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Florida lingo12/5/2023 ![]() Today, the vast majority of the population is bilingual. In the years following the revolution, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left the island nation for South Florida, setting the stage for what would become one of the most important linguistic convergences in all of the Americas. Spanish meets English in Miamiįast forward to today, where a similar form of language contact involving Spanish and English has been going on in Miami since the end of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Words that today seem basic, even fundamental, to English vocabulary were, just 800 years ago, borrowed from French: prince, government, administer, liberty, court, prayer, judge, justice, literature, music, poetry, to name just a few. Heritage Images/Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty ImagesĮnglish never really caught on with the aristocracy, but since servants and the middle classes needed to communicate with aristocrats – and with people of different classes intermarrying – French words trickled down the class hierarchy and into the language.ĭuring this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion. An illustration of the Battle of Hastings, which initiated the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Soon thereafter, a French-speaking ruling class replaced the English-speaking aristocracy, and for roughly 200 years, the elites of England – including the kings – did their business in French. In 1066, the Norman French, led by William the Conqueror, invaded England in an event now known as “ the Norman Conquest.” One bilingual confluence famously changed the trajectory of the English language. ![]() When the contact takes place over an extended period of time – decades, generations or longer – the structures of the languages in question may begin to influence one another, and the speakers can begin to share each other’s vocabulary. This can happen when certain events – war, colonialism, political exile, immigration and climate change – put speakers of different language groups into contact with one another. They’re all over English vocabulary: “ pajamas” from Hindi “ gazelle” from Arabic, via French and “ tsunami” from Japanese.īorrowed words usually come from the minds and mouths of bilingual speakers who end up moving between different cultures and places. But borrowed words are far more pervasive than you might think. You’re probably aware that a limited number of words – usually foods, such as “sriracha” or “croissant” – are borrowed from other languages. Whether you’re an English speaker living in Miami or elsewhere, chances are you don’t know where the words you know and use come from. This language variety came about through sustained contact between Spanish and English speakers, particularly when speakers translated directly from Spanish. In Miami, however, they’ve become part of the local parlance.Īccording to my recently published research, these expressions – along with a host of others – form part of a new dialect taking shape in South Florida. These phrases might sound off to the ears of most English-speaking Americans. “He made a party to celebrate his son’s birthday.” “We got down from the car and went inside.” Carter, Florida International University The post ‘Welcome FSU’ events and programs kick off Summer B semester appeared first on Florida State University News.Phillip M. The post FSU Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement hosts new and expanded summer outreach programs appeared first on Florida State University News.Įach semester, Florida State University presents “Welcome FSU,” a series of events and programs that serve as the official welcome The post Global Democracy Scholarship brings two Ukrainian students to FSU for the summer appeared first on Florida State University News.įlorida State University’s Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE) expanded its summer program offerings this year to reach first-generation ![]()
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