Dominican Spanish

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When Dominican Spanish is a linguistic variety of Spanish in the, Dominican Republic is spoken. It shares many characteristics with other Caribbean varieties, but it is at the forefront of linguistic innovation. It differs from other Spanish varieties because of its special features in phonology , morphology , syntax and lexicons .

Linguistic particularities

Phonetics / Phonology

  • A distinctive feature of the pronunciation is that the / s / at the end of a syllable and a word is partially aspirated, but is usually completely omitted.
In Dominican it is counted like this (only pronunciation, not spelling changes):
instead of: uno - dos - tres - cuatro - cinco -seis - siete - ocho - nueve - diez
uno - dó - tré - cuatro - cinco - be - siete - ocho - nueve - dié
Other examples are
transportes (transport) - tra [m] -port
nosotros (we) - nohotro
tú sabes (you know) → tú sabe
  • The implosive / -n / is often not realized; the preceding vowel is nasalized: tr [ã] -port-te.
  • There is a vocalization of the [-r] sound: cuerpo (body) - [kwéipo], tarde (late) - [táide]
  • The country can be divided into 3 large regions in which a sound change takes place. The consonants, or so-called liquids , / l / and / r / at the end of a syllable or a word are realized differently in each region through neutralization or elimination processes.
In the capital Santo Domingo and its immediate vicinity, the consonant / r / at the end of the syllable is replaced by a / l / sound and in the southern regions of the country there is a sound change from / l / to / r /. In the rural northwestern region of the Cibao, / l / and / r / are pronounced as / ḭ /. There are also hyper-correct forms (i.e., / l / or / r / is substituted for a standard language / i /).
Examples of the individual processes:
verde (green) - velde
falda (skirt) - farda
porqué (why) - poiqué
algo (something) - aigo
hoy (today) - hor (hyper correct)
  • The back fricative / x / is pronounced like a weak / h / sound.
  • The consonant / d / is either very strongly aspirated between two vowels or is left out entirely. In Afro-Hispanic communities only, / d / is replaced by / r /.
el marido (husband) - el marío
perdida (lost) - perdía
comprado (bought) - compráo
pulgada (inch) - pulgá
  • The phoneme / rr / is only partially or completely voiceless.
  • Unstressed vowels can be unstable, so they are reduced in pronunciation.
justicia (justice) - hostísja
somos (we are) - sémos
  • Dominican Spanish is dominated by yeismo, i.e. H. the letter combination ll- is pronounced as [y].

morphology

  • An alternative mechanism for the formation of the plural is very widespread within the republic among residents with little formal education and is also known as "double plural". It should be noted, however, that this is not based on the regular plural, but on an interaction between the standard plural formation and Dominican phonology . Since the / s / at the end of the syllable is realized as a null morph, i.e. not pronounced, the ending [(e) se] is appended to the stems.
Singular Plural double plural
gallina gallina [ø] gallin ase
mujer mujere [ø] mujer ese
  • In the northern, rural regions of the country, the indicative verb form is occasionally replaced by the subjunctive form in main clauses . In principle, every verb can be replaced in this way, but only in the first person plural.
tenemos (we have) - tengamos
venimos (we are coming) - vengamos
  • Some nouns that end in -e or -r have gender ambiguities.
el / la puente
el / la calor
el / la mar
siéntesen
cállesen
súbasen
  • The diminutive ending -ito / -ita is also in use, but it becomes -ico / -ica if the last consonant in the root of the word is / t /.
carta (letter) - cartica
gato (hangover) - gatico
galleta (biscuit) - galletica

syntax

  • In the northern region of the Cibao, the use of the pronoun ello is very common. Its use as a discourse marker and neutral pronoun is unique among the Caribbean varieties. This can possibly be explained by its close proximity to French-speaking Haiti or by the fact that the French language enjoyed a high level of prestige at the beginning of the 19th century and was therefore spoken in the upper social classes of the Dominican Republic.
Since Spanish is a zero-subject language , the use of the pronoun is not mandatory. In contrast, there are the non-zero subject languages, such as German or French.
Different functions can be assigned to the pronoun ello.
1. ello is used as an expletive pronoun in impersonal constructions .
ello llueve (in comparison, German: "it rains", French: "il pleut")
ello se vende arroz
ello es que no lo sabía
2. ello is used as an affirmation reinforcement after questions.
¿Tienes tu cédula al día? - Ello sí señor.
3. When ello stands alone after questions, this expresses a degree of probability, but also uncertainty and hesitation.
¿Quiere bailar? - Ello ...
4. Furthermore, ello can have a concessional meaning. Here ello has a conceding function, so it represents a counter-reason to the statement. In German this can be translated as "though" or "despite".
Ello, po aquí no se ha sentío na.
  • The repeated negative no at the end of a statement can be found almost regularly in the Dominican colloquial language .
Nosotros no vamos no .
  • The use of superfluous subject pronouns is very common in the Dominican variety, since the 2nd person singular can not be clearly identified by the elision of the / s / at the end of the word.
instead of: Cuando acabes me avisas.
Cuando tú acabe tú me avisa .
In everyday language, subject pronouns are even used for lifeless nouns. This is not the case in other Spanish dialects.
Cómprela [las piñas] ... que ella son bonita .
  • If subject pronouns are included in questions, the word order SVO is retained.
¿Qué tú quieres?
  • Especially on the country's sugar plantations, the so-called bayetes , the ancient salutation su merced is still very common. It expresses the mutual respect between the compadres .
  • A special construction that is used is the connection of personal pronouns and infinitives.
al tu decirme eso
sin ella saberlo

Lexicons

Historical background of various language influences

Dominican Spanish contains many borrowings from other languages, some of which are only used and known in this country. Such influences characterize the variety and differentiate it from other Caribbean varieties and standard Spanish. The causes of these language influences can be traced back to the history of the island and its historical contacts. The linguistic history of the Dominican Republic began with the arrival of Columbus in the 15th century and the establishment of the first Spanish settlements on the north coast of the country. The local population, the so-called Arawak / Taíno , influenced the settlers' Spanish from then on.

The establishment of the Nueva Isabela settlement on the south coast of the Dominican Republic is also important, as it was the most important Spanish settlement and central landing stage at that time. Because of trade and shipping, she brought many languages ​​into contact with one another. This settlement was later renamed "Santo Domingo", today's capital of the republic. With the 18th century there was a competition between England and France for the western part of the island. The establishment of a rich French colony there profoundly influenced the language of the country.

African language influences are also understandable through the use of slaves deported from Africa on the sugar plantations of western French territory. In 1802 the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo fell briefly into French hands, in 1805 it was conquered by Haitian troops and in 1808/1809 it was recaptured by Spanish troops. In 1821 a group of intellectuals, civil servants and officers called the Estado Independiente de Haití Español (Independent State of Haiti in Spain) based on the model of the successfully achieved Haitian independence . By accepting the support of Haitian troops, however, the insurgents sealed the fate of "short-lived independence" ( Independencia efímera ). From 1822 to 1844, Haiti took control of the once Spanish colony of Santo Domingo. In 1844 its inhabitants freed themselves from Haitian rule and created an independent state under the name of "Dominican Republic". What remains, however, is the Dominicans' aversion to the Haitians, which they justify, among other things, with the repeated Haitian attacks. Racist prejudice against Haitians can still be observed today .

The following years were marked by supervisory bodies from Spain and the USA, which led to the spread of Anglicisms. Furthermore, tourism developed as an important economic factor in the republic, which will continue to influence the language in the future.

Anglicisms / Anglo-Americanisms

During the Haitian occupation of the republic in the 19th century, there were slaves who had come to the Dominican Republic from the USA and whose English mother tongue exerted linguistic influence. Especially recently, English has been considered the most important donor language for Spanish. Many lexical borrowings are still continually found in the Dominican-Spanish vocabulary and their spelling and pronunciation are only occasionally adapted to Spanish.

Examples of borrowings with graphic and phonetic adaptation are:
engl. switch - el suiche
engl. dunking - el donqueo
engl. ghetto - el gueto
homerun - el jonrón
Examples of borrowings without graphic and phonic adaptation are:
from the field of sport from other areas
All star Serial killer
center field sleeping bag
Dream team reality show
comeback car wash
jumper teacher
en el left

Gallicisms

Although French had shaped the language of the upper social classes since the beginning of the 18th century, it is becoming increasingly less important due to the steadily growing influence of English. However, loanwords are mainly found in the areas of fashion, gastronomy and social relationships.

Examples of borrowings with graphic and phonetic adaptation are:
French chicane (chicane) - chicana
French fouet (whip) - foete
Examples of borrowings without graphic and phonetic adaptation are:
haute cuisine
gourmet
brochures
petit pois
date
morgue
Examples of loan translations are:
le marché aux puces (flea market) - el mercado de las pulgas
jouer un rôle (to play a role) - jugar un role

Haitianisms

Even if there are still differences and hostilities between Haitians and Dominicans, it is precisely these constant political and social tensions that result in continuous linguistic exchanges. No other Spanish variety has such a large number of Creole French lexemes, although the Dominicans always disapprove of its use.

Examples of Haitian borrowings can be found primarily in the food and plant sectors.
breteles - suspenders
galipote - person who can turn into an animal, for example (popular belief)
rotí - roast beef meat
petí-pois - peas
petí-salé - American pork bacon
gató - carrot
ragú - braised meat
fricasé - pan dish
colier - necklace
marshé - market
canotié - sailor
patuá - Haitian dialect (Creole)

Indigenisms

The indigenous language of Latin America can only be found to a limited extent in Dominican Spanish. The colonial exploitation of America from the 15th century onwards brought about the rapid extermination of the natives, mainly diseases, epidemics and miserable living conditions were the causes of this development. The population of the indigenous Arawak / Taíno was completely destroyed, as were some other indigenous groups, so their language no longer has any influence in everyday linguistic usage, but was slightly converted into Dominican Spanish by the colonialists.

Examples of indigenous languages ​​borrowed from the Antilles are:
mabí - name of a tree; Drink containing bark from this tree
ciguapa - fairytale woman of the water, mermaid
macuto - palm leaf filled with tobacco, meat and the like
yagua - fibrous material made from the upper parts of the trunk of a palm tree
conuquero - measured piece of land cultivated by Indios
Examples of borrowings from other indigenous languages ​​from South and Central America are:
concho ( Quechua ) - neglected car
cancha (Quechua) - sports field
yautía ( Maya ) - edible root of a plant

Africanisms

With the import of African slave laborers in the 16th century, Dominican Spanish began to come into contact with African languages. However, the slaves usually communicated with each other in Spanish, as they came from different areas of Africa and therefore had different mother tongues. Because of this, there aren't many lexemes that have established themselves in the Dominican variety.

Examples of African borrowings are:
pangola - herb that is consumed by cattle
lambí - marine mollusc
merengue dance

More typical Dominican expressions

capitaleño - residents of the capital, Santo Domingo
listín - newspaper
bachata - folk festival, dance, style of music
vejigazo - coup
busú - bad luck, bad luck (from Haitian)
cocoro / cocolo - Black, English-speaking native of the Eastern Antilles
fucú - bad luck, evil spirit (from Haitian)
guandú (l) - small green pea-like legume
Mangú - dish of mashed plantains
mangulina - a variant of folk music
mañé - Haitian
mofongo - a dish made from meat and mashed plantains
mondongo - dish made from cow intestines, tripe
tutumpote - rich, powerful individual
bonche - fun, party, clique
chin / chinchin - a little bit / a little bit
motoconcho - motorcycle for individual passenger transport
guagua - bus, coach

Reputation of Dominican Spanish inside and outside the country

It is believed that the closer they get to the European norm, the more prestigious Spanish varieties are. Dominican Spanish is the worst of all varieties, as there are many deviations from this norm and, among other things, due to African language influences. These assessments and the resulting uncertainty on the part of the Dominicans give the variety a low reputation. Nevertheless, the Dominicans remain loyal to their variety even if they no longer live directly on the island. Their language is considered the most important and unchangeable hallmark of their Dominican identity . As a symbol of a national and individual identity, one can speak of a “covert prestige”. The term comes from English and means that the Dominican variety does not find any prestige among other Spanish speakers, but is highly regarded among the Dominicans themselves. Nevertheless, there are dialects within the country, each assigned a different social status. The dialect of the capitaleño has the highest rank in the Dominican Republic, the dialect in the rural region of the Cibao, however, the lowest. Often the latter is used in comedies due to its pronunciation of the liquid at the end of the syllable. The Dominicans also try to differentiate themselves from the Haitians, as they attach great importance to their Hispanicity . Therefore, racist expressions are often used against Haitians.

See also

literature

  • Barbara E. Bullock, Almeida Jacqueline Toribo: Kreyol Incursions into Dominican Spanish . In: Bilingualism and Identity: Spanish at the Crossroads with Other Languages. Published by Mercedes Nino-Murcía and Jason Rothman. John Benjamin, Amsterdam 2008, ISBN 978-90-272-4148-1 , pp. 175-198.
  • John M. Lipski: Latin American Spanish . Longman, London 1994, ISBN 0-582-08760-0 .
  • Stefan Barme: On the use of the pronoun «ello» in Dominican Spanish. In: Journal of Romance Philology , ISSN  0049-8661 , Vol. 127 (2011), pp. 352-359.
  • Andre Klump: Lexical Aspects of Spanish in the Dominican Republic. In: Heike Brohm, Claudia Eberle, Brigitte Schwarze (eds.): Erinnern - Gedächtnis - Vergessen. Contributions to the 15th Colloquium of Romance Studies. Romanistischer Verlag, Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-86143-109-2 .
  • Hanna Rudorff: Varieties of Spanish: Caribbean and Central America. In: Joachim Born (Hrsg.): Handbuch Spanish: Language, literature, culture, history in Spain and Hispanoamerica. Schmidt, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-503-09875-0 , pp. 98-108.
  • María Vaquero De Ramírez: Antillas. In: Manuel Alvar (ed.): Manual de dialectología hispánica - El español de América. Ariel Lingüística, Barcelona 1996, ISBN 84-344-8218-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barbara E. Bullock: Kreyol incursions into Dominican Spanish . P. 176. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b John M. Lipski. Latin American Spanish . P. 239.
  3. ↑ a b c d Lipski. Latin American Spanish . P. 241.
  4. ↑ Bullock. Kreyol Incursions . P. 176.
  5. ↑ Bullock. Kreyol Incursions . P. 176f.
  6. ↑ Lipski. Latin American Spanish . P. 238.
  7. ↑ María Vaquero de Ramírez. Antillas . P. 55.
  8. ↑ Sonia Colina. No 'double plurals' in Dominican Spanish . P. 541ff. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. ↑ María Vaquero de Ramírez. Antillas . P. 61.
  10. ↑ María Vaquero de Ramírez. Antillas . P. 64.
  11. ↑ Stefan Barme On the use of the pronoun <<ello>> in Dominican Spanish . P. 6f. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  12. ^ Stefan Barme. About the use of the pronoun <<ello>> in Dominican Spanish . P. 3f.
  13. ↑ a b Lipski. Latin American Spanish . P. 242.
  14. ↑ Vaquero de Ramírez. Antillas . P. 62f.
  15. ^ Lipski: Latin American Spanish . P. 235ff.
  16. ↑ Andre Klump. Lexical Aspects of Spanish . P. 352ff.
  17. ↑ Lump. Lexical Aspects of Spanish . P. 352.
  18. ↑ Lipski. Latin American Spanish . P. 243.
  19. ^ Hanna Rudorff: Varieties of Spanish: Caribbean and Central America. In: Joachim Born (Hrsg.): Handbuch Spanish: Language, literature, culture, history in Spain and Hispanoamerica. P. 101.
  20. ↑ a b Bullock. Kreyol Incursions . P. 179f.
  21. ^ Almeida Jacqueline Toribio. Language Variation and the Linguistic Enactment of Identity among Dominicans . P. 1133.
  22. ↑ Toribio. Language variation . S1133ff.