My response- *long post*
The first step in answering a question like this is to create categories because a summarized response in a few lines or a short paragraph will not capture key details about language that need to be considered before responding. Thus far none of the responses reflect any kind of depth or an adequate thought process and/ or some kind of research to provide a good response. However, 'lollipop' is definitely thinking in the right mode and provided some good short answers thus far.
I have asked myself the question too every time I see the comment on the board- "I speak good Spanish". What I am looking for is a response or opinion as to what is "defined as good Spanish" on an individual level meaning each speaker and not how each country's Spanish is categorized. Regardless what reputation a country on the whole may have in the Spanish-speaking world not all speakers fall into one specific category. Having said that if we use Spanish spoken in the DR and PR as examples both have a generalized reputation of poorly spoken Spanish on the whole by its population but like everything else in life there are exceptions to the rule. Therefore there are educated speakers, good speakers, average speakers and so on. This type of segregation leads me to how I would respond to such a complex question. One has to first determine and analyze the levels of language.
In general language professionals assess language (written or spoken) based on the following categories:
(there may also be further break down but these are the common three)
1/ el nivel culto-
This level of language is classified as spoken Spanish that is as close to the standard as possible as defined by the RAE. It may also include regional grammatical exceptions approved by the RAE and its affiliate governing bodies in various Latin American countries. In general, speakers in this category are respectful of the rules of grammar, have good sentence structure, elaborate vocabulary and proper pronunciation of words. This type of Spanish may be heard by journalists, language professionals, well-educated people, writers etc. As well, some people who grew up around people who speak well tend to speak well also and may fall into this category.
2/ el nivel popular o coloquial-
This category is where most speakers of language usually are grouped. Speakers in this category usually differentiate their speech according to whom they are speaking or the environment they are in at a given time. This is where it is important to understand the difference between popular/ colloquial speech speech vs. speech closer to the standard. Normally the speaker can differentiate between the two and also knows exactly when to gear his/her speech towards a specific target audience. This is where grammarians, linguists, language professionals have analyzed and continue to evaluate as the language changes accompanied by certain properties or characteristics of popular speech by looking at history, evolution of language and the speaking habits of a speech population. For example, the phonetic 'ao' from 'ado' is an example of colloquial speech and is not categorized as 'incorrect'. Actually there is plenty of reading material on this sociolinguistic aspect and I encourage people to read about this one and others in the Spanish language. In fact most speakers in Spanish at all levels enunciate a suppressed form of the 'ado' past participle. No doubt about it. However, this colloquial form in books, newspapers, essays etc. and any kind of formal writing is not considered correct. Song lyrics are not considered formal writing in this case.
This level of speech also includes many idioms, colloquialisms, slang etc. but does not necessarily mean the rules of grammar are broken (and they may be) but this level of speech is considered appropriate in specific scenarios. Its informal nature is suitable among friends, family, and any informal atmosphere. In general, regardless of person's normal level of speech everyone has a more relaxed way of speaking among friends and family.
3/ el nivel vulgar-
This level of speech is definitely associated with uneducated speakers or speakers with a limited education and characteristically grammar rules are broken. Typically rural vs. urban speech is the dynamic here and is the reason for certain incorrect characteristic grammatical patterns and archaisms. In Spanish, you will find many speakers today that have characteristics of speech that fit in this category and some speakers do not know that the way they speak is full of 'vulgarismos' (please research the linguistic definition of this term). This includes adding /s/ to verbs forms where they do not belong. For example, dijistes, venistes, hablastes etc. It also includes mispronunciation of certain words, adding phonetic sounds where they do not exist in correct spoken Spanish, incorrect verb conjugation, incorrect sentence structure (even with the flexibility that exist in Spanish), incorrect usage of prepositions, deque?smo is good example 'dije de que' which is incorrect, using the incorrect article- el instead of la and vice versa, usage of words that don't exist and usage of words such as
haiga, nadien, est?banos (instead of est?bamos) etc. There are an infinite number of examples that can be heard in the spoken language.
When I asked the question this is the type of response I think is necessary or least some kind of segregation of concepts. Once broken down then one can really understand to define 'good Spanish' requires proper analysis and I only scratched the surface. You can then ask yourself what category a person fits into as a Spanish-speaker. Most people are in category #2, some people are a cross between #2 and #1. If a person falls into #3 or has speech characteristics of # 3 that's a problem IMO especially if s/he has access to education to correct it. Proper speech is important and it has nothing to do with elitism as mentioned by one poster.
It is also important to note that all speakers regards of the level of language make errors.
-LDG.
After thinking about this for a while, Skippy pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. Or my fingertips in this case.
Here I have *very* limited contact with Dominicans but a lot of contact with other Latins and Spaniards so I do my best to use a Spanish as standard as I can use, but every now and then the Dominican will come out hehe.
mariel,
Based on what you said you give the impression that speaking anyway one feels should be accepted. Rules or a standard are needed to facilitate communication or else if everyone had their own word formation, rules of grammar and individual meaning of words communication would be difficult to near impossible. Based on your post I guess it's okay to say
me se cay? instead of se me cay? or
le lo dije a Juan instead of se lo dije a Juan. These are perfect examples of 'vulgarismos' that are heard in the spoken language today but not by educated speakers or speakers in category two -
el nivel culto o familiar. Therefore there is such a thing as 'good' and 'bad' Spanish.
I'm sure this is not what you meant but your posts indicates otherwise.
-LDG.
