Does English sound as fast to a Spanish speaker as Spanish does to an English speaker.

Question

As a new learner of Spanish, the language seems spoken rather quickly. Is my brain just tooooo slooooow or do new learners of English have the same perception of the spoken English language?

• I have always wondered the same thing ;) - Estefaníta Nov 20, 2009

Answer 1

Just smile and say, "Dígame mas despácio, por favor." (Speak more slowly, please.)

(That's become my middle name!)

• lol. Me too! - --Mariana-- Nov 21, 2009

Answer 2

It always sounds fast when you don't speak the language, any language. Once you start becoming more familiar with the sounds then you'll start picking up words until your brain and your ears start to synchronize.

Answer 3

Just as I ask my boyfriend to slow down when he speaks Spanish, he asks me to slow down when I speak English. Aside from it just being fast, we tend drop sounds and lose diction when we speak at normal speed so it makes it more difficult to understand as well for both languages.

Answer 4

I have the same problem with listening. You will find my post on "listening is hard". There a quite a lot of responses regarding this!!

Answer 5

Lo mismo pienso. Cuando escucho canciones en inglés apenas alcanzo a entender 5 palabra de 20. Jajajaja Ejemplo:

My name is Edison.

Sound. Mayneymis Edison.

and me. May - ney -is Edison.

-Also understand Edison-? jajajaja

• I agree, Edison. Some latin songs are very fast and it's hard to keep up, but it makes it fun for me. I also think that in some ways spanish is better than english. English focuses on inflection for formal/informal, masculine/feminine: Spanish is direct - coma Nov 22, 2009
• Caundo escucho rap, reggueton o hip hop latino, tampoco entiendo mucho, y eso que hablo español jajaja - EdiOswaldo Nov 22, 2009

Answer 6

I agree and have had spanish speaking people who are not very good at speaking english, ask me to slow down and/or pause to soak up what I have said in order to respond. As a beginner in spanish, I recently placed my mindset in spanish only. After about an hour of nothing but spanish speaking and listening, I then listened to a brief english commercial and was amazed to find how being fluent in english after flipping the ligual lightswitch, had changed my perception to my own native language. An old saying goes.....To listen, we forget..To see, we remember...To do, we understand.