Why do Spanish natives speak so fast? Do you get this impression?
This came up on my listening comprehension exercises:
Hideaway said:
I don't think it was too fast. I am curious to know at what percent of your normal reading speed that you read this.
I answered this:
Spanish as a language , is spoken much too fast. It is actually true, so this was slow, read for beginners or upper beginners.
Have a look at the listening killer audio, that was much faster, but not normal speed either, we speak faster than that
Do we sound fast to you? I think we do speak fast.
Hablamos demasidado deprisa...
19 Answers
It is too fast. Can't put it any plainer.
-_-
I know more Latin-American people than Spanish people and in my experience Venezuelans speak incredibly fast. Some of the professional interpreters I know also found Velezuelans harder to understand.
Saludos, Chica
Some people say that Puerto Ricans talk fast.
When Spanish is spoken in a fast way, especially with a Latin up beat tempo, does the intonation (for the sentence) become lost?
Intonation is very important in English and has the greatest effect when spoken slowly and clearly. Is the same true for Spanish? Does Spanish lose it's intonation when spoken slowly?
I believe Spanish speakers breathe differently when they try to speak fast. Like an Olympic sprinter, breathing is contained in the upper part of the chest and the stomach muscles are tensed. With English, the opposite is true, like a marathon runner, the pace is less frenetic and the English speaker has the chance to expand the lungs and breath using deep breathes.
Taking pride in how one comes across to others, is the important thing.
