Introduction

Puerto Rico’s Spanish is the product of a mixing of races and   cultures.  Starting with the original Taíno inhabitants, the island’s   language was also heavily influenced by the Spanish occupation, the   slave trade, and in modern times by the United States.  Puerto Rico’s   history has resulted in a diverse population that has created a unique   form of Spanish.

Map of Puerto Rico

The  Spaniards that originally arrived in Puerto Rico were from the   Southern Castilian region of Spain.  For that reason, the Spanish  spoken  in Puerto Rico most closely resembles the Spanish spoken in that   region.

Southern Castilian Spanish was enriched with the words  and  expressions of the thousands of Africans that were brought over as   slaves, as well as the native language of the indigenous Taino tribe.

Later,  Puerto Ricans were introduced to the English language through  American  books, movies, music, visitors, and the diaspora as a large  population  of Puerto Ricans moved to the continental U.S.A.

The island’s  physical and cultural isolation has further aided to the  development of  a Spanish that is spoken so differently from the rest of  Latin America  that, at times, it can be difficult for other native  Spanish-speakers  to understand their speech.