Learning a second language is more challenging for some people than for others. Sounds form the skeleton around which a language is formed. The task is much more difficult if the second language sounds are different from your home language. Spanish speakers are used to detecting Spanish sounds. English and Spanish have differing sounds, making some words in English hard for Spanish speakers.
Spanish people struggle with b/v, j/y, and sh/ch confusion. Other difficult consonants for Spanish speakers are /r/, /h/,/x/, medial /th/, initial /s/, and voiced consonants. English vowels are numerous and complex. Spanish speakers struggle with long and short vowel differentiation.
Some people are gifted at learning languages and may learn to speak English easily. For other Spanish speakers, learning English is challenging, and there are many difficult words.
Sound Confusions Making English Hard For Spanish Speakers
Children acquiring language learn the sounds they need to speak their language. Their brains become attuned to those sounds, enabling them to learn words.
Adults have a greater challenge as their brains are less flexible than children’s. Learning new sounds requires various skills, including auditory discrimination and analysis. Brains that are not attuned to the sounds of a language find these tasks challenging.
B/V Confusion In Spanish Speakers
Although /b/ and /v/ are both used in Spanish spelling, they are used interchangeably in spoken Spanish and do not alter the meaning of the word. The use of /b/and /v/ sounds in Spanish is governed by the surrounding sounds.
This makes English words that have /v/ in the beginning or middle difficult for Spanish speakers. Spanish speakers usually pronounce these words using a /b/.
For example, hard words would be:
- Very
- Voice
- Vat
- Vision
- Various
- Avoid
- Involve
- Develop
- Available
J/Y Confusion In Spanish Speakers
Another two English sounds commonly confused are /j/ and /y/. In Spanish, these two sounds are also used interchangeably or as allophones (variations of the same sound).
English /j/ words that Spanish speakers will struggle to pronounce are:
- John
- Jump
- Juggle
- Project
- Majority
Spanish speakers commonly use the /y/ sound instead of the /j/ sound. There are linguistic instances when the /j/ may be replaced by a /ch/ sound. For example, jeep may become cheap.
Words that use /dg/ in English will also often be pronounced incorrectly by Spanish speakers as the sound is produced similarly to a /j/. These include words like:
- Judge
- Pledge
- Hedge
- Nudge
- Midge
- Sludge
Sh/Ch Confusion In Spanish Speakers
Spanish does not have the sound /sh/. Spanish speakers often replace /sh/ with a /ch/. Words that may be confused or mispronounced are:
- Sheep
- Sheet
- Shack
- She
- Ship
- Shall
- Should
Sometimes Spanish speakers pronounce only the /s/. They would produce /sip/ instead of /ship/. This error is easier to remediate as the manner of production is the same as /sh/. Both are fricatives, so changing to produce the correct sound only involves altering the shape of the mouth.
Other Consonant Errors Made By Spanish Speakers
Some other English consonants can cause problems for native Spanish speakers.
Difficulty Pronouncing The English /H/
In Spanish, the /h/ is often silent, and it is a common error among Spanish speakers to omit the /h/ in English words.
Other Spanish people pronounce the /h/ as a velar fricative. The English /h/ is a glottal fricative and a softer sound.
Examples of difficult /h/ words are:
- Horse
- Head
- Heavy
- Hot
- Hope
To make matters even more complicated, some English /h/ words such as had, have, him, her, and he are pronounced with a silent /h/ in connected speech.
Although it is not wrong to pronounce the /h/ in these words, it marks Spanish people as non-native English speakers when they enunciate it in connected speech.
Spanish Speakers Roll The /R/ Sound
The /r/ sound is clearly produced and heard in Spanish words. This is because the /r/ is produced by touching the tongue tip to the alveolar ridge during production. It is known as rolling or trilling the /r/.
An English /r/ is produced with a flattened tongue which may touch the alveolar ridge. In connected speech, the tongue does not always touch the palate; it approximates the position. The result is that the English /r/ is far less noticeable and, in some instances, may seem silent.
Examples of words that may need practice are:
- River
- Read
- Real
- Raise
- Rope
- Roast
- Rash
- Road
- Alright
- Price
Voiced Consonants Are Difficult For Spanish Speakers
English has many consonants produced in the same manner and location, differing only because one is voiced and one is voiceless.
- /p/ and /b/
- /t/ and /d/
- /f/ and /v/
- /k/ and /g/
The Spanish sound system does not differentiate voiced and voiceless consonants in the same way English does, especially at the end of words.
Spanish speakers may struggle with words that end with a voiced consonant. They de-voice the consonant, creating confusion when communicating.
Some examples:
- Cub is pronounced as cup
- Bad is pronounced as bat
- Give becomes gif
- Bag becomes back
Sing is produced as sink – adding further confusion as the /g/ in this word in most English dialects is silent.
Words Containing /X/ Are Difficult For Spanish Speakers
In English, the letter /x/ is said as a /ks/. This consonant cluster does not occur in Spanish and is an unfamiliar sound sequence for Spanish speakers. They usually drop the k and produce only the /s/.
Words that are challenging include:
- Exam
- Experience
- Excitement
- Explain
- Experiment
- Exit
Some words do not contain the letter /x/ but have the same consonant cluster. Examples are:
- Access
- Success
- Tricks
- Rocks
Medial /TH/ Causes Problems For Spanish Speakers
When the voiced /th/ sound occurs in the middle of a word, Spanish speakers often produce a /d/. Examples of words like this are:
- Mother
- Brother
- Father
- Other
- Bother
A voiceless /th/ sound at the end of a word can also be problematic. Spanish speakers produce a /t/ instead of the /th/. Words that cause these errors are:
- With
- Bath
- Math
Initial /S/ Can Be Troublesome For Spanish Speakers
Words with /s/ in the initial position do not occur in Spanish. They are usually preceded by an /e/. Spanish speakers may find it difficult to produce words starting with an /s/. They tend to put an /e/ before the /s/.
Words that can cause problems:
- School
- Silver
- Sink
- Sit
- Sag
- Soft
English Vowels Causing Problems For Spanish Speakers
The biggest problem Spanish speakers face with English vowels is the differentiation between the long and short vowels. Examples are heat (long vowel) and hit (short vowel).
Spanish speakers tend to lengthen all the vowels making their English challenging to understand. Any short vowel sounds in words can be hard for Spanish speakers. Here are some examples:
- Bit
- Sit
- Knit
- Not
- Pull
Vowels are one of the most critical elements of spoken speech. They are the biggest influence on accents and confuse speech when not pronounced correctly. Vowels are also the hardest sounds for second language learners to discriminate, identify and produce.
Spanish speakers will often substitute Spanish vowels for English vowels. It takes many hours of practice to achieve correct vowel production in a second language.
Tips For Improving Spoken English
One of the most neglected aspects of learning to speak English is listening. Active listening involves auditory discrimination and analysis.
Too little time is spent acclimatizing the students to the sounds of English. Many ESL programs seem to rush into producing speech without laying the foundation of the sounds used.
Children acquiring English spend almost a full year becoming accustomed to English sounds before producing words. It is critical for Spanish speakers to listen to spoken English.
This can be done by watching television, films, or internet clips. Listening to the radio or audiobooks is an excellent way to gain exposure to English.
Exposure to spoken English helps Spanish speakers get a ‘feel’ for the language. They will start to know what sounds right.
Pronunciation can be improved by paying attention to the manner and oral positioning in sound production.
Conclusion
Spanish has different sounds and sound clusters compared to English. It is not surprising that Spanish speakers struggle with some English words. These challenges can be overcome by emphasizing sound familiarity and paying attention to the production of English sounds.
You might like our category of posts: ESL FAQs
Image Credits
Spanish Flag RelShot 263, Echando una mano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
