Well, this is fascinating.
A Florida International University study has identified that there's a new formally recognized dialect of the English language appearing in Florida. They call it Miami English.
It's a form of English language influenced by the Cuban and Latin American population of South Florida, often using direct Spanish to English translation of phrases.
- "We got down from the car." — a literal translation of "bajar del carro." Used instead of "we got out of the car."
- "I made the line to pay for groceries."
- "He made a party to celebrate his son's birthday." — Make instead of throw, comes from "hacer una fiesta."
- "Marco and I went to a bar and he invited me a beer." — "invite" is commonly carried over into English by Spanish speakers to substitute for buying someone a beer, or a coffee, or a meal.
- "Alex got married with José." From the spanish "casarse con," which translates literally as "married with," instead of "married to."
- "Thanks God." — the "s" is borrowed from "gracias a Dios."
WaPo did a feature on this new dialect. You can watch it, and listen to it, here:
Yeah, that guy seems a little woke, but the research is cool.
It's like going to Louisiana and hearing Cajun English. Or hearing the way those uncultured Yankees up north say "pop" when they mean coke.
This is just a new development with all of the Cubans escaping communism and moving to Florida.
At least they're speaking English, even if it's sort of confusing.
Here's another prof talking about the study.
This is really cool and fascinating if you're interested in language.
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