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I'm a female native speaker of English. My knowledge of Spanish is adequate, but I need to improve my pronunciation. I've heard that it's very effective to record a well-spoken native speaker, and then repeat what they say, sentence by sentence, trying to mimic their pronunciation. I might record myself for comparison.
I can think of a few good role models with beautiful diction, e.g. the Mexican radio host Javier Poza. But my favorite role models are all men. As a woman, will I sound goofy if I learn my Spanish pronunciation from a man? Is there a big difference in how men and women speak? I know that it makes a big difference in languages like Korean which are highly gender differentiated. But what about Spanish?
Note, I use Spanish primarily with Mexican immigrants, so I will choose a well-educated Mexican as a role model.
In some Asian cultures, the manners and tones of speech can be different between the genders, women temperate and agreeable, men loud and decisive. But that's more true 50 years ago. I would find it a startling fact if spoken Korean of today reflects any rules or expectations specific to genders. None ever exists with English, and I believe the same of Spanish.
Paula H said: Note, I use Spanish primarily with Mexican immigrants, so I will choose a well-educated Mexican as a role model.
Seems like a fine strategy to me. Your comments made me curious enough to tune-in to one of the Spanish language channels we get on satellite, and listen closely to both male and female newscasters for some commonly used words. I used this list as a guide, focusing on several of the multi-syllabic words, and didn't really hear any difference in pronunciation or inflection. Easy enough to do using the rewind function on a DVR.
Disclaimer: I speak only rudimentary Spanish, never took a course, but have picked up a fair amount during my 30 years here in Arizona.
One observation: Here in the states, all major newscasters speak with an accent-less "vanilla" blend of English, whether they're from Boston or Texas or Chicago. I'd guess you'd find the same thing in other countries for the same reasons.
Another observation: 50 years ago you might have been able to claim a gender difference in English speaking ... but primarily in the use of slang, contractions, and expletives. Not really in the actual pronunciation, but more in word choices. These days ... not so much. But a new difference seems to be emerging in the phenomena of "up-speak" and "gargle-speak" which is far more common (but not exclusive) with female speakers, especially those under the age of 30. Interesting thread about that here: https://www.waywordradio.org/discussion/topics/up-speak-and-gargle-speak-in-younger-womens-voices/
Robert said
I would find it a startling fact if spoken Korean of today reflects any rules or expectations specific to genders.
I know that in the 80's, the difference was very pronounced. The men sounded like barking and the women sounded like chirping. Some of my male classmates in Korean class had a woman as their main instructor. When we got to Korea, the locals often laughed at them, "You speak Korean like a woman!"
That sounds like it. In the old Samurai movies, they make the actors and actresses jump through hoops with that. But in real situations, such as the newscasts, it shouldn't be anything close to that.
What go on in the male and female brains though, will never be the same. When you read from famous authors to the comedians to the common persons, there is always a something that tells the one gender from the other. Though far from tangible, it's in how fast the person builds a point, the structures of sentences and choices of words, how wide the net is cast for things.
Somehow this turn of the conversation reminds me of one of several brilliant moments in the movie Birdcage:
Armand: How do you feel about that call today? I mean the Dolphins! Fourth-and-three play on their 30-yard line with only 34 seconds to go!
Albert: How do you think I feel? Betrayed. Bewildered. ... Wrong response?
You shouldn't run into any problems whatsoever using a male model. Spanish entirely phonetic, so pronunciation of words in Spanish will always coincide with their spelling (albeit with regional differences in the pronunciation of certain letters).
You might enjoy this free tutorial that covers all of the major differences between English and Spanish and uses both male and female speakers: Spanish Pronunciation: The Complete Guide
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