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Puerto Rican and Cuban, most flavor and most fun to conversate with...words flow off smoother and faster. Spain/Latin American accents freak me out, sounds like they got something mushy in their mouth.
We have to realize that the people in Puerto Rico speak that way for a reason. They are not physically incapable of pronouncing certain letters, they just don't. And part of the reason is because of the great influence immigration from the south of Spain had on these islands. And, the influence of other languages (English, French, etc...). It was also LARGELY influenced by the African slaves brought to Puerto Rico by the Spaniards because the Tainos were dying off, ravaged by smallpox and other diseases brought by the Europeans. There are words used in P.R. from the language of the Tainos. The most influential African tribe in Puerto Rico was the Kongo from Central Africa. In the Kongo Language there is no real "R" sound, so the "R" is turned into an "L" sound. There are no "S" sounds, so Puerto Ricans drop the "S" as the ends of words. The "D" sounds are also sometimes very soft or not pronounced at all. Like in P.R. "nada mas" would be "Na'ma'." There are many African words incorporated into the language as well, such as "tumbao'" which is a sort of slang for African sexiness.
Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico is similar (in accent, word usage and tone) to other caribbean spanish countries (cuban, venezuelan, dominican, panamanian) and southern spain spanish (canarias, western andalucia). Puerto Ricans, just like Andalucians in Spain and Canarios in the Canary Islands, tend to ''breath in'' the S word if the S is the last letter in the word in some words. the number 2 'DOS' might sound like DOH. Mexicans and some central americans do the opposite, they over pronounce the consonants and under pronounce the vowels, a mexican pronouncing DOS might sound like DHSS
I think it's arrogant for Spaniards to assume Puerto Ricans to relate them in language. You have many people in the island who speak "Proper Spanish" (as if Spaniards or Latin Americans speak Proper Spanish on the regular)..but you have to respect the culture and the influence of Taino/African lineage that has impacted the life and language in Boriken.
Last edited by EatFightSexSleep; 04-29-2013 at 01:29 PM..
Also, people often forget (or simply don't know) that the Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands has been heavily influenced by the Spanish spoken in the Spanish Caribbean. There was massive migration from the Canaries to Cuba/Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico and Venezuela and some parts of Mexico. Of those that migrated to the first three, a large number also moved back to the Canaries and then others, after moving back to the Canaries, then moved back to the Spanish Caribbean.
This is why native Spaniards from the Canary Islands often used words of Taino origin (such as guagua), despite that Tainos never lived on those islands.
When it comes to the Canary Islands, its much more proper to say that their Spanish dialect is similar to the ones in the Spanish Caribbean than vice versa. Aside from the cultural influence that this genetic presence means, this also means that on the three islands of the Spanish Caribbean and on the Canary Islands themselves there are perhaps millions of people that are distant cousins spread through all of those places.
Most of the whites in three Spanish Caribbean islands (and the white ancestry of most of the mixed race segment) is of Canary Island origin.
This is why native Spaniards from the Canary Islands often used words of Taino origin (such as guagua), despite that Tainos never lived on those islands.
There is no evidence that "guagua" is of Taino origin. actually, "guagua" is also used in other countries settled by Canarians, like Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Occam's razor, and all that.
Wht do you mean by 'no accent'? Anyone can hear a Colombian accent from miles.
The typical American accent practiced for television is generally pretty clear. That's what I referred to when I mentioned Colombians.
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It's not a lisp. Do you lisp when you say "think"? Why don't you say "zink" like the French or the Germans?
I meant the lisp sound. And do you mean why don't I make an accent sound that Germans and French people make when they try to speak English? Spaniards tend to speak with the "lisp" sound in their own tongue. I don't even think there is an English equivalent to such a thing. Except maybe the way Englishmen say schedule.
There is no evidence that "guagua" is of Taino origin. actually, "guagua" is also used in other countries settled by Canarians, like Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Occam's razor, and all that.
In some South American countries the word guagua is used to refer to a baby and over there its a corruption from a word native to the Quechua people (Native Americans). But in the Spanish Caribbean the origin is Taino, even though there are some that dispute that claiming that it derives from the name of an American bus company. Despite all of that, all Canarian linguist agree that the word was introduced into the Canary Islands from the Spanish Caribbean, not vice versa.
Anyway, guagua is only one of many Taino words that are currenlty in use in the Canary Islands and all were introduced from the Spanish Caribbean, the original home of the Taino people.
People often forget that the first place that the Spanish arrived as they migrated to all regions of America was the Spanish Caribbean and they often spent months there until they managed to get to the mainland.
The constant back and forth migration from the Spanish Caribbean to the Canaries transported many words native from one region to another and vice versa. Due to the constant flows of people through the Spanish Caribbean, many Taino words were spread beyond the islands and some have even gained global usage.
The word hurricane is a perfect example of this. It derives from the Taino word huracan. The original Spanish word for this type of storm is ciclon which translates to cyclone and this word is also in used in the Spanish Caribbean as well as in other parts of the world.
Some other Taino words that are now used in many places far from the Caribbean are tobacco, barbeque, canoe, hammock, maracas, cassava along with many other words.
On another but sort of related note:
Last edited by AntonioR; 04-30-2013 at 06:30 AM..
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Ghettonese spanish style
Spaniards tend to speak with the "lisp" sound in their own tongue. I don't even think there is an English equivalent to such a thing. Except maybe the way Englishmen say schedule.
