Prejudices against the Dominican accent
https://dominicanabroad.com/2018/09/21/dominican-accent-spanish-dialect/
https://dominicanabroad.com/2018/09/21/dominican-accent-spanish-dialect/
- Thread starter AlterEgo
- Start date
Prejudices against the Dominican accent
Actually quite a funny fact. I work in switzerland with a couple of guys from Murcia ( pronounced mullsia------ dont ask me why lol ).
And I have to say their spanish sounds so raffinated, granted they have diplomas from university.
I tend to disagree with the author of the article/blog. Domincan accent does sound so " cheap ". Not that it bothers me, mind you.
I guess I am not the greatest of examples as i learnt ( well tried/ing to
) in a dr campo. In europe, when ( or if ) i engage a conversation with a spaniard or a south american in spanish, they do a double take and their eyes widden lol. My murcia friends say i sound like a drug dealer .
I mean when hearing english its not always easy to put a finger on where the guy comes from. Unless he has a thick aussie accent or is from texas, that is . But you will always understand them.
Whereas i have been in situations where my murcia friends do not understand the meaning of stuff i say, related to vocabulary. Last in date was the use of " singar" (?) . Yeah ok not very poetic, i know, sorry. Only example that came to mind.
And I have to say their spanish sounds so raffinated, granted they have diplomas from university.
I tend to disagree with the author of the article/blog. Domincan accent does sound so " cheap ". Not that it bothers me, mind you.
I guess I am not the greatest of examples as i learnt ( well tried/ing to
) in a dr campo. In europe, when ( or if ) i engage a conversation with a spaniard or a south american in spanish, they do a double take and their eyes widden lol. My murcia friends say i sound like a drug dealer .I mean when hearing english its not always easy to put a finger on where the guy comes from. Unless he has a thick aussie accent or is from texas, that is
. But you will always understand them. Whereas i have been in situations where my murcia friends do not understand the meaning of stuff i say, related to vocabulary. Last in date was the use of " singar" (?) . Yeah ok not very poetic, i know, sorry. Only example that came to mind.
I have known Dominicans practically all my life. I never noticed the Dominican accent until I started coming to the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans I knew prior to visiting the DR, spoke impeccable spanish with no distinguished accent in my opinion. And to boot, they were guys and gals who who one call "non university" educated, go figure.
From my experience, the accent of majority of the well educated and upper class Dominicans is very nice and easy to understand - especially those from Santiago. It's sounds as good as any Spanish I've heard spoken in many other Latin/Hispanic countries - just a different accent.
For example, when I go to a doctor, my entire conversation is in Spanish - zero problem in understanding everythig they say. I can't say the same about many Dominicans I speak to out on the street.
In general, it's the lower class and poorly educated Dominicans that have a bad accent that's difficult to understand at times.
For example, when I go to a doctor, my entire conversation is in Spanish - zero problem in understanding everythig they say. I can't say the same about many Dominicans I speak to out on the street.
In general, it's the lower class and poorly educated Dominicans that have a bad accent that's difficult to understand at times.
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I agree. And I believe the education in the old days was better, especially in Santo Domingo. We stayed at a hotel on the north coast a couple of years ago. After a few days there, a Dominican man, born in Puerto Plata, asked my husband where he was from. He answered New Jersey. Guy said “No, I mean you’re a native Spanish speaker, but I can’t place where you are from”. Too bad I didn’t take a pic of his face when my husband answered “Santo Domingo “.
He was educated in the Trujillo era, and his mother (a teacher) enrolled him in an experimental school in SD, attended by the creme de la creme of SD. He was one of the few kind of poor kids. Whether that made a difference in his speech I don’t know.
I was in Buenos Aires with my Dominican girlfriend for one month some time ago and no one could understand her very well. Nor could she comprehend much of what was said to her. One day in a taxi I had to use my crummy Spanish to get us where we wanted to go.
I would like to hear the blogger speak. She should have made a you tube video of herself. She has taken it upon herself to speak for all Dominicans and the few others that she met in Cuba to determine that other Spanish speakers discriminate solely against the Dominican accent in general. In my experience, there is a large number of Spanish speakers who have never even heard Dominicans speak and the various Dominican accents. After all, Dominican Spanish only represents 3% approx. of the total Spanish-speaking population.
I have read many linguistic studies and research papers on the Dominican diaspora and what they experience in large cities such as NYC when it comes to Spanish and comparisons made to other Spanish-speaking groups. There is no doubt a linguistic inferiority complex that Dominicans feel when being compared to other non-Caribbean Spanish-speaking groups but it is also tied to where they come from in the DR and their level of education. Noted the DR has a few defined linguistic zones and it can be hard to understand some speakers vs. others crossing all social class lines due to linguistic/ regional differences. However, speech varies by region, by age, by social class and by education.
The reference to the origins of Caribbean Spanish to me has less relevance as time goes by. Going back to colonization is a long time ago. The language brought to the Caribbean from Andalucia and the Canary Islands is not identical to what is heard today in the Caribbean at all in my opinion. The accents in the video have some similarities in speech that have remained entrenched in the Caribbean vernacular not just the Dominican Republic but the language brought from Spain has evolved so much due to mixing with native languages and the African contribution. A Canary Islander today does not sound like a Dominican or viceversa at least not in the video in the article and the few posted in some recent threads in the forum.
I am sure a Spaniard can identify a Caribbean speaker and not mistake the person for a Spaniard from the Canary Islands or Andalucia. Why? Because the accent and speech patterns are distinct enough although it is the root of Caribbean Spanish. In the video I can hear the Spanish accent from Spain clear as day. I would not think that the accent in the video was Caribbean.
It is surprising to me when Spanish speakers from two different countries do not understand each other. Words and vocabulary differ but not understanding the core speech itself is not the norm to me and in my experience. Spanish is a diverse language but is mutually intelligible and that is not expected to change soon.
I think the blogger needs to be realistic. Saying ‘cómo ‘tu ta’ is not going pass in many places and if that is the basis of her speech in general with like phrases and speech patterns she will continue to feel language discrimination. At the university level in Spanish one is expected to speak and write properly. I remember I used to have a professor who made it clear that that kind of Spanish is for the street.
-MP.
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Here is an excellent commentary by our very own Fabio J Guzmán about Spanish in the Dominican Republic. Read what he has to say about Spanish specifically about the usage and the spoken language. https://www.gacetajudicial.com.do/nuestro-idioma-traidores.html
I would like to hear what the blogger has to say after reading Fabio’s insightful commentary about a chronic linguistic problem so apparent in the DR. The blogger is clearly not in the know on so many levels of language. I find it interesting that Fabio wrote it in 2007 and eleven years later it stands up strong.
Another aspect is the blogger is definitely not in the know if she thinks only Dominicans are criticized for their Spanish. Cubans and Puerto Ricans are equally criticized for their language especially Puerto Ricans because of their ties to the US.
In general, Caribbean Spanish is an interesting aspect of the Spanish language. In my opinion, the DR is understudied compared to PR and Cuba but the more knowledge you have about the spoken language these types of commentary from the blogger just become a reflection of their own personal insecurities about language.
-MP.
I would like to hear what the blogger has to say after reading Fabio’s insightful commentary about a chronic linguistic problem so apparent in the DR. The blogger is clearly not in the know on so many levels of language. I find it interesting that Fabio wrote it in 2007 and eleven years later it stands up strong.
Another aspect is the blogger is definitely not in the know if she thinks only Dominicans are criticized for their Spanish. Cubans and Puerto Ricans are equally criticized for their language especially Puerto Ricans because of their ties to the US.
In general, Caribbean Spanish is an interesting aspect of the Spanish language. In my opinion, the DR is understudied compared to PR and Cuba but the more knowledge you have about the spoken language these types of commentary from the blogger just become a reflection of their own personal insecurities about language.
-MP.
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I've met many middle class Dominicans that I think do speak Spanish well. I think they probably come from families that have high standards.
What makes me laugh are the gringos that come here and try to learn barrio, street Spanish. They think that this is real, authentic Dominican Spanish. If you go to another Spanish speaking country, they will look at you like you're an idiot.
It's kind of like a foreigner going to the US and learning "ghetto English". They won't impress anybody.
What makes me laugh are the gringos that come here and try to learn barrio, street Spanish. They think that this is real, authentic Dominican Spanish. If you go to another Spanish speaking country, they will look at you like you're an idiot.
It's kind of like a foreigner going to the US and learning "ghetto English". They won't impress anybody.
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The author is spot on as the Dominican accent is made fun of by most Spanish speakers and in most Caribbean and Latin American countries.
Excellent point. At least three.....the educated Dominican, the people of Cibao, and the people where we live (Playa Najayo in San Cristobal), lol. I swear they have a whole different language. Mostly uneducated folks, I have trouble understanding them. Not long ago, the maid told me a whole story about something, I missed half of it but didn’t want to interrupt her. She went inside and I asked Mr AE what she said. He shook his head and said “Damned if I know, I couldn’t understand her”. That kind of consoled me, haha
What is "ghetto English"? I d like to know because when I turn on ESPN or Fox Sports the urban colloquialism has overtaken the range of dialogue everywhere. But Im not sure what that "ghetto English" is of which you speak? Is it regional to the Appalachia mountain range? Or Eastern New England maybe? Or the San Fernando Valley?
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Its Spanish spoken by native Dominicans, if that isn't Dominican Spanish, what exactly is it?
And just which Dominicans are "native Dominicans"? You need to get out of the barrios a little more often.
You lived in Miami. How about Liberty City, Overtown, and Miami Gardens for examples?