- Thread starter Marianopolita
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El español dominicano
I am from US but have a solid knowledge of Latin American Spanish
My Domincan GF always says "aser" and I went nuts trying to figure what that word was.
She used it over and over again. Finally i figured she means hacer and I told her that but she still says aser
Is this common?
Also when she means to use the word nos she writes no... and that really messed me up
There are other words that I figure out by myself using deductive reasoning
Is this the sign of a lack of education of just some DR hiccup. She rarely uses any punctuations and never caps at the beginning of a sentence
In this case, it’s a sign of a low education level and surely you have seen and heard more examples. You will note that in the Caribbean many speakers (with the same level of education) have no clue that there is a difference between ¿qué vas a ser? and ¿qué vas a hacer? There are two concepts here. One is the simple future tense construction and the other is there are two different verbs- ser and hacer. Furthermore, her spelling of hacer is ridiculous but par for the course. Many write like that not only (some) Dominicans.
I see many words that end in "cer" written as "ser" and it's very common like you said.
It is due to many factors and education is key. Note the grade level a person has completed and the quality of instruction. It’s no secret DR education leaves much to be desired with the exception being private school. As well, lack of exposure to the language. How many people read? Reading not only improves language ability but it helps improve spelling. How hard is to know the difference between ser and hacer? That is basic Spanish. Incorrect spelling is an indication of one’s education and exposure to the language. Someone who writes cryptic Spanish chances are doesn’t care. On Instagram the spelling by adults is awful. Here are examples of simple words often written incorrectly: baya, ben, vendiciones, hay or ay (when it should be allí), acer, aber, baca, a sido, grasia...add this to the typical Caribbean speech and the writing is just a mess.
My GF said she completed colegio (high school) but when we text I need to use my analytical brain to decipher.
As I mentioned earlier, she sent me a video of her leg pressing 8x45 plates. She told me she was pushing 345 pounds..
I have had " math" problems with her before. Like when I sent her 2000 pesos for medicine and she has to buy 3 drugs that add up to 1900 and she tells me she can only afford to buy 2 of the 3. Even though I know the 2000 covers all.
She is not trying to take advantage, she just cannot calculate.
Luckily I'm a retired el contador
She's basically an good woman. I am considering coming down to be with her for awhile. One of my concerns is the IQ compatability and communication.
My written spanish is far ahead of whatever she uses.
As I mentioned earlier, she sent me a video of her leg pressing 8x45 plates. She told me she was pushing 345 pounds..
I have had " math" problems with her before. Like when I sent her 2000 pesos for medicine and she has to buy 3 drugs that add up to 1900 and she tells me she can only afford to buy 2 of the 3. Even though I know the 2000 covers all.
She is not trying to take advantage, she just cannot calculate.
Luckily I'm a retired el contador
She's basically an good woman. I am considering coming down to be with her for awhile. One of my concerns is the IQ compatability and communication.
My written spanish is far ahead of whatever she uses.
But she is not writing it property. I went nuts looking through all translations for the word aser
Oh, ok. Your post said: "My Domincan GF always says "aser". I guess you meant that she always writes "aser" when she texts you. The trick is ton say these words out loud to yourself and see if you recognize a word. In this case it could be "a ser", or "hacer'. Context will tell you which one is right.
In the spoken language, it’s not hard to understand (maybe for a foreigner) Dominican or Caribbean Spanish with some exceptions. However, when people write is when you see the lack of command of the language. Unfortunately, many people think if they speak xxx language they are in control 🛑That is one of the biggest misconceptions from a linguistic perspective. It is a shame because these said people in general don’t realize that their spelling and mostly likely grammar skills in their own language are poor. A person that has completed high school should be able to write hacer.
My GF said she completed colegio (high school) but when we text I need to use my analytical brain to decipher.
As I mentioned earlier, she sent me a video of her leg pressing 8x45 plates. She told me she was pushing 345 pounds..
I have had " math" problems with her before. Like when I sent her 2000 pesos for medicine and she has to buy 3 drugs that add up to 1900 and she tells me she can only afford to buy 2 of the 3. Even though I know the 2000 covers all.
She is not trying to take advantage, she just cannot calculate.
Luckily I'm a retired el contador
She's basically an good woman. I am considering coming down to be with her for awhile. One of my concerns is the IQ compatability and communication.
My written spanish is far ahead of whatever she uses.
Pack your patience. Your post reveals what you will be dealing with and the level of education of your GF. If you have any doubt ask her to read you a paragraph of Listín Diario one of the better DR newspapers (and that says a lot) and you will see what I mean. Unfortunately, your GF‘s spelling is representative of a high percentage of the locals. The population does not have a command of the language. I mean spelling, writing (good sentence structure), grammar etc. due the education received and even the opportunity they had in the DR. Many of the ‘colegio’ educated will tell you tú hace is grammatically correct and argue with you that la mujere in the plural is correct. Both are incorrect written forms but heard in the spoken language.
I wouldn't keep trying to correct her Spanish. She won't thank you and won't change. Bear in mind that when she communicates with friends they all write the same way. It's one reason Dominicans tend to use voice messages when using Whatsapp. As for IQ compatibility, I don't want to generalise too much, but unless you are selecting from the most educated here, you will probably usually have that problem.
100% Stock. I thought I was the great "fixer" years ago. What a waste of resources. "Asie"
that is exactly what i do. She spells some words that start with a V as a B
I know exactly what you mean... She has 2 children.. and at first she would say lo nino... And I would say which one are you talking about... Finally I figured it out.
But what really drove me a bit crazy, was when I asked an important question and she wrote "no Vemos" I took that too be a negative reply and asked her what the problem was. I finally figured out it was nos and not no
That's because the pronunciation of those letters is the same in Spanish. Like others said, it goes to her level of education/literacy.
Although what you are saying is true about her Spanish, your inexperience with the language is a huge factor. These linguistic and dialectal nuances do not phase any Caribbean speaker. That is the norm. Therefore, keep in mind this will be frustrating for her too because you do not understand the local parlance. No speaker in the Caribbean- DR, PR or Cuba would be phased by what you are saying. Those are normal speech patterns that are part of Caribbean Spanish. You will get used to it but to be honest, I am always surprised how so many foreigners struggle with these concepts. In your first post you said you were experienced with Latin American Spanish. Where did you learn Spanish then? Here is a little Caribbean Spanish for you from me- la ve’dad e’ que tú tiene que pone’te al día papá……(and note there are many varieties of Caribbean Spanish).
Ouch.. I assume la verdad y que tu tienes que ponerte al dia de papa?
Just my guess... give me the interpretation
And here I thought it was only me that had these problems with "their lingo". At first I was certain it was I that didn't know the language so who was I to dispute it? Then as my skills developed thru study and usage over the past couple of years I heard very similar usuage as noted above. Now, I totally accept what I know is a problem with the people with low education and I have become sensistive to any corrections with them.Actually, it improves my spanish as I frequently check...is it me or him/her that said/wrote that wrong?
On a similar note, I am growing melons (cantaloupe ) AND watermelons in my garden. So I referred to both as the "melons". I got corrected once, twice, and three times before I checked. The watermelons are NOT called melons. My bad, but I learned a new word "sandias".
On a similar note, I am growing melons (cantaloupe ) AND watermelons in my garden. So I referred to both as the "melons". I got corrected once, twice, and three times before I checked. The watermelons are NOT called melons. My bad, but I learned a new word "sandias".
A loose translation of what I am saying is: you need to get up to speed ….papá (in this context it does not mean Dad. The context/ meaning is a term of endearment). La verdad es que tú tienes que ponerte al día papá.
So where did you learn Latin American Spanish?
Watermelon= sandía….and it is definitely not a melon so in this case their correction is right. You will notice the people with low education as you say have a lot of bad grammar rather than wrong vocabulary. Keep in mind learning standard Spanish is a bonus for you because there are nineteen other countries in which Spanish is the official language. You never know your life could change and you will be around other Spanish speakers and not just hearing DR Spanish.
BTW it’s sandía = watermelon except for in Venezuela it’s patilla.
I studied in College and have travelled through many spanish speaking countries. I have taken many advance classes in the states. I guess I am not good at fill in the blanks. What does papa mean with an accent other than dad?