Calques, Code-Switching, and Culture

Growing Up with the Miami Accent

I recently came across a TikTok where someone claimed that Yung Miami’s way of speaking wasn’t an accent but a speech impediment. When people in the comments pointed out that their Miami friends spoke similarly, she doubled down, replying, “Then maybe they have a speech impediment too.”

I will not be sharing the video because it rubbed me the wrong way and I do not want to give it more views.

This got me thinking about Miami’s unique linguistic identity. The Miami accent does vary slightly from neighborhood to neighborhood, but there’s no mistaking its presence. As someone who grew up in Miami, I can confidently say I recognize Yung Miami’s accent as being from North Miami — it’s just a touch more twangy than my own South Miami accent. As with everything in Florida, the farther north you go, the more Southern the culture becomes.

Growing up in Miami meant growing up in a linguistic melting pot. The Miami accent, a product of the city’s unique cultural and linguistic diversity, shaped not just how I spoke English but also how I spoke Spanish. Moving to Tampa, where the Hispanic population is smaller and the culture leans more “American,” made me more aware of these nuances, particularly how code-switching played a big role in my communication.