If you’re from out-of-town, you might have noticed a few things that make Miami a unique place. Miami English is one of those phenomena that many locals take pride in but many outsiders might not get. Whether you’ve heard about it through memes — like the “Sh*t Miami Girls Say” videos — or on the streets of Brickell, this guide will make you better versed in the language of the 305.
Setting the Record Straight
While walking around Miami, you’re bound to hear a variety of accents and dialects from all over the world. Obviously, there’s more than one way to speak English in this city. But typically, when people say “Miami English,” they refer specifically to the growing Latin-American diaspora and the English that is largely influenced by Spanish.
Whether or not this is a whole new dialect is not set in stone. However, the subject is of great interest to many linguists in the area.
“Miami English constitutes very firmly what we call in sociolinguistics a sociolect,” said Dr. Andrew Lynch, a sociolinguist and professor at the University of Miami. “Subsumed under dialects, there are all kinds of sociolects, which would just be ways of speaking to characterize particular groups in society.”
Dr. Lynch explained that while some describe Miami English as a “new dialect,” the linguistic landscape of the city is rapidly-changing, making it hard to define with such certainty.
“Miami is a very recent phenomenon in sociolinguistic terms,” he said.
However you frame it, it’s clear that something interesting is happening throughout Miami. Spanish has been coming into contact with English for generations, and it’s leaving a big influence. This influence shows itself mainly in the form of calques.
When Languages Collide
A calque is essentially a literal translation from one language into another. In places like Miami, where you have multiple languages coexisting over time, these are bound to appear all over the place.
If you’ve ever heard someone say “get down from the car” or “throw a photo,” then you’re familiar with some common calques. These are literal translations of their Spanish equivalents: “bajar del carro” and “tirar una foto,” respectively.
Some other Miami English calques are: “make a party,” “make the line,” and “get married with.” While these might not sound natural to people from elsewhere, they’re fairly common Miami-isms. Calques are perfect examples of how phrases can be influenced by Spanish even when it isn’t obvious.
Elizabeth Agurto, a senior English and architecture major from Coral Gables, says the mix of English and Spanish is a big part of her social life. Growing up in a Peruvian family, she learned to speak Spanish at home and English in school, but the languages often mix in many areas of life.
“Sometimes the Spanish words will slip out every once in a while,” said Agurto. She described the phenomenon of codeswitching: the fluid exchange between two different languages or dialects in the same conversation, or even in the same sentence. In this case, the codeswitching is what many Miamians call “Spanglish.”
“I used to use ‘pero like’ a lot,” Agurto says. Switching out the conjunction “but” with “pero like” is one of the most iconic Spanglish Miami-isms out there.
As someone who works with a mix of English and Spanish-speaking clientele, Agurto is used to code-switching in everyday life. She appreciates the multilingual community that gives Miami its unique identity. “Somehow we all make it work, and we make it our own little dialect,” she said.
Phrases to Know
Some Miami English is a little bit more subtle. The prevalence of “irregardless” in the place of “regardless” is a great example. You might hear someone say, “Irregardless of the rain, I’m going to the pool parties.”
People might tend to use other modifiers differently as well. While “super” is a word used in all varieties of English, it’s a bit more commonplace in Miami. That’s because in many varieties of Spanish, “súper” is used casually before adjectives to mean “very.” In Miami English, people often say “It’s super hot,” “I’m super tired” and “That restaurant in Merrick Park is super nice.”
The unique idioms and grammatical changes in Miami show how the contact between many languages and cultures can create an interesting result.
As Agurto put it, “We have this multicultural mosaic city.” Miami English is just one of many things that add to the mosaic. It’s just one of many things that give Miami its legendary identity.
words_jay moyer. illustrations_jay moyer. design_olivia diaz.
This article was published in Distraction’s Fall 2025 print issue.
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