Speech Patterns vs. Pr?stamos
"c?mo t? est?s" = "speech pattern"
Placing 't?' before the verb instead of after the verb in questions is a trademark of Caribbean Spanish. This speech pattern is a deeply rooted syntax structure in Dominican Spanish and it crosses all social classes. This one and many others are characteristics and in fact vestiges of the speech patterns of the African slaves that inhabited the island centuries ago that is now considered a dialect of the Spanish language. Speech patterns and syntax structure prevalent in Spanish that are particular to a country, region or social class that are outside the norm of the Spanish language are considered a dialect. This speech pattern is not common in all Spanish speaking countries as far as sociolinguistic fieldwork studies reveal. This pattern is specific to the DR, PR and Cuba. In my own personal experience (studies, fieldwork etc.) I support and agree with the socio-linguistic research that I have encountered.
Mariel there are many other examples of this speech pattern which is so inherent in many people's way of speaking that they do not hear the difference until someone points it out to them. For example- Qu? t? piensas, que t? crees, de d?nde t? eres and the list goes on. Como hablamos los dominicanos which is a book in a PDF format in the sticky in this forum gives a great explanation although not exhaustive as to the suggested reason for this speech pattern. I highly recommend reading the chapter that details this example and many others.
"te llamo pa'tras"= "pr?stamo del ingl?s"
Phrases such as "te llamo pa'tras" are called "pr?stamos". These phrases are borrowed from English and used in colloquial speech but don't make sense to a Spanish speaker who does not speak English and usually present difficulty in comprehension. "Pr?stamos" are borrowed, translated literally and used in everyday Spanish or borrowed, translated and also 'espa?olizados' to sound Spanish phonetically and used in everyday speech thus replacing formal Spanish vocabulary and phrases.
Other examples:
Nouns
application form ----> pr?stamo = aplicaci?n. Formal Spanish -----> formulario
card ----> pr?stamo = carta (which is 'letter'). Formal Spanish ------> tarjeta
gang -----> pr?stamo = ganga (which means 'bargain'. I hear this often too). Formal Spanish ----> pandilla
paragraph ----> pr?stamo =paragrafo (I hear this one quite often). Formal Spanish ----> p?rrafo
question (as in inquiry) ----> pr?stamo = cuesti?n (this has a different meaning in Spanish). Formal Spanish -----> pregunta.
Verbs
to attend -----> pr?stamo = atender. Formal Spanish ----> asistir
to check -----> pr?stamo = chequear. Formal Spanish ----> revisar
to give back ----> pr?stamo = dar para atr?s. Formal Spanish ----> devolver
to gain weight ----> pr?stamo = ganar peso. Formal Spanish -----> engordar, aumentar de peso
Mariel there are many more examples of pr?stamos that are either nouns, verbs or short phrases that have been incorporated into Spanish spoken in the US and are penetrating gradually into Spanish speaking countries. You may be interested in this book Spanish in the United States: Sociolinguistic Issues by editor John Bergen. It has very insightful information. I will chat with you behind the scenes regarding other references.
LDG.