The Miami English: A New English Dialect Is Born

It has always been said that languages are living creatures. Apparently it is an undeniable truth since a new English dialect is born: the Miami English. Young men and women that were born or have grown up there, whether from Latin origin or not, speak it at schools, universities and, of course, on the white sanded beaches of Miami.

According to language experts, this phenomenon is not new at all, especially in the United States. As it has already occurred in cities such as New York, Boston or Texas, the English spoken in Miami is suffering a series of changes motivated by the demographic changes in the area. In other words, the influence of the Caribbean and Latin American culture cannot be denied.

Even though this is not a new phenomenon, experts agree on the fact that this Miami English is something more than just speaking English using a particular accent. Philip Carter, an American Linguistics professor that’s been living in Miami for two years explains the characteristics of the Miami English.

Speakers of Miami English:

• Usually refer to friends with the word “Bro”
• Use plenty of times words as: “like”, “a lot”, “totally”, “oye”, “dale”, “super”
• Use invented words such as “irregardless” or “supposebly”
• Speak it mostly using nasal sounds, especially the girls.
• Borrow some grammatical structures from the Spanish language.
• Speak really fast
• Stick to the five Spanish vowel sounds.
• Do literal translations from the Spanish language into the English one.

Despite some prejudice that has arisen against the Miami English, the influence of this new dialect can be appreciated beyond the community of young men and women. In fact, it has become a regional dialect that is associated to the south of Florida.

Read more here (article in Spanish)