Puerto rican speaking spanish: How about the Puerto Rican Accent?
How to learn Puerto Rican Spanish
Not all Spanish is the same. We’ve talked about Chilean Spanish and the difference between Spain Spanish and Mexican Spanish before. Another accent to appreciate the diversity of the Spanish language is to learn Puerto Rican Spanish.
This article will teach you about specific pronunciation, words, and phrases unique to the island. Of course, the best way to learn Puerto Rican Spanish is to go there and immerse yourself. We’ll help you hit the ground running for your next trip to Puerto Rico or to speak with your Puerto Rican friends.
- Why is Puerto Rican Spanish different?
- How to learn Puerto Rican Spanish?
- Puerto Rican Spanish pronunciation
- Puerto Rican Spanish words
- Puerto Rican Spanish phrases
- Hear diversity in the Spanish language
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Why is Puerto Rican Spanish different?
Every Spanish-speaking country has a unique vocabulary and accent.
Puerto Rican Spanish is different due to its history and culture. Puerto Rican Spanish words draw influence from the three main eras of Puerto Rican history: pre-Columbian indigenous times, Spanish colonial era, and the U.S. colonial period.
The indigenous cultures of Puerto Rico are referred to as Taíno. Influences of different Taíno languages still exist in Puerto Rican Spanish words. For example, Puerto Ricans call themselves Boricua (Puerto Rican) from the local Taíno word for the island, Boriken.
Four hundred years as a Spanish colony not only brought the Spanish language to the Boricuas, but African languages as well. The Spanish brought enslaved people from Africa to Puerto Rico. We can still observe African influence on Puerto Rican Spanish words such as mofongo (a Puerto Rican dish of plantains and pork) and bochinche (gossip). Rich African influence is also evident in Puerto Rican music through samba, cumbia, and marimba.
Finally, there are a number of Puerto Rican Spanish words influenced by English from England and the U.S. such as un bonche (a bunch) and un sipi (a sip).
All of these cultural and historical influences combined over the course of hundreds of years, developing a distinct and beautiful Puerto Rican Spanish.
How to learn Puerto Rican Spanish
The rhythm, pronunciation, words, and phrases of Puerto Rican Spanish are distinct. We can focus on how to learn Puerto Rican Spanish with the three elements: pronunciation, words, and phrases.
Puerto Rican Spanish pronunciation
There are lots of different accents in Spanish. Spanish learners will notice immediately the pronunciation of Puerto Rican Spanish is distinct. Here are the key pronunciation differences to help you learn Puerto Rican Spanish.
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Rs turn to Ls
Puerto Ricans will replace some middle Rs with an L sound.
Standard: puerto (door)
Puerto Rico: “puelto”
Standard: suerte (luck)
Puerto Rico: “suelte”
Standard: por qué (why)
Puerto Rico: “pol qué”
Drop the middle S
Puerto Ricans don’t always pronounce the “s” in the middle of words.
Standard: los niños (the kids)
Puerto Rico: “lo niño”
Standard: viste (you saw)
Puerto Rico: “vite”
Drop the final D
Puerto Ricans won’t always pronounce the “d” at the end of words.
Standard: verdad (truth)
Puerto Rico: “verda”
Standard: hablado (spoken)
Puerto Rico: “hablao”
Standard: asada (roasted)
Puerto Rico: “asao”
Cut the word in half
Frequently spoken words may be chopped completely in half.
Standard: para (for, to)
Puerto Rico: “pa”
Example: “pa allá” (over there)
Standard: está (it/he/she is, you are)
Puerto Rico: “tá”
Example: “¿como tá?” (How are you?)
The best way to learn Puerto Rican Spanish without going there is to watch TV.
YouTube has good examples of Puerto Ricans speaking, and for general Spanish we recommend these telenovelas.
Puerto Rican Spanish words
Slang words and phrases are a big part of how to learn Puerto Rican Spanish. We’ve covered Mexican Spanish slang before. Let’s add some Puerto Rican Spanish words to your dictionary.
- Boricua (a Puerto Rican, the demonym for Puerto Rican people)
- paquetero (liar)
- jevo/jeva (boyfriend/girlfriend)
- chanchullo/chanchulla (scammer)
- lengüetero (a person that talks too much)
Always expand your vocabulary with challenging new words.
Puerto Rican Spanish phrases
Here are a couple of phrases to help you learn Puerto Rican Spanish and sound like a local.
Los trapos sucios se lavan en casa.
Meaning: Don’t air your dirty laundry. Resolve your personal problems privately, at home.
A calzón quitao.
Meaning: without fluff; straight up
Example: Voy a decirlo a calzón quitao.
(I’m going to tell it straight)
Darse un patatú.
Meaning: to give a heart attack, sudden illness, or shock
Example: Me dío un patatú. (It gave me a heart attack)
Hear diversity in the Spanish language
Whether you’re planning a visit or are just curious, learning Puerto Rican Spanish can help your overall Spanish skills. One great way to learn Puerto Rican Spanish is to watch movies and videos to get used to the Puerto Rican accent. Learning Puerto Rican Spanish also depends on your ability to pick up the unique pronunciation, words, and phrases. The more accents you hear, the more comfortable you will be speaking Spanish with anyone no matter what country they come from.
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Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture.
Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Czech and Turkish. Her tech copywriting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on Twitter.
Understanding Puerto Rican Spanish — Spanish and Go
/
Ana Cris Chávez
Table of Contents
If you’ve ever been confused about the differences among accents and dialects within the Spanish-speaking world, you’re not alone. From the way certain letters are pronounced (c, s, and z for example) to the various meanings a word can have (such as chingar or coger) Spanish is, without a doubt, a kaleidoscopic language.
Today, we’re taking a closer look at one dialect in particular: Puerto Rican Spanish. You’ve probably heard this variety of Spanish a lot recently due to the success of its music artists. Names like Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Bad Bunny, and Calle 13 have contributed to making Puerto Rican Spanish one of the most popular variants of the Caribbean region.
Throughout history, this 9,104 km² island has been a melting pot where radically different cultures have converged, each of them contributing their own linguistic elements to the local dialect.
Many of the characteristics that we are going to talk about aren’t exclusive to Puerto Rican Spanish. They are shared, to some degree, by other Caribbean countries and even South American countries like Colombia and Venezuela. Also, although we will address the most common way of talking in Puerto Rico, it’s important to bear in mind that this varies from one social group to another, depending on the generation or the social class they belong to.
And as many Puerto Ricans will tell you, there are differences depending on what part of the island you visit.
But why don’t we go pasito a pasito. Let’s start by talking about those pronunciation habits that, by being entirely different from standardized Spanish, often cause trouble to Spanish learners.
Accent and Pronunciation
Dropping the D Sound
In the Isla del Encanto, words that end in -ado, -ido or -edo often drop the D sound in between the two vowels, resulting in words like:
cansado – cansao
partido – partío
dedo – deo
Aspiration of the S
Boricuas aspirate the S sound when it’s located at the end of the syllable, so it´s common to hear:
Turning the simple R into L
When positioned at the end of a syllable, the simple R is often replaced with an L.
Puerto Rico – Puelto Rico
Voy a surfear.
– Voy a sulfeal.Deja de taparte. – Deja de tapalte.
– Voy a sulfeal.Turning the rolled R into H
Puerto Ricans from outside of San Juan commonly articulate the rolled R as a gluttoral H. This may be the biggest transformation as we won’t find anything similar in any other dialect of Spanish.
carro – caho
perro – peho
arroz – ahoz
This unique aspect of Puerto Rican Spanish is often attributed to French immigration to the island, especially on the west coast. Large numbers of French immigrants settled along the coast between Aguadilla and Mayagüez, infusing a more French sounding R into the vernacular.
Unvoiced Pronunciation of Syllables
Some words are shortened by the unvoiced pronunciation of whole syllables.
para – pa
está – tá
todo – to
All these characteristics result from the various influences received by Puerto Ricans over time.
Let’s have a look at some of them.
Linguistic Influences
Taino Influence
The pre-Columbian inhabitants of the island were the Taino people. Some say they had the strongest influence on the Spanish of that region as Taino was the first native language the Spaniards had contact with upon their arrival to the continent in 1492.
Conquerors adopted the Taino names for the things of which no name existed in their own language, and its diffusion was such that other native groups abandoned their own terms to replace them with Taino words. Nowadays, Taino can be found not only in different Spanish dialects but also in many other languages, with words like
huracán = hurricane
hamaca = hammock
guayaba = guava
Spanish Influence
With the arrival of Christopher Colombus to Borinquen during his second trip to the continent, the island became a Spanish colony under the name of San Juan.
It was during the 1520s that the name of the island and the name of the port – San Juan and Puerto Rico – were switched. From this moment on, Spanish started gaining ground until it became the main language among the islanders.
Some specialists claim that the Caribbean dialect demonstrates that most colonists came from Andalusia and the Canary Islands, as people from these places turn the L into a simple R (último – úrtimo) which is the exact opposite of what Caribbeans do. However, few cases have been detected where people from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic switch L for R.
On the other hand, there is another group of linguists that explains this R-L change with a different influence: the arrival of African slaves.
African Influence
In the 16th Century, due to the decline of Taino slaves, Africans were brought to the island to compensate for the decrease in labor force. Moreover, after the Haitian Revolution (and the resulting dismantling of all sugar cane plantations in the former French colony) Puerto Rico, together with Cuba and the Dominican Republic, became the most important region for the sugar cane industry, with an even higher demand for slave labor.
These African people brought with them new words that were incorporated not only into Puerto Rican Spanish but also into most other dialects as well, such as
Many Puerto Rican Spanish words come from African languages.
As previously mentioned , some scholars affirm that certain African pronunciation habits were also adopted by Boricuas, but this statement is still up for discussion.
English Influence
In 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, Spain lost its lasts colonies (Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines). Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States and, since then, there has been a fluctuating interest in spreading the use of English among the inhabitants of the Estrella del Caribe.
This triggered the development of what is probably the most controversial feature of some Spanish dialects: the presence of English, which can be expressed in various forms. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Placing the Subject Pronoun Before the Verb
Normally the subject pronoun is not mentioned in Spanish as it is implied by the verb. However, sometimes we might use it as it allows us to make emphasis or contrast. When doing so, the subject pronoun is placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. For example,
¿Tú de qué hablas? / ¿De qué hablas tú?
¿Tú qué quieres? / ¿Qué quieres tú?
Ya tú sabes. / Ya sabes tú.
In Puerto Rico, on the other hand, the subject pronoun is placed right before the verb, like in English.
¿Cómo tú estás?
¿De qué tú hablas?
¿Qué tú quieres?
Spanglish: Using English Words and Phrases
Certain English words and phrases are used instead of its equivalent in Spanish.
La party estaba full y la gente era súper cool.
Take it easy, todo va a estar bien.
Vámonos de shopping.
Hispanizing English Words
Sometimes, in the process of adopting English words, Puerto Ricans transform these to resemble or to be used as Spanish words.
Puerto Rican Spanish: Parquié el carro frente al mall.
English: I parked the car in front of the mall.
Generic Spanish: Estacioné el carro frente al centro comercial.
…young people use Spanglish differently from their elders, just as immigrants use a type of Spanglish that is unlike the Spanglish spoken by second-generation Latinos.
— Ilan Stavans, New York Times
This interplay between English and Spanish, commonly known as Spanglish or code-switching, is not exclusive to Puerto Rico.
There are other variants, such as Tex-Mex (in the south of the United States and north of Mexico), Dominicanish (in the Dominican Republic), Nuyorican (spoken by Puerto Ricans living in New York), and Cubonics (used by Cubans who live in Florida), among others.
Furthermore, “…within those nationally defined groups, young people use Spanglish differently from their elders, just as immigrants use a type of Spanglish that is unlike the Spanglish spoken by second-generation Latinos.” -Ilan Stavans, New York Times
In 1977, the first literary work written in Spanglish was published: Pollito Chicken by Puerto Rican writer Ana Lydia Vega. There is even a Spanglish dictionary which was created some years ago, in 2003, by Mexican linguist Ilan Stavans. It’s called Spanglish: The making of a New American Language, and it gathers 6,000 words that emerged from the fusion between Spanish and English. He says that the potential of Spanglish is such that, if its grammar and syntax achieve standardization, it will be considered a language in of itself.
Resources for Learning Puerto Rican Spanish and Slang
Want help understanding Puerto Rican Spanish? We have a few resources that can help you.
First, you can check out our blog post where we explain dozens of different Puerto Rican slang words and terms.
Next up is Gritty Spanish, an audio-based program designed to increase your listening comprehension. Unlike other audio methods, you’ll hear a lot of slang and dramatic conversations. While some of the voice acting sounds a bit sensational or grotesque, it’s full of vocabulary you’re bound to hear in the streets.
Another great resource is a book called Speaking Boriqua (A Practical Guide to Puerto Rican Spanish). While you won’t get to hear audio examples of how the different words sound with this book, you will learn a lot of vocabulary and phrases that are extremely common here on the island.
And don’t forget that no course can totally replace finding an actual person you can talk to in Spanish.
That’s why we specifically pick italki as a great resource to practice your carribean Spanish skills. Puerto Rican teachers are hard to come by on the platform, so you can also search for Dominican and Venezuelan teachers who have a similar accent. Sign up here.
Final Thoughts
These characteristics of the Puerto Rican dialect do not impede the effective communication with Spanish speakers from other places. There’s no doubt that there are still many things for us to learn about this dialect and the Spanish language in general but, after this quick look, it’s clear that this flavor of Spanish is undoubtedly a reflection of the cultural richness found in Puerto Rico.
Images via pxhere (mouth), Wikimedia (flags).
Mexican Spanish vs Puerto Rican Spanish [16 BIG Differences]
Spanish Accents from Different Countries [Guess the Dialect]
Spanish accents and dialects vary from country to country. And with over twenty Spanish-speaking countries around the world, you can hear a wide variety of common words and phrases, as well as trends in pronunciation that characterize each region.
In this video we collaborate with friends from all over the Spanish-speaking world to help you recognize some of these differences.
Mexican Spanish Slang Phrases to Help You Sound Like a Local
Mexican Spanish Slang Phrases: A great way to prepare yourself for a trip to Mexico to both better understand the people and the culture. Once you know how words and phrases like “órale” are used, you’ll be one step closer to sounding like a Mexican, or at least closer to impressing the locals with some vocabulary they aren’t expecting you to have.
Ricky Martin regrets hiding his homosexuality
- Mark Savage
- BBC Music Reviewer
18+
Image copyright, Getty Images
Image caption
Martin just starred in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Puerto Rican singer and actor Ricky Martin admitted to wasting his energy hiding his sexual orientation at the very beginning of his musical career.
Martin, 46, came out publicly as a homosexual in 2010 and recently married artist Jwan Yosef, with whom he has two children by surrogate mother.
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orientation.
“I was secretly homosexual and forced my partners to hide,” he said, admitting that he asked some partners to hide their orientation in his interests.
Martin says that he sometimes resorted to extreme measures in order to do everything possible to avoid gossip that could interfere with his career.
“I didn’t jump into new relationships, and I don’t even mean romantic relationships, I mean any relationship, because I didn’t want people to get to know me too well,” says the singer.
“I couldn’t even sit to chat with any of the great producers or filmmakers, because I was afraid that if they spent more than two hours talking with me, they would get to know me better.
Image copyright, Reuters
Image caption,
Martin confirmed that he tied the knot with artist Jwan Yosef in early 2018
Martin has previously said that it took him years to come to terms with his sexual orientation, and he was still worried about it, being at the height of his success in 1999.
“Even though I had relationships with men after I broke up with my first love, I still could not accept myself as a homosexual,” he wrote in his autobiographical book.
Puerto Rico born Enrique Martín Morales started acting in TV commercials at the age of nine, and at the age of 12 he was accepted into the boy pop group Menudo.
However, it was the song in English Livin’ La Vida Loca that brought him global popularity, and at the same time the first rumors about his sexual preferences appeared.
In 2000, American TV presenter Barbara Walters raised this issue on live television and asked Martin several times if he was homosexual. She later expressed regret about this, calling her importunity unacceptable.
However, the constant media gossip on this subject had a strong effect on Martin.
“At some moments I just hated myself,” he wrote in his book. “Because it was always presented through such a negative prism, as something scandalous or bad, that it only strengthened my desire to deny my emotions.”
Ricky Martin recently starred as the partner of the late designer Gianni Versace in the television series American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. According to him, he brought his own experience to this role.
“The level of injustice we faced as a community during those years was hard to deal with. I had already played all of those roles [in life] before I started this show.
So I’m just re-living it,” he said in an interview with Attitude magazine.
Who is the most famous Spaniard? – Celebrity.fm
1. Pablo Picasso . Pablo Picasso tops our list of the most famous Spaniards.
So, did Beckham learn Spanish?
The truth is, his Spanish wasn’t as bad as people think. He was clearly fluent in the language and cited his shyness for his lack of depth in his choice of words when saying goodbye. Beckham’s alleged “lack of fluency” did not seem to limit his ability as a Madrid player.
Moreover, who is the most famous Spanish singer?
6 famous Spanish-speaking singers that all students should know
- Shakira. Shakira’s music, one of the most popular contemporary Spanish-English crossover artists, has been awarded Grammys and Latin Grammys, making her one of the most successful artists in the world. …
- Ricky Martin. …
- Waist. …
- Mark Anthony. …
- Gloria Estefan. …
- Enrique Iglesias.
…Also Spaniards are Hispanics?
Some make a sharp distinction between the two terms, saying, for example, that Hispanics are people from Spain or Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America (this excludes Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language), while Hispanics are people from Latin America. America regardless of language (This includes…
What language do Real Madrid players speak?
He probably uses Spanish . Foreign Real Madrid players speak Spanish to their Spanish teammates. Outside the game, most likely everyone they use spanish
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can zidane speak spanish
zidane does not communicate in english except for a few sentences that zidane spoke in english in commercials or similar things, the frenchman is completely unfamiliar with the language.After spending years in Madrid as a player and coach, he learned to speak Spanish .
Who is the greatest Mexican singer of all time?
1. Vicente Fernandez (1940 -) Vicente Fernandez with an HPI index of 67.35 is the most famous Mexican singer. His biography has been translated into 26 languages on Wikipedia.
Are Mexicans Hispanic or Latino?
The OMB defines “ Hispanic or Latino” as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish origin or culture, regardless of race.
Filipinos Hispanic?
However, in the US context, Filipinos are classified as Asian and not Hispanic by inclusion of the US Census.
What is the difference between Hispanic and Latino?
Are you wondering what the difference is between “Hispanic” and “Hispanic”? While Hispanic generally refers to people with Hispanic ancestry, Hispanic is commonly used to refer to people of Hispanic origin. .
Does Bale speak English?
bale can and speaks Spanish , he just prefers to keep it to himself in public. … “He knows Spanish perfectly, the thing is that he is shy about using it, which seems normal to me. “I speak to him in Spanish and English , no difference. And I see that his commitment to the club is boundless.
What language does Messi speak?
Lionel Messi can speak Fluent Spanish and Catalan . He can only understand a few English phrases, but that’s all. As one of the best footballers in the world playing in Spain, he doesn’t need to speak any other language. Spanish is also the language of his native country, Argentina.
Who is the Real Madrid coach now?
Carlo Ancelotti is now officially the new manager of Real Madrid. The Italian coach has signed a contract that will keep him at the club for the next three seasons, accompanied by club president Florentino Pérez.
Does Messi speak English?
Lionel Messi can speak Spanish and Catalan fluently. He can only understand a few English phrases, but that’s all. As one of the best footballers in the world playing in Spain, he doesn’t need to speak any other language. Spanish is also the language of his native country, Argentina.
Who is the most famous Mexican American singer?
Most Popular Latin American Artists on Spotify
- J. Balvin, 57.8 million monthly listeners. …
- Bad Bunny, 45.1 million listeners per month. …
- Ozuna, 44.5 million listeners per month. …
- Daddy Yankee, 40.2 million listeners per month. …
- Camila Cabello, 36.9 million listeners per month. …
- Maluma, 35.5 million listeners per month.
Who is the most famous Mexican?
20 MOST FAMOUS MEXICANS OF ALL TIME
- Pancho Villa.
- Octavio Paz.
- Carlos Slim.
- Anthony Quinn.
- Carlos Santana.
- Emiliano Zapata.
- Moctezuma II.
- Frida Kahlo.
Who is the most famous rancher singer?
Pretty risky, but the results speak for themselves – El Hombre Que Más Te Amó won the 2011 Latin Grammy for best rancher album. Vicente Fernandez is still the most popular singer not only in the ranchera genre, but in all regional Mexican music.
What is my race if I am Hispanic?
Ethnicity categories
Hispanic or Latino: Human Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican , South or Central America, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term “Hispanic ancestry” may be used in addition to “Hispanic or Latino”.
Italian-Latino?
The word Latino is a Spanish word that has entered the English language. … Therefore, all Italians, French, Spaniards, Romanians and Portuguese, and all those Hispanics who speak Spanish or Portuguese (an English speaker from Jamaica does not fit) are Hispanics.
What is a non-Hispanic Latino?
Non-Hispanic whites (also called Anglo-Americans) are European Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, and North African Americans as defined by the US Census Bureau.
What does the Pinay girl mean?
Pinay Filipino woman especially with Filipino heritage living abroad. His male counterpart is Pinoy.
What race are the Filipinos?
The Philippines are collectively referred to as Filipinos. The ancestors of the vast majority of the population were Malay origin and came from the mainland of Southeast Asia, as well as from what is now Indonesia. Modern Philippine society is made up of nearly 100 culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups.
What is my race if I am Mexican American?
Ethnicity categories
Hispanic or Latino : A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish origin or culture, regardless of race.