- Thread starter Marianopolita
- Start date
Articles about Spanish
It’s a good commentary and blog post by the author about Dominican journalism but it would have been ideal for her to not only list some specific examples from actual newspapers but include the link. Her critique is about the veracity of information presented by so-called journalists of Dominican papers and she is right that accuracy in reporting is paramount and if it’s not - 'Tama?o desliz' as the author stated.
Journalism in general is difficult because the target audience is broad and from all walks of life. The goal of the average newspaper is to reach all levels of readers; therefore the level of writing cannot be complex.
Spanish newspaper reading
I hardly read Dominican papers and when I do I skim through them looking for a decent article. I like reading international news therefore; I have many options at my disposal. I read several newspapers for a period of time and then look for other options but I have my set few I consult on a daily basis. I am pleased with the ones I read daily which include one from Venezuela (very good journalism in my opinion), several from Spain, one from Puerto Rico and one from Uruguay. All have different styles of course but I really like the quality of the Spanish in each of them.
-MP.
Chileans are very much aware how badly they speak Spanish.
[video=youtube;kneUTYrKUzM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kneUTYrKUzM[/video]
You will get a variety of responses and it depends on who you ask. Those who are educated and read (all kinds of material) recognize the flaws in the spoken language just like in any other country. Every country has its vernacular and the DR is no exception to the rule. Once pride does not get in the way, educated speakers and those with some formal education will tell you that Spanish in the DR has its forms (syntax) and vocabulary that deviates far from what is considered the standard and even within the country there are speech varieties.
In general, the more exposure one has to language, the more experience s/he will have in recognizing the differences.
-MP.
They are certainly entitled to critique themselves. I do not have enough exposure to Spanish spoken by Chileans to really expand however, in my opinion, they do not sound as bad as they claim. There are way too many factors that influence the way a population speaks and at the same time said factors make their Spanish distinct.
In the video, yes, one can hear they have a canta?to but so do all the Caribbean basin Spanish-speaking countries. What I do find striking though is how different they sound from their South American neighbors considering their location but at the same time still very South American (of the many South American accents that exist)
-MP.
C?mo hablamos los paraguayos....
When it comes to Spanish, I have no limits for myself. I like to hear Spanish spoken from anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world and enjoy making observations about speech patterns on my own. I will say some areas draw my linguistic interest more than others. Although I have heard many varieties of Spanish thus far in my life, there are still regions or varieties that I have no or very little exposure to therefore, I have to find ways to educate myself and enhance my knowledge about Spanish spoken in a particular country. Paraguay is one of these areas I am referring to.
I was doing some research and came across this recent article about Spanish spoken in Paraguay. I have some general knowledge about the speech varieties one will hear. Many of the forms heard that are not standard Spanish are influenced by Guaran? which is spoken by most Paraguayans. However, how much does the influence impact Spanish? As well, people in general speak a language well or badly based on education. According to the article, it is said that the average Paraguayan speaks badly. That's quite the statement. After reading the article, I could see that there are some grammatically different (incorrect) forms and as a result give a phrase its own (regional) meaning but would not be used or make sense in another Spanish-speaking country.
The examples provided in the article of typical phrases or expressions one will hear are interesting. I read them and in some you can see right away where the error lies in the way a Paraguayan expresses a certain concept and others are way off. Some are simply expressions but if you translate them literally the meaning is something totally different.
Here is the article:
C?mo hablamos los paraguayos
-MP.
When it comes to Spanish, I have no limits for myself. I like to hear Spanish spoken from anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world and enjoy making observations about speech patterns on my own. I will say some areas draw my linguistic interest more than others. Although I have heard many varieties of Spanish thus far in my life, there are still regions or varieties that I have no or very little exposure to therefore, I have to find ways to educate myself and enhance my knowledge about Spanish spoken in a particular country. Paraguay is one of these areas I am referring to.
I was doing some research and came across this recent article about Spanish spoken in Paraguay. I have some general knowledge about the speech varieties one will hear. Many of the forms heard that are not standard Spanish are influenced by Guaran? which is spoken by most Paraguayans. However, how much does the influence impact Spanish? As well, people in general speak a language well or badly based on education. According to the article, it is said that the average Paraguayan speaks badly. That's quite the statement. After reading the article, I could see that there are some grammatically different (incorrect) forms and as a result give a phrase its own (regional) meaning but would not be used or make sense in another Spanish-speaking country.
The examples provided in the article of typical phrases or expressions one will hear are interesting. I read them and in some you can see right away where the error lies in the way a Paraguayan expresses a certain concept and others are way off. Some are simply expressions but if you translate them literally the meaning is something totally different.
Here is the article:
C?mo hablamos los paraguayos
-MP.
Last edited:
Ya viene el cami?n: paraguayismo en el que cami?n se usa para designar al autob?s de l?nea.
I've heard Mexicans say 'cami?n' when referring to a bus.
?Y despu?s?: del guaran? "?ha up?i?", que equivaldr?a a "?qu? hay de nuevo?"
Similar to the Dominicanismo "?Y entonces?"
I've heard Mexicans say 'cami?n' when referring to a bus.
?Y despu?s?: del guaran? "?ha up?i?", que equivaldr?a a "?qu? hay de nuevo?"
Similar to the Dominicanismo "?Y entonces?"
Mexicans tend to use cami?n to refer to the city bus, and autob?s to refer to an intercity line (Transportes Chihuahenses, Flecha Roja, etc.)
A truck is a cami?n de carga.
I have never heard the term guagua used in Mexico. To Chileans, it means infant or baby.
A truck is a cami?n de carga.
I have never heard the term guagua used in Mexico. To Chileans, it means infant or baby.
Interesting. I have never heard that usage for bus.
Yes, I agree with you regarding the Dominicanism- "?Y entonces?" the meaning is similar.
BTW- Guagua also means baby in Ecuador too for those reading this thread.
Now for a little Colombian flavour for those of us who have exposure to Colombian Spanish via family members, friends, co-workers etc. this article was posted in BBC Mundo today about some typical Colombianisms. There are quite a few that are popular in the Spanish-speaking world although specific to Colombia people understand the meaning.
Las deliciosas palabras que he aprendido desde que llegu? a Colombia - BBC Mundo
-MP.
In my experience both bacano and bac?n are used in Colombia with the same meaning. I am glad that the author of the article mentioned that some of the expressions vary by region and some are commonly used throughout the country. Colombia is big and has at least five linguistic zones so depending on where a person is from, the expressions will change. The BBC correspondent is in the capital Bogot? (Cundinamarca), which is a large city so he going to learn a variety of expressions.
Yes, I agree with you bacano is used in DR/ PR but I really think it came from or has a wider spread usage in Colombia.
What I also found interesting was tranc?n meaning traffic jam. You will hear a lot of variety around the Spanish-speaking world. In Panama, it's el tranque and as you know in DR and PR it's tap?n.
The Colombian word tinto for black coffee is classic. If you start using tinto in this context then you know you are getting into the local vibe.
-MP.
Last edited:
How is it possible this chimba article full of chimbazos doesn't mention chimba. Good/bad/dude/chic/genitals.
Maria
Its not just in the DR and Caribean that the language has become giberrish or as i would say "dialect'. All spanish speaking countries have morphed the language into their own home grown regional dialect. As a translator in Egypt once, i was translating spanish to english from a Uraguay native and could not understand half of what he was saying.
I have family on both sides of the social circles in the DR. My sister the Doctor, speaks as you write. While my cousins use words like "chucheria". My sister is considered to be snotty as a result. So i do not agree that it's social media, but a lack of education that tramples the language.
Television and to a lesser degree, radio, tends to unify the language. Dominicans watch Mexican and Venezuelan telenovelas, or Brazilian ones dubbed in Latin American broadcast Spanish and learn how the rest of the Hispanic world talks. They understand people better who do not drop the eses and des in their speech and words they have not heard before.
Texting causes people to misspell words, it seems.
But reading articles in the Internet serves to standardize the language.
The hardest people for me to understand are Cubans from La Habana, Maracuchos from Maracaibo, Venezuela and Chilenos from the south of Chile, They all seem to have a huge number of words that are used only in their region, and there are major variations with the pronunciation.
Texting causes people to misspell words, it seems.
But reading articles in the Internet serves to standardize the language.
The hardest people for me to understand are Cubans from La Habana, Maracuchos from Maracaibo, Venezuela and Chilenos from the south of Chile, They all seem to have a huge number of words that are used only in their region, and there are major variations with the pronunciation.
Here is an interesting perspective from a Panamanian blogger about Spanish in Latin America. The blogger's thoughts address the question: where is the best Spanish spoken in Latin America or does it even exist?
http://www.panamamio.com/content/quien-habla-el-mejor-español-en-america-latina
This newspaper article refers to the same study done in Chile about where the best Spanish is spoken in South America but what I like is the breakdown provided of the features of Spanish in certain countries that were ranked.
http://larazon.pe/opinion/22810-donde-se-habla-mejor-el-castellano.html/
-MP.
The two articles are both quite accurate, except in the latter, it claims "mo distinguen entre la b y la v".
Standard broadcast Spanish, both the peninsular and the Latin American c=variety also do not make a distinction. No Spanish speaker in my experience makes a difference.
Italian does distinguish between "la b bilabial y la v labiodental". just as English does, Spanish of whatever variety, does not.
Standard broadcast Spanish, both the peninsular and the Latin American c=variety also do not make a distinction. No Spanish speaker in my experience makes a difference.
Italian does distinguish between "la b bilabial y la v labiodental". just as English does, Spanish of whatever variety, does not.
Ni "light" ni "anti-age"....
I think the RAE is a great organization and has done a commendable job at keeping Spanish whole meaning even though it’s the official language of at least twenty countries and spoken by a significant number of the population in others (for example, the USA) the language is still unified. Regional varieties, grammatical variations and lexical differences have not changed the language to the point where Spanish speakers from different countries can’t communicate (At least I have yet to see or hear about this). One may have difficulty understanding Spanish from a particular group or population but it’s not considered a separate language).
The RAE wants to eliminate anglicisms from publicity since there are Spanish words equivalent to those English words. Well, I think that’s going to be a tough task. English is the universal language of communication and business. It’s all about money. If an ad for a product has an English catch phrase or words that many can identify with even in a foreign language or whatever language in question, it is going get replaced by the English word or phrase.
I understand their concern from a language perspective especially in a country like Spain where English is not dominant or spoken by the average person compared to the USA where Spanish is almost the local language in many cities, seeing Spanish and English in signs is the norm. I think the RAE is trying to prevent the usage (in Spain specifically) from becoming like what we see in the USA (or even the DR in some cases where one sees some English in signs or the usage of an apostrophe which is not used in Spanish). It will be interesting to see how this language dynamic evolves in Spain.
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2..._ingles_spanglish_publicidad_video_youtube_ps
-MP.
I think the RAE is a great organization and has done a commendable job at keeping Spanish whole meaning even though it’s the official language of at least twenty countries and spoken by a significant number of the population in others (for example, the USA) the language is still unified. Regional varieties, grammatical variations and lexical differences have not changed the language to the point where Spanish speakers from different countries can’t communicate (At least I have yet to see or hear about this). One may have difficulty understanding Spanish from a particular group or population but it’s not considered a separate language).
The RAE wants to eliminate anglicisms from publicity since there are Spanish words equivalent to those English words. Well, I think that’s going to be a tough task. English is the universal language of communication and business. It’s all about money. If an ad for a product has an English catch phrase or words that many can identify with even in a foreign language or whatever language in question, it is going get replaced by the English word or phrase.
I understand their concern from a language perspective especially in a country like Spain where English is not dominant or spoken by the average person compared to the USA where Spanish is almost the local language in many cities, seeing Spanish and English in signs is the norm. I think the RAE is trying to prevent the usage (in Spain specifically) from becoming like what we see in the USA (or even the DR in some cases where one sees some English in signs or the usage of an apostrophe which is not used in Spanish). It will be interesting to see how this language dynamic evolves in Spain.
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2..._ingles_spanglish_publicidad_video_youtube_ps
-MP.
I think the RAE is a great organization and has done a commendable job at keeping Spanish whole meaning even though it?s the official language of at least twenty countries and spoken by a significant number of the population in others (for example, the USA) the language is still unified. Regional varieties, grammatical variations and lexical differences have not changed the language to the point where Spanish speakers from different countries can?t communicate (At least I have yet to see or hear about this). One may have difficulty understanding Spanish from a particular group or population but it?s not considered a separate language).
The RAE wants to eliminate anglicisms from publicity since there are Spanish words equivalent to those English words. Well, I think that?s going to be a tough task. English is the universal language of communication and business. It?s all about money. If an ad for a product has an English catch phrase or words that many can identify with even in a foreign language or whatever language in question, it is going get replaced by the English word or phrase.
I understand their concern from a language perspective especially in a country like Spain where English is not dominant or spoken by the average person compared to the USA where Spanish is almost the local language in many cities, seeing Spanish and English in signs is the norm. I think the RAE is trying to prevent the usage (in Spain specifically) from becoming like what we see in the USA (or even the DR in some cases where one sees some English in signs or the usage of an apostrophe which is not used in Spanish). It will be interesting to see how this language dynamic evolves in Spain.
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2..._ingles_spanglish_publicidad_video_youtube_ps
-MP.
When I teach English here in the DR or in Panama I have the kids each week bring in something in English from their environment. Whether a milk carton which says Leche on the front and Milk on the back or whatever to prove the point that English is all around them.
Der Fish