Is my speaking accent a big issue in Spanish?

Question

i m excited to learn this language but main problem to keep correct pronunciation in mind. i want to speak something else but deliverd different. right now i m working for American process i speak with lot of people who speak spanish there but due to accent problems i usally hagitate on calls.....so plz help me how i should i improve my accent & pronunciation......so i can better assist to them.

You should worry about your English first. It's atrocious. - MrSillyInc, Sep 22, 2011

Your capitalization and punctuation need work also. This is mandatory! - Yeser007, Sep 22, 2011

Answer 1

Once I was in a beach called Los Barriles in Baja California, Mexico, and a couple of americans asked me what Los Barriles meant. I answered proudly: "the barrels", but I pronounced the vowels "a" and "e" as in Spanish, like in "car" and "elephant", and rolled the "r" sound. They just couldn't understand me. I repeated: "barrels, like in oil barrel", but they continue wondering what I was trying to say. Then I draw a barrel in the sand with a stick. "Oh, "brls"!" they said. "Yes, "brls"!", I repeated.

I sympathise with you Luis :) - patch, Sep 22, 2011

English is so hard for foriegners to pronounce. - BellaMargarita, Sep 22, 2011

:) My husband for many years put the accent on the second syllable, and I would always have to pronounce it to his listeners so they could understand the word. ;) - territurtle, Sep 22, 2011

Otherwise he is completely fluent! Most natives don't know "barrel" just happens to be a particularly difficult word to pronounce! - territurtle, Sep 22, 2011

Sometimes when they say "Oh X" X sounds to me exactly like what I just said o.O - rabbitwho, Sep 23, 2011

It is a tough word indeed! :) - LuisCache, Sep 23, 2011

Jajaja, rabbitwho. Me too. ;) - LuisCache, Sep 23, 2011

Answer 2

in a test they did recording and analyzing people learning languages speaking to other language learners as well as native speakers: 80% of communication problems (where the conversation just stopped and it was impossible for the people to explain the meaning or get around the problem) stemmed from incorrect pronunciation, with grammar and vocabulary in second and third place.

Pronunciation is so so so so so important. All the work you do will be cancelled out if you can't get this right. :(

Interesting - tc84, Sep 22, 2011

Answer 3

This thread is just what you are looking for. Post your response and Spanish speakers will correct your accent and help you improve your overall speaking ability.