Talk:Puerto Rican accents
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this is a very good article, i would like to know who wrote it. Cjrs 79
but one comment, many puerto Ricans will tell you that we don't actually change the 'r' for 'l' but that we move the tongue more to the back trying to say it faster and ten the final sound its more of an 'l' than an 'r'. Notice that this only happenes when there is a vowel close to the 'r'.
The article was written by AntonioMartin. You can find out by looking at the history page - if there aren't many entries, probably the first entry was the person who wrote the most.
I've heard that in Puerto Rican Spanish the elle character (ll) is pronounced more like a j, so that the last name Collazo is pronounced something like Coh - jazz - oh. Is this true in anyone else's experience, especially a native Puerto Rican's? - Masmith
There are different pronunciations of the "elle" and "y" in Latin America. Puerto Ricans, in general, do pronounce the "elle" as you just described, well maybe a shorter "jazz", but i don't want to generalize since you can find differences in the island. I'm a native, by the way.
Cjrs 79 04:54, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Okay, thanks Cjrs. Unless we could talk about all the differences, we probably don't need to mention it at all. Thanks again. - Masmith
[edit] Nuyorican
We do not all call ourselves Nuyorican. Puerto Ricans from New York call themselves that. I have never even been to New York. smile
im puerto rican frm new york so im a nuyorican ive lived in newyork da bronx i speak spanish
[edit] a Coastal Bias
It should be noted that this article suffers from a Bias.
Since every town in PR has its own accent.
There are also at least three different dialects spoken in PR.
Some of the examples shown here does not apply to them.
Puerto Ricans sound very different depending on what part of the island they are from.
This is like how in the US each state has it's own accents but within each state there are also many accents depending on what part of the state you come from.
I am Puerto Rican and so is everyone in my family, when I go to Puerto Rico I notice that in my family and everyone else that live in these towns:
Seseo: This refers to the changing of the sound of the "C" or "Z" for the sound of an "S". Examples include "sapato" instead of "zapato" and "asul" instead of "azul". This is also common in most other Latin-American countries.
This is correct, since the S and Z sound nearly the same in Spanish, but this is true everywhere, including many parts of Spain.
Aspiration or elimination of the "S": This usually occurs before a consonant or at the end of a word, the "S" sound is replaced by an aspirated sound (similar to the English sound of the "H") or eliminted altogether. Examples include "lah mujereh" instead of "las mujeres" , "loh doh" instead of "los dos", and ""mahticar"" instead of ""masticar"". This is also common in other Caribbean basin Spanish-speaking countries.
This is ONLY true in the coastal regions where the black culture influenced the way they talk, even if they are not black, but nowhere else in PR do they speak this way. Most Puerto Ricans that I know never drop their S's, in fact there are even towns in PR where people over pronouce their S's and it sounds like they have a Lisp (not the same thing as the Madrid lisp, which happens because they pronouce their S's like a TH) many great folk singers talk and sing with this accent.
Elimination of the "D" between vowels: This usually happens usually near the end of a word. Examples include "ehtao" instead of "estado", "parao" instead of "parado", "deprimío" instead of "deprimido", and "tóo" instead of "todo".
Elimination of the "D" at the end of a word: In this case, a stress is usually placed on the final vowel. Examples include "paré;" instead of "pared" and "Madrí" instead of "Madrid".
See above! Most Puerto Ricans do not speak this way, but many do, again it depends on what part of PR they are from.
Change of the "R" sound to the "L" sound: This occurs at the end of a word or syllable. Examples include "cantal" instead of "cantar", "olden" instead of "orden" and "rencol" instead of "rencor".
Change of the "rr" sound to the "kh" sound: Many rural Puerto Ricans do not roll their tongues on the double "r" sound in words (ex. "arroz" or "carro"), making it sound like the Scottish loch.
Again, only a few do this, another coastal thing. In fact Puerto Ricans are famous for rolling their R's, so much so that it has become a stereotype and it is use in by many comedians when doing an expression of a Puerto Rican.
Shortening of words: Puerto Ricans also often shorten words by eliminating whole syllables. A good example is the words "para" and "padre" ("for" and "father"). Puerto Ricans might pronounce those as "pa'" ("para") and "pai" ("father").
Yet another coastal trait. It has become clear that the person who wrote this is from a coastal region in PR since these things only applies to them. This examples can be found in much greater numbers in the Dominican Republic for the same reasons. This is why many comedians when doing an expression of a Dominican talk like the examples above. --4.250.183.122 16:14, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Coastal Bias, Shmoastal Bias
I would guess the above commenter is very young and probably has not visited the island in a long time, :). The variation is much smaller than what is suggested by the comment and the article is quite acurate. All Puerto Rican accents modify "R" and "S" at the end of a Syllable, just like most of the Spanish Caribbean.If one wants to get really specific, regional variations worth mentioning are "Cuban" style final "R" (as in halfway between an US English "R" and an "L") in the Arecibo region, "loch" style "RR" (exactly like Brazillian portuguese "RR") anywhere outside San Juan, and dipthonged participles IN San Juan (eg "parado" -> "parau" instead of "parao"). Living in San Juan, I can also tell between social class based variations in accents, but my linguistics knowledge is too limited to accurately describe it here. - Vramirez
Another comment on this. It also depends on education. I was teached to speak well at home, even though my mom is from the center of the Island ans she usually changes her Rs for Ls. I've also noticed very educated Puerto Ricans doing this, as a way of showing their "Portorricaness". Umm, and usually one can notice a very different accent in the center-west of the Island in towns like San Sebastián, for example. Solcita 21:04, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
