Spanish, just like English, is spoken differently depending on where you are in the world. Cuban Spanish is a very difficult breed, though it gets easier to understand day by day. Many Cubans speak very quickly, and pronunciation is sometimes non-existent. Just another desaf\u00edo to deal with.
\nMy brother, who\u2019s working at a university in Colombia, South America, warned me that Cuban Spanish would be difficult. He\u2019s spoken with a Cuban professor there and despite being fluent in Spanish, still has difficulty understanding the man. After meeting my host father, Silvino, for the first time, I could easily see what my brother was saying. Silvino, like many Cubans, slurs his words and speaks in a mumble-y way, constantly requiring us to ask him to repeat himself. He, like many Cubans, drops the letters s, d, and r. For instance, the word for back, \u201cespalda,\u201d will sound like \u201ceh-palda,\u201d the word for \u201cdoor,\u201d \u201cpuerta,\u201d will turn to \u201cpue-tta,\u201d and adjectives like \u201cpasado\u201d will become \u201cpah-sao.\u201d In addition to this looseness in pronunciation, there are also just some generally weird changes. Often, r is replaced with l, so \u201cmi amor, my love\u201d becomes \u201cmi amol.\u201d Also, words ending in d will sometimes change to t, inexplicably. It\u2019s \u201cverdad,\u201d or true, that verdad can be pronounced \u201cverdat\u201d here.
\nNaturally, there are also slang terms, expressions, and words that we\u2019ve only recently come across here in Cuba. For example, Silvino will often ask how we are by saying \u201c\u00bfC\u00f3mo andas?\u201d or literally, \u201cHow do you walk?\u201d (Sometimes, it sounds more like \u201condas,\u201d which means \u201cwaves,\u201d so perhaps he and other Cubans are just dropping the \u201ce\u201d in verb form of \u201cto walk\/flutter,\u201d \u201condear.\u201d) On windy days, his wife Angelita will say \u201cHay mucho aire,\u201d or \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of air,\u201d when we\u2019d be inclined to use the word \u201cviento,\u201d for \u201cwind.\u201d As mentioned in my fun facts post, \u201cpapaya\u201d is a slang term for female genitalia, so the fruit is actually called \u201cfruta bomba.\u201d \u201cCongr\u00ed,\u201d a term for rice and beans, is specific to Cuba, and a bus here is not called an \u201cautob\u00fas,\u201d but rather a \u201cg\u00fcag\u00fca.\u201d Some terms are specifically handy for tourists to know, such as \u201cyuma,\u201d the word for foreigner (rather than \u201cextranjero\u201d) and \u201cjineterismo.\u201d Jineterismo refers to tourists being targeted by hustlers who convince them to pay ridiculous prices for things and lead them into traps. Jineteros are men who hustle, while jineteras are either female hustlers or prostitutes.
\nLast but not least, there are certain verbs that Cubans use more frequently here due to the nature of their lifestyle. As mentioned, \u201cresolver,\u201d the idea of fixing or finding the solution to something, is very prevalent. Things are not easy in Cuba, but there is constant faith in resolver. Much of needing resolver stems from the lack of resources here. For this reason, the verb \u201cconseguir,\u201d meaning \u201cto get\/obtain,\u201d is used frequently. You never hear people saying they\u2019re going to buy, or \u201ccomprar,\u201d food, but instead hear they\u2019re going to search, \u201cbuscar,\u201d for food. Our host mother Angelita also uses a couple food-related words that I hadn\u2019t heard much previously. The first is \u201cquitar,\u201d which means \u201cto take away.\u201d Before dinner, she always asks, \u201c\u00bfTienes hambre? Tenemos que quitar el hambre\u201d \u2013 literally \u201cAre you hungry? We have to take away that hunger.\u201d Much to our chagrin, she also uses the word \u201cengordar\u201d frequently, meaning \u201cto get fat.\u201d In a single day, she\u2019ll tell us \u201cNo van a engordar porque corren y caminan tanto\u201d and \u201cMira, \u00a1est\u00e1n engordando!\u201d \u201cYou guys (my roommate Evyn and I) aren\u2019t going to get fat because you run and walk so much\u201d and \u201cLook, you guys are getting fat!\u201d We don\u2019t love it. (Meanwhile, every time we\u2019ve finished eating dinner, Silvino, somewhat incredulous, asks me \u201c\u00bfYa acabaste?\u201d) \u201cYou\u2019re already finished?\u201d Finally, true to his and Angelita\u2019s grandparent-like nature, every time we leave the house at night, they command, \u201cAbr\u00edgate!\u201d \u201cPut a jacket on!\u201d Grandparents are the same wherever you go, I suppose \u2013 there to fatten you up and worry about you, but in the most loving, sweet way.
\nWhile Cuban Spanish is difficult, I\u2019d rather struggle with a tougher form of Spanish now than have a rude awakening in some other Spanish-speaking country. Angelita and Silvino are a good example of how variable the speech can be; while both show patterns that I\u2019ve mentioned, Angelita is probably ten times easier to understand. The same is true of Cubans we encounter day-to-day. Some enunciate well and speak at a reasonable pace, while others speak so fast and slurred that you wonder if they\u2019re even speaking Spanish. However, listening and comprehending the Spanish is only half the concern; the other half is responding. We get better at both daily, but I believe speaking Spanish will always be a work in progress given its variability not just worldwide, but within one country itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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