Como Hablamos los Dominicanos

[NALs]

Since this is Spanish 101, here is the perfect introduction to Dominican spanish. This is an ebook (also available in hardcopy here in Santo Domingo, I'm not sure if its available in the exterior but the ebook version is PDF Adobe Acrobat and can be downloaded).

This book was produced by Grupo Leon Jimenes a few years ago in addition to other books to celebrate their 100th anniversary as a prominent Dominican firm.

This book focuses on Dominican Spanish, enjoy!

(Sorry for english speakers, this book is only available in Spanish)

http://glj.com.do/libro_comohablamos.htm

[AnnaC]

Thank you Nals,

Looks like an interesting book. Perhaps when you have time you could give us some of it in point form. Is it about how Dominicans speak and write it differently?

[Lesley D]

I saw this book at Librería Cuesta over a year ago and I decided not to buy it. I am glad that they have an on-line version (very strange imo). As though I don’t have enough on my plate to read but I will definitely go through this book. I glanced at the content again and I will read it now since it’s on-line.


LDG.

[juancarlos]

I read some of the chapters online y esta muy bueno. Aunque se necesita tiempo para leerlo.

[Lesley D]

I am making my way through the book very nicely. If anyone does decide to read it I suggest reading chapters 1,3,5 & 6. Chapter 2 focuses heavily on linguistic aspects in Dominican Spanish therefore may not be of interest to everyone or easy to understand. Chapter 4 is a long chapter but covers vocabulary aspects in detail. Chapter 7 contains conversations with Dominicans of various socioeconomic levels to show how speech patterns differ at each level.

I will be able to provide a book report very soon on chapters 1,3,5 & 6.



LDG.

[apdomini100max]

Great book!!! I will have a great time reading the book.

[NALs]

here is the same link, but to a different section of the Leon Jimenes web page. Here there are multiple books (all on PDF Adobe Acrobat, fully downloadable) for all to read. They focus on Dominican art, culture, etc.

All nicely done! Enjoy!

http://glj.com.do/centenario.htm

[Lesley D]

Book Review: Como hablamos los dominicanos

General overview of chapters 1, 3, 5 & 6

The objective of the book is to answer the infamous questions that many have: is Dominican Spanish the same as Spanish spoken in other countries and how do Dominicans speak?

Fundamentally, Dominican Spanish is the same and uses the same syntactical, lexical and phonetic structures as Spanish spoken in any other country. However, certain aspects of Dominican Spanish do make it distinct and unique, which gives it its own identity. In fact there are two tendencies in Dominican Spanish: conservadora (conservative), traditional speech patterns and elements are maintained and inovadora (innovative), which includes distinct phonetic patterns, sentence structure and the creation and adoption of new words. (See chapter 1, pg. 1 for examples). For those of you who always wonder “por qué se come la [s]” your questions and similar ones will be answered. (See chapter 1, pgs. 1-2)

Interestingly enough there is a subconscious inferiority in the minds of Dominicans with regards to Dominican Spanish and in the chapters to follow statistics reveal how Dominicans of all levels perceive Spanish spoken in the DR and in fact some prefer to live outside of the country. The lack of quality in DR Spanish is often compared to Spanish spoken in Spain, Colombia and even Costa Rica.

History & Overview of Dominican Spanish- Chapters 1 & 3

● Spanish spoken in the DR and all of the Caribbean based countries which includes Cuba, Puerto Rico, coastal Venezuela, coastal Colombia and Panamá have its roots in the linguistic properties of Andalucía combined with African languages spoken by the slaves for decades during the colonial period.

● As well, language can evolve differently in one area of the country compared to another. For example el Cibao vs. la capital.

● African elements also influence sentence structure and taino vocabulary is still very much a part of Dominican lexicology as well some archaic forms. (See chapter 1, pg. 3)

● In chapter one (the introductory chapter) thorough details are provided about typical aspects of DR Spanish from a syntactical, lexical and morphological point of view. Excellent fieldwork (imo) was done in revealing and compiling prime examples such as: changing of the [r] to [l] in words like puerta or amor, elimination of the [s] in plural forms of words and verbs forms, and surprisingly even a critique of one the most crucial verbal errors in my opinion which is the incorrect usage of the impersonal verb “haber”. As per the book (and I completely agree) many Dominicans perceive the pluralized form as correct but it is not. For example in the DR one will hear “habían dos mujeres” which s/b “había dos mujeres", "there were two women”.

Just to briefly explain, the forms of haber (present and past) should always be singular “hay”, “había” and “hubo” since it’s not an action verb (meaning there is no action being done by the “women”). The present tense form “hay” means “there is/are”. Notice that the form “hay” cannot be pluralized. This concept in addition to the function of verb justifies that there is no logic (nor does it make sense) to changing “hay” to a plural form when changing this phrase to the past tense. This usage for sure would not go over well in South America.

● A great study was provided on socio-linguistic variations. DR Spanish for the most part varies according to the social level of its speakers. Education and economic factors go hand in hand with the way an individual speaks, as well the amount of exposure to Spanish an individual has outside of the DR influences the speaker’s way of speaking i.e. choice of vocabulary, more or less dialectal speech, formal and informal address etc. However, there are incorrect speech patterns characteristic of Dominican Spanish that have become a norm at all social levels but would be rejected categorically in other countries where Spanish on the whole is considered “más culto”. (I highly recommend reading chapter 3, pages 5-9, 13-14 which provides detailed examples of speech patterns (incorrect but typical) of DR Spanish. Very enlightening!

A surprising example is: Al yo pasar por la puerta, se me manchó la camisa. (Chapter 3, pg. 10)

The correct form is: Al pasar por la puerta, se me manchó la camisa.

In chapter three, page 11 there are examples of irregular speech patterns such as the formation of questions, which does not follow the standard, and I have discussed this thoroughly in other threads. As well, some other grammatical concepts that I consider basic but whose usage is completely incorrect in the DR (and other areas of the Caribbean).

Summary-Chapters 5 & 6

● These two chapters expand on what was mentioned briefly in the introductory chapter with regards to la inseguridad lingüística de los dominicanos. According to the book there is a linguistic inferiority complex among Dominicans but at the same time “Dominican Spanish” represents a sense of uniqueness and pride that separates DR Spanish from Spanish spoken in other countries. However, the survey results reveal that there is a preference towards Spanish spoken in “la capital” in comparison to “el cibao” or better said it can be closer to becoming a “standard”.

● According to the book there is need to establish a standard however, it must be a standard established by “the educated” and the “erudite” group of Dominicans rather than adopting a foreign model or standard way of speaking (I completely agree with this point of view). As well, it was mentioned this standard s/b la tarjeta de presentación meaning Spanish spoken by journalists, commentators etc. thus having a respectable international perception.

● The spoken language, although defective in many areas is a “national” way of speaking and communicating. The lexical, morphological and syntactical structures are too deeply rooted to initiate change. As well, since there is a broad educational and social class gap the erroneous speech patterns exemplified in the book will remain a part of Dominican Spanish.

My summary:

Once again the fieldwork evidenced by the detailed examples is impressive. I was impressed by the honest critique of the flaws in Dominican Spanish. The examples evidence syntax structures and major grammar errors that are the norm in Dominican Spanish but definitely would conflict with Spanish spoken in other countries.

This is not the first book I have read of this nature but I must say one of the best. The timing was perfect because I had just finished reading a book on Puerto Rican Spanish (Dígalo bien… Que nada le cuesta: Repertorio de errores comunes en el español de Puerto Rico by Rosario Núñez de Ortega) of the same nature which also is a thorough reference on Puerto Rican socio-linguistics. The speech patterns etc. are identical as well as the flaws and erroneous concepts in DR Spanish. In brief all I will say is:

● There is big gap between “cultured” and “uncultured” Spanish in the DR (lo culto vs lo inculto)
● I have concerns with what is considered “grammatical” vs. “agrammatical”
● Deep rooted incorrect linguistic properties will remain as “characteristics of DR Spanish”
● I believe it’s acceptable to have a “ lenguaje popular” however; the written language should follow the correct grammatical structure of Spanish and one must have the knowledge as a speaker to decipher between the two.

Overall, I am very pleased with Grupo León Jimenes. Nals, this was an excellent recommendation. Many thanks!


LDG.

[AnnaC]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this book review Lesley.

[NALs]

Thank you Lesley for translating parts of the book. I know Anna asked me to do it, but I have been terribly busy lately. I hardly have time for DR1 anymore!

However, there is a slight error (nothing big) in your translation and it deals with the following which I quoted and to be more specific, I have put in bold:

Originally Posted by Lesley D

Book Review:
Interestingly enough there is a subconscious inferiority in the minds of Dominicans with regards to Dominican Spanish and in the chapters to follow statistics reveal how Dominicans of all levels perceive Spanish spoken in the DR and in fact some prefer to live outside of the country. The lack of quality in DR Spanish is often compared to Spanish spoken in Spain, Colombia and even Costa Rica.
LDG.

The book was actually comparing and explain why many Dominicans perceive our version of Spanish to be inferior. The book explains that it probably has to do with the overall pessimistic views the average Dominican has about the country in general, with the perception that anything from abroad is better than anything from here.

Then the author used to "some prefer to live outside of the country" to further elaborate on that notion of what's foreign is better. It's important to note that for many Dominicans, foreign things don't actually have to be better than local things, but just because the material is foreign, it will be perceived as better even if the local brand or style is much better in actuality.

This, according to the author, is reflected in the notion many Dominicans have about their language and their perceived inferiority. The book makes a good point in case (and I strongly believe in this, but then again, I am a very pro-Dominican everything type of guy ) that Dominican Spanish is not inferior to other Spanish variations. Our Spanish is simply different and identifies our culture, country, and people from the multitude of humanity that has variation of Spanish as their main language.

The other point that I would mention has to do with the following section of the same quote:

The lack of quality in DR Spanish is often compared to Spanish spoken in Spain, Colombia and even Costa Rica.

I think it would be much better if the word perceived would have been imbedded in between The and lack. This is to be clear as to what you think about Dominican Spanish and by not having the word "perceived" in the sentence, this gives me the feeling that you agree that Dominican Spanish is inferior to other versions.

I know you don't believe that, because I know you are a very respectful person towards everything and everyone, but my mind runs wild with these minor details.

Sorry to bother you for such minute thing, I guess I'm a detail freek!

Thank you again for taking the time to translating this for other non-Spanish speakers to enjoy!