How Do I Get A Spanish Sounding Accent? I am in Spanish 4 and...?

Question

I am in Spanish 4 as of today and 1/2 my class speaks Spanish as a native language, and even some who don't sound like they could. I am one of the few in the class who has an "American" accent. I don't speak full on Spanglish, I at least try to pronounce things, but I still manage to butcher some of the words and then the kids who do speak Spanish snicker and whatever else because I don't pronounce it right. How do I fix my pronuniciation? It really bugs me to be laughed at by these kids who don't even care that I am at least trying. Please could you give me some tips and adivice. FYI: Going to Spain or Mexico are not really options for me. Please?

Answer 1

First of all, please don't let the laughter of your classmates get you down. I think it's sad, actually, because likely some of them are struggling with English and it's sad that they are making someone who is struggling with language learning just like they are. Most people who learn a new language, even if they are very proficient, have an accent. It's not a shameful thing.

There are some things that you can do to help your accent sound less "American" and more understandable in Spanish. Without hearing your Spanish, I can't diagnose exactly, but my guess is that one thing you can probably work on is the rhythm. In English, some syllables take a long time and some syllables take a short time. For example, in the word "electricity" the "TRI" syllable is longer than some of the other syllables: "e lec TRI ci ty". Spanish does not have as much of a perceivable difference in length of syllables. This means that what many English speakers can do to help their Spanish sound more native-like is to make sure that none of the syllables they say in Spanish is too long. In a word like "corazón" the syllables are like this: "co ra ZON", but the "ZON" in this word is not nearly as long as the "TRI" in the English word "electricity". So work on making the stressed syllables in Spanish shorter than the stressed syllables in English. The fact that there is not as much difference in the lengths of syllables gives Spanish what people call a "machine-gun" rhythm: it gives the impression of a very steady, rhythmic pattern. My ESL students say that English sounds like music, and I think part of it is because of the uneven pattern of syllables.

Also, in English, in our very short syllables, we tend to make the vowel a schwa, which is a vowel that sounds like "uh". For example, if you say "electricity" again, probably the "i" in the last syllable sound like a very short "uh" sound. Spanish speakers do not do this; the vowels in non-stressed syllables retain their character as "a", "i" or whatever.

What I have told you is one of the most major differences between English and Spanish as far as the pronunciation, so working on what I just told you will help your Spanish pronunciation noticeably, at least on the word level. You can do all kinds of activities like listening to a Spanish-language program on the TV or radio and imitating the sounds that you hear, or singing along with songs in Spanish. I used to read out loud to practice pronunciation, and I felt that reading out loud a little every day helped me to feel like my mouth was more used to making the sounds of Spanish when it needed to. If you aren't sure to pronounce a word that you see written, there are many books which will explain to you the spelling and accentuation system of Spanish. Perhaps your teacher can refer you to one of these or you can even get one at your local library.

Also, you could perhaps do a language exchange with one of your classmates who is learning English. When I was studying in Mexico, for example, I had a conversation partner who wanted to learn English that I met with just about every day for conversation practice. We traded off days where we spoke in Spanish and English. It helped us both and it was really fun.

Answer 2

The best thing to do is practice. Try listening to music and/or watch Spanish language soap operas. You'll probably always have some sort of "American" accent, but that shouldn't detract you from practicing Spanish. Trust me, whenever you head out to a Spanish speaking country, the natives there will deeply appreciate you speaking they're language, no matter how heavy (or light) your accent might be.

Don't bet yourself too hard. I've spoken Spanish (along with English) my whole life and there's still some words in Español that I just can't pronounce.

Answer 3

For the thrifty type, I recommend a lot of Univision or whatever spanish TV you can get your hands on. I know personally that one will pick up the accent just by listening to it for a while (and I don't mean like only 30 min). And besides, there are so many accents when it comes to the spanish language, as long as they understand what you're saying should be fine, because there will be times that you run into people that, though they speak fluently and you do to, the accent is so thick it sounds like a completely different language.

Answer 4

Good ways to become familiar with a Spanish accent and possibly acquire one of your own is to:

A) Watch Spanish films (with subtitles) so that you can become more familiar with how native speakers pronounce their words.

B) Purchase Spanish education software that helps teach non-native not only the language, but the correct way to pronounce words. I've heard that the Rosetta Stone software is one of the best out there.

Answer 5

Since you are not able to travel I would say that the best way is to make native-speaking friends and practice w/them.The second option would be to listen to music or watch television and try to emulate them by repeating their pronunciations.If your teacher is not a native speaker or has been teaching for a while they might not have the best accent to emulate.Just so you know in the end to immerse yourself in that culture is the only truly effective way to have an almost authentic accent.

Answer 6

You have to keep talking to those people who have accent, and eventually you will get it. I love accents, don't mater where are they from, learning another language is just great. My first language is Spanish and I when to college to learn English in NJ, Seton Hall. I learn Italian and the people who listen to me speaking Italian know my accent. Mexican accent is different then the one form Spain and the one from Spain is different then the one from Puerto Rico. Is like the English in England and in USA and in Jamaica. I wouldn't worry about the accent but if you want to learn how to speak with a Spanish accent you need to keep talking to your friends or listen to a tape or CD in Spanish.

Answer 7

i would say just practise some. Listen to the tv some or the radio or listen to how some people speak the language and try to speak some a little bit with an accent.
Practice

Answer 8

Watch the South American soaps in Spanish.

Answer 9

1st off : take it easy!! it'll come to you. just practice & try to watch or be around ppl that speak spanish all the time. obviously not the boneheads in ur class!& im a full blown mexicana& my hubby also but,,,, hes from a town & i come from the country. so our accents are way different. and anyway those other ppl are proly just jealous that they see u working so hard & they are pissy cause they see ur dedication to something. anyway dont take it to heart what they do. you'll be fine. just take it easy & hang in there. good luck.

Answer 10

go to mexico and marry a native. come back in 10 years. and your set. =] i don't care if it's not an option for you. some things in life you just HAVE to do. understand?