I love the English accent. I even like English with just about any accent, including Spanish. I have British friends who've told me there's areas in England where even they have a hard time understanding the accent.
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The top 10 cities where the best Spanish is spoken
RP, or Received Pronunciation, is what we normally hear. I think in some circles it's referred to as Oxford English or BBC English.
I find all the accents charming: East Texas, Appalachian, Cajun, Boston...
Duélale a quien le duela pero es verdad. Me encanta Miami.
I think Miami is an opportunity for guaranteed bilingualism for those who want to learn. Studying would be required to acquire basic grammar but one can practice shortly after just by being in an environment where Spanish is spoken everywhere. Opportunity that is the way I see it.
Since English is a lingua franca I think it has lost its prestige. In my opinion, the grammar is no longer respected and there are so many versions. Compared to Spanish which is diverse within the language itself but not because it’s a lingua franca. There is a big difference.
I find people from Scotland and Guernsey Channel Islands hard to understand. In fact, I don’t understand them at all.
I find people from Scotland can be hard to understand, also.
I just listened to it. I have the cd with that song and I don’t remember it but then again I really have not listened to it much. I am a loyal Raulín Rodríguez fan/ follower although his bachata is a bit off over the last two years but he was strong for twenty five years+ so I can’t complain.
Songs are a great language learning opportunity as well. For those who need practice with the subjunctive in Spanish reading song lyrics would help. BTW- Hoy que tú no estás is one of the best bachatas ever by Raulín.
I have a pretty long list of favorite bachata singers and their songs. I agree - they can be a great learning tool. Many of the songs can be found on videos with the lyrics in Spanish, which is even a bigger help.
I just read this blog article about Puerto Rican Spanish. Those of you in this thread who were part of that conversation will find it interesting.
I agree with the writer of the article that Spanish spoken in PR is probably the most difficult to understand although all the linguistic speech patterns align with Spanish spoken in Cuba and DR. The shared similarities are noted. One aspect that was not mentioned was I think to understand PR Spanish you need to hear it on a regular basis. It will get easier and there is no time for learning. If you talk to Puerto Ricans eventually you will understand their intonation, starts and stops, R to L change, non standard pronunciation etc. Slang is a whole different aspect. You learn that by exposure to the spoken language.
I agree with the writer of the article that Spanish spoken in PR is probably the most difficult to understand although all the linguistic speech patterns align with Spanish spoken in Cuba and DR. The shared similarities are noted. One aspect that was not mentioned was I think to understand PR Spanish you need to hear it on a regular basis. It will get easier and there is no time for learning. If you talk to Puerto Ricans eventually you will understand their intonation, starts and stops, R to L change, non standard pronunciation etc. Slang is a whole different aspect. You learn that by exposure to the spoken language.
Having lived in PR for a short time, and having many Boricua relatives, I find PR Spanish easy to imitate.
When I veer off my nearly-neutral Spanish in Texas, and decide to go full DR, someone will usually assume I'm from PR. I then show them the difference.
I've come across many Mexicans and Central Americans who think that PR Spanish replaces every instance of the letter 'R' with an 'L', and utter ridiculous nonsense, such as PUELTO LICO. Yes, Puelto is accurate, but give me a break on LICO.
When I try to explain that it's only instances of 'Rs' at the end of syllables: caRta, pueRta, comeR, cantaR, and such, they don't acknowledge it.
One extremely intelligent writer/interpreter/translator with whom I worked, claimed to have heard a Boricua pronounce PueLto Lico.
Considering that his IQ is lightyears ahead of mine, he dismissed my explanation. Those in the audience were in agreement with him.
And as we say in the trailer-park, that will learn me.
When I veer off my nearly-neutral Spanish in Texas, and decide to go full DR, someone will usually assume I'm from PR. I then show them the difference.
I've come across many Mexicans and Central Americans who think that PR Spanish replaces every instance of the letter 'R' with an 'L', and utter ridiculous nonsense, such as PUELTO LICO. Yes, Puelto is accurate, but give me a break on LICO.
When I try to explain that it's only instances of 'Rs' at the end of syllables: caRta, pueRta, comeR, cantaR, and such, they don't acknowledge it.
One extremely intelligent writer/interpreter/translator with whom I worked, claimed to have heard a Boricua pronounce PueLto Lico.
Considering that his IQ is lightyears ahead of mine, he dismissed my explanation. Those in the audience were in agreement with him.
And as we say in the trailer-park, that will learn me.
I heard other former co-workers, all of them interpreters/translators, utter the same nonsense.
I tried to elucidate the matter, but to no avail. Eventually, I gave up.
I'm trying to think of other examples, but it was too long ago. In general, if the "R" was in the middle or end of the word, it was pronounced like and "L", but I can't think of one word that began with a "R" that was pronounced with and "L"(?).
One thing is to critique but one must critique correctly. The R to L change has a format. It is not just changing the R to L randomly. Saying Lico is wrong. A Puerto Rican would never say that.
That person who you worked with is clueless about Spanish and I am not surprised. How often do you find people who talk about language based on their small sample of experience and then go about saying things without the ability to back themselves up? I run into them a lot and I listen because they think they are being informative then when I respond from a point of linguistic knowledge with examples and personal experience then the ignorance takes a different turn. Then all of sudden it’s- pero tú sabe(s) mucho de eso. ¿Dónde aprendiste tanta(s) cosa(s)? I just look at them -are you for real? Learning is free. Get a book and read.
You will not find the R to L change at the beginning because that’s not the linguistic process that is occurring. Those people that say that are bad imitators not Puerto Ricans.
Key points:
1) Not all Puerto Ricans speak using the R to L change. Before I assume and I am trying to find out why some do and some don’t. I will keep researching but for now I continue listening at every opportunity. Even amongst themselves I wonder what they think about the speech pattern.
2) PR is part of the Caribbean variety with Afro and Taíno influence. The three islands- Cuba, DR and PR have many linguistic similarities to the point where sometimes you really have to listen and listen out for certain words to tell the difference. Eg. listen to Cubans from the Eastern part of the island they sound Dominican 100%. Some Cubans sound Puerto Rican. Folks this is fascinating stuff at least to me.
3) The way a person speaks can tell you a lot about their level of education, how they write, how well-read that person is etc. this is a factor too.
4) One aspect though that shows a person’s knowledge is it’s one thing to say amol but to write it in a sentence is incorrect. I see so many people’s accounts on Instagram with all these spelling errors and think to myself this is the why the stereotype continues. If you look in the dictionary you will not find amol, hablal, vendel, peldón etc.
1) Not all Puerto Ricans speak using the R to L change. Before I assume and I am trying to find out why some do and some don’t. I will keep researching but for now I continue listening at every opportunity. Even amongst themselves I wonder what they think about the speech pattern.
2) PR is part of the Caribbean variety with Afro and Taíno influence. The three islands- Cuba, DR and PR have many linguistic similarities to the point where sometimes you really have to listen and listen out for certain words to tell the difference. Eg. listen to Cubans from the Eastern part of the island they sound Dominican 100%. Some Cubans sound Puerto Rican. Folks this is fascinating stuff at least to me.
3) The way a person speaks can tell you a lot about their level of education, how they write, how well-read that person is etc. this is a factor too.
4) One aspect though that shows a person’s knowledge is it’s one thing to say amol but to write it in a sentence is incorrect. I see so many people’s accounts on Instagram with all these spelling errors and think to myself this is the why the stereotype continues. If you look in the dictionary you will not find amol, hablal, vendel, peldón etc.
Au contraire.
That former co-worker is probably the one person I've met with the best command of both Spanish and English equally. He's a published author, having penned 6-7 short-story books in both languages.
He's well versed in all manners of subjects related to languages. However, as most Mexicans, he's wrong when assuming that Puerto Ricans call their island PueLto Lico.
And, as I mentioned earlier, the only instance of 'R' replacement is found at the end of a syllable: can-taR, co-meR, caR-ta, pueR-ta, bai-laR, a-moR.
Yes, I meant clueless about the R to L change and not about Spanish in genreal. I should have been more specific. Strange though that he couldn’t understand your explanation of Lico. I will post an article from the BBC shortly.
Here is an excellent article that I read when it first came out:
www.bbc.com
¿Por qué en el Caribe muchos pronuncian la letra "r" como si fuera una "l"? - BBC News Mundo
Se trata de una tendencia exactamente opuesta a la original, proveniente de Andalucía, que se registra en lugares como las costas caribeñas de Colombia y Venezuela, algunas zonas de Panamá, Cuba y República Dominicana, y de forma más extendida, en "Puelto" Rico.
www.bbc.com
There's the case of the typical cibaeño, who replaces 'Rs' at the end of syllables with 'I'.
can-taR becomes can-tai; pueR-ta is puei-ta; pueR-co puei-co.
Then they compensate by replacing 'I' with 'R' such as in aceite (aceRte) y peine (peRne).
I've even heard someone say hoR instead of hoy.
The folks in Baní are known for replacing 'Ls' with 'Rs': Cuando saRga eR SoR; saR de la cocina, maRdito.
can-taR becomes can-tai; pueR-ta is puei-ta; pueR-co puei-co.
Then they compensate by replacing 'I' with 'R' such as in aceite (aceRte) y peine (peRne).
I've even heard someone say hoR instead of hoy.
The folks in Baní are known for replacing 'Ls' with 'Rs': Cuando saRga eR SoR; saR de la cocina, maRdito.