Puerto Rican Spanish
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Puerto Rican Spanish (español puertorriqueño) is a Spanish dialect spoken in Puerto Rico and by people of Puerto Rican descent elsewhere.
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[edit] Taino influence
When the Spanish settlers colonized Puerto Rico in the early 16th century, many thousands of Taíno people lived on the island. Taíno words like hamaca (meaning “boom”) and hurakán (meaning "hurricane") and tobacco came into general Spanish as the two cultures blended. Puerto Ricans still use many Taíno words that are not part of the international Spanish lexicon. The Taino influence in Puerto Rican Spanish is most evident in geographical names, such as Mayagüez, Guaynabo, Humacao or Jayuya.
[edit] African influence
African slaves replaced the Taíno natives as they died out or mixed with Spanish settlers. Although 31 different African tribes were recorded in Puerto Rico, it was the Kongo from Central Africa that impacts Puerto Rican Spanish the most. Many Kongo words and elements of Kongo syntax influenced the way people in Puerto Rico speak Spanish today. The letter "r" replaces "d". "s" sounds before consonants and at the end of words are dropped or so soft you can't hear them. Pronouncing "l" instead of "r" ( Puelto Rico ) is thought to be a Kongo influence, since there are no r’s and s’s in Kongo and "R" is almost the same sound as "D". In most cases, where the "r" would be trilled in other dialects of Spanish, many Puerto Ricans pronounce it /h/, /x/ or even /χ/, though this is far more common in the southern areas of Puerto Rico, whereas in the northeast (the area around the capital) sometimes has English-like r's, due to English being taught from grades first or second up until twelfth. With some speakers j is pronounced similarly, but this is not a rule for all Puerto Ricans. When a word ends in a vowel and the next word begins with that same vowel sound, the two words are often slurred together in spoken Puerto Rican Spanish.
To roll everything into one example, take the phrases No quiero más de este pescado and Debo encender esta ropa vieja?. ("I don't want any more of this fish","Should I burn these old clothes?") They would be pronounced approximately /'no 'kjero 'ma 'dehte peh'kao/ and /'debo ensen'del 'ehta 'xopa 'bjeha/.
That said, the Africanism of Puerto Rican is only a thesis. Some Spanish southern dialects, especially Murcia, also change postvocalic r into [l]. As for the change of rr into a velar or glottal fricative sound ([x] or [h]), we must not rule out the possibility of an autonomous innovation which is not only Puerto Rican. In many Caribbean dialects, Cuba, Dominican Republic, northern Colombia and Venezuela, phoneme /r/ can have a velar or glottal reinforcement, [hr], this means, a glottal [h] or velar [x] can be heard before the trill [r]. What we find in Puerto Rican speech, also in parts of Cuba and the Dominican Republic, is the end of that sound change. The final stage of this innovation makes glottalized /r/, [hr], take on a velar-glottal voiceless realization, [x] or uvular [χ]. A similar innovation is found in Brazilian Portuguese dialects. The reason for this change is unknown, some point out an innovation caused by the pronunciation j which is usually a voiceless glottal fricative in Caribbean dialects, [h], as English h, compare European Spanish with a strong velar [x] for j. As Caribbean j is a soft glottal [h], the alveolar trill 'rr' can easily become velar [x], with no risk of merger. Thus, many Puerto Ricans pronounce jamón with [h] and Ramón with [x] and both words are clearly distinguished.
The velar pronunciation of 'rr' (similar to Dutch g in goede) is generally considered substandard in Puerto Rico and cultivated speakers tend to use the alveolar trill [r]. This is particularly true in singing. Also, the prestigious speech of San Juan usually has a trill so we can predict that the velar 'rr' will never become general in Puerto Rican speech even if some speakers feel very proud of this innovation and consider it part of Puerto Rican linguistic identity.
[edit] Spanish and European influences
Since most of the original settlers of Puerto Rico between the 15th and 18th Centuries came from Andalusia, the basis for most of Puerto Rican Spanish is Andalusian Spanish (particularly that of Seville), which might be influenced by Andalusi Arabic words and pronunciation. For example the endings -ado, -ido, -edo often drop intervocalic /d/ in both Seville and San Juan: hablado > hablao, vendido > vendío, dedo > deo (intervocalic /d/ dropping is quite widespread in coastal American dialects). It is also from Seville the merger of phonemes /s/ (coSer) and /θ/ (coCer) that are both pronounced /s/ in much of Andalusia and generally in all Latin America dialects. This merger is called 'seseo' and makes pairs like cocer/coser, abrazar/abrasar, has/haz, vez/ves homophonus. It is also an Andalusian trait the tendecy to weaken postvocalic consonants, particularly /-s/: 'los dos > lo do, 'buscar' > buhcá(l).
Canarian Spanish (from the Canary Islands off the coast of Western Sahara in Africa) also made a tremendous contribution to Puerto Rican Spanish as many Canarios came in hopes of establishing a better life in the Americas. Most Puerto Rican immigration in the early 19th century involved Canary Islands' natives. Even if most linguistic traits in Canarian Spanish were also inherited from Andalusian, Canarian Spanish is thought to be slightly influenced by Berber, as the Canary Islands' autochthonous inhabitants, the Guanche people, can be traced back to Ancient Phoenecians and other pre-Arab Northern African tribes. We must point out that most researchers on Spanish dialectology (as Manuel Alvar, former president of Spanish Real Academia) do not give support to this supposed Africanism on Canarian Spanish and those Caribbean dialects that developed under its influence. There is no linguistic trait in Canarian Spanish that is not found in Andalusia as Canarian is clearly a sixteenth century expansion of Andalusian Spanish. Guanche people, like Taínos in Puerto Rico, were linguistically assimilated to the language of southern Spanish settlers and their influence is basically found in local words, such as 'gofio' or 'zurrón'.
Canarian influence is indeed most present in the language of those Puerto Ricans who live in the mountains, who blended it with the vocabularies of the Taíno and escaped African slaves. Canarian and Caribbean dialects share a similar intonation which, in general terms, means that stressed vowels are usually quite long. The similarity between Puerto Rican and Canarian Spanish is really outstanding. At first hearing Puerto Ricans visiting Tenerife or Las Palmas are usually taken for Canarians from a distant part of the archipielago.
Later in the 19th century immigrants from Catalunya, the Balearic Islands, Asturias and Galicia and other European settlers -- mostly from France, Corsica, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and even some overseas Chinese -- settled in Puerto Rico. Words from these regions and countries joined the linguistic stew. Some people think that sound changes like velar /rr/ > [x] could have been reinforced by these migratory waves, especially under the influence of French settlers.
[edit] United States Influences and Puerto Rican Spanglish
During the Spanish-American War of 1898, United States forces conquered Puerto Rico. The U.S. Army and the early colonial administration tried to impose the English language on island residents. Between 1902 and 1948, the main language of instruction in public schools (used for all subjects except Spanish-language courses) was English, to such an extent that many neighboring Hispanophone countries considered Spanish to have been altogether forgotten in Puerto Rico (which did not happen). Consequently, many American English words are now found in Puerto Rican vocabularies. Although English has had an on-again, off-again status as a second official language of the Island, depending on which way the political winds are blowing from La Fortaleza (the governor's palace), the majority of Puerto Ricans today do not speak English at home. Spanish "remains" the mother tongue of Puerto Ricans,regardless of their political views.
Many third and fourth generation of Puerto Ricans who live in the United States borrow English words or phrases in mid-sentence in a phenomenon called "code-switching", more commonly characterized as "Spanglish". Puerto Rican writer Giannina Braschi publishes the first Spanglish novel, Yo-Yo Boing!, in 1998, a book that represents the "code-switching" linguistic experience of Latino immigrants in the United States.
Puerto Rico has representation in the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española) and has its own national academy along with all the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America.
[edit] Examples of typical Puerto Rican vocabulary
- Ay, Bendito= an oft-heard classic expression meaning "dear lord!","oh dear","that's too bad, what a shame" "that's the way things go" etc. An all-purpose phrase that can express pity, sarcasm, dimay, etc.
- AJONJOLI= sesame seeds and honey, made into a candy bar
- AMAPOLA= the red hibiscus flower
- ARRANCA PA'LANTE= get with it, start the engine, let's roll!
- AREYTO= a Taíno dance and ceremony
- BABILLA= street slang for bravery, boldness.
- BACHATA= a boisterous party or disorderly activity; an Africanism
- BATEY= the front yard of the compound, but with packed earth, not grass; a Taíno word. Originally it referred to a sport played by the tainos, not unlike soccer, which was played on such a ground.
- BOCHINCHE= a quarrel or gossip; an Africanism
- BODROGOS= Ugly or worn out shoes.
- BORICUA= a Puerto Rican, regardless of gender; derived from BORIKEN, the Taíno name for the Island
- BRISCA= the Spanish card game (Like Black Jack) from Naipe Briscia.
- BURUNDANGA= a big mixed-up dish of different things; an Africanism
- CACIQUE= the Taíno word for the chief of the tribe or clan
- CACO= A juvenile delinquent or a cheap hoodlum. Commonly used, almost pejoratively, towards fans or musicians of reggaeton music. It is similar to the British English word, chav. Also commonly spelled as "kako".
- CACULO= A type of big brown or black beetle
- CANGRIMANES= the Big Shots, the big talkers, the blow hards, derived from the English "congressman". It is the origin of the modern slang word cangri commonly used by reggaeton artists and fans, which is roughly equivalent to the American hip-hop slang word "tight"(i.e. excellent, of high quality).
- CAPICÚ= taken from the Basque language word for palindrome: a killer final move in a domino game, where the last bone played could fit on either end of the layout; if not once-in-a-lifetime, it's close.
- CASABE= a thin, cracker-like hardtack Taíno bread made from yucca roots
- CEMI= stone idols carved by the Taínos
- CHAVO= a penny or money in general; comes from octavo the 8th part of a Spanish real coin
- CHEQUERÉ= a percussion instrument, made of a large gourd surrounded by a network of beads, that is shaken to produce a rattly rhythm
- CHÉVERE= excellent! said to be a Yoruba word originally
- CHINA= a sweet orange, called naranja in other Spanish-speaking countries
- COLMADOS= country stores, the corner store
- COMAI= a contraction of comadre, godmother. A close woman friend.
- COMPAI= a contraction of compadre, godfather. A very close male friend.
- CONCUCO= a small hill of where yucca grows; a Taíno word
- COQUI= a small light brown tree frog, about the size of a nickel, native to the Island. Their loud bird-like two-note singing fills the tropical night air, and their songs fill the Puerto Rican heart with homesickness.
- CUATRO= a typical stringed instrument, smaller than a guitar, and larger than a mandolin, with five sets of doubled strings. Essential for traditional Puerto Rican Christmas music.
- CUCUBANO= firefly; a Taíno word
- DUJO= the stone stool, the throne of the Taíno caciques
- ESPARES= spark plugs, from English. (compare "bujías" in Spanish elsewhere)
- FICHA= in south and central areas, the U.S. 5 cents coin
- FOTUTO= a conch shell trumpet of the Taínos, also used in slavery times. In modern times it is used to refer to a megaphone
- FUFÚ= a juju or spell; an Africanism
- GANDINGA= a stew with pork tripe, kidneys, liver; an Africanism
- GOMAS= Tires, as in those used by a vehicle. It literally means rubbers.
- GUAGUA= a large passenger bus, a van or a light truck(i.e. a pick-up truck or an SUV), a Guanche word, also used in the Canary Islands. Basically, almost any large multi-passenger motor vehicle can be called a "guagua".
- GUARAGUAO= a large hawk seen in the mountains; a Taíno word
- GUINEO= a sweet banana, so named because they came from Africa
- GÜIRO= a traditional Caribbean rhythm instrument, made of a gourd with striations cut into its hard skin, scratched with long metal tines called puas set into a small wooden handle
- JANGUEAR= from English slang meaning to "hang out"
- JÍBARO= country folk
- JUEYES= sea crabs
- JUYILANGA= to getaway; escape
- LECHON= common pig (used to eat in Christmas with arroz con gandules)
- LECHON= very very old extremely big car (ex. old Chevrolet Impala, or older Ford LTD) with very damaged body parts
- MAHONES= Jeans. This is the plural form. The singular form is "mahón" which is used to mean denim.
- MAVÍ= semi-fermented sweet tea made from a tropical tree bark, like home-made root beer on steroids
- MACETA= a cheapskate, skinflint
- MALANGA= a tropical root
- NA'MA'= No more, that's all (nada más )
- PA'CA= over here (para aca)
- PA'LLA= over there (para alla)
- PALO= a drink of rum, a snort; can also mean a tree or a whack with a stick
- PANA= your close friend, your buddy; from breadfruit (panapén ) or maybe it's from English "partner" or "podnah" as pronounced in Florida and Louisiana
- PAVA= the distinctive palm straw hat used by JIBAROS and sugarcane workers in the early 20th century; now a symbol of the PPD Popular Party
- PEGAO= the rice that sticks to the very bottom of the cauldron and gets crunchy; considered the best part by many boricuas
- PELAO= flat, stone broke
- PERRA= a penny, 1 cent, derived from the Spanish "Perra", a mid-19th century 5-peseta coin (similar in color and size to an American penny) that featured the (poorly sketched) profile of a lion, which reminded Spaniards of a dog. However, this can also be a severely insulting term equivalent of the English word b***.
- PESETA= a quarter, 25 cents, which is similar in size and color to a Spanish peseta coin of the late 19th century.
- PESO= a dollar
- PINCHOS= literally, "thorns" a popularquiosco snack of pieces of meat, shish-kabob style, cooked with a sweet barbeque sauce over natural wood charcoal. The meat is interspersed with chunks of cooked plátano. From basque pintxoak, traditional basque snacks on a stick.
- PLAYERO= a sleeveless T-shirt, popular at the beach (playa ). It's also the name given to the mullet hairstyle.
- PON= a ride/lift (usually by car). Example: "¿me das pon?" ("would you give me a ride?").
- PUBLICO= a van which drives a set route between the main plazas of towns, taking passengers for a set fee; reasonable transportation (but slow.)
- QUORA OR CUORA= 25 cents U.S. money (Called Quarter Dollar): however, this is hardly used anymore, and is more commonly seen as how some Puerto Ricans mispronounce "quarter" when speaking English.
- QUESITO= a pastry with cream cheese inside a flakey crispy crust with sugar frosting, syrup or honey on it. Literally translates as "little cheese"
- QUIOSCO= the popular kiosk or roadside stand selling all manner of fruits, snacks and frituras. Also refers to a concession stand such as those seen in carnivals or parks.
- REVOLU= A mess. Comes from the Spanish revolcar which means to scramble or to disarrange.
- SENCILLO= a dime, ten cents, it also means easy, like for example "El examen estaba sencillo." (The test was easy)
- TECA= from the Cuban slang word for heroin, "manteca" (lard)
- TECATO(A)= drug addict
- TEMPORAL= a hurricane
- TUMBAO= that highly desirable African sexiness, the impossible to describe "It" factor
- VACILÓN= hanging out, chillin'. it also means a noisy racket
- VAGUADA= a spell of rainy weather when a cold air mass from the continent comes down into the Caribbean basin on its way to Africa
- VELLON= a dime, 10 cents (although in some areas vellón is a nickel, math books established the vellón as the dime)
- VELLONERA= a jukebox, from the old days when they operated on nickels
- WEPA= yo, hey, go for it, yeah, cool
- WIKEN= an Anglicism, the weekend
- ¿Y QUE?= roughly the equivalent of "So what!" in English
- Y TU ABUELA…= literally, "And your grandmother?" but not as aggressive as "Yo'Mama" in present-day English. Closer to "Who's Your Daddy?" meaning don't forget where you came from. Comes from a famous Negroide poem Y TU AGÜELA AONDE EJTA where somebody hid their grandmother because she looks too African.
- ZAFACÓN= trash can; the theory that it comes from the English words "safety can," supposedly an old military expression, is unsupported by fact
