The United States is a country made up of different cultures. Migrants from virtually all over the world contributed to shaping the North American nation. But there are some places that are well known for their cultural fusion, one of them is Miami, where the Latin and Anglo-American communities have transformed the environmentso much so that, according to linguists, a new language has been created.
Since the second half of the 20th century, the use of what is known as Miami English, an increasingly popular language that began to form in the 1950s, when Cubans moved en masse to the region and became the majority population of the area.
At the moment Miami is one of the most important bilingual cities in the entire US where different types of Spanish are spoken, which is why the inhabitants have found a new way to communicate. “In Miami there are many ways of speaking English. The variety we have been studying for the last ten years is the main linguistic variety of people born in South Florida in majority Latino communities,” said the director of the Center for Humanities in an Urban Environment from Florida International University, Phillip M. Carter, according to an article in New YorkPost.
According to the specialist, This Miami English is characterized by some unique pronunciations, in addition to minor grammatical differences and words that are influenced by the presence of Spanish in the area.
However, he clarified that Miami English should not be confused with the so-called Spanglish, since This is full of English phrases taken directly from the literal Spanish that more and more citizens use. “What's notable is that we found that it is not only used in the speech of immigrants, but also among their children, who learned English as their first language,” Carter said.
The Latino community is transforming Miami.
The most common phrases spoken in Miami English
According to the study on this new way of speaking In the city of Miami, around fifty phrases have been identified that were initially used by a small group of inhabitants, but are now understood by practically anyone, among them are:
- “We got down from the car”, literal translation of “get down from the car.”
- “I made the line to pay for groceries” or “I made the line to pay for groceries.”
- “Marco and I went to a bar and he invited me a beer”, because in Spanish the word invite is used to replace the word buy something for someone.
- “Alex got married with José”, the correct thing would be to say “married to”, but it is used with as a literal translation of “marry with”.
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