Dominican question game

I have realized only recently that many Dominicans have a peculiar "game" they play whereby they repeatedly ask questions about a subject recently discussed in the same or preceding conversation. I liken it to a game but it more than likely is just a custom that has developed. It is certainly less prevalent among the professional and higher educated.

For example, I was returning from Jarabacoa to Santiago with a Costa Rican friend and we decided to give a "bola" to a middle aged lady because it was raining. As we were politely conversing, she told us that she was a housekeeper. As I have a housekeeper I asked her how much she was being paid, etc. and every time I asked her a question she would state "yo" as if she didn't know that the question was being directed to her. This was also somewhat confusing and at the same time amusing to my Costa Rican friend. This is just one example but there are many other variations of it's use.

I have also noticed that my wife does this and before I realized this was a prevalent trait of many Dominicans I thought she was playing games. When I first moved here it was quite confusing to me and caused me to think I wouldn't ever advance in learning Spanish. Now I understand how it "works" and even do it myself as fun. Unfortunately, my daughters are doing it too, haha.

Another example might be you might be talking with someone about going to the beach and then ask them if they are interested in going, whereupon they will ask you where.

Norma Rosa said:

Chip, although your second example is somehow poor, we (Dominicans) can be quite redundant in our speech. We talk in circles, and believe me, it's not a game. For the most part, this is done for clarification and even for conversation's sake, or just to be argumentative, oppositional.

Your example of the lady that said "yo" when it was obvious you were addressing her, in my opinion, it goes to show something about the Hispanic culture in general: How emphatic we are in our actions and speech. The repetition of the pronoun (or noun) gives emphasis to the utterance. (This does not occur only in the DR.) Please observe that after the speaker has repeated the sentence subject, he/she does not wait for a reply. Look at these examples:

1. ?C?mo te llamas?
2. ?Yo? Yo me llamo Francisco Flores.

1. ?D?nde trabaja Mar?a?
2. ?Mar?a? Mar?a trabaja en una oficina.

Here to help and learn,
Norma

Click to expand...

Thanks Norma.