Dejo - el sustantivo

[poli]

I read an article in which dejo was used to mean accent. Is this commonly
understood in Spanish?

[aleCcowaN]

In Argentina people understand dejo as an after-taste or a "touch" -mainly in a negative way: "tiene un dejo a ajo y aceite refrito"-. About accent, people use cantito or canto for different native accents, though educated people may use dejo to refer to any trace of an accent ("Gunther habla muy bien. Apenas tiene un dejo al hablar y nunca te darías cuenta de que es alemán.")

[Perikles]

The Oxford:

dejo masculino
1 (acento) accent, lilt; tiene un dejo aragonés she has a slight Aragonese accent o lilt
2 (de una bebida, comida) aftertaste; dejo a algo slight taste of something
3 (toque) touch, hint; se expresó con un dejo de arrogancia he spoke with a touch o hint of arrogance
4 (impresión, sensación): me quedó un dejo triste tras hablar con él I was left with a feeling of sadness after talking to him
5 (Chile) (semejanza) dejo a alguien: tiene un cierto dejo a su abuelo he bears a certain resemblance to his grandfather, he has something of his grandfather about him (familiar)

[Don José]

Originally Posted by poli

I read an article in which dejo was used to mean accent. Is this commonly
understood in Spanish?

Yes, in Spain. But "deje" is more common, at least in Andalucía.

[poli]

Thanks everybody for you answers.
Would both of the following sentences be correct?

Habla con un dejo/deje distinguido.
Habla con un dejo/deje inglés.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by poli

Would both of the following sentences be correct?

Habla con un dejo/deje distinguido.

Not here. "Habla con acento distinguido".

Originally Posted by poli

Habla con un dejo/deje inglés.

"Deje" is not used -not even understood- here. The sentence means here that the person has an almost perfect Spanish accent, but it's not 100% perfect because of the dejo, one that gives away an English origin.

[Don José]

Originally Posted by poli

Thanks everybody for you answers.
Would both of the following sentences be correct?

Habla con un dejo/deje distinguido.
Habla con un dejo/deje inglés.

Yes. However, nowdays "acento" is much more used than "deje/o". Although the dictionary gives anothers meanings, the usual one, from my point of view, is the regional accent. So I wouldn't use "deje/o" distinguido.

http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltCons...US=3&LEMA=dejo

By the way, where did you read the article?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

If I hear "habla con un dejo distinguido", it would mean that the person talks in a way that one can see his/her education and politeness, even despite of him/herself.


Some more examples for the many uses of the word "dejo" around here:

·Cuando habla de María, lo hace con un dejo de desprecio, que prefiero no oírlo. -> The way he talks about her shows he despises María.
·Me dijo que ella había roto el vidrio con un dejo de cinismo, que me molestó mucho. -> Perhaps she wasn't so brazen, but the way she talked suggested a cynical attitude about breaking the glass.
·El mayordomo abrió la puerta con un dejo de asombro, como si no pudiera creer que estuviéramos ahí. -> The butler couldn't conceal his surprise as he opened the door.
·La niña me dio la mano con un dejo de autosuficiencia, que parecía que ella era la que me cuidaba a mí. -> The child wasn't sure that she needed to hang on to the adult, but she gave her the hand anyway.
·Los discursos de ese político tienen un dejo de indiferencia; nadie le creería que le importan los pobres. -> One can read indifference between the lines of his speeches.
·Cada vez que entro al restorán, el mesero me saluda con un cierto dejo de amabilidad, inusual cuando saluda a otras clientas. -> For some reason I perceive he's not as kind to everyone else as he's to me.