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ZSThomp

Aug 13, 2009, 4:44 PM

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accent reduction in Tijuana?

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Hello all!

I'm a gringo who now lives in Tijuana (Have lived here only two months). I am fluent in Spanish, converse, understand (most things), but pronunciation on some things is my down fall. On certain phrases, such as "vamos al cine el sabado porque van a pasar esa de los vampiros", I sound like a native speaker. On other phrases like "Donde esta?" I sound bad. Sometimes hard "d"s and "t"s are difficult for me as I want to pronounce them dentally but it doesn't always form right in my mouth. The most difficult is always the "st" combination. "st" in Mexican Spanish for me is very difficult. I don't know why. It usually ends up sounding like "donde eta" instead of donde esta". I could not worry about it and just say "st" as I say in English but then I will know I'm not saying it right and I'm not OK with that.
Anyone have any suggestions on ways to overcome this? I'd also love to find an accent reduction tutor in Baja California that does one on one.

Zach

sergiogomez / Moderator

Aug 15, 2009, 2:34 PM

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Re: [ZSThomp] accent reduction in Tijuana?

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Something I've found very helpful when trying to learn new sounds is to closely watch native speakers while they're talking. If you pay attention to how their mouths move, you get a mental image of what certain sounds look like. Then you go home and practice in the mirror, preferably when no one else is around, until your own mouth learns to move the way a native speaker's does.

It takes time, and it's definitely not a glamorous way to learn. The upside is that you get feedback from the mirror, which will never laugh at you like a person might, and saying the sounds over and over while you're alone gives you the freedom to make mistakes until you get it right, or closer to right.

My theory is that it's easier to learn when you can relax, and it's easiest to relax when there's no one else around to potentially criticize you. Which is why my hamster is the only one who ever hears me try to sing opera.

mazbook1

Aug 22, 2009, 1:49 PM

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Re: [sergiogomez] accent reduction in Tijuana?

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I agree almost completely except that I suggest reading a newspaper aloud to a native Spanish-speaker who can be non-judgemental and tell you and demonstrate where you're going wrong.

Also, here is a site that is terrific for both hearing these sounds AND seeing the mouth, tongue and throat movements which Spanish-speakers use to produce those sounds: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/spanish/frameset.html