Comments on: Have a native accent? Good! http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/ Learn How to Learn Spanish Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:21:35 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Amelio http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-2727 Amelio Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:13:31 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-2727 I'm Cuban and I'm going to Spain (Valencia) next year to study abroad, I'm going to spend some time in Andalusia as well with my best friend who's from there. Cuban/ Andalusian accent FTW I’m Cuban and I’m going to Spain (Valencia) next year to study abroad, I’m going to spend some time in Andalusia as well with my best friend who’s from there. Cuban/ Andalusian accent FTW

]]> By: Ramses http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1819 Ramses Fri, 15 May 2009 19:23:39 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1819 Lol! "Ejque" is not only something of madrileños, I hear it here (provincia de Albacete) everywhere as well. I sometimes hate myself for always saying "e'que", "e'te", "no pasa na'", etc., but then I think: "dude, you speak Spanish really well with a good accent. Stop complaining!". Lol! “Ejque” is not only something of madrileños, I hear it here (provincia de Albacete) everywhere as well. I sometimes hate myself for always saying “e’que”, “e’te”, “no pasa na’”, etc., but then I think: “dude, you speak Spanish really well with a good accent. Stop complaining!”.

]]> By: Steven Capsuto http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1816 Steven Capsuto Fri, 15 May 2009 16:19:35 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1816 People tend to expect foreigners to learn some sort of "neutral" textbook version of a language. Not sure why but it's a pretty ingrained cultural expectation. For instance, here in the U.S., I think a lot of people would find it odd to hear a Swedish or Nigerian immigrant talk with a thick Brooklyn accent or a rural Alabama drawl. An Andalusian acquaintance of mine in Madrid did a double-take the first time he heard me start a sentence with "Ejque...". His reply: "You're spending *way* too much time in Madrid." :) People tend to expect foreigners to learn some sort of “neutral” textbook version of a language. Not sure why but it’s a pretty ingrained cultural expectation. For instance, here in the U.S., I think a lot of people would find it odd to hear a Swedish or Nigerian immigrant talk with a thick Brooklyn accent or a rural Alabama drawl.

An Andalusian acquaintance of mine in Madrid did a double-take the first time he heard me start a sentence with “Ejque…”. His reply: “You’re spending *way* too much time in Madrid.” :)

]]> By: A+ http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1400 A+ Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:35:35 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1400 Lo entiendo Lo entiendo

]]> By: Ramses http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1398 Ramses Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:10:25 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1398 Este fin de semana (éste isn't really needed) ;-) Este fin de semana (éste isn’t really needed) ;-)

]]> By: A+ http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1394 A+ Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:59:19 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1394 Great tip. I downloaded Audacity ages ago to edit out the unnecessary English speech in the recordings I have, but I didn't know it had this other function. I'll stop procrastinating and play with it esté fin de semana. Gracias como siempre Great tip. I downloaded Audacity ages ago to edit out the unnecessary English speech in the recordings I have, but I didn’t know it had this other function. I’ll stop procrastinating and play with it esté fin de semana.
Gracias como siempre

]]> By: Ramses http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1390 Ramses Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:40:28 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1390 Hey A+, Yeah, it seems that some people find it harder than others to mimic accents. But it's possible to acquire a good accent nonetheless. One thing that might help you is listening to something you have a transcript of. After listening and concentrating on the speech, you record yourself reading it out loud. A program I use is <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/?lang=es" rel="nofollow">Audacity</a>, as you can see the sound waves and learn from them (e.g.: why is there suddenly a pitch in the original audio and can't I seem to reach the same pitch? Does it have to do with intonation or some sound I can't produce?). Hey A+,
Yeah, it seems that some people find it harder than others to mimic accents. But it’s possible to acquire a good accent nonetheless. One thing that might help you is listening to something you have a transcript of. After listening and concentrating on the speech, you record yourself reading it out loud. A program I use is Audacity, as you can see the sound waves and learn from them (e.g.: why is there suddenly a pitch in the original audio and can’t I seem to reach the same pitch? Does it have to do with intonation or some sound I can’t produce?).

]]> By: A+ http://www.spanish-only.com/2009/02/have-a-native-accent-good/comment-page-1/#comment-1387 A+ Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:30:53 +0000 http://www.spanish-only.com/?p=712#comment-1387 Exactly, more power to you. I can't wait to lose my distinctly English accent and haltering speech. It doesn't help that I'm not much of a mimic, I can barely copy other English accents! As much as I try, I'm still in the "translate from English to Spanish" level of speech production and my mouth still struggles to wrap itself around Spanish words. Exactly, more power to you.

I can’t wait to lose my distinctly English accent and haltering speech. It doesn’t help that I’m not much of a mimic, I can barely copy other English accents! As much as I try, I’m still in the “translate from English to Spanish” level of speech production and my mouth still struggles to wrap itself around Spanish words.

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