SRC Newbie United States Joined 5978 days ago 31 posts - 33 votes Studies: Spanish, Japanese
| Message 1 of 24 02 April 2009 at 8:48pm | IP Logged |
Hello everyone - I'm thinking seriously of picking up my long-neglected study of Spanish and that getting a tutor would be a good idea. I know that there is a form of "standard" Spanish that you hear on TV, but most people wouldn't really speak that way ... if I had to pick an accent to pattern myself off of, what **natural** accents are most widely and clearly understood and come across as "well-spoken" (whatever that means) throughout the Spanish-speaking world?
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sprachefin Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5744 days ago 300 posts - 317 votes Speaks: German*, English, Spanish Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch
| Message 2 of 24 02 April 2009 at 11:48pm | IP Logged |
If you were going to learn a "neutral" Spanish, why not learn the one that started it all. The Castillian Spanish. This
is the one spoken throughout Spain. Many Spaniards who speak another minority language such as Basque or
Galican speak it as well as Spanish is the official language. Another option for you would be Mexican Spanish. Since
you live in the United States, it would not hurt to take a vacation for a few weeks to Cancun or even an urban area.
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giantsfan7791 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5830 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Studies: French, German
| Message 3 of 24 03 April 2009 at 5:59am | IP Logged |
The most well regarded of Spanish accents is Colombian accent, specifically that spoken by people living in the area of Medellín. It's said to be very beautiful, almost as if the Spanish is sung rather than spoken, and it has the added bonus of generally being spoken at a moderate pace (not to mention that there are tons of Colombian telenovelas out there).There are some accents you should be careful with, such as the Castillian Spanish, because people in Spain tend to lisp their "s" sounds (among other sounds) and are known to be difficult to understand outside of Europe. Mexican accents are decent, but can be seen as a sort of lower-class accent by some people. Dominican accents you should avoid, they speak at very rapid speeds and it would be difficult for a beginner to comprehend/emulate them.
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portunhol Triglot Senior Member United States thelinguistblogger.w Joined 6250 days ago 198 posts - 299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: German, Arabic (classical)
| Message 4 of 24 03 April 2009 at 6:14am | IP Logged |
I would say that the neutral accent used by Latin American news casters is the most widely understood by all. I agree that certain parts of Columbia speak very clear and correct Spanish but so do parts of Mexico, San Salvador and Bolivia. Try and imitate the people on Univisión and you'll do just fine.
Truth be told, this is nothing to stress about too much. Spanish is one language so even if you developed a thick Paraguayan accent the Mexicans would understand most if not all of what you said. Even if you spent years in Málaga, you could go to Puerto Rico the next day and communicate with about as many problems as you have with your English in the UK.
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stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5830 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin
| Message 5 of 24 03 April 2009 at 6:08pm | IP Logged |
giantsfan7791 wrote:
The most well regarded of Spanish accents is Colombian accent, specifically that spoken by people living in the area of Medellín. It's said to be very beautiful, almost as if the Spanish is sung rather than spoken, and it has the added bonus of generally being spoken at a moderate pace (not to mention that there are tons of Colombian telenovelas out there).There are some accents you should be careful with, such as the Castillian Spanish, because people in Spain tend to lisp their "s" sounds (among other sounds) and are known to be difficult to understand outside of Europe. Mexican accents are decent, but can be seen as a sort of lower-class accent by some people. Dominican accents you should avoid, they speak at very rapid speeds and it would be difficult for a beginner to comprehend/emulate them. |
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Spanish people do not lisp their s sounds at all. Many, depending on the region of Spain, pronounce z and ce/ci like English th in think. This is known as ceceo. And I have not met any Latin Americans who find it difficult to understand Castillian Spanish. And who are these people who see Mexican accents as'sort of lower class'?
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TheBiscuit Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 5921 days ago 532 posts - 619 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Italian Studies: German, Croatian
| Message 6 of 24 03 April 2009 at 6:43pm | IP Logged |
I wouldn't worry too much about your accent, worry about developing the sounds necessary to speak the language and reduce interference from your L1. I have spent 4 years in Mexico, speak Spanish fluently but have yet to develop an accent. Most people tell me I have no accent which is fine by me as it means I have little or no L1 interference and can be understood.
If you want to come across as well-spoken this has more to do with the words you choose, the structures, how well you express your ideas and above all what you have to say.
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Javi Senior Member Spain Joined 5979 days ago 419 posts - 548 votes Speaks: Spanish*
| Message 7 of 24 04 April 2009 at 12:30am | IP Logged |
SRC wrote:
Hello everyone - I'm thinking seriously of picking up my long-neglected study of Spanish and that getting a tutor would be a good idea. I know that there is a form of "standard" Spanish that you hear on TV, but most people wouldn't really speak that way ... if I had to pick an accent to pattern myself off of, what **natural** accents are most widely and clearly understood and come across as "well-spoken" (whatever that means) throughout the Spanish-speaking world? |
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I don't think any Spanish accent is regarded as high outside the country where it is spoken. Additionally mutual understanding has more to do with education than with accent, so I wouldn't worry to much about that, just pick the one you like the most, as long as you can hear it on a regular basis.
Edited by Javi on 04 April 2009 at 12:41am
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Javi Senior Member Spain Joined 5979 days ago 419 posts - 548 votes Speaks: Spanish*
| Message 8 of 24 04 April 2009 at 12:40am | IP Logged |
stelingo wrote:
Spanish people do not lisp their s sounds at all. Many, depending on the region of Spain, pronounce z and ce/ci like English th in think. This is known as ceceo. |
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Nope, this is known as distinction.
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