by Alfonso M. López
 | The island of Hispaniola is located south and east of Miami, Florida, USA. The island contains two countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Dominicans speak Spanish while Haitians speak Creole/French. Hispaniola is the site of the first European settlement in the Americas founded by Christopher Columbus on his voyages in 1492 and 1493. |
One of our dear students, a psychologist specializing in families and living in New York City, recently asked us about differences in working with the great population of Dominicans in New York as opposed to working with Latinos from other countries. This came quite perfectly for us, as I lived the first 22 years of my life in the Dominican Republic, and I have also spent several years living in both New York City and Miami where large populations of Caribeños reside.
As we know, different countries have different idioms and ways to express themselves. For example, people from Mexico may use one word to define a feeling or emotion whereas a person from another Latin American country may use a different word to express a similar feeling. In this post we are going to compare a couple of relevant Dominican and Mexican expressions.
As we know, different countries have different idioms and ways to express themselves. For example, people from Mexico may use one word to define a feeling or emotion whereas a person from another Latin American country may use a different word to express a similar feeling. In this post we are going to compare a couple of relevant Dominican and Mexican expressions.
Words to Express Shame, Sorrow, Embarrassment
Mexican - PenaMexicans may use the word pena to express shame.
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Phrases to Convey Agreement
Mexican - AgreementTo convey agreement, Mexicans may say, ¡Ándale! which is actually a command form of 'you go'. | Dominican - AgreementTo say Okay to something, Dominicans will often use Ta'bien. (Está bien.) |
One thing we did right away to help our student was to say that a main characteristic of Dominicans in general is a friendly attitude and a positive outlook on life, even when times are tough, which they often are. Dominicans enjoy sports, parties, mingling with people, sharing food and everything that has to do with having fun in life, even in the poorest circumstances.
Our student has worked hard with watching the videos and taking lessons, and she is happy to tell me that she now is able to communicate almost entirely in Spanish during the sessions! Even though Dominicans tend to speak quite fast she has learned how to slow them down with particular phrases. She is doing great with her Dominican clients in NYC and appreciates sharing about cultural differences between Latino groups.
Our student has worked hard with watching the videos and taking lessons, and she is happy to tell me that she now is able to communicate almost entirely in Spanish during the sessions! Even though Dominicans tend to speak quite fast she has learned how to slow them down with particular phrases. She is doing great with her Dominican clients in NYC and appreciates sharing about cultural differences between Latino groups.
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