laughed at for speaking like a Dominican?

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

wildnfree

New member
Jun 14, 2005
138
0
0
What is wrong with Dominican Spanish?

Today something interesting happened which I would like to share..

I was teaching a class today that happened to have some Colombians...one vocab. item was especially difficult for them, so I reverted to Spanish to explain it. I recently took a Spanish course in SD and picked up the accent really well (I pick up accents really well). For some reason, the Colombians broke out in fits at my pronounciation ("he aco'tao cuando alguien toco' pa la puelta) (He awoke when someone knocked on the door).


They thought the accent was halarious..I disagree and say while it may be slang-ish no-one Spanish variety is necessarily better than the other...

Any similar experiences to share?
 
K

Kyle

Silver
Jun 2, 2006
4,266
161
0
Costa Ricans/Panamanians sometimes laugh at me with my Dominican Spanish. they tell me in english "where the heck you learned that from". i think it's the slang they laugh at...
 
C

cuas

New member
May 29, 2006
360
10
0
wildnfree said:
What is wrong with Dominican Spanish?

Today something interesting happened which I would like to share..

I was teaching a class today that happened to have some Colombians...one vocab. item was especially difficult for them, so I reverted to Spanish to explain it. I recently took a Spanish course in SD and picked up the accent really well (I pick up accents really well). For some reason, the Colombians broke out in fits at my pronounciation ("he aco'tao cuando alguien toco' pa la puelta) (He awoke when someone knocked on the door).


They thought the accent was halarious..I disagree and say while it may be slang-ish no-one Spanish variety is necessarily better than the other...

Any similar experiences to share?
Click to expand...

aco'tao-acostado means laying down not awoke.
Not all Dominican say aco'tao.
Your translation is "He laying down when someone knocked to the door."

That is why they were laughing.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
Actually, it's "I laying down when someone knocked for the door."

And, for a gringo who is just picking up the language, not too bad,, but like my dear father said when I flaunted my Spanish after two years here: "You speak like a d@mned Cuban!" Which, to him, a cultured Guatemalan, was terrible.

However, I have learned that educated Dominicans are perfectly capable of speaking correctly, and those in Santo Domingo have an accent, and those in the Cibao have a different accent. The l for r accent in the capital is funny to the ears of the "cibae?os" and visa versa.

And with all of that, Colombians, especially those from the mountains-Medell?n, Bogot?, C?li--do speak a beautiful, clear Spanish.

My father's favorite story about Dominican Spanish was the one where a gringo went to Berlitz to study Spanish so he could go and visit his good friend Francisco down in "Santa Dominga"..

Well the guy graduated from Berlitz, got on a plane and with much gesturing and his "proper" Spanish, managed to find his friend's house.

He knocked on the door and said: Esta Francisco aqu??
The old lady said: Paco? Paco no 'ta 'ca. Paco 'ta acotao! (Say it fast!)

The gringo smiled, said Gracias, and returned home, knowing that he had wasted his money at Berlitz or that he had studied the wrong language....HEHE

Keep chugging...

HB
 
M

miguel

I didn't last long...
Jul 2, 2003
5,257
2
0
114
Nada con ser dominicano.....

wildnfree said:
What is wrong with Dominican Spanish?

Today something interesting happened which I would like to share..

I was teaching a class today that happened to have some Colombians...one vocab. item was especially difficult for them, so I reverted to Spanish to explain it. I recently took a Spanish course in SD and picked up the accent really well (I pick up accents really well). For some reason, the Colombians broke out in fits at my pronounciation ("he aco'tao cuando alguien toco' pa la puelta) (He awoke when someone knocked on the door).


They thought the accent was halarious..I disagree and say while it may be slang-ish no-one Spanish variety is necessarily better than the other...

Any similar experiences to share?
Click to expand...
Why are you blaming your "Dominican Spanish" when you were NOT talking "Dominican", rather a foreigner's Spanish?

The laughed at you because you were supposed to say:

"estaba acostado cuando alguien toco' la puerta". Or even "etaba acotao cuando alguien toco' la puerta".

See, your problem is with the "he", "pa", "la" and "puelta" (I know SOME Dominicans say "puelta" but not all).

Even if you pick up accents really well, like you said, the Dominican you learned to say that from was NOT a "Catedratico", ;);).

I wonder how long was your course, and by whom?.

pkaide1:

Indeed!.
 
Last edited:
P

pkaide1

Bronze
Aug 10, 2005
543
43
48
For some reason, I believe that many of you are getting together with many Dominicans red neck. The educated Dominicans do not speak in such a way.
The ones from the barrio and country do.
 
Squat

Squat

Tropical geek in Las Terrenas
Jan 1, 2002
2,258
178
63
Whenever I get to speak with a non-dominican hispanic, or a Spaniard, I try as much as I can to "undominicanize" my speech. I usually sport my best "Jorge Ramos" accent, which works well enough. However, if I get tired, it comes back... When I was in Puerto Rico, the Boricuas would laugh at me for my accent...
 
C

Chip00

Guest
I agree with the others that the sentence that was created was translated wrong.

I would recommend always trying to speak correct Spanish, even with Dominicans. The reason being is that when you are want to speak with other people from other countries they will understand you.

Also, you should know as much as you try if you learned Spanish as an adult you will never completely get rid of your English accent. Therefore if you don't want to be ridiculed do not "embellish" or otherwise "accentuate" your Dominican accent because after you leave the people WILL without a doubt be laughing at you - even Dominicans! Case in point I have a Puerto Rican friend who has lived in Central Florida for some time near Sanford and he is convinced he is true blue "country" and does his best to embellish the words "accordingly" with a thick Southern accent(or so he thinks). I have no doubt that most people including myself have to restrain themselves from laughing when this guy talks as a thick Puerto Rican accent mixed with a downright ugly pseudo Southern accent well....it ain't pretty that's for sure. Get the picture?
 
C

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,849
984
113
I get comments about my "American" or "Mexican" accent when I speak Spanish in Spain. I suppose that means they can't really tell the difference between non-Iberian Spanish accents, because whatever my accent is, it's certainly not Mexican.
 
T

trina

Silver
Jan 3, 2002
2,550
11
0
That's hilarious, Chiri. Although I've never spoken to you on the phone or in person, I could never imagine you sounding like a Mexican!

I have some Mexican friends that tell me my Dominican accent is "bien campesina!!!" They laugh when I use words like "jeepeta" "guagua" "vaina", and I've learned not to say "co?o".
 
Last edited:
M

M.A.R.

Silver
Feb 18, 2006
3,210
149
63
trina said:
I have some Mexican friends that tell me my Dominican accent is "bien campesina!!!" They laugh when I use words like "jeepeta" "guagua" "vaina", and I've learned not to say "co?o".
Click to expand...

oh no Trina, 'campesina'? stop talking to ur husband in spanish and learn your spanish from the Mexicans. lol
 
C

Chip00

Guest
trina said:
Done. lol ;)

They sound much prettier anyways! (mexicans)
Click to expand...

Oh please - I can't stand that accent. In fact I can hardly stand to watch movies translated in Spanish because most of them are done by Mexicans.

ex. "que genial" - how gross! :)
 
T

trina

Silver
Jan 3, 2002
2,550
11
0
Chip00 said:
Oh please - I can't stand that accent. In fact I can hardly stand to watch movies translated in Spanish because most of them are done by Mexicans.

ex. "que genial" - how gross! :)
Click to expand...

You're probably talking about the chilangos, from D.F. To me, they have a horrible accent too. I have friends from the provinces Zacatecas, Durango, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and Nuevo Leon - more or less, Central Mexico. Lovely accents. I love talking to them. But I hate listening to people from the Ciudad de Mexico, very irritating.
 
K

Kyle

Silver
Jun 2, 2006
4,266
161
0
what is it with this response to "como esta"....regular (spelling ? ) does it mean i'm not constipated :laugh:
 
N

Norma Rosa

Bronze
Feb 20, 2007
1,127
58
0
pkaide1 said:
For some reason, I believe that many of you are getting together with many Dominicans red neck. The educated Dominicans do not speak in such a way.
The ones from the barrio and country do.
Click to expand...

And yet, not everyone from the barrios and the country. I have few cousins in El Cibao who don't have a third grade education and have lived all their lives in the country, yet their Spanish can be considered educated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom