Florida City Speak

So, I learned in my first week of work that although Florida City is a part of the United States, I still feel like much of it is foreign to me. Besides not knowing my way around town and spending most of my hour long breaks trying to find my way back to work, things that should be simple, like language and culture are completely alien to a white girl from Texas. The very first thing I noticed from day one, even just speaking with the staff is the language. Florida is unique in that only one out of twelve considers themselves Caucasian. I live next door to little Havana, so most of the people in the area speak Cuban. However, most of the other influences come from Haiti, El Salvador, Mexico, and lots of other South American countries. Almost everyone in Florida City is either Haitian or South American. A vast majority of our kids are multilingual and many of their parents don't speak English as their first language, or at all. However, in Florida City, there is yet another language spoken. It's called Florida City Speak. Or, at least, that's what we call it. Here's a little taste of the words and sentences I hear on a daily basis:

"Acts" - This word is spoken instead of "asked," as in: "I just acts Mrs. Kim if I could leave."

"Miss" - Refers to anyone in charge. Mostly heard in a whining tone: "Miss, I didn't do it."

"Is" - Used in all times and places instead of any other tenses. "You is from Texas, Miss?"

"It is" - Always used in this order. "What time it is?" "Who it is?"

"Screet" - Despite the fact that I always think this word sounds dirty, it is actually referring to the STREET. "No, I is walking down that screet."

"Mines" - Refers to anything possessive. "That book is mines!"

"I don't have no..." - The act of having nothing. "Miss, I don't have no homework."

"Kim House" - (Or anyone's name...) Leaving off the "s" in most words is common. "No, I is at Kim House."

"Cakeing" - This word refers to when two people stay up late talking on the phone. "Naomi's been cakeing with some boy!" (Sounds a lot dirtier than it actually is...)

"Dapping" - If you don't want to hold someone's hand you can "dap." Which means put your fists on top of the person's next to you. We do this when we pray as a group, my boss Tony will yell "Dap it up!" and we will all touch fists.

"Rank" - This means to put someone down. "At Branches, we don't rank on one another."

Now, I realize you can find a lot of these common mistakes all over America, however, a few of them are very unique to Florida City and I had never heard of them until I moved here. I have been told to correct the children and youth repeatedly, but that is how they talk in their homes and on the streets, so it is very hard to get them to correct the problem. It is a very interesting world down here. Although I am fully aware of the fact that I am still in America, often times life seems more exotic here than it ever did in Italy. It truly is "a whole other world" in Florida City and Miami.