- Thread starter Marianopolita
- Start date
Test your Spanish
Same here: When I send texts, emails, and post on IG and leave comments on YouTube, I HAVE TO use formal grammar and punctuation, even at the risk of coming across as overly formal on a simple chat. I believe once you get used to bad spelling on simple chats, there's a possibility you may commit the same errors on formal correspondence.
I make my share of spelling errors, but they are mainly due to my bad habit of not checking and re-reading what I just wrote, as evidenced by the misspelling of pluscuamperfecto on a previous post. I even place a question mark and comma on a simple ¿KLK, mi hermano? message, even if KLK itself is informal.
I receive many messages daily, and the ones in Spanish are the worst:
"Mucha gracias igual llo lo estimo mucho", "Buena tardes hermano como estan por alla", "Okey hermano uste es delo mio personal", "...que él señor melos bendiga mucho mucha gracias"...
No accents, no commas or periods or question marks, accents in wrong words (él señor), misspelling of words, missing 'Ss', en fin, un sinnúmero de errores.
I have the same policy for myself too and for the same reason. If you practice to write in short form it becomes habit to the point where it can interfere with your formal writing. It’s important to know how to write properly. Call me old school I guess and I am okay with that.
Your example of text messages that you get is very familiar. Let’s be honest in some cases the people sound illiterate completely. There is short form which is acceptable but let’s not confuse that with the inability to write which is largely what we see on the Internet, in text messages, social media etc.
When people write:
En berda, en berda
Vendiciones
abía
apollo …..this gets every time
there is a problem.
It’s also Caribbean Spanish though because you don’t hear other Spanish speakers saying buena tarde, mucha gracia, ’ta bien, como tú quiera etc….I speak that way too but I also know when to neutralize.
grasias…..are you kidding me???? It’s not a typo for those who spell it that way
Those are examples of illiteracy which is different from being informal and slang which are both acceptable but when one can’t spell that’s another issue.
There are quite a few posters here that, when referring to their spouse, write "miesposa" or miesposo". At first, I thought it was just a typo and they forgot the space, but I've seen it written that way too many times now. I don't think I've ever seen it written as two words(?),.
I have lived in Cabarete for thirteen years and have never seen an accent on the last E anywhere. I never knew it was supposed to have one. I don't know why it would be there anyway, since it is always pronounced with the emphasis on the penultimate E.
Can I just say that it is a pet peeve of mine when people write in slang. Sometimes when reading something that is written by those who are supposedly educated makes me shake my head.
Why fight it ? Embrace it !
I was helping an elder fill in a form a few days ago, the guy is anywhere between 50 and 60.
It started off bad as I pointed out, I was pretty sure that's not how his name is spelt.
" Ay dios, ven a ka muchacho, sabo meyor k ti, etc, etc....... "
I told him the easiest way is to pull out his cedula and check......
Of course it was the Junta who got it wrong on his cedula, everybody knows Ernandez has no H.😆😆😆😆😆😆.
The DR is one of the last country on earth where you can go through your whole life w/o knowing how to spell your name correctly.
That has to count for something.😂😂😂
One former poster started that and explained why when people asked. I am not sure why others do it now but it’s two words mi esposo, mi esposa
I'm also sure the spelling should be ciénega instead of ciénaga.
It's an esdrújula word, and as such, it requires a tilde: cédula, cámara, estómago, murciélago...
It's an esdrújula word, and as such, it requires a tilde: cédula, cámara, estómago, murciélago...
It definitely has an accent on the e.If you look at the rules of grammar words ending in a vowel normally have the stress on the second to last syllable (penúltima) but when there is an exception to the rule a written accent is required. People say it correctly but without the written accent it’s not written correctly.
It’s Ciénaga….
Feel free to look up the grammar rule. As well many links on the web have the accent as it should.
I see that now regarding the spelling. Both forms are on the web. Good catch.
I could've sworn it was only one form.
La RAE says ciénAga, and elcastellano.org says both are correct. I was both wrong and right.
Who woulda thunk it?!
Love learning this stuff.
Thanks.
I thought you were referring to "Cabarete". I've never seen a sign with "La Ciénaga" on it(?).
I thought maybe it was written that way because you hear them spoken as if they were one word. I believe the "i" and the 'e" for a diphthong and I've heard several combinations of words like those that, when spoken, sound like just one word - at least to my ears.
I agree it can sound like that based on the way some people say it. In grammar/ linguistics that phonetic pattern is referred to as liaison. It happens in a couple of the Latin-based languages. Spanish is one of them.
See the definition here. Point #4:
Definition of LIAISON
a binding or thickening agent used in cooking; a close bond or connection : interrelationship; an illicit sexual relationship : affair… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com
As well, if you get familiar with the rules of forming compound words in Spanish you won’t have a pronoun (mi) and a noun (esposo) joined to form one word.
And a classic example that I always point out: from my 'neck of the woods,' there's a fishing village named Boca de Yuma.
However, everyone in Higüey pronounces it "Boqueyuma" (Boca de Yuca turns into Boca 'e Yuma, then into Boqueyuma).
This is not an example of liaison, but more of laziness and ease of pronunciation.
However, everyone in Higüey pronounces it "Boqueyuma" (Boca de Yuca turns into Boca 'e Yuma, then into Boqueyuma).
This is not an example of liaison, but more of laziness and ease of pronunciation.
That’s right it’s not an example of liaison, but speakers shorten words for ease of pronunciation.
An example of liaison is:
Mis amigos when said it becomes misamigos. The s becomes part of the next syllable mi….sa….migos
This happens because a word ending in s is followed by a word starting with a vowel.
I am aware of the rule that the stress is usually on the second to last (penultimate) syllable and if not there is an accent on the syllable that is stressed. But in the case of Cabarete, I have never heard anyone stress the last syllable or use an accent, so in my opinion it is not an exception to the rule.It definitely has an accent on the e.If you look at the rules of grammar words ending in a vowel normally have the stress on the second to last syllable (penúltima) but when there is an exception to the rule a written accent is required. People say it correctly but without the written accent it’s not written correctly.
It’s Ciénaga….
Feel free to look up the grammar rule. As well many links on the web have the accent as it should.