The creation of a new dialect
The creation of a new dialect
The birth of a new dialect among Spanish-speaking New Yorkers.
There was a very interesting article recently in the New York Sun (link to article) about how there is a new Spanish dialect in New York that has been developing due to the mix of Spanish-speaking people from different countries living in close proximity in the City and mixing with each other.
The article is about a study where native Spanish speakers – from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic – living in New York were interviewed extensively. The results of the study show that over time these Spanish speakers take on linguistical characteristics of the other groups – as well as English – and slowly a new dialect is forming.
It got me thinking about whether this happens in Italian-American communities as well: Are Sicilians using Neapolitan words or vice versa?