An ongoing list of Dominicanisms I encounter this summer. Lots are Anglicisms, some are of Arawak/Taino origin. Not included (but equally interesting) are the boatloads of calques–expressions like “llamar para atras” or “estar hasta el cuello”–that show the strong influence of English in Dominican Spanish.
una banca – a place to buy lotto tickets/place bets (they outnumber los bancos in Monte Plata by at least 25:1)
bizcocho – cake
una chancleta – a sandal/flipflop
un chele – a penny/cent (not that there’s a denomination less than 1 peso–used like “it won’t cost a penny”/”I don’t have a cent”)
un chin – a bit, a little (Origin: African)
una chinola – passionfruit
una chulería: an attitude, cockiness (or something that seems cocky)
chul@ – nice, pretty, good (e.g. “que chulo” –> “how nice!”)
un colmado – convenience store/bodega/cornerstore (Origin: old Spanish)
una curita – a bandaid
conflé – cereal (origin: English: “cornflakes”)
un conuco – garden or field for growing food (origin: Arawak)
estar en olla – to be broke / in such financial trouble that you can’t buy what you need, often owing money. (literally: “to be in a hole”)
un frio frio – shaved ice with syrup, like a snowcone
una funda/fundita – plastic bag (in most places funda means case/sleeve, as in a pillowcase)
una guagua – bus/anything bigger than a car
jevi – cool, good, great (Pronounced like “heavy”)
(una) lechosa/lechoza – papaya
una mata – a tree
morir sonando – creamsicle flavor (literally: “to die dreaming)
un motoconcho – a motorcycle taxi
una patata – a sweet potato (origin: Arawak)
un pley – a baseball field (origin: English from “play”?)
un poloche – a polo shirt
relajar – to joke around
suape – mop (suapear – to mop), though as slang having a “suape” means you’ve had too much to drink
ya lo sabe* – you know it
una yipeta – a Jeep/SUV/ATV (Origin: English: “Jeep”)
un zafacón – trash can (origin unknown, possibly English “safety can” or “trash can”)
* not gonna lie, I was really disappointed that people here don’t actually say “ya tu sabe,” as Dominican NYers do. It was the one Dominicanism I thought I knew. “Ya lo sabe” doesn’t have the same feel 🙁
Names
Some of the patients have great/hilarious names. Seen on patient records:
-Miley (no one knows whether this kid’s name is “MEE-LAY” or “MY-LEE,” since the mother has corrected staff both ways).
-Eminem
-Frankely
Heard from Berkys:
-Weder (someone thought “weather” sounded really cool)
Seen on a sign in the hospital:
-Water (a doctor’s first name)
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