Linguists have identified a new English dialect that’s emerging in South Florida

Nice OP. Languages fascinates me, including how words from one language become integrated into another language.

Once I was eating breakfast in a hotel in Canterbury, England, and began a conversation with a guy from French-speaking Quebec. He also had just come from France and was very upset at how many English words have been taken into French. Le hot dog, le ferry, le computer. Apparently Quebec French is very old-school.

Years ago, I was staying with a friend in Rotterdam and he was complaining about English words that had crept into Dutch. The one that bothered him the most was “occasion” for “used car.” He didn’t believe me when I said that was not the English word for a used car. Later I learned that “occasion” was the French word for a used car. Almost 20 years later, when I lived in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, they had Dutchified “occasion” to be “okkasie.”

I also loved that in English we can make up our own words, like “Dutchified.”

 

Fascinating and more proof that you can never wall off language.

I find Belgium with its at least two completely distinct cultures and languages fascinating. Had an arbitration there years ago and stay in touch with my Belgian cocounsel, where every lawyer in the firm must speak no less than three languages as a minimum qualification, as they are in Brussels and do a lot of EU work.

And the Quebecois history and mindset, which we have a microcosm of in Louisiana, with those infernal Bayou Bengals, at least until we start beating them again (the last few years in that rivalry have irrationally embittered me)

 

I’m surprised because I’ve heard those expressions for decades from people who aren’t Hispanic. Phrases like “I have to go make water (urinate),” or “She just pulled into the dooryard (driveway).”

 

When I was a kid it was “pig Latin”. Eventually died out.

Hatway isay hetay roblempay ithway ouyay eoplepay?

 

Interesting. I've never heard those expressions in my life. Maybe there are some sayings more local to me that I'm not even aware of.

 

I live in South Florida and have not heard any of these. Lol

 

Got a question for a Brooklynite. My mother-in-law was from Brooklyn and spoke Yiddish as a first language. I used to hear the term "I have to make water" or just "I have to make" from that side of the family but also heard it from non-Jews. Any idea where that came from?