For the lovely Miranda /mi.rán.da/
PUERTO RICO
Originally called Borikén or Borinquén (Tierra del Gran Señor) by the indigenous taíno people, the island was visited by Christopher Columbus on his second trip. He named the island San Juan Bautista and the city Puerto Rico because of the large amount of gold offered to him when he arrived, but the names switched in 1521. (Then the ( Read more... )
Originally called Borikén or Borinquén (Tierra del Gran Señor) by the indigenous taíno people, the island was visited by Christopher Columbus on his second trip. He named the island San Juan Bautista and the city Puerto Rico because of the large amount of gold offered to him when he arrived, but the names switched in 1521. (Then the ( Read more... )
It's also so true, from the way I've heard my mom and former roommate speak; I can see how much of it is similar to Dominican Spanish, as well. There was a Puerto Rican guy on my floor last year who said he did not know what the word luz was when he first saw it written because he'd always chop that "z" sound off the end when saying it. XD
My mom says ay bendito quite a bit (even when not speaking Spanish), but she'll usually shorten it to 'dito, I've noticed. She also says oí'te? instead of oíste?, so it really confused me when I first heard somebody pronounce the "s"!
The term I've always used for New York-area-born Puerto Ricans is "Nuyorican" or nuyorriqueño (or however it's spelled); it doesn't necessarily apply to Puerto Ricans in other areas of the country. Natives of the PR may use it derogatorily sometimes, but Nuyoricans here have their own culture that's distinct from the island Puerto Ricans'. (The Nuyorican Poets Café, for instance, or "Nuyorican Spanish".) It's interesting. I guess a more general term used by everyone -- no matter where they are in the US -- is just Boricua; it's always yo soy Boricua, somos Boricua.
Also, on some side notes:
1) I think I'm going to start pronouncing my name the way it was meant to be pronounced. It sounds infinitely better in Spanish.
2) My little brother's middle name is Ramón! (Random, I know.) I never paid attention to how people say it, though....
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Yes! That's a classic example.
Yeah, damn, I knew I was getting something wrong. I wrote that Nuyorican/Boricua thing from my failing memory instead of looking at my notes. Silly me.
1) YAY! Omg. I love the Spanish pronunciation. It's too bad you can't really show the difference in pronunciation in print or I'd start calling you that right away.
2) Hey, awesome. You can make fun of him and call him "ham" or something if he annoys you. :P
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