Caribbean Spanish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caribbean Spanish (español caribeño) is the general name of the Spanish language dialects spoken in the Caribbean region.
More precisely, the term refers to the Spanish language as spoken in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, certain parts of Jamaica, Panama, Venezuela, the Caribbean regions of Colombia, and in the Gulf Coastal states of Veracruz and Tabasco in Mexico .
[edit] Phonetics and phonology
- /s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant may pronounced like [h] or not at all.
- j (/x/), is softer than in continental Spanish as the /h/ in English
- /n/ is pronounced /ŋ/ at the end of words ("con"="cong")
- /L/ is often confused with /r/ especially in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic
- /rr/ is often pronounced as /j/ and aspirated, especially in Puerto Rico (revolucion=jevolucion)
- Heavy usage of "tu" and "usted", often put before a phrase ("estas hablando"="tu ta'hablando")