Yea, food is something I find easy because I love to eat. My pronunciation is probably skewed but I do know the words.
- Thread starter Marianopolita
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Article on Cuban colloquial Spanish….how does Spanish in the DR compare
A few to add to the Dominican slang list from me...
Popi - meaning someone who is upmarket
Wa wa wa - meaning someone who is downmarket
Popi wa - someone who is a mix of the two
Chuippi - tacky, low quality, cheap and nasty
La Pampara - the best of the best
Chapiador/a - someone is trying to screw you over for money. The verb chapear is now pretty standard "no me chapea" - don't screw me over. This comes from those machines which chew up wood, and started being used as a term for girls who were out to get as much cash from as many guys as they could, the action of chewing them up and moving on. But now it's very standard, I hear it all the time.
Dominicans also use the English "full" a great deal. "Yo 'toy full de trabajo hoy" - I've got a lot of work on.
Popi - meaning someone who is upmarket
Wa wa wa - meaning someone who is downmarket
Popi wa - someone who is a mix of the two
Chuippi - tacky, low quality, cheap and nasty
La Pampara - the best of the best
Chapiador/a - someone is trying to screw you over for money. The verb chapear is now pretty standard "no me chapea" - don't screw me over. This comes from those machines which chew up wood, and started being used as a term for girls who were out to get as much cash from as many guys as they could, the action of chewing them up and moving on. But now it's very standard, I hear it all the time.
Dominicans also use the English "full" a great deal. "Yo 'toy full de trabajo hoy" - I've got a lot of work on.
A lady in my bank always says Hablar with the J, I think she thinks is makes her sound more intelligent. It took me years to work out that it should be Harta and not Jarta, I'd seen Jarta written so many times I thought it was spelt like that.
The RAE picks and chooses, depending on the so-called language zeitgeist. Why accept parqueo when there's a formal word?
But I concur wholeheartedly: while it's a matter of survival, one should learn to communicate in the standard and formal manner.
I couldn't hear Juan Luis Guerra or Leonel Fernández approach an acquaintance with <<Dime a ver, manín, ¿ké lo ké? Dame luz. Dímelo cantando>>.
The only thing I can say to that is did you say ofeLta?……because my thought is foreigners should not be repeating those forms no matter how many times you hear it or if it’s part of the speech pattern of many around you.
Kudos to la nenita que te dijo eso no se dice 🙌
Tienes que practicar más y no tengas miedo. Si te equivocas no importa 🙌
You know when slang sounds weird….those sound weird to me except chapiadora which is common like you said.
🛑 Careful if you are going say ‘don’t screw me over’ which is a command (un mandato) that would be no me chapees or no chapee….what you wrote No me chapeas….is just a declarative phrase.
The aspirared H sounds is common in Caribbean Spanish but typical in speech where the S is dropped and the word following begins with a vowel. For e.g. los amigos is often pronounced lo jamigo….and it is to compensate for the dropping of the S.
However, like you said the lady probably thought she sounds more intelligent or is pronouncing it correctly. That is similar to when you hear those who add S to where it does not belong to sound fino. They have no clue about the language which something that is scary if you ask me. Just think of all the blunders by Dominican speakers…..se vas (se va) and bosca (boca) are my classic examples.
The RAE takes a minimum of seven years to approve a word and it has to consult with its sister academies in Latin America. It’s a long process. Who knows jablador could still be under review.
I agree Juan Luis and L Fernández will not be addressing anyone in that colloquial slang. As we say in language- it has its time and place.
Ah yes I used to have a driver who added extra s's all over the place as he thought it made him sound upmarket.
The problem is that I never learnt Spanish formally. I was married to a Cuban and then I came here, and I was fluent in French previously. So I just picked it up by using the language. I don't know hardly anyone who speaks English here, so I speak Spanish all day and I'm told that I'm fluent. I've never done the th th th that the Spanish do, and I've grown up listening to the Caribbean accent. And I must admit that I do say VeLda instead of VeRdad and I so slide into a very soft L at the end of AmoL rather than Amor, mainly because that's what I hear all the time. I do make an effort to say the S at the end of GraciaS, even though most people I know say Gracia.
Obviously now that my princess - who goes to a top school that costs me a fortune - has decided that we must all speak correctly then I shall have to be more focused on my R's.
Changing the R's for the L's is more of a Santo Domingo habit. Unlike in Puerto Rico where it's all over the island, in the DR you go to anywhere in the Cibao speaking like that and everyone will associate it with capitaleños. Either you were born and raised in the Capital or you've lived for many years in that city. Don't go to Santiago and ask for a china.
One time Mustafa Abu Naba was interviewed while in Panama City by a Panamanian journalist and he was answering the questions she asked him all in Spanish. Good enough, but then he said chin. Ok, so he is originally from Palestine (or is it Jordan?) and lived in the USA for many years prior to living in the DR. For a man that is a billionaire and travels a lot including to many countries in Latin America on a yearly basis, the fact he had not picked up that essentially outside the DR no one knows what chin is was mind-blowing. May God stop him in time if he go to most places in Latin America and refers to a mata. Most native Spanish speakers are left in the air if you speak to them and blurtout these and/or similar words.
One time Mustafa Abu Naba was interviewed while in Panama City by a Panamanian journalist and he was answering the questions she asked him all in Spanish. Good enough, but then he said chin. Ok, so he is originally from Palestine (or is it Jordan?) and lived in the USA for many years prior to living in the DR. For a man that is a billionaire and travels a lot including to many countries in Latin America on a yearly basis, the fact he had not picked up that essentially outside the DR no one knows what chin is was mind-blowing. May God stop him in time if he go to most places in Latin America and refers to a mata. Most native Spanish speakers are left in the air if you speak to them and blurtout these and/or similar words.
I did take Spanish courses. First time in my mid twenties in Copenhagen and the teacher was Cuban and we then dated for over a year. Then afterwards I started traveling to Cuba and then came to the DR. I also normally say I am “fluent”in Spanish but it’s not correct Spanish. A lot of it I learned here. Pronunciation is the hardest for me. I learned English and German easily but not Spanish.
As an adult learning Spanish or any language just by listening and interacting with other speakers IMO is hard. You will certainly learn many aspects of the language but the gaps and grammatical mistakes are noticeable. As well, you have to do a lot of guessing both when listening to people and when you speak.
How you choose to speak is your choice but everything you mentioned so far is covered by grammatical studies or knowledge. I am just saying.
Team La nenita 🙌
Here is an interesting sociolinguistic concept I noticed in some replies on Instagram that I am going to research.
I have seen me guRta instead of me gusta consistently and from Cuban posters 🇨🇺. This is an S to R change 🤔
My first thought was rural guajiro speech as in campesino but I am going to research it and post in this thread if I find anything.
I have seen me guRta instead of me gusta consistently and from Cuban posters 🇨🇺. This is an S to R change 🤔
My first thought was rural guajiro speech as in campesino but I am going to research it and post in this thread if I find anything.
Cerdo is also referred to as puerco.
Most people call patatas papas, in fact no one calls it patatas.
Pasta will often be called espagueti.
Postre more often is simply dulce.
Naranja is called that everywhere but in Santo Domingo many people call it china like in all of Puerto Rico.
Frijoles are more often referred to as guandules or habichuelas.
Soda soda is refresco because if you ask for a soda there is a high possibility they will bring baking soda.
Almuerzo is often called simply as la comida.
Most people call patatas papas, in fact no one calls it patatas.
Pasta will often be called espagueti.
Postre more often is simply dulce.
Naranja is called that everywhere but in Santo Domingo many people call it china like in all of Puerto Rico.
Frijoles are more often referred to as guandules or habichuelas.
Soda soda is refresco because if you ask for a soda there is a high possibility they will bring baking soda.
Almuerzo is often called simply as la comida.
I understood Nan’s response as being he knows how to say foods in the DR the way they are said on the island and not in a general way like in the list you posted 🤷♀️
As well, in Spanish refresco is the most common BUT in Colombia and other South American countries it’s gaseosa….around Colombians I always ask for a gaseosa…..as the saying goes ‘when in Rome do what the Romans do’.
Of course, if you actually said refre-s-co you are liable to be stabbed ( just kidding 😁😁).
You have to say refreco to belong 🤗🤗🤗