Common pronunciation mistakes that English native speakers tend to make

First of all, I would like to say that the objective of learning a new language is not being perfect. Speaking perfectly the target language is not the aim. I do not want to enter into a long debate, however, let me write here a question: what is perfection in languages? We have not met the perfect speaker in one of all languages which exist in our world yet. And I have doubts about finding this “perfect speaker” someday, honestly.

Just in case you want to improve your Spanish pronunciation a bit and you’re an English native speaker, I would like to recommend you to pay attention to these three little things which can be really useful in order to sound more natural.

1. Don’t forget the existence of Spanish “r”. Especially English native speakers who live in the United Kingdom or Australia, for example, try to avoid the pronunciation of “r”. Naturally it happens with the English spoken in these countries. Although you should remember that all “r” matter in Spanish. Then when you see one, pronounce it. Of course, you’ll need to pronounce a simple “r” in some cases (zanahoria –carrot-, arquitectura –architecture-, cara –face- or ser –to be-) and you’ll need to pronounce a double and vibrant “r” in other cases (ratón –mouse-, reserve –reservation or booking- or zorro –fox-).
2. In most of the cases, the “h” is silent in Spanish. Then, when you see a “h”, don’t pronounce it. There are few exceptions (hamster, for example), but most of the times you’ll avoid the pronunciation of “h” (hotel, hasta –until-, hora –hour-, hecho –done- or herida –injury-).
3. We’ve got two different letters b and v which are pronounce in the same way. Then, when you see “visita”, don’t pronounce the “v” as you would do in “visit”, try to say “*bisita”. Of course, use v or b when it’s needed. Writing and pronunciation are not the same thing!

I hope these three pieces of advice have helped you! If you’ve got doubts, questions or suggestions, please, write an email to> belriesco@outlook.com . Finally, if you enjoy this blog, could you share it with your contacts? I’ll really appreciate this action!

I hope to see you in the next post! Cheers!

Letras en Español – Ms. Riesco Almeida ©