For any Americano that has ever tried to learn Spanish, you know just how puzzling it can be to get rid of that pesky gringo accent. How can you possibly master any foreign language such as Spanish, when native speakers can hardly understand what you are saying? Well, there’s some good news for you. Spanish is pronounced just as it’s spelled.
Have you heard already the above tip? While it is true that Spanish is easy to read (unlike English, where nothing ever makes sense), saying that Spanish is spoken exactly the way it’s spelled is both very true and very misleading. How so?
You may read that piece of advice and then go out and read every Spanish word like it were an English word, which would be a big mistake. The tip that’s put in bold above doesn’t mean you can use your mixed-up English pronunciation patterns to speak Spanish; it means that once you learn the Spanish rules, you’ll be able to read just about any word in the language. So how can you better your Spanish pronunciation and reading skills? Here are two quick steps to help you out a lot.
Use the Front of Your Mouth
I’ve taught both English and Spanish students, and I’ve seen how Spanish speakers have great trouble speaking English because they want to say everything right up in the front of their mouths. They have to be constantly reminded to relax their tongue and jaw and open the back of their mouths. Why? Because English is spoken from the back and bottom of the mouth and even into the throat a little. If you don’t believe me, say the words “World War One” and think about where those fat, rounded sounds are coming from.
On the flip side of that coin, Spanish learners must learn to project most of their speaking to the front of their mouth. Pushing all your energy to the tip of your tongue and just behind your teeth is the only way you’ll be able to pronounce some sounds correctly, like the dreaded treble of the double ‘r’.
I’ve noticed that when I speak Spanish for an entire day, the front of my tongue actually feels sore from overuse. So, for Spanish learners, just remember to push your sounds to the front of your mouth.
Make Your Vowels Quick and Punchy!
The second step to better Spanish pronunciation is a little more concrete, and it has to do with the vowel sounds. Another tip that’s been given far too much is just get the vowels down and you’ll speak Spanish just fine. Again, that tip is completely true, but it may lead you to actually not give enough attention to the Spanish vowels.
Question: Do all the vowel sounds in Spanish already exist in English?
Answer: NO!
It is very misleading to think that the “a, e, i, o, u” sounds in Spanish are just like existing sounds in English. Let’s look at an example. Say the word 'hello' out loud a few times, listening carefully to the final 'o' sound. Some will have you believe that this same long “o” is the “o” sound in Spanish. But now go to this website and listen to the pronunciation of the word gato (cat). Do you hear a difference in the 'o’s?
Yes, Spanish vowels are shorter, punchier than English ones. In fact, almost all sounds in Spanish are short and direct. Many English sounds (especially vowels) are very rotund, rounded, like the spectrum of the rainbow. Spanish vowels are one single sound said quickly. Look at the following examples to illustrate.
- The ‘a’ in Spanish is like the ‘o’ in ‘not.’
- The ‘e’ is like the ‘e’ in ‘pet,’ but punchier.
- The ‘i’ is like the ‘ee’ in ‘feet,’ but shorter.
- The ‘o’ is a shorter, punchier, more direct version of the ‘o’ in ‘hello.’
- The ‘u’ is like the ‘o’ in ‘to,’ but shorter.
If you follow these two steps—if you push the sound to the front of your mouth and if you pronounce the vowels as quick punches and not rounded blobs—you’ll be so much closer to near-native Spanish pronunciation. In short, you’ll be stripping the “gringo” out of your Spanish!
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