Common Pronunciation Traits in Accent Reduction for Individuals Who Speak Spanish as Their First Language
Spanish is a language spoken by millions of people from many countries all over the world. It is common for a native Spanish speaker to have an accent when speaking English. Although the degree or severity of accent varies from person to person, focusing on specific sound differences with the help of a professional speech therapist may help Spanish speakers reduce their accents.
The Spanish language does not have the same /z/ sound that exists in English. The letter ‘z’ in Spanish is pronounced as an ‘s’. Therefore, common pronunciation differences such as “sip” for “zip”, “bus” for “buzz”, and “race” for “raise” often occur when a person who speaks Spanish as their first language speaks English.
Frequently, the /sh/ and /ch/ sounds are reversed. For example, a Spanish-speaking person may say “share” for “chair” and “chip” for “ship” as well as “cash” for “catch” and “witch” for “wish”.
In English, there are numerous words that begin with s-blends (meaning the ‘s’ is immediately followed by another consonant), as in the words: stop, spin, school, slow, snow, smile, sweet, scratch, street, splash, and spring. In Spanish, words containing s-blends are preceded by the letter ‘e’, pronounced as “eh” such as escuela, estrella, and espalda. Therefore, we often hear native Spanish speakers adding an “eh” sound at the beginning of s-blend words in English.
Another sound substitution typically observed is the interchanging of the ‘y’ and ‘j’ sounds in words such as: “yet” and “jet”, “yawn” and “John”, “yellow” and “jello”, and “mayor” and “major”.
The short ‘i’ vowel that occurs in a word such as “bit” is a sound that does not occur in Spanish. This sound is typically replaced by Spanish speakers with a long ‘e’ sound. Examples of this are “bit” usually pronounced as “beat”, “will” as “wheel”, and “Tim” as “team”. As one can see, by changing the pronunciation of the vowel, the words take on completely different meanings, which can cause confusion in communication.
Through the Accent Reduction course that I teach and consistent practice, I have helped many Spanish-speaking individuals to improve their communication skills and to speak Standard American English with a markedly reduced accent. Learn more about the program here, and contact me with any questions you have!
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About Derra Huxley, Speech and Language Pathologist
I am a California-licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in Los Angeles. I earned my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge. I work as a Preferred Trainer with LDS & Associates – Accent Modification Program, and I am a member of CORSPAN (Corporate Speech Pathology Network). I collaborate with people of all ages to improve their communication and pronunciation skills in schools, hospitals, and private practice settings. To learn more or to contact me, complete this form or reach me at 818-421-7444. I look forward to hearing from you!