Phonological
Influences
Spanish speakers may demonstrate the following tendencies when
learning English pronunciation:
| Spanish |
English |
|
Final consonants are often devoiced |
The
word frozen may be pronounced frose. |
|
The "h" is sometimes silent
in Spanish, particularly at the beginning of words.
|
For
example, the word hold may be read or spelled
‘old |
| The
sound "ch" in English may be
substituted by "sh" |
For
example, shoe may be read or spelled as chew
or choe |
| Letter
"j" (i.e., judicial) does not exist
in Spanish |
For
example, judicial may be read or spelled as yudicial. |
| The
sound of the voiceless "th"
(like "thin")
doesn't exist in Spanish. |
For
example, think may be read or spelled as tink
|
| The
sound of voiced th (that)
does not exist in Spanish |
For
example, that may be read or spelled as dat
or zat. |
| The
v in Spanish is pronounced with the
/b/ sound |
For
example, very may be read or spelled as berry |
| The
schwa sound is inserted before initial
consonant clusters |
For
example stay may be read or spelled estay
or skate may be read or spelled eskate |
| Words
in Spanish end in many different sounds. (e.g. a, d,
e, i, o, u, l, n, r, s,) |
The
sounds at the end of words may be omitted. |
| /i/
may be substituted with /ee/ |
wig
may be spelled or read as weeg or whistle
may be spelled or read as wheestle |
| /e/
may be substituted for /ae/ |
hat
may be read or spelled het |
| /ah/
for /ae/ |
Frank
may be read or spelled Frahn |
Source: Adapted from Roseberry-McKibbin
(2002, p. 85) & Shipley (1992, p. 371)
Grammatical Influences
Spanish speakers learning English may change the following morphological markers:
| Spanish |
English |
| Structure |
Possible Miscue
|
Structure |
| Negative |
|
|
|
a. ‘no’ before the verb
A ella no le gusta el arroz. |
a. She no
like rice. |
a. She doesn’t
like rice. |
b.double negative format may be used
A Jorge no le gusta nada.
|
b. Jorge don’t like nothing. |
b. Jorge doesn’t like anything. |
|
Adjective |
|
|
|
a. La niña bonita.
b. El carro azul. |
a. The girl pretty.
b. The car blue. |
a. The pretty girl.
b. The blue car. |
| However,
there are some Spanish noun phrases in which the adjective
precedes the noun, such as: |
Use of numerals
tres libros |
|
(three
books) |
Use
of comparative terms
gran maestro |
|
(great
teacher) |
Use
of ordinal numbers
la tercera mujer |
|
(third
woman) |
| Comparative
adjectives |
are
often marked with more instead of ‘er’ |
|
El es más grande que yo.
|
He is more big than I. |
He is bigger than I. |
| Question
Formation |
The
formation of questions in Spanish does not require the
use of helping verbs/auxiliary verbs. |
|
Tienes hambre? |
Have you hunger? |
Are you hungry? |
| 3rd
person present tense |
|
|
|
Ella canta muy bien. |
She sing beautifully (omission of ‘s’) |
She sings beautifully. |
|
Omission |
|
|
a. Plural ‘s’ may be omitted
Estos libros pesan mucho.
Or
Esos libros son muy pesados.
|
a. These book are
heavy. |
a. These books
are heavy. |
|
b. Regular past tense ‘ed’ may be omitted
El caminó ayer. |
b. He walk there
yesterday. |
b. He walked
there yesterday. |
c.
Subject pronouns may be omitted
Esas niñas son inteligentes. Estudian juntas
todo el tiempo. |
c. Those girls are
smart. Study together all the time. |
c. Those girls are
smart. They study together all the time. |
d.
Future tense may omit the helping verb
Yo voy. |
d. I go. |
d. I am
going. |
|
Preposition after a verb |
|
|
|
There is no equivalent. |
To call on /to visit/to ask
To call up /to telephone |
| Possessive
|
|
|
|
Ésta es la casa de mi madre. |
This is the house of my mother. |
This is my mother’s house. |
| To be/have
(years of age). |
|
|
|
a. Tengo 8 años.
b. Tengo hambre.
c. Tengo sueño. |
a. I have 8 years.
b. I have hunger.
c. I have sleep. |
a. I am 8 years
old.
b. I am hungry.
c. I am sleepy. |
Semantic Influences
Spanish speakers may demonstrate the following tendencies when learning English:
|
Cultural differences expressed
through words |
| Kinds of Words |
|
English |
| Words
similar in form and in meaning |
hospital |
hospital |
|
hotel |
hotel |
|
taxi |
taxi |
| Words that are
similar in form but represent different meanings (false
friends) |
“educado” means well-mannered,
polite
Semi-false cognates such as “blanco”
which is the color “white”
in Spanish can sometimes be used as “blank”
|
“educated”
means “has received formal instruction or is well-read”
A Spanish-speaker will say, "He is so educated"
to mean, "He is so polite/respectful."
A Spanish speaker may use “blanco”
in reference to a “blank”
sheet of paper. |
| Words similar
in meaning but different in form |
casa |
house |
| Regionalisms:
words that are used mainly in a certain geographical
area or country |
Guagua means bus in Puerto Rico
but in Chile it is la micro
Choclo means corn in Peru but in
Colombia it is maíz
|
"Sneakers"
in northeastern U.S. are "tennis shoes" in
mid-western U.S.
Pants/slacks in the U.S. are "trousers"
in England. |
|
According to Dalbor (1997), many Spanish words have been
“borrowed" or incorporated into English such
as: |
Tacos
Fajitas
Rodeo |
Tacos
Fajitas
Rodeo |
|
Unusual meanings |
The street level of a building in Europe is usually the
ground floor. |
The
street level in the U.S. is usually labeled as the first
floor. |
|
Spanglish: This term refers to combining the root of an
English word and adding a suffix of the other language.
These words have been incorporated into the Spanish vocabulary
of many Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. |
Lonche
parquear
|
Lunch
To park |
|
