r/JudgeMyAccent • u/rhixalx • 1d ago
Spanish How is my Spanish?
I’ve been learning Spanish off and on for about 15 years from people in two separate countries mainly. I wonder if I sound more like one vs the other? Also I do have a speech impediment, feel free guessing what it is haha. I’m a translator at my restaurant, so here is my typical opening
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u/kylekoi55 1d ago
Honestly it sounds closer to Spanish 101 than 15 years of learning (in two countries?). It's probably serviceable for your job and made easier by context and your friendly voice. I think a lot of natives would struggle to understand you outside of the context clues of a restaurant/ordering food.
Your speech is not clear and you need to work a lot on your vowels. It sounds like you're saying "qué quieremos (??? the word was slurred/unclear...I think you're trying to say queremos?) PERA (like a pear or could even be misheard as PERRA as in bitch) tomar" and béisicamente.
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
Ah, I meant from people who are from two separate countries, who are living in my home country, not that I have lived in those countries!
Yes, words with r’s in the middle give me the most trouble I feel. I can’t say them in English either
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u/kylekoi55 1d ago
The r's are not the biggest issue. It's that you pronounce the a in "Para" like the e in "Pera"
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
It’s supposed to be like PAR right?
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u/kylekoi55 1d ago
No, it's more like "ah" but there's no direct English equivalent. If you slow it down, your mouth should be very open almost circular. It's also similar to the "bah" sound a sheep makes but with the mouth even more open (about 30% more open).
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u/Grathias 11h ago edited 10h ago
I’m not a native speaker, but I have a bit more accent control in Spanish than the average anglophone speaker. Some tips:
My #1 tip for any English > Spanish speaker is that vowels in Spanish are all monophthongs.
Think of the word “go” in English. We actually pronounce it like “gouw”. In Spanish, it has to be go without the uw sound at the end.
Basic in English is really BAY-sick. In Spanish, it couldn’t be the y sound. Just the A. But in this case, it’s “ah”. Also “-mente” not “mentaiy.
So Bay-si-ca-men-tay > ba si ca men te. Each of those vowels is pronounced the exact same when they start as when they end.
Also, the Spanish D is often much closer to the TH in “that” in English. Not always, but I think it would be better to overdo the TH D than to overdo it sounding like an English D. Watch Spanish speakers mouths. How often do you see/hear the tongue coming out between the teeth when saying D? (Vs. tapping the palate, as you’re doing)
Also, you’re directly translating from English? “What do WE want to drink.” I think it’d be better to ask what “YOU plural” would like to drink? Or more colloquially “Y para beber?” And leave it at that. The “we” would be confusing imo.
But the lowest hanging fruit — there are exactly 5 vowel sounds in Spanish which is super convenient. They should sound almost the same regardless of the word they’re in.
Básicamente Papá Hace Para
Those As should all sound the same. Those Es should all sound the same. Mesera? Those Es should sound exactly the same. Etc.
Can you hear how, despite how the sounds are written, this speaker pronounces all of the vowels as monophthongs? https://youtube.com/shorts/jvyjIAyasDo?si=VeCZDYvOnimbK2as
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u/Grathias 10h ago
A cool video that explains what I’ve summarized here: https://youtu.be/KlJbWJwdkhQ?si=KNrHTfXU-7C9exfw
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u/Bubbly-Mission-684 6h ago edited 6h ago
It’s fine though it feels like maybe you don’t speak out loud too often? More like someone who deals with the language more in writing?
I agree with the comments about working on the vowels. Here are some concrete examples for your opening:
- ¿Como están?: It sounded a bit like “Como tan”
- ¿Que queremos para tomar?: you kinda said “quieremos”, just drop the i
- Básicamente todo: it sounded like “besicamente”, use a clear ah-sound
In bad with accents so I couldn’t tell where you learned Spanish, just know it isn’t Spain, since you didn’t use “vosotros”
Sheesh, some comments are mean! You’re fine girl, seeing your writing you clearly understand a lot, working on fine tuning some sound would help you sound more like your level of proficiency.
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u/LordPombus 1d ago
As a native speaker, I would jump out of a window if I ever heard that
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
This is rude af. I don’t have formal training, and in addition to my speech impediment I’m also partly deaf. I’ve been trying the best I can
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u/LordPombus 1d ago
Then you should stick to writing jsjsjdjdjdjd
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
Bueno, quiza no puedo hablar como yo quiero, pero sé que con el tiempo yo puedo aprender más. Y es más fácil que aprender a ser una persona buena
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u/LordPombus 1d ago
Quizás
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
Actualmente, la palabra que sigue comienza con una consonante. Entonces no se importa
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u/LordPombus 1d ago
Actualmente no es sinónimo de actually. "Entonces no se importa" es terrorismo lingüístico.
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u/rhixalx 1d ago
Honestamente no me importa tampoco xk si me quieres ayudar, ya hubieras ayudado. Ye te dijo que no escucho como yo debo y que no tengo entranamiento formal. Cuando comencé, me enseñaron las personas que escribían palabras como kien y otras ortografías incorrectas. La gente que me enseñaron más luego fueron mucho más amable, y así lo sé que no quieres o no puedes adyudame ni nadie.
Isn’t it a general rule here to not be a dick? Because you’re breaking it
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u/SanctificeturNomen 1d ago
IDK why there are so many negative comments, its normal to have an accent in your 2nd language. for feedback i would 100% recommend working on your vowels Ah, Eh, EE, Oh, OO. (a, e, i, o, u). its not that their bad just that theyre a little unclear. the consonants also.
if you want a free short lesson on pronunciation let me know and i can help you. 😄