[gMUVgw71]

Thank you Jane!.You do have control of the language!
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[megasprut]

Suarezn is correct.

-Joseíto
Miembro de la Real Academia de Dialecto Dominicano

[induffike]

I always thought "puta" like the Italian "buttana" (Columbus' native language) mean 'prostitute' in English.
IMO "cuero" would be just another piece of a$$.
mk
crudely speaking

[cigsstorenick]

Originally posted by suarezn
I've noticed that a few people in here just love to use the word 'puta' to refer to dominicans who work at carwash, boca chica, etc...(I.e. Mommc, Larry, etc...) I hate that word, even more so because you guys use it and don't know how to use in the dominican context. FYI in The Dominican Republic the word puta does not mean prostitute, but someone who's a flirt (slut). If you want to call DR women prostitutes at least use the right word, which in the DR is "cuero".

It's 6:00 AM...I can't sleep...Just venting about one of my pet peeves... Go back to sleep. You need it
Cuero is Dominican SLANG used to refer to what some people call Sluts as well as prostitutes.
Puta is Castillian for whore and if used throughout the Spanish speaking world including the DR.
BTW Spanish is Spanish. Slang is slang! Try not to confuse the two.

[Nashhlkq]

**** I forgot what que me la chupa means

J.H.
Cccccccccc,get your ass to Sosua for Rockys reunion.

[BostonDoctorTTT]

MrMike, I think that many on these boards could benefit from the education that Suarezn is trying to give them. A cuero is a prostitute in Domincanspeak, so why not accept it?

To say that it's not "proper" does not change the fact that the usage exists. It may also help explain the laughs you get when you tell people that your cologne of choice is Cuero Negro by Avon. (Not you you, you know?)

Some of us enjoy honing our Dominican dialecto, in all its glory, and others (those who go around calling people "idiotos" and think their insults effective) need all the help they can get.

[cigsstorenick]

Originally posted by Porfio_Rubirosa
In America, to "cool it" means to be asked to calm down. In England, to "cool it" means to lower something's temperature. English is a language, American is not. Using your logic, the American useage cannot exist, and anyone who says that it does is wrong. Right? Wrong

To Cool means to lower somethings temperature.
"To cool it" can mean to lower ones anger or attitude.
I can say I am putting the beer in the refridgerator to "cool it" and most Americans would understand exactly what I mean.
I can tell a screaming ****ed off Brit to "Cool It!" and he will also know what I mean.

Once again people are confusing slang with language.

[cewIdeatovace]

I have posted in other threads, Criss, you need to try that search again. I don't undestand how that's relevant though.

I deduce from your tone that you disagree with one or more of the points I made. Do you care to to tell me which one(s)? If you want me to shut up or go away just say so, I can deal with that.

Yes Dominicans are colorful and their language is as well. I have been living here for 3 years now and have no plans to move so I think my approval of the country and it's people is self evident. Like anyone I see many opportunities for improvement though and I think that Dominicans taking a more active interest in their own language would work wonders for the country and better prepare young Dominicans and Dominican companies to compete in the international market. In the interest of progress however, it would be wise to bear in mind that the purpose of language is to communicate, therefore forms of communication which lack clarity are less effective and should be avoided by those who wish to achieve maximum effectiveness.

I am not retired, or on vacation, and so have more to do here than sit on the beach drinking presidente and haggling over the price of mondongo. My efforts to get things done have often been frustrated by people who choose to substitute "tiguerage" for competence, and this is most often expressed through their use (and misuse) of the language.

Joseito, I asked for proof of the actual meaning of the words "puta" and "cuero". No one in my office has ever heard of your Academy. Did you make that up? Is there any documentation on this? I actually want to know.

[cewIdeatovace]

Here's a two part answer for you,

1) Thanks for the research; you confirmed for me that "puta" means prostitute. Also if you check back over your own post you will see that "leather" and "hide" are the only meanings of the word "cuero" that are general and not limited to a few small countries. So while you're right about it not being as slang as I had previously believed, I think you can see my point.

2) If you want to label me a misogynist that's your own mistake, and I'll let you make it with minimal protest. My posts are generally heavy with sarcasm and if you read my rant again I think you will notice that it is misogynistic stereotypes embedded in language that I was referring to, but if you just want to get personal about it and call me a misogynist go ahead, I don't really care. I think it's interesting that you would care to disagree with a dictionary, though; I can’t wait to see who wins that debate.

[gMUVgw71]

Many people feel the need to drag an entire post, as a "Quote", to their new postings,before responding to same.It is not necessary! Just state your piece! If you must, say;"In response to "Fulanos" post let me say this!Let the people do their homework.You want to be part of the DR1 "Community" read the entire thread before sharing your "2-cents".CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

[megasprut]

Mr Mike,

I made that up. However, when it comes to local dialect and slangs, locals know best, no matter how cultured a foreigner is.
In the D.R., cuero means prostitute. And a 'cuero' does not necessarily have to be a flirt. There are some high-class 'cueros' that would never get caught flirting.

-Joseíto

[Qeiafib]

Seems very hard these days to know what is and is not slang, particularly since a slang word today may lose that designation tomorrow. With increasing frequency I read that new editions of dictionaries are being published containing many new words, some of which were previously considered slang, that have gained such wide usage that they are now fit for use by educated people in polite company.

[Nashhlkq]

Originally posted by suarezn
They may use it in Spain and other spanish speaking countries, but in the DR a prostitute/whore is either a 'prostituta' or a 'cuero'. In the DR when we say 'Que mujer mas puta...' or 'Esa es mas puta que las gallinas...' we're not saying that woman is a prostitute, but a slut.
Mommc: The word is cuero. That's one of those words that doesn't conform to the rule of feminime words. If you say cuera people will understand, though. Kind of like when English speaking people say 'puerta plata' or 'punto cana'. We understand what they're saying, but it's not the way we would say it. Gee thats strange,in 18 plus years Ive rarely heard Dominicans use the term cuero for whores almost always puta,in the time I spent in Mexico however cuero was the word
J.H.

[Thomas12400]

In the US you walk on the "sidewalk". In Mexico you walk on the "meseta". In the DR you walk on the "acera".

In Miami, Cuban sandwich shop owners that do nothing but brag about anything are called "come mieh'da".

[attishina]

While I have heard that word used on occasion mostly the people who talk about these Sex Trade Workers refer to them as "puta's"!
I'll add "cuero" (or should it be cuera?) to my Dominican vocabulary!!

[cewIdeatovace]

I dunno Jane, I think it's possible that Suarez' attempts to educate us all would be more effective if he wasn't wrong. I am not in the same boat as most of the foreigners who post here, I've been speaking spanish on a more or less fluent level in many different countries for over 15 years now, and have attended several years of University in Spanish only Universities.

The only points I am trying to make are that:

1) Calling a whore a slut is not incorrect in any language, it's generally a good guess since whores are usually sluts who've gone professional.

2) Puta can be used to refer to prostitutes. I have a beautiful wife who speaks only Spanish and who assures me that a puta is a prostitute. It seems the term we use in English (bitch) to refer to a generally disagreeable PMSing woman who won't shut the hell up doesn't exist in this culture (I mean a word for it, not the syndrome, which I can assure you is alive and well) "perra" (bitch, literally, female dog like in english) is also generally assumed to mean prostitute. In fact almost any insult you can apply to a woman in spanish means "prostitute" in some way. (OK, I made that last part up)

3) "Cuero" is slang (when used to refer to something that is not leather or "hide".) There is a good chance I am wrong about this, but I am waiting for somebody to prove it to me. Generally though, as detailed in point #1, I don't object as much to Suarez' insistence that prostitutes are "cueros" as I object to his claim that they are not "putas" even if he's right and puta means slut and cuero means "whore", (which I doubt) this doesn't make it wrong to call a whore a slut.

4) People should learn to speak properly in any language before they start learning slang. There is no shame in using slang by choice, but when it's all you know it shows you up for an ignorant fool. If you are just learning spanish, you should stay as far away from the local dialect as possible, refuse to use it and insist that people you deal with use proper terms for things, and pronounce at least 50% of the consonats in any given sentence. (yes this includes "S" and "R"). If you do learn local slang, don't let anyone know about it. This is lots of fun, you can often catch locals conspiring against you in front of your face because they never imagine you have penetrated their "secret code" slang.

[cewIdeatovace]

As far as I'm concerned that's as kind as I can be. I participated in this discussion and added my own soaring intellect to the collective IQ here, so be thankful. This is all the life you got? Well your life just got a little bit better.

C'mon, I don't know the in-house politics here well enough to understand what kind of special relationship you might have with suarez so you'll have to forgive me for any insensitivities. The guy admitted in his original post that he was only crabbing about is pet peeves because he couldn't sleep, and it’s hard not to take a swipe at something like that. He should sleep better knowing that people are reading his posts and paying attention to the details.

When I am forced to picture a middle aged man in with insomnia in front of a faintly glowing monitor in the middle of the night, a lot of disturbing images come to mind, most including clumsy attempts at autoeroticism, wondering why the "putas" aren't answering the phone, remembering that they are actually "cueritos" here and trying again, and then realizing that no matter what you call them they won't answer their phones when they are working (well if they're sober enough to remember not to, anyway.) and then going back to a fruitless search for "free pr0n" that doesn't ask for an already maxed out credit card #.

Generally I am only unkind when I think there might be some laughs all around to be had at my unkindness. It’s never because of personal dislike. If I really don’t like someone or something, I usually just ignore them.

[cewIdeatovace]

OK fine, so a puta is a slut, not a whore. Does it really matter? Anywhere you go, a sex worker is going to have pretty broad standards for sexual partners, and therefore qualify as a slut as well. Most prostitutes I have known would be having sex as much as possible during their free time whether they were getting paid or not. So to you they may be "cueros" but they are also "putas".

Try to remember though, that often when foreigners speak Spanish differently from Dominicans it is not always because of ignorance on their part, sometimes it because of ignorance on the part of Dominicans.

People in the campos can be so uneducated they don't know what "Ah, pues esta bien" means, they have only ever heard "Ah, po' 'ta bien" and since they can't read, they think that's the only way to say it. How many times have you seen the word "peydida" on the back of a concho whose license plate fell off with the last rusted slab of metal he left in the gutter? If you showed him one that said "Perdida" on it, he probably would think it meant something else.

One of the coolest things about Spanish is that you can generally expect that things are spelt the way they sound, a nice break from English which borrows spelling rules from every European language and then ignores half of them. Now that Dominicans have found a way to mess that up, I think it would be unwise for you to now go insisting that everyone else copy your bad Spanish.

Cuero means "leather" or "animal skin" in every other Spanish speaking country, it does not mean "naked" or "prostitute" like it does here. I think anyone who wants to learn Spanish would be wise to stay away from terms that are only understood by a very small minority of the world's Spanish speakers.

[gMUVgw71]

Down "South" it is always a "Cuero/Cuerito/Cueraso!" thing. Also,sometimes a dominican will use the word you are using to help you understand. If you always ask for the "Papelero"(wastepaper basket) they will say that the "papelero" is in the corner.A dominican would ask for the "Zafacon",even though it is really a "Rubbish Bin"(I would say "gaahbage can"or even "Dupsta"but I'm from Boston!

You say "tomato" and I say "tomaaahto"! Does it matter? NO!
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"Voy PaYa!"

[gMUVgw71]

The ever changing "language" of US inter-city Blacks permiates the entire spectrum of "American" speech! Who has not said,"Whats up?"or just plain "Sup?","Whats happin'n"?Same is true here in the DR! National advertising campaigns feature "Ma Pariba!" and other "slang"/geographically specific language! I like it!I use it! You can't stop it! Enjoy it! cccccccCCCCCCCCCCCcccccccccccccc