Delicate question regarding native Spanish speakers

Question

I have a neighbor who was born and raised in the U.S., but who cannot (or doesn't know how to) speak English correctly. For example: "That ain't right! and He don't ever do what he's 'sposed to, etc." These are ingrained patterns. My question is, since I am not fluent in Spanish, how do I know whether or not I am picking up bad habits from some of my Spanish speaking friends? When listening/speaking to them, I'm not concentrating on grammar, but rather the message. I ask a lot of questions and I mimic a lot. But, the last time I heard my American friend speaking like this, it gave me pause. How do I know that I'm not speaking the same way in Spanish?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Great question. As you know, your level of language is directly associated with your education (or schooling) and upbringing. If your bilingual friends are fluent in English but at a very low level, chances are their Spanish may be as bad.

However, I know plenty of people who speak broken English just because their native tongue is so ingrained in them, that they do not manage to pick up English well. These folks usually speak good Spanish.

Some dead giveaways include:

nadien (instead of nadie)

haiga (instead of haya)

flipping r's to l's (comel vs. comer; dolmil vs. dormir)

failure to pronounce the "s" (¿Cómo etá? vs. ¿Cómo estás?)

Poor writing: ahy (vs. ahí or hay), cansión vs. canción; corasón vs. corazón

And a myriad of Anglicisms, including:

la norsa (the nurse vs. la enfermera)

el rufo (the roof vs. el techo)

la maLqueta (the market vs. el mercado)

la caLpeta (the carpet vs. la alfombra)

el liqueo (the leak vs. la gotera).

I hope this helps!

very interesting - could you add misspellings such as halla/hallan etc, (should be haya/hayan) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 1, 2012

Very interesting. I hear this with the music of Wisin y Yandel and Daddy Yankee. One of my students was flipping the r's to l's. Thank you! - rheit, Oct 1, 2012

It helps more than you can imagine. I'd rather speak at the level of a child and do it correctly. I cringe at the way I hear English spoken by some people born and raised in the U.S. It's not a moral judgement; just an observation. - island_fever, Oct 1, 2012

I have copied and pasted this for my notes. - island_fever, Oct 1, 2012

I thought maybe I'd clarify what I said. Wisin y Yandel drop the "s" sometimes. I'm sure it's part of the personae they wish to portray. Daddy Yankee drops the "s" and a lot of other endings. Slang. - rheit, Oct 2, 2012