Put me the light.
If that compels you to flip a light switch on, you’re probably from Miami.
Often gone unnoticed, this literal translation from Spanish to English is just one example of how immigration is shaping how English is spoken in Miami.
Phillip M. Carter, a sociolinguist in the FIU Department of English, has conducted research on Hispanic-English dialects in the United States, particularly in Texas and North Carolina. He has recently brought attention to the Miami English dialect through national and international media, including the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, CNN, CNN en Español, MSN Latino and BBC Mundo.
“Miami English is a systematic, rule-governed variety of English with subtle structural influence from Spanish. It’s spoken by native English speakers, mostly second-, third, and fourth-generation Latinos, who learn it as their first-language variety.”
Preliminary findings of Carter’s research on Miami English has found the difference in this variety lays in the pronunciation of vowels, intonation, stronger-sounding consonants, including the consonants “L” and “R,” and literal translations.
“Despite the fact that for most speakers this influence is ultimately very light, it can be extremely salient for English speakers unfamiliar with the dialect.”
The United States has long experienced waves of immigration since European settlers first arrived in the 1500s, including those from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and countries in Scandinavia. Miami English is no different than the varieties of English spoken in other parts of the country that have been influenced by these groups, including Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
“I think it’s important for our community to understand that what is happening in Miami has happened many times over in the history of the English language. It’s just that the time-depth of the language change is different. German influence on English in Pennsylvania happened about 200 years ago, whereas we get to see Spanish influence on English unfold before our very eyes.”
Carter hopes to undertake a large-scale study of the Miami dialect, which would involve interviewing speakers of different age groups and backgrounds. To him, the Miami English dialect is at the core of the city’s culture.
“Every dialect has its own history, and no one language variety is more or less correct than another,” Carter said. “It’s wrong to think of Miami English as ‘broken’ English or as a variety that is in any way less correct than any variety spoken anywhere else in the English-speaking world. Miami English is real English, and it’s a fundamental part of who we are.”
“It’s wrong to think of Miami English as ‘broken’ English or as a variety that is in any way less correct than any variety spoken anywhere else in the English-speaking world. Miami English is real English, and it’s a fundamental part of who we are.”
This excludes the Caucasians who have been in Miami for generations who grew up speaking traditional English. “Miami English” is not who they are. But they aren’t important, right?
“The United States has long experienced waves of immigration since European settlers first arrived in the 1500s,”
It wasn’t the “United States” back then.
One can claim Miami English to be broken English on many fronts, from the poor grammar, lack of vocabulary, incorrect use of terms to the excessive use of a limited range of slang/swear words. I just feel sorry for Miamian Hispanics who end up without a decent command of any language, whether it be Spanish due to the lack of education in Spanish there or English due to the poor education system and upbringing among non-English speakers (many Miamians just learn English from TV and at second-rate schools). What do expect though in a place where education is given no importance, but rather just bling bling? Sorry for the generalizations…
This comment is terribly ill informed. Miami is not at all broken English but simply a dialect. It functions just like any language. Also, what evidence do you have that these speakers have a “lack of vocabulary” or they incorrectly use terms? Miami Hispanics certainly have a perfect command of their native language(s) (whether it is English or Spanish or both).
That’s not how language works. “Poor grammar” doesn’t really exist among native speakers of a language, because they are native speakers. That’s what being a native speaker means – full command of a language. A dialect may be non-standard, but the speakers of said dialect have absolutely no problem understanding each other. A non-functional language where the speakers don’t understand each other simply can’t exist. Ambiguity is always regulated. Now, this isn’t to say that people shouldn’t learn to speak Standard English (which by the way isn’t even fully fleshed out). They should learn Standard English and Standard Written English so that they’re not looked down on (irrationally) in the business world, while still being allowed to speak however they want amongst their immediate peers. It is not difficult to code-switch between standard and non-standard grammar, so we shouldn’t be trying to stamp out one style of speech for another.
I would love for you to actually come down to Miami, because obviously you do not live here. If you actually came here, sure, you would find people like the ones you listed above, but if I went to where you are, or for that matter, ANYWHERE, I would also find people like the people you described. It bothers me that you based your comment on all of the negative news you see about “Miamian” English. Of course this news is magnified more than the news of, so called, “normal” English speakers.
The lesson here is not to believe everything you see on the news, because often, things are overrepresented when they are what people want to see. I know many people, myself included, from Miami that can write and speak English better than most people.
You’re missing the whole point – it’s not poor grammar, the vocabulary is just as diverse as in Standard American English (SAE), terms are not used incorrectly (just different from SAE), and the words you consider “slang” are just regular words as far as linguists are concerned. Linguistics is the scientific study of language. As far as science is concerned, Miami English is a dialect with self-consistent rules, just like SAE. The only reason you consider it to be inferior is because you deem it socially inappropriate/improper, but this is a prescriptivist opinion with no empirical basis.
You cannot break a language. A language cannot be broken. It does not have poor grammar, it has a different grammar and is no different from the many varieties of English in this United States. For example English speakers say “stand on line” vs “stand in line”. There is no incorrect one, it is just a different phrase.
I bet you’re not one bit sorry for the generalizations you made.
I have the Miami accent, and when someone asks me where the accent is from, I become embarrassed. It’s subtle, but something that people in Palm Beach County will pick up nonetheless. After leaving Miami, I myself find the accent very grating. I have an excellent command of both English and Spanish and speak almost exclusively in English in my daily life, but I still find myself inverting words orders or translating phrases from Spanish to English. It’s all a product of the environment you grow up in.
I have always noticed this in Miami, not really sure it needs a study. Although subjective, it is incorrectly spoken too often without correction. This can be detrimental when interviewing for jobs. It happens in every city, but is probably more prevalent in Miami.
No one has asked what the levels of education are or if these folks speaking Miami English are Spanish- language preferred speakers. One thing is to have an accent and mispronounce and another is to not know sentence composition, tenses and verb conjugation. If these folks are Spanish language preferred, well then it’s ok, however, if they are English-language preferred and this is the level of quality of their English…. wow, they’re in big trouble.
Really? They pay you to publish that? This is not news buddy.And just because it’s so in Miami or South Florida, that doesn’t mean it’s a national trend nor a good thing. In my 20plus years in Miami I found that cubans coming from the Northeast(say New Jersey) spoke both better Spanish and better English. By better, I mean they could use both languages correctly in an international business situation. Their South Florida educated counterparts often could not.