DR spelling

[Russell]

Misspelling of English in a Foreign country is not novel nor only in Latin America.
Yes, lack of good grammar is definitely the major contributor.
I reflect on Japan where literacy levels are quite high I saw the following signs "Have a Best''... ''I feel coke''..... I could figure out what was meant except for the neon sign of a cat's face with ''Cat House'' written under it. Turns out it meant the same as a DR ''Car Wash''...... and most people know what that means especially when there are no car washing facilities available.

The Literacy level in DR does need to be improved... but it will take time. In Luperon the schools provide both English and French as second language options. Some even take both. But writing the correct grammar seems to be a bit of a problem.

I think that first they should learn to be literate in Spanish then work on the English.
Once about five years ago I hired a certified Translator in SDO to translate a technical manual into correct Spanish. He came highly recommended by other Canadian business persons. What a disaster , especially when I presented the Manual to my Spanish Managers in Guadalajara Spain. We had to get a British Manager to translate it to proper Spanish.
After that I got the Dean of Spanish at Dalhousie University N.S. to do the translating.... no one disputed his work!

Don't like to pick on the little guy regardless of his Education... there are always reasons behind the shortfalls of literacy.
I sometimes use Google Translate for English to Spanish... then before I send it off I translate back to English (not show original text) the message is never what I intended to say. Here we go again!
Lets pick on the Literate Giants and get them to perfect the simple intent of the message.
Google could be a good tool for all to learn to translate... providing the literacy level becomes acceptable.

Enough said... have a good one!
Russell

 

[Fulano2]

I remember on the carretera turística a sign saying " se bende masta y flore". 

 

[Marianopolita]

We see all that and worse in the Dominican Cooking/Cocina Dominicana comments in Spanish - many of the readers are second, third generation Dominicans in the US and elsewhere, or they left the DR as children. But that only goes so far as an excuse. Look at cases like KateP and mine - we were not educated in Spanish but still know how to spell.

I also know Dominicans who taught themselves English and their written English is as good or better than most native speakers of English.

Eso se llama perseverancia.

El que persevera, triunfa.


Like anything if you make the effort you will learn. Those who are educated in Spanish and can't spell as you mentioned are not making the effort. They are getting the opportunity to learn but are not dedicating their own time to it as well. The school can't do everything. There is effort required by the student and the educator.


-MP.

 

[Kipling333]

vender like ir can be a reflexive verb .. and so se vende can be quite correct in many situations

 

[DR_DEFENDER]

First of all congratulations to you for recognizing and taking ownership of your development in Spanish. Most people I know who transition from one language to another at a young age don't want to do the work and as a result lose the first language partially (can speak only and not read and write) or completely.

Your description of the DR situation when it comes to literacy sums it up well. It's a huge problem today and those who attribute it to technology being the main problem are out of the loop. This problem in the DR has been going on for decades. The difference now is because of technology the visibility of it is full blown. It's interesting that you describe some of the writing you see on You Tube as being equal to cavemen times. I used to have a colleague who described some of her Spanish students writing as being like Tarzan. When she was frustrated she would say to me- hablan como Tarzan escriben como Tarzan.

Maybe we can have you pay a visit to Danilo to open his eyes to a huge problem. Advancing the country requires educating the masses.

Do you still speak Spanish?


-MP.

Si, todavia hago el esfuerzo de mejorar lo mas que puedo. Y como dicen por ahi, nunca es tarde para aprender.

 

[Chirimoya]

vender like ir can be a reflexive verb .. and so se vende can be quite correct in many situations

Se vende is correct. Fulano2's example was Se bende, which is incorrect. Masta y flore is an attempt at matas y flores.

 

[Fulano2]

vender like ir can be a reflexive verb .. and so se vende can be quite correct in many situations

Thanks Kipling but it's about the B. Se vende is with V. You should know that.

 

[Marianopolita]

vender like ir can be a reflexive verb .. and so se vende can be quite correct in many situations

In that example the grammatical function of se is to express the passive voice in Spanish. E.g. xxx is sold here. Not all usage of se is reflexive. 


Me lavo= reflexive

Se vende= passive voice


-MP.

 

[Marianopolita]

Si, todavia hago el esfuerzo de mejorar lo mas que puedo. Y como dicen por ahi, nunca es tarde para aprender.

Excelente. Te deseo la mejor de las suertes en todo lo que hagas.


-MP.