Experts have concluded that a brand-new dialect has developed in the United States. The intriguing phenomenon comes as a result of decades of Spanish speakers immigrating to Miami, Florida.
Spanish words, rhythm, and intonation get translated into English while keeping their original particularities, leading to an entirely new manner of speech that has started to integrate into the native’s vocabulary.
Highlights
- A new dialect called 'Miami English' is developing in Miami due to decades of Spanish-speaking immigration.
- Miami has one of the highest concentrations of Hispanic population, with 72% of the community being of Spanish origin.
- Examples of 'calques' in 'Miami English' are similar to English phrases that originated from Chinese, Dutch, German, and Latin.
“In Miami, there are many ways of speaking English. The variety we have been studying for the past 10 years or so is the main language variety of people born in South Florida in Latino-majority communities,” explained Professor Phillip M. Carter, director of the Center for Humanities in an Urban Environment at the Florida International University.
“The variety is characterized by some unique but ultimately minor pronunciations, some minor grammatical differences, and word differences, which are influenced by the longstanding presence of Spanish in South Florida.”
Linguists claim to have discovered a new “language dialect” in development in the United States
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Known as “Miami English,” this new language dialect has developed through decades of immigration from Spanish-speaking countries, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, and others.
Miami is among the cities with the highest concentration of Hispanic population per capita, with a staggering 72% of their community being of that origin, according to the 2024 edition of the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
In “Miami English,” phrases retain their Spanish structure but use English words.
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For example, to “throw a party” becomes “to make a party.” For a Hispanic person, the act of throwing something is literal, so if they were to translate “throw a party” directly back to Spanish, it would become “lanzar una fiesta,” and “lanzar” is closer to the English usage of “to launch,” as in “to launch a new product.”
Another instance would be for a Hispanic to say they want to “climb a mountain.” In Spanish, climbing is translated as “trepar,” which is only one of many activities one does when climbing a mountain, specifically going up a steep surface with your hands and feet. For this reason, they are more likely to use something like “let’s go up a mountain” instead.
“All human language varieties are a reflection of the miraculous interweaving of our evolutionary capacity for language with the unique historical and cultural circumstances in which that capacity finds context,” Carter explained in an interview with IFLScience.
Experts argue that no language is entirely original, but rather a result of years of intermingling between cultures, words, customs, and worldviews
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In linguistic terms, this phenomenon is known as a “calque,” which refers to the process through which a phrase with origins in one language or culture gets translated word-for-word to another language.
Its usage is wide, and many phrases people associate with their original language are actually a result of a “calque,” which has integrated into their daily lives seamlessly throughout the years.
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Words and phrases like brainwashing, long time no see, and paper tiger all originate from calques of Chinese into English.
Masterpiece, superconductor, pineapple, and iceberg come from Dutch calques.
Antibody, nostalgia, rainforest, watershed, and standpoint come from German calques.
Rest in peace, Milky Way, wisdom tooth, and devil’s advocate all originate from Latin calques.
Carter explains that examples of these “loan words” are numerous, and their creation is a result of the ever-evolving nature of human speech. “All words, dialects, and languages have a history.”
“These are examples of literal lexical calques – direct translations,” Carter continued. “What is remarkable about them is that we found they were not only used in the speech of immigrants – folks who are leaning on their first language Spanish as they navigate the acquisition of English – but also among their children, who learned English as their co-first language.”
Dialects originating from marginalized communities are often discriminated against, especially when they come about as the result of immigration
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Despite languages, and especially English, being full of “calques,” the creation of new dialects often generates social stigma as it develops.
“There is no reason to stigmatize any form of human language. Doing so reflects our own limited understanding of humanity and human language,” the professor stated.
The introduction of a new language to a country has often been associated with immigrants and refugees, as seen in the case of Miami itself with the Cuban revolution in 1959 and the recent Central American immigration fueled by the increased violence and instability in the region.
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For Carter, marginalized communities are more vulnerable to having their dialects stigmatized, as people associate them with a lack of education, culture, mispronouncing words, or being unable to adapt properly to their new environment.
“I want Miami English to lose its stigma because [it] is someone’s home language variety. It’s the language that person learned from their parents, that they used in school, that they hear in their community,” he explained. “It’s the language variety they developed their identity in, developed their friendships in, found love in. Why should that be stigmatized?”
Carter’s research and his explanation of the nature of languages and their development sparked active debate on social media, with readers arguing for and against the integration of foreign manners of speech into their native languages
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“This is the reason why I don't think in terms of proper English but of standard English. And English-as all languages-has evolved over the past 1600 years. The English of a 1000 years ago would not be understandable to most English speakers now,” stated one reader.
“Speaking a dialect is something to be proud of. Travel around the states and you might be surprised at the different dialects/ versions of the English language,” shared another.
“What is happening is that these people are trying to ruin the English language. I was born on the island of Cuba and my father went to college here in the U.S. and learned the English language as it was spoken here. He didn't twist the words around to his benefit as people do now,” argued one Hispanic user.
“Language is as much a living, breathing entity as we who use it, and it evolves with us. I'm an older person, and some of the changes upset me to my core; but we can't hold back the tides, and nor should we try. Dove is now dived, rooves and hooves are now roofs and hoofs, and you gift a present, you no longer give it,” another reflected.