coca Cola sin yellow

Yes there are some very basic rules which are always true

I'm always surprised when classes dont stress pronunciation more. It is very important and actually very easy

I know someone whos been learning Spanish for 10 years and cant make themselves understood because of pronunciation. Such a shame as a good teacher could have solved the problem forever in a couple of hours

Or for that matter, pronounce upon stress.

Correct emphasis makes or breaks a sentance.

the cola part also sounds like collar as in dog.

I agree though, you need to use it, I do say to people to learn the vowles, it does make a huge difference and dont rush when you speak, you will get there, the main thing is you want to learn, not everyone does.

Good luck keep practising

Took me a long time to clock on, but when you listen to Spanish customers they rarely say "cafe" (well in Madrid at any rates). It's un "con leche" and "dos cortados".
What I would do with your order is stress "also", eg "un con leche, y TAMBIEN un Coca-cola..." I'm not guaranteeing it will work though, especially in Andalucia where you're based!

Los Andaluces are buggers for shedding vowels like a dog sheds fleas.

Porfa for please, sinpa for sin pagar, pa'mi instead of para mi, and so on.

It was much the same in the Canaries, I was told it was S.American Spanish, but whatever it was I still can't get out of the habit myself, having spent so much time over there.

I've spoken with many Spanish on skype and for me, by far the most difficult to understand was a university mature student from Lanzarote. He was really well educated, both parents were doctors, so no country hick, but for me, a very strong accent. By contrast, a guy from Asturias, very easy to understand.

oh I am quite happy to give it a try, I do go to certain places who now know me and actually help (despite all those here who say they won't) but I refuse to restrict it to those places and will barge in anywhere I see I want to buy anything.

as to dropping the cafe, it took me a long time to realise that Buena is a more relaxed version of Buenos Dias, which is common here.

that is the problem with language schools and the Linguaphone and Michel Thomas CD's, they teach you Madrid standard, out of the book, words and sentences, in the same way as I learnt Paris book standard French at school.
That isnt how its said now, and I think some of these courses, including the evening classes the BH went to, stick rigidly to the book without any allowances for the local mixed with the more relaxed style of talking

It is a problem when you learn Castillian, only to find that where you live is very dialectic.

Sometimes I find myself saying ""Buenas" or dropping the s's like the Andalucians do

My OH tells me off saying I sound ridiculous But Asturian Spanish is very standard and easy to understand as agorreira says. Well, as long as they dont mix in the Asturian language

I have found it is generally simply "buenas" whatever time of the day. Even though you'd think "buenos días" would become "buenos", they seem to use "buenas" whether it's day or night. And in some places, they throw in the ocassional "buen día" just to confuse you.

It is indeed, but at least if you learn to "speak it proper", they'll at least understand you, no matter where you are. You then have the problem of understanding them, but given time you'll fall into their bad linguistic habits.
We had a guy came to a Spanish meeting here, and had lived in Spain for years, and was really fluent, but in such an incredibly broad accent it was impossible for us to understand him most of the time. His daughter married into a gypsy family, that'll give you an idea of where his accent came from. I guess he was totally at home in their company, but almost unintelligible out of it. When it came to reading, writing, conjugating Spanish, he was totally lost, didn't have a clue. Best to learn it correctly in the beginning, the bad habits can come later.

I agree about learning the best way and the bad habits will comel later.

I know a Spanish guy who we call "Dizzy", due to to all the "spinning" that goes on in his life.

He has a bad habit, when he tells a story, it goes like this.

"she turned around and said blah, blah blah,

"so I turned around and said blah

Then "she turned around again and said blah, blah blah,

-then John turned around and said blah, blah blah,

So I turned around and said "Sod off"

Coca Cola? Try and say 'Seven Up'. It's not 'siete oop' but 'Se-ben'. Turns out, they only had Sprite anyway (not 'espritay' but 'es-prai').
Brand names in general, pronounce them as a Spaniard would!