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Most widely understood Spanish accent

  Tags: Accent | Spanish
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
24 messages over 3 pages: 13  Next >>
Javi
Senior Member
Spain
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419 posts - 548 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 9 of 24
04 April 2009 at 12:55am | IP Logged 
sprachefin wrote:
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.


Castillian Spanish is far from being spoken throughout the country. Southern accents have millions of speakers, and growing.
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Javi
Senior Member
Spain
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419 posts - 548 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 10 of 24
04 April 2009 at 1:10am | IP Logged 
Quote:
There are some accents you should be careful with, such as the Castillian Spanish, because people in Spain tend to lisp their "s" sounds


Yeah, but being exposed to that lisp, even if you don't use it yourself, can help your spelling.
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sprachefin
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
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Speaks: German*, English, Spanish
Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch

 
 Message 11 of 24
04 April 2009 at 6:03am | 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.

Actually, Castillian Spanish can be spoken with a standard accent. It is mostly in Andalucia where they speak like
that. That is where I spent my time. An accent from Madrid is a good idea to follow, or even Salamanca where I
hear it's pretty standard. Colombian does seem like a good idea, but it is not the easiest country to access. Mexico
would be easier for an American like himself.
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stelingo
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United Kingdom
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 Message 12 of 24
04 April 2009 at 12:45pm | IP Logged 
Javi wrote:
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.


Nope, this is known as distinction.


So what is ceceo then?
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anamsc
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Senior Member
Andorra
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 Message 13 of 24
04 April 2009 at 2:39pm | IP Logged 
stelingo wrote:
Javi wrote:
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.


Nope, this is known as distinction.


So what is ceceo then?


Ceceo is pronouncing every letter that would be /s/ in Latin America (i.e. s, z, ce/ci) as the English "th". This occurs in some parts of Andalucia and is generally looked down on.
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Javi
Senior Member
Spain
Joined 6062 days ago

419 posts - 548 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 14 of 24
05 April 2009 at 1:56am | IP Logged 
anamsc wrote:
stelingo wrote:
Javi wrote:
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.


Nope, this is known as distinction.


So what is ceceo then?


Ceceo is pronouncing every letter that would be /s/ in Latin America (i.e. s, z, ce/ci) as the English "th". This occurs in some parts of Andalucia and is generally looked down on.


Yes, that is. Just to sum up:

caza as /kasa/ is seseo (Latin America and some parts of Spain)
caza as /katha/ is distinction or spelling pronunciation (Most part of Spain)
casa as /katha/ is ceceo (some parts of Sothern Spain)

So people who make distinction pronounce caza and casa differently, whereas people with seseo or ceceo pronounce them the same.

In Latin America there is only seseo, so this feature lacks a (popular) name, but in a place like Andalusia in Southern Spain, there are up to four different possibilities: seseo, distinción, ceceo and heheo, which is pronouncing /s/ as /h/.
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SRC
Newbie
United States
Joined 6061 days ago

31 posts - 33 votes
Studies: Spanish, Japanese

 
 Message 15 of 24
10 April 2009 at 2:16am | IP Logged 

I appreciate everyone's input on this question, it is highly informative ... most likely, I'm getting a little ahead of myself worrying about an "accent" at this point --
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slucido
Bilingual Diglot
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Spain
https://goo.gl/126Yv
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4 sounds
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 Message 16 of 24
10 April 2009 at 8:42am | IP Logged 
SRC wrote:

I appreciate everyone's input on this question, it is highly informative ... most likely, I'm getting a little ahead of myself worrying about an "accent" at this point --


There are little pronunciation differences between educated speakers. You can have problems with local slang. I think you can find the same difference between different kinds of American, British or Australian English dialects.

Regarding the sound, it's a matter of personal preference. I like Castillian Spanish, because is my Spanish and it's the origin, but I think practical goals are important too. If you are American, I think it makes sense to study Mexican pronunciation.








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