#sharingiscaring
The English Pronunciation strengths of Spanish Speakers (and some pro tips!)
- You are currently here!
- Home Colaboradores The English Pronunciation strengths of Spanish Speakers (and some pro tips!)
¡No te pierdas nada!
#sharingiscaring
The English Pronunciation strengths of Spanish Speakers (and some pro tips!)
A language power couple: English Pronunciation and Spanish Speakers!
¡Hola Spanish speakers! Welcome to Voice Science’s guide to the strengths that Spanish speakers bring to English pronunciation. We’re here to show you that Spanish speakers and English pronunciation are a great team, whether you’ve realised it or not!
This is a guest post that we (the team at Voice Science) have prepped to summarise our epic Ultimate Guide to English Pronunciation Hacks for Spanish Native Speakers (Part 1 and 2), which you should definitely check out to take your clarity further if you enjoy what you read below! For nearly a decade, our team of bilingual speech pathologists in Australia have been assisting 100s of Spanish native speakers to clarify their pronunciation and build up their confidence using science-based phonetic training approaches.
The hidden English pronunciation strengths of Spanish speakers
Phrases like ‘unlock your true potential’ can sound cheesy, but that’s exactly what the following information will help you do with your English pronunciation.
Spanish and English are vastly different languages, however, they have so many unexpected sounds in common, and Spanish native speakers have particular pronunciation skills that offer a huge advantage!
English sounds that have been with you all along
When we think about sounds shared between Spanish and English, obvious examples like /s/ and /n/, are easy to spot. But…surprise! There are others so well hidden in Spanish that we usually don’t notice them at all!
This additional pronunciation overlap is due to coarticulation processes in Spanish, when sounds change slightly to prepare for the sound that follows.
COARTICULATION PROCESSES:
Slight changes in speech sounds when they are influenced by an adjacent sound.
Mastering –ing
Do you struggle with the nasal sound in -ing words (e.g. playing, eating)? You already know to leave off the /g/ but it’s not a normal /n/ either… Help! The secret is that the tongue sits further back in the mouth than for /n/, producing the infamous /ŋ/. And here’s the best part: this sound does actually exist in Spanish!
Whenever you produce an ‘n’ before back sounds like a:
in Spanish, your tongue pulls backwards, producing /ŋ!
¡Increíble!
Zzzero to hero
Here’s another sneaky English consonant hiding in the Spanish language: the /z/ sound (eg z ip and ea s y )! Try saying mi s mo and de s de . Did you spot it? There’s some voicing on that /s/ ! After so long dreading English /z/ sounds, your Spanish already had it covered!
the Wealth(s) of Spanish Accents
Spanish, like English, is a global language with rich regional variations in pronunciation. Use this to your advantage! Examine regional Spanish accents like a treasure hunt; your English pronunciation will love the gems you find.
She sells sea shells
The ‘sh’ /∫/ sound in English can be tough. Try imagining it as Argentina’s ‘ll’ and ‘y’ sounds, or the ‘ch’ in Cádiz, Spain !
Aspiring aspirations
The puff of air on English /t/ , /p/ and /k/ sounds feel more accessible if we think of aspirated /s/-blends ‘st’, ‘sp’ and ‘sk’ in some Spanish accents (eg and st hey pronounce as’ and ht oy’) , like in Andalusia, Spain and various regions of South America like Chile .
Hungry for the /h/ sound
Think of the ‘j’ in Spanish, but, specifically in places like Colombia and Cuba where it’s pronounced very softly. Air passes through smoothly, it definitely shouldn’t feel like the strong jjj ote in Spain!
Speaking of hunger…if you’d like more tips in this category, additional help with ‘th’ , ‘j’ and ‘-ing’ is waiting for you in the full blog!
You’re s-tilde one
Spanish speakers have word-stress superpowers! With their trusty tilde, Spanish speakers spend their lives perfecting the art of identifying word stress, and shifting it seamlessly across syllables.
Consider these Spanish words:
Because the strong syllable changes the meaning, you know exactly where that stress lands! Next time you hear an unfamiliar multisyllabic word in English, forget the sounds for a second, and internalise its rhythm using your Spanish-speaker superpower!
Pro tip: Unlike Spanish, word stress shifts in English often result in different vowels. Eg present /prɛzənt/ vs present /prəsɛnt/
En fin
So there you have it. We hope this information has helped to convince you that Spanish speakers and English pronunciation are destined to be a great team. If, like us, you love fine detail and endless examples, make sure you check out the extended version of our blog The Ultimate Guide to English Pronunciation Hacks for Native Speakers of Spanish (Part 1).
Make sure you then take things up a notch with Part 2 of the blog where you’ll find elite-level strategies for Spanish speakers working towards English pronunciation clarity revolving around:
The team at Voice Science wish you all the very best on your English pronunciation journey!
References
Garrido, J. M., Machuca, M. J. y de la Mota, C. (1998). Prácticas de fonética: Lengua española I. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Martínez, E., Martínez, V., Cabrera, G., & Close, C. (2005). Estudio del efecto coarticulatorio en el habla. Revista mexicana de ingeniería biomédica, 25.
Quilis, A. (1993). Tratado de fonología y fonética españolas. Gredos.
¿Qué te ha parecido este contenido?
¡Haz clic en una estrella para puntuar!
Promedio de puntuación 4.6 / 5. Recuento de votos: 9
Hasta ahora no hay votos. Sé el primero en puntuar este contenido.
Ya que has encontrado útil este contenido...
¡Sígueme en Instagram!
Entradas recientes
Categorías