Spanish is the predominant language in the Dominican Republic. The local dialect, Dominican Spanish, resembles Canarian Spanish and borrows vocabularies from the Arawak language the Taíno natives.
Dominican Spanish is a language influenced by other cultures. When the Spanish arrived in the Dominican Republic, it was populated by the Tainos. During the Spanish rule, the Taino language was used less and less. However, the Tainos language still left its mark on both the language and culture of the country. The African language also influenced Dominican Spanish. African slaves that were transported to the Caribbean islands provided another layer to the language of the country (Racoma par. 2)
Dominicans employ their r own brand of Spanish words, and have a way of substituting letters in words or totaling dropping the last letter from a word. When you hear a Dominican saying “pol que” he means “por que.” The letter “r” is replaced by the “l.” In some regions of the country, the “i” is used in place of “r.” Examples are “poi favoi” instead of “por favor.” In the southwest, instead of using “l” in some words, they use “r” instead. “La capital” becomes “la capitar.” These are distinct regional differences that foreigners get confused about.
Similar to other rapid Spanish speakers in the Caribbean Islands, the Dominicans drop certain letters in words. The letter “d” is dropped in words like “colmado” which becomes “colmao.” “S” is also dropped. They say “gracia” instead of “gracias.” When you hear “Big Ma,” they probably mean “Big Mac” (Racoma par. 5-6)
Another important thing is that Domicans tend to speak very loud and fast and gesticulate a lot while talking. Expats will get used to this expressive style of communication.
Other languages
- Haitian creole is spoken by those who are of Haitian descent. This language is spoken by 160,000 inhabitants and has been influenced by French, Spanish and West African languages.
- Southwestern Creole English is spoken by 22,000 people in the Dominican Republic. The language is based on West African languages and English.
- Samaná English is spoken by 8,000 inhabitants in the northeast of the Dominican Republic. This language is similar to Creole English.
- Chinese is spoken by 25,000 Chinese refugees of the Chinese Revolution.
English is only generally spoken in the tourist areas. For expats, life can be difficult if you are not able to speak Spanish at all. Life in the Dominican republic will be much easier if you even just know the basics. Moreover, Dominicans will appreciate it if expats try to have a conversation in their language.
Taíno Heritage Linguistic Features The Dominican Republic often uses its indigenous name Quisqueya as a common referent. Dominicans like to call themselves “Quisqueyanos”; the name even appears in the first words of the Dominican national anthem: “Quisqueyanos valientes…” The Spanish language has several hundred words that come from the indigenous Arawakan language of the Caribbean. These words go beyond names of objects, place names, flora, and fauna that did not have a name in the Spanish language, like canoa, hurican, hamaca, caiman, barbacoa, tobaco, maraca, marimba, iguana, and manatee. There are also many words and expressions that are indigenous in origin that are used instead of their Spanish names ( Ferbel 2002)
Spanish Caribbean Heritage 