Although I am by no means an expert in the matter, the first thing you
need to do is realize that the biggest difference between your native
tongue (Spanish) and English, is that English is a guttural language
while Spanish is romance language. In Spanish the words are smooth and
flow naturally from the upper part of the larynx, there are very few
harsh sounds in Spanish.
In English by contrast (being a guttural language) you must change the
way in which you pronounce the words. Most people speak English words
with the pronunciation of the Spanish language and it is this more
than anything else that prevents them from learning the common
pronunciation of the English language.
To better illustrate this if you have an English speaking person
nearby (and he/she allows you) put your hand on his/her throat while
they speak and then do the same with you while you say the same words.
A word that lends itself very well for this purposes is 'American'
(for several reasons that I will not go into here), have them say
'American' in English and then you do the same. You will notice that
when an English speaking person says the word the resonance comes
mostly from the lower part of the larynx (from below the vocal
chords), when you say the same word you will feel that One- your word
is smooth (there is no or very little resonance ~vibration~ of your
throat), and Two- it comes from the upper part of your throat. In
order to achieve the guttural sound that English speaking people have
you must change the way in which you speak, your words must come from
the lower part of your throat, from your guts. English is a harsh
guttural language. It is important to keep in mind that I don't mean
loud or strong it is not a matter of degree or intonation, but of
origin.
Hope that helps,
Eli |
