Developing Speed in Spanish Speaking
If you’ve ever watched a telenovela – a Spanish-language soap opera – you know that Spanish speakers are infamous for speaking very rapidly. If you aren’t accustomed to verbal Spanish or need to concentrate on each word before speaking, you may lose the thread of the conversation with native speakers very quickly. However, your speaking pace is something you can practice – after all, every Spanish speaker has started at the beginning, just like you.
Concentrating on Rhythm and Pronunciation
One of the most difficult aspects of learning Spanish is adjusting to the differences in the way each letter of the alphabet is said in relation to other letters. For example, in English, verbal patterns tend to be very distinct, with a number of changes in tongue and mouth positions. All of this serves to make verbal English much slower in pace.
On the other hand, part of the speed associated with verbal Spanish comes from the sounds being more compatible in each word. In general, there are fewer mouth positions used and the syllables often require less distinction than in English. As a result, while you might expect to take one second to say an English word, it may take half the time to pronounce its Spanish equivalent. Therefore, when you’re using Spanish words in a conversation, it’s important to develop a faster sense of meter and timing.
Practice Key Phrases
Until you successfully create a faster meter for verbal Spanish, it may help to practice certain common phrases over and over. Just like with typing, the more you practice a specific phrase, the faster you’ll be able to speak it. While this will help you when your Spanish is still limited, it’s important to try to speak at an even speed regardless of the words or phrases that you’re using.
Finding Words That You Can Say Quickly
There are probably words that you can say in English much more quickly than other people can and other words that you say more slowly. In a similar way, you’re bound to find combinations of letters and words in the Spanish language that are easier for you to pronounce. It may be helpful to time yourself as you speak specific words and then try to use the ones that you are able to say the fastest more often in your conversations. Of course, you won’t be able to express everything using these words, but getting into the habit of using the faster pace will help you speed up every word over time.
Watch Movies in Spanish
Try to obtain movies that feature native Spanish speaking people – these will best showcase the natural rhythm and speed of the language and offer you a perfect opportunity to listen to verbal Spanish at its normal speed. At first, you may simply want to sit and listen to the rhythm of the words without focusing on their meaning. This will help you pick up key sounds, as well as give you a better sense of the correct accent. Later, go back and listen to the movie again. You can then begin to work on interpreting the actual words or mimicking the Spanish sentences.
Even though Spanish is spoken very quickly, there’s also an underlying rhythm and fluidity to the words to help accomplish this pace. As you listen to people speaking Spanish, you’ll begin to pick up these patterns and learn how to duplicate them. In some cases, you may want to start off simply listening for these patterns before going back and translating the meaning of each sentence.