Speaking Spanish in Spain
Sep 13th, 2002, 06:16 AM
#1
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Speaking Spanish in Spain
Pronunciation...the lisping "c" sound. Those of us in the U.S. are accustomed to hearing South American Spanish, so the lisping "c" sound is slightly tricky. Are Spaniards accustomed to this? Or does it simply sound like an affectation when a foreigner attempts to pronouce the lisping c?
Sep 13th, 2002, 06:48 AM
#2
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When I was in Spain last year, I had no trouble understanding (and being understood by) the Spaniards. I learned Castilian Spanish in school. Though the Spanish I speak is neither S.American nor Castilian, I got by just fine.<BR><BR>p.s. I always thought the lisping was on the "s" (i.e. when they say the word "cosa" it sounds like "cotha". Just the same, I'd forego the lisping and speak what Spanish I know.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.
Sep 13th, 2002, 09:06 AM
#5
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They seems to be used to local variations. It would be probably you who need to get used to their regional variations. "z","ce","ci" pronounced with the lisp in Barcelona. "ll" sounding more like "j" than "y", disappearing "d" in the middle of the words.
Sep 13th, 2002, 01:58 PM
#6
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When I began to learn Spanish, our teacher told us that we should choose either the lisp or the non-lisp and then stick to it. The Spanish are not stuck-up about their language. They do not consider one way of prononciation better than another. So I would say, choose which one you prefer and go for it. The lisping sound is really only common in Northern Spain, with the Andalucians sounding more to my ears like South Americans.
Sep 13th, 2002, 03:23 PM
#8
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In Spain the lisping is on the c before e or i and the z.<BR>cinco=thinco<BR>cero=thero<BR>zambra=thambra <BR><BR>In most of Andalucia, you will hear the c before e and i and the z pronounced as a s<BR><BR>However, the some areas of the Cordoba province, you'll also hear lisping on the s
Sep 13th, 2002, 03:30 PM
#9
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In my "year abroad" in Spain in 1977, Northerners lisped most "c's" and "z's" but rarely to never lisped "s's". They made fun of Andalusians, who they said lisped "everything"-- ie their "s's"-- indiscriminately.<BR><BR>I didn't spend much time in Southern Spain, so can't vouch for the truth of that last bit.
Sep 15th, 2002, 01:55 PM
#11
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Dear Heidi,<BR><BR>Boy, did you ever open a linguistic can of worms with your question about the "ceceo/seseo" issue (which is the official name in Spanish of the lisp/nonlisp issue)! <BR><BR>Let's not even get into the actual other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Catalan, Bable, immunerable minor dialects like Aragonese and Extremaduran, not to mention Basque. <BR>Let's just concentrate on the main <BR>difference in standard Spanish as spoken in Spain - the "castillian accent" or more common in the north, and the "andalusian accent" more common in the south. (Professional linguists - I know that these are gross oversimplifications!)<BR><BR>Contrary to what was written by a previous poster, the differences between these two ways of speaking are a very big deal in Spain, since the "castillian accent" has always been considered more refined, correct, and educated than the "andalusian accent". Nowadays, there are crusades trying to get people to acknowledge that the "andalusian accent" is as "politically correct" as the "castillian accent", and to use it in more in public speaking, TV broadcasts, etc... This issue is so charged that even referring to the two ways of speaking as merely "accents" would be be unacceptable to some language militants in Spain, who consider the "habla andaluz" to be a separate dialect or even a separate language! <BR><BR>Plus, there's a lot more to it than just the ceceo/seseo, as mentioned by a previous poster - the dropped middle "d"s, the dropped final consonants, the "ll" sound as "y" versus "j" (the offical name for this is "yeismo"), the use of "ustedes" instead of "vosotros" for the second person plural, just to name a few of the major points which are obvious to any native Spanish speaker!<BR><BR>If you tried to assume just one element ("lisping") of the "castillian" way of speaking without the rest, you probably would not actually offend people, because they would make allowances for the fact that you were a clueless foreigner, but you would definitely sound bizarre. Tak it from someone who is a native Spanish speaker. <BR><BR><BR><BR>
Sep 16th, 2002, 05:35 AM
#13
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I don't have any background in Spanish; I know French and German. However, since I live in the U.S., I am more accustomed to the Latin American way of pronouncing things. If I'm going to bother attempting Spanish, I don't want to offend anyone. I will be in Madrid and Seville, so I guess I'm screwed! (Castille and Andalusia!) I had a feeling the Castillian pronunciation was for the higher classes, but I am merely an ignorant tourist.<BR><BR>Thanks for all the help, but I'm more confused now.
Sep 16th, 2002, 06:13 AM
#15
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When I was taught spanish, I was taught to pronounce all z and ce ci as th. Once you have learned a certain pronounciation, it is difficult for you to change, so don't bother. (One of my spanish teachers was south american and occasionally, she would try to put in ths, but she would do it on the s as well, which was weird.) I have no problem being understood in Latin America when I th. In fact, I had one lovely conversation with a waiter in Mexico, who after a while started to pronounce words with a th, just to keep me company! You will have no problem being understood in Spain if you don't pronounce with a th. The only problem you might have is understanding what is said to you. I found it difficult at first to understand that "dices" was the same word that I had learned was "dithes" and similarly, my "entonthes" didn't sound the same word as "entonces". But you get used to it.
