Why doesn't the teacher Paralee have a perfect pronounciation?
She pronounces the V's like v's , not like b's, and she sounds so american when she speaks like someone is trying, but not trying to sound very native. It irritates me.
19 Answers
Most likely, she 'sounds' American because she 'is' American.
Many of my native Spanish-speaking friends tell me that there's very little distinction between the 'b' & 'v' sound in Spanish. I think this is a Terrific site with an Awesome Spanish-speaking instructor. It's also a very enjoyable way to learn (personally speaking).
Having said that, if Paralee's videos annoy you, perhaps you may want to skip over them and continue to learn using the many other available written instructions on this website.
¡Buena suerte!
Hi xmusch, welcome to the forum
As you can see we take insults lightly on this site and still welcome you, however, I will not allow abusive speech on the forum, and least of all against Paralee. ( I changed your title)
Paralee does not have a perfect pronounciation, but who has? 
She pronounces the V's like v's , not like b's,
There is no difference between the b and v sound in Spanish, so here her pronounciation is perfect.
she sounds so american when she speaks like someone is trying, but not trying to sound very native.
WEll, that would be as she is American- You seem to be a very young person, and still have not learnt that you need not be a native speaker to be a good teacher, which is what counts here.
It irritates me.
I have no words......
I think her pronunciation is pretty darn good for an American, and you're probably in a minotiry here.
I was wondering why Paralee doesn't charge tons of money for the teaching services she provides for tens of thousands around the world!!!
I was wondering why Paralee doesn't get a paid vacation to the Spanish speaking country of her choice as a reward for all of her hard work!!!
I was wondering if we could all give Paralee a standing ovation right now, wherever we are, and thank her for the unbelievable job she has done in unlocking the mysteries of the Spanish language for all of us!!! :lol
Xmuschezna, I was wondering if you have just a small understanding of the fierce loyalty we all have towards each other here in the forum...especially for our beloved teacher, Paralee!!!!!
I think we need a vote-down option. If she spoke like a native, she might be too fast and mush her words together so much we couldn't learn from her! That's how native speakers of any language speak. If it sounds like she's "trying, but not trying" it's probably because she's slowed herself down and prevented your common "native speaker slurring" enough to allow the people learning from her to keep up and understand her.
Xmuschezna said
It irritates me.
Heidita said
I have no words.....
Well I have some words. Xmuschezna, your comments have irritated me. How on earth do you expect to get help with an attitude like that. I suggest in future that you treat people with a little more respect, especially those from whom you will be relying on if you ever hope to learn this language.
Xmuschezna:
As you can see, not too many people where happy with your disparaging words, that includes me as well. However, I have a suggestion...
Why not write some sort of an apology, and say a few nice things about this wonderful site.
I believe in forgiveness, and I try not to be judgmental. Everyone makes mistakes.
I bet if you were to perhaps just explain a little more about your comments, and possibly point out some of the GREAT things about this community, people would begin to forgive you, and I have a feeling would possibly rate your NEW comments with a positive vote.
I think her pronounciation is good. I don't think she will ever sound like a native speaker, for obvious reasons. Many Spanish teachers in the US are not native spanish speakers. I think I have learned more from Paralee than from my actual Spanish classes.
My Spanish teacher who is native- speaker,insists that native spanish speakers do pronounce Vs slightly differently to Bs but it is difficult for us to hear the distinction.if you listen very carefully it is possible to verify this. I am a huge fan of Paralee and I agree with Yesero entirely. This is a friendly site and we all encourage each other so - a gentle reminder about people in glass houses not throwing stones ....(Compare your question with Yesero's answer and see if you can see your errors).
I am too busy looking at her to worry about her Bs and Vs , mate get a life ,
she is drop dead gorgeous , when I am fluent and perfect in Spanish I shall
get elocution lessons from an ugly bloke with perfect diction in the meantime ,phwaaaah.
Hello Xmuschezna You asked >Why doesn't the teacher Paralee have a perfect pronounciation?
Does anyone have perfect pronounciation... even amoung natives? There are no perfect people in this world and that includes linguists too! This may come as a surprise to you!
You would probably find, in listening to a group of native speakers over many years, that some would criticise even their own peers/contemporaries for mispronouncing words and this you could probably observe in most countries of the world where they have both oral (spoken) and written forms of language.
As Heidi has already said you do not have to have perfect pronounciation to be a good teacher! I think you may be confusing two things here: accent and pronounciation!
Accent is defined by Collins English dictionary and thesaurus (concise) as being: "The distinctive style of pronounciation of a person or group from a particular area, or social background."
This can be picked up (caught) by children and adults with a good ear for sounds who can learn to imitate the accent. It takes many, many years of living in a country amoung native speakers and learning, like children do from an early age, to copy the sounds of their speech patterns.
Pronounciation can be defined as: "The recognised way to pronounce sounds in a given language.
This can be taught by non natives. A non-native speaker can still learn to pronounce words accurately and achieve a high standard of proficiency - even fluency in language - without ever acquiring an accent that would enable them to sound like a native.
Non-native teachers should be able to pronounce the langauge they are teaching to a high standard which I believe that Paralee already does well, but the accent is not something that can really be taught as such; but is caught rather than taught! It may not be possible or desirable to completely eliminate all signs of your natural accent simply in order to learn to speak another language to a high standard. Even native people who can speak that language fluently will usually be recognised by other native speakers when they visit a different area as not being from that region, even more so those who speak the language fluently but are non natives!
For example, if Heidi, who is a native from Madrid, (Spain), were to visit the island of Majorca or the country of Argentina in South America she would be easily understood but they would know from her accent that she was not from that area.
A person's accent can develop (ie: improve) as they spend vast amounts of time in the presence of native speakers in the countries where their chosen language is spoken eg: Spanish, and the learners are constantly immersed in that culture, hearing the language spoken all the time, (daily) by native speakers, who were not only born in the country but have been brought up by one or both parents who speak that language fluently!
Children learn their mother tongue this way and do not have to think about developing an accent in their first language. They do it naturally because they are always spending time amongst others who speak fluently with a native accent, or listening to T.V. where the language is spoken by natives. Even their native friends are being influenced by family members in the same way!
I hope this helps to clarify a few things for you 
I wish that I could speak Spanish just like Paralee. And she gives of her time to create lessons that are free to everyone. You have a lot of nerve using this site and then complaining about her speech. She is a wonderful teacher! Go somewhere else if you don't like it, but we at spanishdict.com love Paralee and we hope that she continues to teach us for many years to come.
Why doesn't the teacher Paralee have a perfect pronounciation?
Because Paralee is from a part of the country where they just talk funny, she can't help it. She's asked for my help on the next teaching videos, because here in the back woods swamps of South Georgia, US we do have perfect pronunciation. Of course, you have to live here to understand our variant of English, but we have no problem understanding it, namely because we have perfect pronunciation. You should hear our Spanish. Native Spanish speakers around here have often told me how grateful they are to live in this area because our English pronunciation is the best they have ever heard, and it helps them to speak 'proper' English. Now, when they heard me speak Spanish, they went nuts. Some told me they thought they were back in Mexico, some wept for joy, others said they could hear angels singing. I used to think my Spanish pronunciation was a close second to my Colombian friends, but now I don't know, I think I'm in first place. It's a wonderful thing to be perfect.
It irritates me.
My life is now complete
chiste
I wish my Spanish pronounciation were as clear and fluid as Paralee's. (jeje, notice the use of subjunctive in English)
I know a lot of native English speakers who speak Spanish as a second language. Very few of them get anywhere close to the great pronounciation Paralee has.
Also, I've noticed that in some areas almost everyone pronounces the "v" similar to the English "b". In other areas they pronounce them similar to the English "v". It seems to be a regional thing.
I have it from reliable sources that Spanish is spoken differently in all the different regions of Spain, never mind all the different ways it is spoken in Latin America. Apparently natives of Valencia would not appreciate having a v pronounced as a b. My point though is that if there are such differences what is the correct pronounciation? Who can say!
