Yo, yo, yo...
I, unlike others, think that I, unlike others, should study Spanish, so I, unlike others, can master the language and I, unlike others, can speak Spanish and I, unlike others, get to know other people, because I, unlike others, like meeting people.
That sentence gives English speakers an insight of how Spanish speakers perceive a paragraph where "yo" is used all the time: you can't find any grammar mistakes, but the problem is not grammar. The problem is that it is annoyingly pointless and repetitive, because you are not supposed to compare everything about yourself with everyone else, which is what Spanish subject pronouns are for This is what English speakers should understand: pronouns are compulsory in English... and in a tiny percentage of all the thousands of languages spoken all over the world, so there is no reason to expect a language to make this a rule. Spanish uses pronouns for specific reasons, not just to fill gaps.
Please, avoid your "yo", "tú"... until you know where to use them for a PURPOSE. The rest of the time, you are just producing an annoying redundancy that we find tiring and confusing, to put it mildly.
11 Answers
I know horrible pronunciation has to be near the top of the list, but besides the excellent example you gave, what else hurts the ears of a native Spanish speaker?
It doesn't hurt our ear, but it forces us to be trying to suppress our natural way of understanding the language, and keep telling to ourselves: no, he didn't really meant "yo"; he is just a foreigner who uses it mechanically, so try to read the sentence as if you hadn't hear the word "yo" there, and you'll understand him. Yes, we can do this, and we do all the time with foreigners, but it requires changing the way we understand the language. Read this sentence:
Yesterday I saw my friend Peter. Came with me to cinema, but didn't let me pay. After the movie, left to his house.
What part of the sentence did you not understand? Surely if someone said that, you'd understand it perfectly, but you'd be forced to fill it with the missing pronouns so it sounds natural to you. There you would be adding the confusing missing pronouns in the sentence, while we have to remove the confusing inserted pronouns. The only difference is that in English, removing them produces ungrammatical sentences, while in Spanish only sentences pointing in the wrong direction.
I understand that subjunctive is not easy, but removing the pronouns is not exactly rocket science, is it?
Yo no entiendo lo que dices. ¿Será que usar "yo" en cada frase que yo pueda caberlo es irritante e innecesario aunque sea correcto gramaticalmente? Tal vez yo comprenda, pero yo no sé cómo aplicarlo.
I (unlike anyone else) don't understand what you are saying. Could it be that using "I" in each phrase that I (no one other than I) can fit it can be annoying and unnecessary even though it may be grammatically correct? Perhaps I (me myself and I) understand, but I(unlike others) don't know how to apply it.
Note: the use of "I" is perfect in English here
Yo, yo, yo...
Sorry Lazarus. I know this is a very serious and helpful discussion. I just wanted to weigh in and say that this is the way most people say "hello" in Philadelphia, so to me it seems quite natural. 
I thought this was going to be a question about 80's rap music. Yo, yo, yo--check it out! Thanks for putting subject pronouns in perspective. (It makes me want to get up and bust a move.)
Que yo sepa yo no uso mucho el yo.
I am so guilty of doing this 
...but I'm working on it!
Lazarus, what would be the next item in the list of things that you
find tiring and confusing, to put it mildly.
I know horrible pronunciation has to be near the top of the list, but besides the excellent example you gave, what else hurts the ears of a native Spanish speaker?
sigh
Nice, I know that I use the I too often, as I am not very good at English.
Just kidding, 
It doesn't hurt our ear
I was speaking figuratively :~)
I understand that subjunctive is not easy, but removing the pronouns is not exactly rocket science, is it?
I understand your point about pronouns, but what does this have to do with the subjunctive? I guess I'm confused by some of the 'comedic' posts ....
I believe that I have learnt to stop using personal pronouns unnecessarily in Spanish 
A couple of visits to the dunce corner 
courtesy of Heidi did that for me I now find myself encouraging beginners not to use them all the time especially where the verb conjugations make clear who is doing the action eg: Fui al cine anoche (I went to the cinema last night) 
However Lazarus, I have become a little nervous of using them at all lol so I would be very grateful if you would be kind enough to provide some examples where natives would use them...with explanations as to why they are used
My current understanding is they are used for
1 Emphasis
2 To clarify the meaning so as to avoid amibiguity
Please correct me gently if I am wrong about this as I am seeking to understand how to use them like natives do.
I look forward to your response
Best regards Feliz77
Don't worry, I like these little lessons here!
