speak Spanish with the accent from Spain, which sounds much better to me than the Dominican accent. (Especially the Z, S, C differences and the way J has a sound).

I also would like to improve my spoken Spanish to be 100% fluent, without having to hesitate on certain expressions or conjugations.

Time- language learning is a long process.

You like the accent from Spain? Where in Spain?

Do you watch TVE? You can use resources on the internet. You would be surprised how much you can neutralize or sound closer to the accents of Spain if you start to focus on phonetics.


-MP.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
63
Interesting. You say you speak like a Dominican but do you sound Dominican? There’s a difference.


After 17 years in the DR have you travelled to other Spanish-speaking countries and what was your experience?


-MP.

I would yes I sound Dominican. Having been trained as a linguist one learns to speak using not only the words but also the accent. When I spoke French, people thought I was French; German they thought I was German. However, it doesn't matter whether I sound like a Dominican or not, there is nothing I can do to look like a Dominican - even though I am now a Dominican national. Most Dominicans where I live think I am American - nothing to do with the way I speak as I don't have an American accent even speaking English, but because I am foreign born - ipso facto I must be American. I have travelled to Spain and Panama and no idea what nationality they thought I was there.