What does it take to get a perfect, native accent? Which of the myriad accents of Spanish would you choose, and why? Our accent when we talk any language makes a big difference in how we we are perceived by others, as well as how we perceive ourselves. Accents are tied in deeply with questions and assumptions of identity and background. Speaking Spanish with a perfect native accent is what many people aspire to, but why? And is it really necessary?
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There are many different dialects of Spanish throughout Latinoamerica and siiiiiii Colombian accent is characterized by an almost musical intonation and clear pronunciation! Anyway I think if you want to learn a new languaje you must be involve in the culture of the country that you prefer.
[…] Why you don’t need a perfect native Spanish accent at Spanish Obsessed […]
¿Cuál acento? es una buena pregunta. Soy inglés, aunque España está más cerca de Inglaterra que Hispanoamérica, prefiero el acento suyo que el español de España. Creo que es porque mi primera profesara era cubana, y antes de asistir a la clase no sabía nada del idioma. A mis amigos de España no les gusta que yo hable con la s (servesa etc en vez de thervetha) y cuando hablo con ellos trato de pronunciar las palabras como ellos, para que me entendian. Cuando hablo con mis amigos de las islas Canarias, me siento más cómodo, no tengo que preocuparme por la z y la ci/ce. Creo que tengo más fluidez cuando pronuncio palabras con la s, pero creo que si mi primera profesora hubiera sido española, habría empezado a hablar como ella.
Me encantan los podcasts
Hola! Sí, es verdad que la gente con la que estas puede influir en tu acento. Yo (Rob) cambio mi acento dependiendo la persona con la que esté hablando. No lo hago a propósito, pero me sale de todas formas! Gracias por escribirnos, y nos alegra que te gusten los podcasts.
Estoy de acuerdo totalmente con este articulo, creo que nuestros acentos son una parte imprescindible de nosotros y que mostran nuestra cultura y nos hace una persona interesante.
Eso es! Por eso no hay que tener vergüenza de cualquier acento que tengas
Gracias por este post, me ha servido para dejar de obsesionarme por hablar como una nativa… En mi caso soy nativa española y me desespera ver que soy incapaz de reproducir el acento de Leeds, en donde vivo, como una más, pero me tranquiliza pensar que, al fin y al cabo, no es tan importante hablar como una nativa… 🙂
A todos nos gustaría tener una pronunciación perfecta, pero no es siempre posible. Y tampoco importa tanto! Mas importante es comunicarse bien, y el acento seguirá!
=)
Yo soy nacido en Puerto Rico ,yo nunca desarolle hablar en tono nativo ,hablo ingles con accento,sin tener acento nativo.Creo que no importa por que puedo imitar acentos facilmente ,pero es muy raro.
Ola Rob and Liz,
As a full time Spanish student I am very taken by
the beautiful music of the different regional dialects. I understand
what you are saying about clarity and communication being the most
important factors but I must strongly disagree that one cannot focus on a
regional accent if the previous factors are not being compromised. If
utility or time limitations were my only concerns I would agree but I am
learning Spanish just as much for the beauty of the language and I feel
that my preference for certain aspects of central and northern Andean
Spanish (I find the clarity of Colombian Spanish as part of it’s beauty)
the same as my preference for Jazz over Country and Western. As a
guitar player I even have my favorite artists and I buy the sheet music
of the incredible Joe Pass not because I want to be him or somehow cheat
myself of gaining my own sound though my own life experiences but
because his music touches me and I want to better understand why that
is. I believe that our preferences for certain music, food, language
and cultures are part of our life experiences and legitimate growth as
unique individuals. I know that as time goes on my preferences for
everything will evolve but sometimes it is the decisions that we make
early on in one of our endeavors of love that have the largest impact on
on our enjoyment of those loves for the rest of our lives. I decided
from the start that I would pick either Spain or a Latin American
country (or groups of countries) as the grammar and vocabulary
foundation of the books and audio courses I would purchase and stick
with that decision until I had some confidence and a solid footing in a
single approach before I started the inevitable next step of
incorporating Spanish from across the globe into my own personal style.
I believe that my choice to predominantly study the Spanish of native
speakers as opposed to ones that learned it as a second language speaks
to the fact that the “type” of Spanish you choose is important. I find
that Liz’s Spanish is particularly pleasing to my ears in the same way
that the beauty of Joe Pass’ music captivates me. Musicians practice
scales and chords particular to their style of music or instrument and
professional speakers such as news anchors and actors practice tongue
twisters to build up their linguistic abilities. They practice those
scales and tongue twisters not because they are going to play or say
those exact things live but because how and what we practice matters and
an informed decision to choose our influences is crucial to reaching
our full potential. I know that I should quit spouting my own views now
and get off my soap box and I’m sure that many (if not all) will think
that I am taking this aspect far to seriously. But my reason for this
post (believe it or not there is one buried in here somewhere if I can
just find it) is to ask you to please consider doing a couple of
podcasts somewhere on your site that focus on the central Andean
dialect. I would love more than anything to be able to have some
Spanish tongue twisters and drills that will let me isolate and hear
certain sounds repeated so that I can practice. I promise that I will
not try to do Liz imitations, which is impossible anyway since I know
that these drills may only affect my Spanish a little and not replace
it. But I feel very strongly that just as I am interested in Colombian
history even though I will never actually be from there, I am very
interested in the sound of Liz’s Spanish even though I will never
actually speak it. Can I use the fact that it is very close to
Christmas sway you? If so, then please notice that it is very close to
Christmas.
Thank you
Kevin
Hi Kevin
I’m not against developing a native accent at all – of course! Everyone finds different accents attractive for various reasons, and it definitely helps to choose one on which to base our own pronunciation on. But, for most, a perfect native accent is unattainable, which is why we need to be very conscious of being clear and understandable.
I like your idea of developing a few drills around Liz’s Colombian accent – we’ve been working on a pronunciation course and there are plenty of drills in there, but we’ll look to include some in our podcasts as well! Won’t be this side of xmas though…
Thanks for stopping by!
I’m looking forward to the pronunciation course. The fact that you two will be approaching the subject from such different perspectives will be a real plus I think. I’m really impressed by the amount of effort and time that is evident in your other material. (You really MUST be obsessed!) Thanks very much for fully transcribing your episodes.
🙂 Thanks, it’ll be a little while yet, but hopefully early new year we’ll have it up and running!
Um, oops. I reread your article here and now I see that you are not completely against picking a regional dialect to some extent. So sorry for the rant. But I really love the flavors of Andean Spanish. It’s crisp yet fluid comprehensibility is part of the elegance……… to my ears. Rant aside I am very much hoping you do some lessons and drills highlighting that particular flavor of the language. It IS almost Christmas after all.