Answers
Mar 22, 2011 - 08:23 PM
Yes, it should be "voy a hacer", not "voy hacer".
I think that the confusion is that in normal rapid conversation the vowel sounds run together, especially when they are the same sound. Thus "voy a hacer" sounds like "voy a ser" (or "voy hacer").
I expect that leaving out the "a" is common mistake for Spanish speakers.
I think that the confusion is that in normal rapid conversation the vowel sounds run together, especially when they are the same sound. Thus "voy a hacer" sounds like "voy a ser" (or "voy hacer").
I expect that leaving out the "a" is common mistake for Spanish speakers.
Mar 23, 2011 - 04:24 AM
I agree with William. The expression is voy a, so, voy a hacer la is correct. Por ejemplo: Yo voy a hacer la torta. This may have been corrected so sure to download the software updates as they are made available.
Speaking....Spanish speakers don't leave out the ''a''. That would be incorrect. It just sounds that way to the untrained ear. If you listen very carefully to a native spearker you will hear....voy a hacer pronounced as one unit of sound....voyahacer. It's just hard to pick it up. Begining Spanish speakers, such as myself, tend to say each word quite separately to ensure correct phonetics.
Say ''the year'' in your regular English speaking rythmn. It will sound to a non-English speaker as ''theyear''.
Give it a try with several English phrases, particularly those that end in a vowel sound with the next word beginng in a vowel sound or words that end in an ''s'' with the next word begining in a vowel. We English speakers do it all the time without a thought much as Spanish speakers do. Too my Spanish friends, English speakers speak too fast!
Lots and lots of phonetic and reading practice out loud will help over time. Try recording yourself and critiquing your speaking. Better yet, have a native speaker provide a critique. Was it fluid or did it sound like you were reading a list of words? Are all the vowels pronounced correctly? Are you accenting the correct syllable?
With patience, time and hard work you will slowly start sounding very ''Spanishy"':)
Speaking....Spanish speakers don't leave out the ''a''. That would be incorrect. It just sounds that way to the untrained ear. If you listen very carefully to a native spearker you will hear....voy a hacer pronounced as one unit of sound....voyahacer. It's just hard to pick it up. Begining Spanish speakers, such as myself, tend to say each word quite separately to ensure correct phonetics.
Say ''the year'' in your regular English speaking rythmn. It will sound to a non-English speaker as ''theyear''.
Give it a try with several English phrases, particularly those that end in a vowel sound with the next word beginng in a vowel sound or words that end in an ''s'' with the next word begining in a vowel. We English speakers do it all the time without a thought much as Spanish speakers do. Too my Spanish friends, English speakers speak too fast!
Lots and lots of phonetic and reading practice out loud will help over time. Try recording yourself and critiquing your speaking. Better yet, have a native speaker provide a critique. Was it fluid or did it sound like you were reading a list of words? Are all the vowels pronounced correctly? Are you accenting the correct syllable?
With patience, time and hard work you will slowly start sounding very ''Spanishy"':)
Apr 04, 2011 - 10:52 PM
My experience listening to Mexican Spanish is that vowels are frequently combined and/or dropped in normal rapid speech. Similar things occur in English, but the details are different, which can lead to confusion.
For example, in conversational English "What are you going to do?" sounds more like "Whatcha gonna do?" The "t" in "to" is dropped entirely and the other sounds are slurred together.
One difference between Spanish and English is that English speakers will frequently include a slight pause (called a glottal stop) between adjacent vowels in different words. For example "idea of" has a slight stop between the "ea" and the "o". Indeed in some dialects (southern England or coastal New England) they even go as far as to insert an "r" sound between the vowels in this case.
In normal spoken Spanish there is no stop between the vowels. The "ea" and "o" in "idea of" would be combined to a single syllable, which can be confusing for English speakers. These seems to be especially true of Mexican Spanish.
Listening to popular songs in Spanish while reading the lyrics clearly shows how Spanish differs from English in this respect. For an example of this see this video of the Mexican pop song "Nada de más" with lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S1mNi...
The phrase "un día ibas" sounds very close to "un diabas". "Y en lo estupida" sounds close to "Yen lostupida". Part of this may be my untrained ear, but it is clear that the way the sounds are combined is much different than the way they would be in English.
A key thing is to practice listening to spoken Spanish and to learn to recognize common phrases and to be able to tell from the context what the correct interpretation is. In English we immediately recognize the sounds of "Whatcha" as equivalent to "What are you" without even realizing that the actual pronunciation is so far from the ideal formal way to say each word in the phrase. We need to be able to do similar things with Spanish phrases.
For example, in conversational English "What are you going to do?" sounds more like "Whatcha gonna do?" The "t" in "to" is dropped entirely and the other sounds are slurred together.
One difference between Spanish and English is that English speakers will frequently include a slight pause (called a glottal stop) between adjacent vowels in different words. For example "idea of" has a slight stop between the "ea" and the "o". Indeed in some dialects (southern England or coastal New England) they even go as far as to insert an "r" sound between the vowels in this case.
In normal spoken Spanish there is no stop between the vowels. The "ea" and "o" in "idea of" would be combined to a single syllable, which can be confusing for English speakers. These seems to be especially true of Mexican Spanish.
Listening to popular songs in Spanish while reading the lyrics clearly shows how Spanish differs from English in this respect. For an example of this see this video of the Mexican pop song "Nada de más" with lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S1mNi...
The phrase "un día ibas" sounds very close to "un diabas". "Y en lo estupida" sounds close to "Yen lostupida". Part of this may be my untrained ear, but it is clear that the way the sounds are combined is much different than the way they would be in English.
A key thing is to practice listening to spoken Spanish and to learn to recognize common phrases and to be able to tell from the context what the correct interpretation is. In English we immediately recognize the sounds of "Whatcha" as equivalent to "What are you" without even realizing that the actual pronunciation is so far from the ideal formal way to say each word in the phrase. We need to be able to do similar things with Spanish phrases.
Apr 05, 2011 - 01:02 AM
Muy buenas observaciones, William. Otra cosa importante que hacer es aprender a hablar español. Desde que empecé a trabajar específicamente en hablar español, me sorprende lo mucho que mi capacidad de escucha ha mejorado. Lo que ha funcionado para mí es trabajar con un hablante nativo en la fonética. Al igual que usted aprendió su lengua materna imitación y la repetición será entrenar a su boca para hablar a un ritmo español. Las letras no son ''dropped'' pero se agrupan en unidades rítmicas del sonido, como en su ejemplo.
Un libro que recomiendo es Coquito Clásico por Everardo Zapata. Se usa en América Latina y América Central para enseñar a los niños españoles. Se basa en la formación fonética. Lo mejor es utilizar con un hablante nativo que puede guiarlo a través del libro.
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Very good observations, William. Another key thing to do is learn to speak Spanish. Since I started working specifically on speaking Spanish, I am surprised at how much my listening skills have improved. What has worked for me is working with a native speaker on phonetics. Much like you learned your first language, imitation and repetition will train your mouth to speak in a Spanish rhythm. Letters are not ''dropped'' but they are grouped into rythmic units of sound, as in your example.
A book that I recommend is Coquito Clásico by Everardo Zapata. It's used in Latin and Central American countries to teach children Spanish. It is based on phonetics training. It is best used with a native speaker who can guide you through the book.
Un libro que recomiendo es Coquito Clásico por Everardo Zapata. Se usa en América Latina y América Central para enseñar a los niños españoles. Se basa en la formación fonética. Lo mejor es utilizar con un hablante nativo que puede guiarlo a través del libro.
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Very good observations, William. Another key thing to do is learn to speak Spanish. Since I started working specifically on speaking Spanish, I am surprised at how much my listening skills have improved. What has worked for me is working with a native speaker on phonetics. Much like you learned your first language, imitation and repetition will train your mouth to speak in a Spanish rhythm. Letters are not ''dropped'' but they are grouped into rythmic units of sound, as in your example.
A book that I recommend is Coquito Clásico by Everardo Zapata. It's used in Latin and Central American countries to teach children Spanish. It is based on phonetics training. It is best used with a native speaker who can guide you through the book.