Accents...

Question

Hey everyone ,

This is probably a question that differs depending on which country people are biased to, but I was wondering something: is there an accent in Spanish that is considered the 'best' or the most eloquent? I myself naturally tend towards Mexican Spanish, and prefer their accent, but that may be because of where I grew up. Someone from Panama once told me that the accents of Argentina and Chile are considered the 'best' in the Spanish speaking world. What do you all think?

Surely accents aren't important. They are not in English where correct pronunciation is far far more important. We A L L have accents. - ian-hill, May 31, 2011

Answer 1

Good answer Lazarus. I agree with you.

Now as to the "best", it is a personal opinion. I am talking about everyday speakers of the language, not the journalists, the tv reporters, the professors, the educated, etc.

I don't like Southern dialect which is what Argentina and Uruguay speak because it uses the voseo and has a very particular sing songy intonation pattern. Southern and Chilean dialect both use that "juh" sound for ys and I don't like that. Caribbean Dialect which is Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the northern coastal areas of Colombia and Venezuela has the most corrupt Spanish with intervocalic s being aspirated, same as end word s, and also end of words are just not pronounced. Like pelado becomes pelao. Dominicans are the worst speakers of Spanish and Puerto Ricans are behind them. Central Americans speak Central American Dialect which also uses the voseo but with a different pronunciation than Argentines. Mexican Dialect is good if you listen to the telenovelas and regular Mexicans not the Mexicans in the USA who speak with too many English/Spanish creations. Like troka for truck instead of camión. My favorite is Highland Spanish which is that spoken is Ecuador, Peru, and interior Colombia. And oh yes, Castillian spoken in Spain. I once had a lit professor at LSU named Dr. Vilas who thought that only Spain Spanish was acceptable, he used to denigrate the Latin Americans in his class for the way they spoke Spanish.

So, the right answer is Lazarus' answer, see above.

Answer 2

The "best" accent for you is the one that pertains to your own country, naturally.

However, on three different occasions I was told by a Panamanian, Venezuelan, and a Puerto Rican (all three very educated) that they realized the speech patterns of their individual countries were difficult to understand in other countries, and that all three were striving to speak more clearly.

Answer 3

What is the relationship between being eloquent and your accent? Eloquence is determined by your personal mastery of the language and you ability to use it fluently and persuasively.