Finally Lesley quoted something! :classic:
A thread on Spanish 101 with out Lesley's inputs is, how should I say this, not complete!
John Lipski has very good credentials, but much of what I disagreed with was pertaining to the Haitianization parts, precisely because they are speculative as he himself pointed out in the document.
As with all speculative information, the possibility is always there, but there is not much evidence to support such thing, with the exception of the border the region which due to its geography and historical connections to Haiti on a daily basis, it would be of no surprise of Haitianism extending to the dialects spoken in that region.
The african influence is present, the question is whether it came via our neighbors to the west, immigrants, or bozales. This document successfully shows the lack of influence from bozales, diminishes the influences non-Haitian immigrants of african decent had on the liguistic characteristics of the region they occupied and put speculative emphasis on Haitian creole influence.
Overall, it's an interesting read, but needs less speculation and more concrete evidence in some aspects it discussed.
BTW, Lesley feel free to further elaborate on this issue. Being one of the most versed on subjects dealing with speech and languages, any information you might want to share will be most appreciated.
As of late, I have been moving away from debating on DR1. Debates are tiresome, tend to go in circle, and in the end most of the time go nowhere. Usually, when I summarize a report, it tends to be an start of a lengthy, although lively debate.
This document I supplied was intended only for those who have a real interest in this subject matter. In addition to balance the topics being discussed since African inputs into Dominican Spanish had not been fruitfully discussed, albeit all other influences seem to have been, as far as I can tell.
-NAL
Lesley D said:
John M. Lipski, the author of this document is a professor and researcher of Spanish linguistics and has written many documents on this vast subject matter based on extensive and credible research. His name appears in socio-linguistic research as a reference or excerpts from his many dissertations are included in some of the best textbooks on Spanish linguistics and dialectology.
Having stated the above I must say it took me five days to comb through this document just to ensure that I have not missed any of the details presented. In my opinion it’s not his best article/essay but certainly not lacking in the research department although many of his findings about the Haitianization of Dominican Spanish seems to be speculative (in his esteem) and inconclusive.
There was definitely a linguistic influence in the shaping of Dominican Spanish during the 19th century meaning Haitian Creole on the vernacular Dominican Spanish and from the detailed examples provided in the document it involved many aspects- lexical, syntax and phonetic changes. I identify these aspects of Dominican Spanish as being the most affected when analyzing the speech of Haitians based on the examples provided in the document.
This is a very exhausted topic for me but all information or research is interesting to read and this document just reinforces what should already be known IMO that Dominican Spanish (still today) has vestiges of African elements whether it is a haitianized Creole or Bozal Spanish as compared to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean basin.
When I say African elements I don’t mean in the raw form as presented in the research and found in literature and songs as mentioned in the document but definitely Dominican lexicology (word short forms etc), syntax (sentence structure and patterns) and accepted grammar patterns definitely do not conform to what is defined as 'standard' Spanish. All these components contribute to what is called espa?ol caribe?o as the umbrella term and from there one needs to explore the vast world of Spanish linguistics to understand its complexity.
I will end my comment here due to the fact the OP did not present an opening summary of the article and a discussion topic that would lead to a fruitful conversation. An article as extensive as this one with some very thought provoking phrases (there’s one in particular that could fuel the discussion) should have been better presented by the OP IMO. As well, the vague comments by the others posters have me puzzled.
Quisqueya – ?d?nde est?s?
LDG.