A question for native Spanish speakers

[Hwæt]

In English, a very thick Spanish accent sounds kind of weak and very breathy.

So here's my question: does a very thick American English accent (assuming there's much of a difference between British English and American English) in Spanish sound very rough and heavy? If not, can you please describe how it sounds?

Thank you

[Paqman]

In English, a very thick Spanish accent sounds kind of weak and very breathy.

I don't think it does at all, certainly not the accent(s) in Spain itself.

[schauerlich]

In English, a very thick Spanish accent sounds kind of weak and very breathy.

Antonio Banderas != Every Spanish person's accent.

[nubimax]

English heard by a Mexican Spanish speaker sounds more as a drawl. Same is true if American or Enlish person, is speaking Spanish. Most of the time it is because they do not speak Rapid fire Spanish.
M.

[Paqman]

English heard by a Mexican Spanish speaker sounds more as a drawl.

The accent of your English-speaking neighbours sounds like a drawl to other English speakers too! ;-)

[Hwæt]

English heard by a Mexican Spanish speaker sounds more as a drawl. Same is true if American or Enlish person, is speaking Spanish. Most of the time it is because they do not speak Rapid fire Spanish.
M.

Interesting, thank you very much for the reply. :)


The accent of your English-speaking neighbours sounds like a drawl to other English speakers too! ;-)

Too true! :lolflag:

[Jesus_Valdez]

there's differents sounds depending on the english-speaker region.

A souther accent (Texas and such) sounds really different from a northern person.

An English person (as in from England) sounds like if they had a potato on their mouths.

[Paul41]

there's differents sounds depending on the english-speaker region.

A souther accent (Texas and such) sounds really different from a northern person.

An English person (as in from England) sounds like if they had a potato on their mouths.

Interesting you say this. The last time I was in Switzerland (German speaking part) for work they couldn't tell the difference between my accent (southern US) and another person there from the Mid West US. The two of us and the other people there form the US could tell a big difference in our accents.

[jwbrase]

@hƿæt: I wonder if you're talking about a "high pitched" sound to the accent. I've noticed that both native English accents far from my own, as well as the accents of foreigners speaking English, tend to sound high pitched (with certain exceptions, my roomate, from Ghana, for instance, has an accent that I perceive as very low pitched, and deep Texan accents sound rather low pitched to me as well), and when I've asked people with (for instance) British accents what they thought of my accent, or American accents in general, they also thought it sounded high pitched.

I'm thinking this may have origins in the fact that the vocal chords operate at a fairly low frequency (200 Hz), but vowels are distinguished from each other by some fairly high frequency resonances in the mouth (from about 800 Hz to 3 kHz, if I recall). If an accent is close to your own, your brain parses those higher resonances as vowels, and for pitch information only pays attention to the noise from the vocal chords. If it's not close to your own, when the brain interprets the vowels, it can't match them exactly, so it does its best and then interprets the parts of the vowels it can't understand as extra high pitched noise. This is just me trying to reconcile what I know with subjective perceptions of accent, so I may well be wrong.

[wojox]

Que ?

[edd07]

there's differents sounds depending on the english-speaker region.

A souther accent (Texas and such) sounds really different from a northern person.

An English person (as in from England) sounds like if they had a potato on their mouths.
Very true. It gets trickier when trying to tell the Irish, Welsh, English and Scottish accents apart, though. The same is true for the US, I can only distinguish 2 accents in American English: Southern and Every Other Accent, but US Americans themselves seem to recognize more.

[manny43]

Spaniards who came to USA when they were kids dont sound like Antonio Banderas who learned to speak english as an adult.I was born in Cuba my kids were born here they dont have my accent which
is not as strong as spaniards.Latinos and Spaniards whose first language is spanish dont have the same
accent or sound when they speak english i dont mean broken english though

[Hwæt]

there's differents sounds depending on the english-speaker region.

A souther accent (Texas and such) sounds really different from a northern person.

Even to that extent in Spanish? I didn't think that the pronunciations were that different.

EDIT: I think I know the reason for this. It's probably because Southern American English (Especially the dialect in Texas) has been influenced by Spanish to a greater extent, and so some sounds that may be difficult for the average English speaker are easier for us, therefore making our accents just a little less thick.

Original Spelling -> Phonetic Anglicized Spanish -> Phonetic Southern American English -> Phonetic General American
Fajita -> Fah he tah -> Fuh he tuh -> Fah j ai tuh
Quesadilla -> Kay sah dee yah -> Kay suh dee yuh -> Kay suh dill uh



An English person (as in from England) sounds like if they had a potato on their mouths.

Well, did they? ;)


@hƿæt: I wonder if you're talking about a "high pitched" sound to the accent. I've noticed that both native English accents far from my own, as well as the accents of foreigners speaking English, tend to sound high pitched (with certain exceptions, my roomate, from Ghana, for instance, has an accent that I perceive as very low pitched, and deep Texan accents sound rather low pitched to me as well), and when I've asked people with (for instance) British accents what they thought of my accent, or American accents in general, they also thought it sounded high pitched.

I'm thinking this may have origins in the fact that the vocal chords operate at a fairly low frequency (200 Hz), but vowels are distinguished from each other by some fairly high frequency resonances in the mouth (from about 800 Hz to 3 kHz, if I recall). If an accent is close to your own, your brain parses those higher resonances as vowels, and for pitch information only pays attention to the noise from the vocal chords. If it's not close to your own, when the brain interprets the vowels, it can't match them exactly, so it does its best and then interprets the parts of the vowels it can't understand as extra high pitched noise. This is just me trying to reconcile what I know with subjective perceptions of accent, so I may well be wrong.

I see, thank you.


Thanks for using the Wynn in my name, btw. I would have originally put that in there, but I didn't have it on my keyboard. :(


Very true. It gets trickier when trying to tell the Irish, Welsh, English and Scottish accents apart, though. The same is true for the US, I can only distinguish 2 accents in American English: Southern and Every Other Accent, but US Americans themselves seem to recognize more.

I wonder why that is. Are there a lot of native Southern American English speakers in Mexican media?

[Paqman]

I wonder why that is. Are there a lot of native Southern American English speakers in Mexican media?

I'd say most non-American English speakers would say the same thing. The Southern accent is the only one that's strong enough to really stand out as different.

[edd07]

I wonder why that is. Are there a lot of native Southern American English speakers in Mexican media?
Not really, I just watch a lot of American movies :P

[Paul41]

I'd say most non-American English speakers would say the same thing. The Southern accent is the only one that's strong enough to really stand out as different.

Not really, for example North Easterners also have a heavy accent (Boston for example).

[Paqman]

Not really, for example North Easterners also have a heavy accent (Boston for example).

I agree, and I almost mentioned it in my post. I'm not sure it'd get as much recognition as you'd think though. I once tried to explain the New York accent to my wife, and she looked at me like I was mad.

It's like the way everybody outside Britain thinks there's only two English accents (upper class toff and Cockney barrow boy).

[jwbrase]

Even to that extent in Spanish? I didn't think that the pronunciations were that different.

EDIT: I think I know the reason for this. It's probably because Southern American English (Especially the dialect in Texas) has been influenced by Spanish to a greater extent, and so some sounds that may be difficult for the average English speaker are easier for us, therefore making our accents just a little less thick.

Original Spelling -> Phonetic Anglicized Spanish -> Phonetic Southern American English -> Phonetic General American
Fajita -> Fah he tah -> Fuh he tuh -> Fah j ai tuh
Quesadilla -> Kay sah dee yah -> Kay suh dee yuh -> Kay suh dill uh


Actually, I've probably heard /kEis@dil@/ and /dZ{l@pino/ (pronounciations given in X-SAMPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XSAMPA)), for easier reading "Kaysuhdilluh" and "Jaluhpeeno", more often from people with strong Texas accents than with non-Texan or weak Texas accents.

In any case, the pronunciation of "ll" or "j" in words of Spanish origin is more a matter of education than of accent, since the sounds involved are quite close to existing English sounds. The same goes for not pronouncing "h"'s, and although my pronunciation of Spanish is in general fairly good, I still have problems with that one, even though English does 'ave its own dialects that drop "h".

From what I've heard the Southern accents have more British and African American influences than Spanish, as well as the fact that the South at one time had (and to some degree still has) a fairly divergent culture from the rest of the country (in both good ways and bad).

Also keep in mind that if Spanish were the predominant influence in creating the Southern dialects, California, Arizona, and New Mexico would have similar accents to Texas, and the rest of the South would have fairly Northern sounding accents.

Another item of note is that lumping "Southern" accents all together in one pot doesn't really work. There is for example, a marked difference even to my Northern ears between Texas and Georgia. And there's a marked difference between "teenager/college kid in suburban Dallas" and "50 year old farmer outside Tyler".

A good portion of my "born and raised in Texas" classmates in high school and college in suburban Dallas have accents that are only slightly different from those of the kids I grew up with in suburban Denver.



Thanks for using the Wynn in my name, btw. I would have originally put that in there, but I didn't have it on my keyboard.

I don't have æsc on my keyboard either. So I figured if I was going to have to go to the Character Table for æsc, I might as well pick up ƿynn while I was at it. I would like a utility for making user defined keyboards though. Anybody know of such a thing?

[jwbrase]

Not really, for example North Easterners also have a heavy accent (Boston for example).

Also, there are alot of rural dialects that are fairly heavy. Listen to some of my Iowa relatives on my dad's side sometime.

[Paul41]

Actually, I've probably heard /kEis@dil@/ and /dZ{l@pino/ (pronounciations given in X-SAMPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XSAMPA)), for easier reading "Kaysuhdilluh" and "Jaluhpeeno", more often from people with strong Texas accents than with non-Texan or weak Texas accents.

In any case, the pronunciation of "ll" or "j" in words of Spanish origin is more a matter of education than of accent, since the sounds involved are quite close to existing English sounds. The same goes for not pronouncing "h"'s, and although my pronunciation of Spanish is in general fairly good, I still have problems with that one, even though English does 'ave its own dialects that drop "h".

From what I've heard the Southern accents have more British and African American influences than Spanish, as well as the fact that the South at one time had (and to some degree still has) a fairly divergent culture from the rest of the country (in both good ways and bad).

Also keep in mind that if Spanish were the predominant influence in creating the Southern dialects, California, Arizona, and New Mexico would have similar accents to Texas, and the rest of the South would have fairly Northern sounding accents.

Another item of note is that lumping "Southern" accents all together in one pot doesn't really work. There is for example, a marked difference even to my Northern ears between Texas and Georgia. And there's a marked difference between "teenager/college kid in suburban Dallas" and "50 year old farmer outside Tyler".

A good portion of my "born and raised in Texas" classmates in high school and college in suburban Dallas have accents that are only slightly different from those of the kids I grew up with in suburban Denver.



I don't have æsc on my keyboard either. So I figured if I was going to have to go to the Character Table for æsc, I might as well pick up ƿynn while I was at it. I would like a utility for making user defined keyboards though. Anybody know of such a thing?

Being someone from North Carolina I can say you are exactly right saying different areas in the South have different "Southern" accents. People in Texas sound very different from people here in North Carolina for example.

[jwbrase]

It's like the way everybody outside Britain thinks there's only two English accents (upper class toff and Cockney barrow boy).

I'm pretty sure I can add "Yorkshire" to that list for what I can tell apart and name. Also, considering that in America the term for a native-English-speaking accent from that side of the Atlantic is "British" rather than "English", I can add "Scottish" to the list of British accents I can identify without offending the Scots too badly.

[MooPi]

I'd say most non-American English speakers would say the same thing. The Southern accent is the only one that's strong enough to really stand out as different.

I have to disagree. I'm from Ohio and went on a trip fishing with my father nine years ago to a place called Little River Lodge Golden Valley Ontario. Nice vacation. We were out getting groceries and the woman behind the counter quickly asked if we were from the US. We were both surprised as we had never thought of having a distinct accent. Some Canadians have heavy accents ( not counting the French speakers) but most have what I would consider a neutral tone. I'm obviously incorrect.

[Paqman]

I'm pretty sure I can add "Yorkshire" to that list for what I can tell apart and name.

I'm guessing we've got Monty Python to thank for that one

"'Ad t'live in shoebox in t'middle o'road" ;)

[jwbrase]

Also, if you look at some old movies, the American accents are quite different from what you'd hear nowadays anywhere.

[Jesus_Valdez]

American Accents

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOltf7rS-mM

[scrooge_74]

I have a pretty decent hearing and I can tell a Texas accent from a northen accent, also from UK and from Australia pretty different from the way US people speak.

then accents in Spain sound different to a Mexican or a Central American

[jwbrase]

I'm guessing we've got Monty Python to thank for that one

"'Ad t'live in shoebox in t'middle o'road" ;)

Very much so.

[Hwæt]

Actually, I've probably heard /kEis@dil@/ and /dZ{l@pino/ (pronounciations given in X-SAMPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XSAMPA)), for easier reading "Kaysuhdilluh" and "Jaluhpeeno", more often from people with strong Texas accents than with non-Texan or weak Texas accents.

Where was this? I've never met a single person born and raised in Texas in my entire life who talks like that. O_o



In any case, the pronunciation of "ll" or "j" in words of Spanish origin is more a matter of education than of accent, since the sounds involved are quite close to existing English sounds. The same goes for not pronouncing "h"'s, and although my pronunciation of Spanish is in general fairly good, I still have problems with that one, even though English does 'ave its own dialects that drop "h".

Remember that when taught a language through the memorization method, the two different alphabets can sometimes get mixed up. I know one native Spanish speaker who pronounces Ella (Ay y ah) El yah, because they've lived in Texas for so long.



as well as the fact that the South at one time had (and to some degree still has) a fairly divergent culture from the rest of the country (in both good ways and bad).

Southern hospitality :)



Also keep in mind that if Spanish were the predominant influence in creating the Southern dialects, California, Arizona, and New Mexico would have similar accents to Texas, and the rest of the South would have fairly Northern sounding accents.


I didn't necessarily say that it was the predominant influence, I just said that it was very heavy. Remember that French was also a major influence in the south, Especially around the western Gulf Coast. Plus, Spanish had progressively less of a reach, if any at all, as you go farther east in the Gulf Coast. (Except for Florida)



Another item of note is that lumping "Southern" accents all together in one pot doesn't really work. There is for example, a marked difference even to my Northern ears between Texas and Georgia. And there's a marked difference between "teenager/college kid in suburban Dallas" and "50 year old farmer outside Tyler".

To us, but could a non-native English speaker really tell?



A good portion of my "born and raised in Texas" classmates in high school and college in suburban Dallas have accents that are only slightly different from those of the kids I grew up with in suburban Denver.


With the advent of modern media, there is a bit of a homogenizing trend among the dialects.



I don't have æsc on my keyboard either. So I figured if I was going to have to go to the Character Table for æsc, I might as well pick up ƿynn while I was at it.

Overachiever :P



I would like a utility for making user defined keyboards though. Anybody know of such a thing?

Well, I don't quite know of anything like that, but if you have a keyboard from the United States in the QWERTY format, then you could always give the U.S. Alt Intl keymap a try. Holding down altgr (right alt) and a letter gives you certain preset characters.

Ex. right alt + n = ñ

or, you could use the dead keys included in the keymap

Ex right alt + shift + " <release keys> press o = ö

Have fun. :)