Interactive Audio Thread No 4 - Hilo de audio interactivo The Albatross / El Albatros

Question

For those of you who have not yet participated in our audio thread this link will give you instructions on how to record and upload an audio file

The aim of this thread is to practice speaking the language which we are learning and be corrected by native speakers. I shall be correcting the English recordings and Julián will correct the Spanish versions.

Please feel free to add a second recording incorporating any suggestions which you are given to show your improvement

Read the following information slowly and clearly and upload it along with your name, the country where you live and your level in the language you have recorded in.

Name:

Country of residence:

Level of Spanish:

The Grandest Living Flying Machine on Earth

The albatross has been described as "the grandest living flying machine on Earth," and for good reason. With a wingspan of three meters, this largest of all seabirds can reach a flying speed of more than 115 kilometers an hour. The albatross may appear ungainly on land, but in the sky it is simply magnificent to behold.

(excerpt from the July 2010 'Awake' magazine)

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Para todos aquellos que aun no han participado en nuestro hilo de audio, este hilo les dará las instrucciones para grabar y subir un archivo de audio.

El propósito de este hilo es practicar, hablando el lenguaje que estamos aprendiendo y siendo corregidos por los nativos en dicho idioma. Yo estaré corrigiendo las grabaciones en español y Kiwi estará corrigiendo las grabaciones en inglés.

Por favor, sientanse libres de agregar una segunda grabación incorporando algunas de las sugerencias que se te dieron para mostrar tu mejora . Lee la siguiente información lenta y claramente, despues sube el archivo. Recuerda que el formato en el comentario debe ser de la siguiente manera:

Nombre:

País de residencia:

Nivel de inglés:

La más grandiosa máquina voladora

El albatros ha sido descrito como "la más grandiosa máquina voladora" sobre la Tierra ... y con razón. La envergadura de sus alas es de unos 3 metros (10 pies), lo cual lo convierte en el ave marina más grande que existe. En pleno vuelo puede alcanzar una velocidad de 115 kilómetros (70 millas) por hora. Y aunque sobre la tierra se mueve con torpeza, en los cielos es sencillamente majestuoso.

New audio exercise and You Tube links to help with your Spanish pronunciation Click here

Reference Link to all interactive audio threads so far Ref to Audio Threads

Fantastic thread kiwi. Later when I can use my daughters computer lol I will give this a go. My computer runs on coal lol - no mic or anything like that :'( - billygoat, Jul 9, 2011

Lol - okely dokely - we'll be waiting :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

I have to do this sometime today Kiwi. I love the idea. I would like to go back and do some of the older ones too. So when I'm done a music rehearsal with the guys, I plan to give this a try. If not....there has to be a severe punishment!!!! :) - Nicole-B, Jul 9, 2011

Oh, and I was shocked. After watching Quentin's podcast, he does look like the cupcake from the other day. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, my apologies. :) - Nicole-B, Jul 9, 2011

Yay Nicole that'd be gr8 :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Thank you MC, these are fun :) - EL_MAG0, Jul 9, 2011

De nada, el placer es mió :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Answer 1

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Nombre: Julián

País de residencia: México

Nivel de español: Nativo

Level of English: less than begginer

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Slow Spanish

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Spanish

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English

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Well done Julián and thank you so much for all your hard work on these threads :) Ok your turn! living - make sure you sound the 'g' it is quiet but it needs to be there, yours sounds a little like liven. Machine sounds like ma-sheen, not: matsheen - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

wing - be careful with that final g again, yours sounded more like wind. Seabirds - make that ea (eee) sound a bit longer to make the word clearer. With numbers just make sure you finish the word off nicely instead of fading out 115 sounded like 150 - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

Appear - that ea sound again needs to be held on to a bit longer. I know I've written a lot but your did an excellent job, your pronunciation of described was good you got the 'i' (ai) sound perfectly and finished off well with the 'd' sound so good - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

improvement there :) Keep up the excellent progress, bien hecho amigo! - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

Great job Julian - on my first listening to your (normal) Spanish recording I thought I'd pressed the "fast-foward" button by mistake. Only joking - that's how it sounds to me :( - nonombre, Jul 10, 2011

And doing the "slow""one as well - great idea - thanks. - nonombre, Jul 10, 2011

And yep, like Kiwi says - perhaps a harder "g" in "wingspan". And a harder "ch" in "reach". Good job amigo. - nonombre, Jul 10, 2011

Excellent English there my friend! - billygoat, Jul 10, 2011

Great job, Julián. Toma nota de las correciones pero no te preocupes, en mi opinión ya hablas un inglés mejor que la mayoría de las personas que lo hablan como segunda lengua. Besos. :) - galsally, Jul 10, 2011

I agree - excellent English! - patch, Jul 10, 2011

aww! thank you very much for the corrections and your advices! all of you are very kind people and that is why I'm glad to help you with your Spanish! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 2

Nombre: Kiwi Girl

País de residencia: Nueva Zelanda

Nivel de español: Intermedio

El albatros - español

The albatross - English

sounding Spanish to me ...well done - jennyo45, Jul 9, 2011

lol gracias Jenny, I'm sure Julián will have some well needed constructive criticism for me je je - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

aw Deanski did you change your mind? it was such a nice comment that popped up then disappeared lol :( - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

I'm confused, MC. Why doesn't it have an accent on the first 'a', as the emphasis is on that first syllable? - galsally, Jul 9, 2011

Lo siento Kiwi. Lo que dije fue que me encanta tu español, y que no sabría que eres una no hispana si no lo supiera de antemano.:) - Deanski, Jul 9, 2011

No cambié de opinión, no tienes que preocuparte.:) - Deanski, Jul 9, 2011

ja ja lol gracias Deanski :) You mean on Albatros Sally? - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

ay I knew I got that one wrong, yes it should be alBAtros shouldn't it? :( my bad lol - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Are you putting up an audio Deanski? :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Well I don't know, because in our dictionary he puts emphasis on syllable 1 too. We need a native! - galsally, Jul 9, 2011

tricky, tricky, tricky je je Julián is going to have his work cut out for him :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

It is listed on the DRAE as "albatros", without the tilde, so naturally the stress should fall on the second syllable, alBAtros. - Deanski, Jul 9, 2011

Maybe one of these days, Kiwi. My PC has a lot of issues.:) - Deanski, Jul 9, 2011

aw stinker :( Well feel free to drop in any time to offer any constructive criticism that you can it would be much appreciated :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

"Voladora, tierra, razón, alcanzaR" noto un pequeño problema con la pronunciación de la "rr", debes practicarla un poco más :). - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Muchas felicidades colega! tienes una voz hermosa! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011

aw gracias Julián eres amable, ok buen consejo gracias voy a practicar más con esto :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 3

Nombre: Ira

País de residencia: Texas (EEUU)

Nivel de español: intermedio o avanzado

La más grandiosa máquina voladora

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Name: Ira

Country of residence: Texas (USA)

Level of English: Native speaker

The Grandest Living Flying Machine on Earth

Answer 4

Nombre:Dakie

País de residencia: México

Nivel de español: Fluido.

Nivel de inglés: Avanzado.

Versión en Inglés.

Spanish version.

Great job hermanito!!! Your voice was so clear and sexy ;) Lol *Hugs and kisses* - HotChickCD, Jul 9, 2011

Well done Dakie :) Ok a few suggestions - unlike the Spanish al-BA-tros (which i stressed incorrectly in my audio btw lol) in English the stress is on the AL-ba-tross - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Try to sound the 'g' out a little more on some of the -ing words - eg livin to living, flyin to flying etc. With the letter 'h' try to avoid the ghe sound 'behold' not 'be-gh-old' - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

hUndred instead of hOndred, 'th'an rather than 'dh'an - but overall excellent job, and lovely to listen to you know I'm being very picky because you're so good :) Keep up the awesome work! And thank you for any suggestions that you can offer here :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Yup Dakie, Kiwigirl is being super-picky (although I agree with what she says). You should have no problem being understood talking like this. Besos. - galsally, Jul 10, 2011

je je don't worry he can take it Sally, he knows I think he's the bomb and we'll have him sounding like a native by the time we've finished with him :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 5

Name: LaBurra

Country of residence: USA

English: Fluent

Spanish: Beginner

El Albatros

Answer 6

Hola a todos

Aquí esta mi intento:

Albatros/Albatross 2

Nombre Sally

País de residencia South-East England

Nivel de español Intermedio

Edit: I made a new one correcting my pronunciation of Albatros. Still have much trouble with /r/ following an /n/.

Awesome Sally your Spanish sounds great :) I'm sure Julián will be along with some proper help I just noticed a little falling away on the 'd' of velocidad but that might be the more Spanish way of saying it and my ear is more attuned to Latin American - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Spanish - you definitely have that Spain spanish ceceo going on well :) Bien hecho! - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Yes, the falling-away is intentional -as I hear it on Spanish tv - however, as it is my interpretation it may not be right! Maybe Cogu or Heidi will listen. :) - galsally, Jul 9, 2011

You have a very nice voice Galsally - you sound like a newsreader :P --- erm dont comment, I know what I sounds like lol :'( - billygoat, Jul 9, 2011

I just hope that in the movies they (English actors) can speak like you, sally. You have a very clear voice. Also, you have no problems whatsoever w/ rolling your R's.:) - Deanski, Jul 9, 2011

"Razón" omg sorprendente!!!!! - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Answer 7

Nombre: Sanlee

País de residencia: los Estados Unidos

Nivel de español: principante

el albatros - español

the albatross -- English

Hey Sandy nice to have you join in - I'll let Julián give his thoughts which I'm sure will be more helpful but you seem to be mixing up some of your vowels there in the Spanish version? Have another listen to your recording while reading the text perhaps - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

you'll notice what I mean :) Nice speed though it makes it very easy to follow! - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

"descrito,tierra,aunque,cielos" muy bien sanlee!!!!!!! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Hey Sandy, I noticed a big improvement from last time. :D - galsally, Jul 10, 2011

Thanks, everyone - sanlee, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 8

My attempt:

Name: bandit

Country of residence: Illinois, United States

Level of English: fluent

Nivel de español: el principiante

Voice recording in English and Spanish

Answer 9

Here is another try. Thank you everyone for your corrections

albatross retry español

Much much much much better!!!!! :). Necesitas acostumbrarte a la pronunciación de las vocales en español!! ví que el inglés te traicionó en 2 palabritas! pero lo hiciste excelente esta vez!! - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 10

Name Jenny o45

Country Australia

Spanish level ...Beginner. http://www.archive.org/details/TheAlbatros_694

Well it looks blue this time ,how come it just doesn't say (link)...I must have done something wrong any sugestions would be most welcome .. - jennyo45, Jul 9, 2011

How embarrasing lol.lol. - jennyo45, Jul 9, 2011

In the 'answer the question box' there is a picture of the world with a green arrow. Click on that and a box will pop up..Paste your link in that box. - swampy, Jul 9, 2011

I was able to listen to your recording the way you have it now, though. - swampy, Jul 9, 2011

thanks swampy . - jennyo45, Jul 9, 2011

It works fine. Don't worry about it. - sanlee, Jul 9, 2011

Hola Jenny! lo hiciste muy bien, pero te falta practicar más las vocales y tienes que poner suma atención a tu pronunciación de las consonantes también, ya que en ocasiones me fué difícil decifrar algunas palabras que mencionaste. - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Te recomiendo que escuches mi grabación en español :). - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Answer 11

Nombre: ianta

País de residencia: Grecia

Nivel de español: principiante

Level of English: advanced

link text

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Edit: After listening to Julián's recording and reading his remarks, I'm posting my second attempt.

Spanish Version 2

A question: Is it correct to say "in la Tierra" or "en la Tierra"? - ianta, Jul 9, 2011

Did you try to translate that part yourself lanta? I'm not sure where the en vs in is coming from in the given Spanish version it is 'sobre' la tierra :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Awesome job - well done you certainly don't sound like a beginner to me! One little thing in your English - I'm not sure if this is just a British English - Kiwi thing but we would say one hundred 'and' fifteen rather than one hundred fifteen. :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

I saw the word "in" and I thought it was a mistake. Thanks for letting me know that the correct word is "sobre" :) - ianta, Jul 9, 2011

where did you see it ianta? - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

first sentence- 'que vive in la tierra', but has been changed. - swampy, Jul 9, 2011

0 errores!!!!!!!!! lo que sí te falta es como... cadencia para leer. Te recomiendo escuches mi versión en español para que te des cuenta - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

thanks Swampy I see, ok so originally it was 'en' but Julián must have caught me in a type and changed it to sobre - well caught everyone, gracias :) the mystery is solved je je - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

ooops typo on type je je - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 10, 2011

It's been a lot of years since I studied English. I don't even remember how to say 115! Thank you Kiwi. - ianta, Jul 10, 2011

Swampy is right, there was a typo and Julián corrected it. - ianta, Jul 10, 2011

Gracias Julián. I´ll listen to your recording and I´ll post my second attempt. You and Kiwi are very helpful. - ianta, Jul 10, 2011

I thought your second version sounded really good. - swampy, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 12

Name: Billygoat

Country of residence: England (Northern)

Level of Spanish: Beginner

English version

Spanish version

Oh dear, it took me about 10 attempts to do the Spanish one

The attached clip is a comedian taking the mickey out of my accent!

comedy clip

spanish with corrections Here's my latest attempt after listening to others!

I watched the comedy clip, and out of curiosity I listened to both your "versions" - great (English) accent - to me, very much like Ringo (Starr) - hope that's not an insult :( - nonombre, Jul 9, 2011

Wooow! se ve que has practicado amigo!!!!!.. ahora si que te entendí!. Sin embargo te recomiendo que escuches mi grabación en "español lento" para que afines tu pronunciación! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Well, thank you very much Annie :) no insult at all - I just wish I had 100th of his money ! - billygoat, Jul 10, 2011

fjfuentesh. Gracias mi amigo. Si, he practicado mucho escuchar espanol de espana. Quiero vivir alli en el futuro! - billygoat, Jul 10, 2011

I love your accent Billygoat! I always think mine is a bit boring really but I suppose it's closer to what is taught, that's all. :) - galsally, Jul 10, 2011

I adore Michael MacIntyre, how is a grown man so cute?! - galsally, Jul 10, 2011

There is nothing boring about speaking clearly and properly Sally. If I was learning English (erm which some people say I should lol) I could listen to your voice all day :) - billygoat, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 13

Name: Swampy

Country: USA ( Pacific Northwest)

Spanish level: beginner

link text

I was having troubles getting things to work. This is my latest try after more practice. My first try disappeared.

Vas por muy buen camino!!!!! te recomiendo que te olvides de tu pronunciación de las letras en inglés. Por que te voy a decir algo "La pronunciación tanto de vocales como de consonantes en inglés y español son totalmente diferentes.. todas pero todas!!!" - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Te entendí absolutamente en todo, pero en algunas palabras cambiaste el sonido de unas vocales en español por vocales en inglés. Te recomiendo escuchar mi grabación para que te des cuenta :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

I'll keep at it. Tomorrow I'll make a new recording after listening to yours. Thanks! - swampy, Jul 10, 2011

That would be great! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 14

Name: Annie (4annie)

Country of Residence: Australia

Level of Spanish: Beginner

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link text-Spanish followed by English (Aussie) - muchas gracias Kiwi

good try Annie. - jennyo45, Jul 9, 2011

Well done Annie, the only word I really picked up on was 'aunque' - make sure the stress doesn't fall on the last syllable so much :) but awesome job, nice tempo, very clear and understandable. - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

and not that I'm an expert by any means but I would also suggest just trying to soften the vowels a little, there's still a little aussie twang in there making them sound a little harder than usual :) thanks for joining in and very well done :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Gracias por tu aconsejo Kiwi. Este es un hilo impresionante de verdad :) - nonombre, Jul 9, 2011

:) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

Has progresado mucho Annie, felicidades!!!!. Pero sabes... aunque entendí todo lo que dijiste, necesitas pronunciar las vocales en español correctamente, en español las vocales tienen un sólo sonido que es seco y directo.. no como en inglés - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

que las vocales empiezan con un sonido y terminan con otro. por ejemplo la "a" en inglés, en español se lee "ei", la "i" se lee "ai", la "o" se lee "ou" y la "u" se lee "iu" - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Thanks guys - I will go back and do more practice with the "vowel" theads :) Old habits die hard don't they? In my case obviously the long-drawn-out vowels *sigh...* . No worries - if not anything else - I am very persistent! - nonombre, Jul 10, 2011

Eso me gusta de tí, que siempre tratas de mejorar! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011

Answer 15

Nombre: HotChickCD

País de residencia: Trinidad y Tobago

Nivel de español: Intermedio

The Albatross (English version)

El Albatros (Versión en español)

Well done Hotty - just one little mistake in the English - near the end you say 'in the sea' rather than in the sky :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

OMG!!! Silly me, lol. It was after 1 in the morning when I saw your thread. I always wanted to do it but didn't know how to do the audio :D Since my boyfriend was still up I got him to tell me how to set it up and then I decided to give it a shot. - HotChickCD, Jul 9, 2011

Thank you so much for posting this thread Kiwi. It is good practice *hugs* - HotChickCD, Jul 9, 2011

No hay de que :) el placer es mío - you did really well :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 9, 2011

hothothot me quemo me quemo!! bien hecho preciosa!!! "grandiosa, máquina, razón..." ok ok... checa mi versión. Tu problema no estanto la pronunciación, sino que pones el acento en sílabas equivocadas... :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 9, 2011

Beso beso beso y beso! :) - fjfuentesh, Jul 10, 2011