I’ve been obsessed with my accent for many years. I have been told it’s neutral and that that’s good because it shouldn’t be regional sounding. No one, for the most part, beyond a few initial phrases, takes me for a native speaker, although I do seem to pass for a heritage speaker despite the fact that my looks often override everything that comes out of my mouth. Online, people I’ve just met, without being able to see me, often tell me I sound like a native, although not from their country, but nonetheless, that’s the biggest compliment I could get and it’s very satisfying. Considering the fact I’ve acquired the sound system in the U.S. (through the Cuban community in Miami) in late childhood and have never lived for an extended period out of the country, I have plenty to be proud of. However, the concern about my accent has persisted until recently.
A few months ago, in a conversation with my husband, I came to realize that my situation isn’t as unique or particular to a non-native in the U.S. as I thought. My husband, who is originally from Colombia has been here a long time now without regular contact with others from there. In fact, he really only speaks Spanish with me and the Mexicans with whom he works. Over the years he apparently has lost his Colombian accent from being in a country where one gets exposed to a variety of accents. No one can tell where he is from, even Colombians, who have a hard time believing he was born and raised there.
So, if a native speaker who was brought up in the language can no longer be recognized as a member of his ‘own’ speech community because of prolonged contact with a variety of other accents, I shouldn’t feel bad about my own perceived shortcoming.
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I read all your posts in this wall. all your stories sound amazing. I would like to live all those great moments. it's seem very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi SpanishProf! That story definitely puts things in perspective. I admire that after 19 years of teaching you're still looking for ways to improve. I definitely have a long way to go to catch up with you but I'll get there...Hopefully sooner than 19 years lol
ReplyDeleteI read every post. I'm 16 and everyone thinks I'm crazy because I'm so obsessed with learning Spanish haha. I hope one day I'll have come as far as you. You're an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate where you are coming from with your desire to sound "nativo". I recently had a session with a tutor from Argentina and at the end of our time together, she told me that I should pick an accent from some specific region of Spanish speakers and stick to it alone. I was surprised by the comment and asked for further explanation. She proceeded to tell me that I pronounced certain syllables or words that were distinct to certain regions. For example, the soft "c" sounds like someone from Spain while the "y" and "ll" sounds like someone from Argentina or Uruguay. I laughed because I had no idea it was happening this way. The good news is that I sound native with these syllables/words but put together I don't sound native at all! It's fun going down this path of learning Spanish and I will continue to try and sound native but it is not an obsession. Just wanted to share this with you, thanks for doing the blog, it is good to hear others views of learning Spanish.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I do agree so much with your tutor about having just one type of pronunciation or accent. This is precisely the topic of my next post, although I focus on the problem of varities in vocabulary, it certainly applies to accent too and both vocabulary and accent 'should' go together. It's something else to keep in mind.
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