lynnxa

a student asked me what is 'correct spanish pronunciation' and where do they speak 'pure spanish'


he means the eqiuvalent of 'queens english' as spoken by the queen

when I am teaching I tell my students not to get too hung up on accent - the chances of them achieving a 'spanish' accent are probably close to zero, but to concentrate on vowel sounds and correct emphasis

this sometimes leads to the 'b v' conversation - how do you say them, and 'c' does it make a 's' sound or 'th' and so on.............


spain is a big country with many accents, and spanish is spoken in other countries with even more accents

I've heard that andalucians claim they speak 'pure' spanish - god help us if that's true

people I've met from Madrid seem to speak more clearly than those from other areas - so is that more 'correct'?


generalising to an extent I know.................

so what is 'pure spanish' and 'correct' pronunciation?

steviedeluxe

People from Valladolid are meant to speak the purest Spanish, or so I believe.

cricketman

Yep, North Castilla and Leon

Andalucians speak pure Andaluz And I've noticed that varies a lot from place to place.

To be fair, there is no such thing as "pure" language, but in Valladolid they're more likely to speak how the books teach it

Casa Santo Estevo

Second Steve's suggestion.

agoreira

My current teacher is a "pucelana" ie, from Valladolid. Or as my Spanish friend from Barcelona calls it Fachadolid! Yes, it's a lovely accent, but I've also heard Salamanca way quoted as the purest. Wherever, it's immaterial, you'll pick up the accent of those around you, your teacher, friends etc. I would never suggest aiming for a particular accent, just avoid trying to get an andalucian one! I speak with a guy from Asturias, and to my ear he has a perfectly clear, nuetral accent, very easy to understand. Mind you I went right off him when he told me I'm getting an andalucian accent, I was gutted! Some time ago in a language school I had three teachers, from Córdoba, Cádiz and Málaga, and all very different accents out of the classroom.

Lenox

Valladolid. You need to speak good Spanish just to get your tongue round that word.
And, living in Andalucía - how refreshing to hear good Spanish from a Vallisoletano ('scuse me, where you from?).

lmj50

Definately Salamanca

Makingthemove

Not sure - I have had teachers from all over Spain (and Argentina). I am not sure whether this reflects 'received pronunciation' or not, but the easiest to understand when they spoke in Spanish was a girl from Vallodalid. The most difficult was a Catalan girl, who when asking if I understood, I kept thinking 'is my homework due in, in ten days?'

DENISE WALTERS

Learning Spanish is not coming easy for me.
I think if I keep plugging away at it I will still know at least more than if I had not bothered
Last week i felt as if I was getting worse not better and was going to throw in t he towel.
Today Im trying again Oh Dear

lynnxa

so no definitive answer, but possibly or even probably Valladolid


is this because they speak clearly, or do they speak with some sort of 'standard' pronunciation? I'm thinking of, and the student was referring to 'queen's or old BBC english', so a spanish version of that.........


IMO you're better off talking as the locals do, surely, if that's where you intend to stay

cricketman

It's just that they speak clearly, as if they were following the pronunciation rules in a Spanish language book, so its easier to learn and understand for a foreigner.

The Queen's English or BBC English is no more correct than any other form of English. From tapes you can hear that the Queen has changed her accent a huge amount in the past 50 years, her vowel sounds have all changed.

Lenox

I think - at least when talking to a foreigner - that your language needs to be as clear as possible.
I was once talking with some fellow from Northern Ireland in a bar and couldn't understand a word he said. I asked him if he spoke Spanish and he answered that he could.
Oddly, I couldn't understand his Spanish either.
Must be going deaf.

lynnxa

I happen to agree, but this particular student didn't seem to


at least I now know that I'm not alone in my opinion

agoreira

But then maybe step out of your comfort zone, some other part of Spain and you could be struggling. Learn a good accent in say, Valladolid, then go to deepest Cádiz and try to understand a gaditano, and you'll struggle! At least if you have a neutral accent, everyone should be able to understand you, whichever part of Spain they come from. It's a bit like a broad geordie, scouse etc listening to the BBC news, they'll understand it perfectly, but the newsreader would probably struggle to understand them!

JLFS

Why aye, yer makin a lorra lorra sence der.