Why do a lot of Hispanics say their name with a Spanish accent when speaking English?

I have a Spanish friend who's a dude named Angel (accent on the A, pronounce On-Hell)... Can you imagine how many weird looks he'd get if he pronounced it like the English word Angel?

It matters how long their families have been here. I doubt many 6th generation Irish Americans are going to break into a lilt when they say St. Patricks Day. However, I do know an Irishman who moved here in his teens. His accent it pretty Americanized, but when he talks about places back in Ireland or says peoples names, the accent comes on pretty thick.

I'm a white guy from Los Gatos, CA (originally) who speaks Spanish pretty well. When people ask me where I grew up, I struggle to stick with the anglicized pronunciation that we used growing up (Las Gattis). I don't want to sound pretentious by pronouncing it correctly. However, when I talk to students or friends who are Hispanic, I will pronounce it correctly.

The OP is dead correct, although obviously not all Spanish speakers do it, but they tend to do it more often than other language speakers. Most Chinese don't pronounce their names the same as they would in their native dialect (do any?).

Once I had a French friend of my mom's, whom I had met for the first time and to whom I was speaking in English, correct my pronunciation of "Grenoble," as I pronounced it the American way. Now I have a pretty damn good French accent, as in most people who first meet me take me for a native, so I was like WTF and felt like smacking her for being so condescending. When I speak French, I pronounce my name or "Washington" or "New York" with a French accent, as doing so with an American one would sound really strange in the middle of a French sentence. When I speak Korean, if I pronounce my name with an American accent, almost no one will get what I said (if they're that fluent in English we'd probably be talking in English anyway), especially since the English sounds aren't producible in the Korean alphabet and so unfamiliar to their ears.

Not sure why Spanish people don't get that.

People seem to be not understanding what I'm saying. Of course Angel and Jesus are going to say their names with an "h" sound instead of a j or g. But that doesn't mean they also have to use Spanish vowels and and Spanish jota harsh h to say them in English, just as Rodrigo doesn't need to roll his r. Same with Los Gatos or Buena Vista. I can say both in English with a good approximation of the Spanish pronunciation without using Spanish vowels. I seriously doubt an American born Henrich Von Luetzow would say it like they do in Berlin even if he approximates the correct pronunciation in English. Same for Jacques Troudeaux - he's not going to put on a Parisian accent, or at least I've never known anyone to do it.

im in their shoes wrote:

And there are many people in America with French names who keep some of the French pronunciation. You don't hear Babineaux pronounced with the X at the end. And a name like Beauchamp would sound not as nice if it were pronounced the English way (saying the 'amp' instead of /ɑ̃/).

There's a difference between a pronunciation and an accent. Babineaux in the states would keep more or less the same pronunciation as the French, but with an American accent.

Why can't Americans speak any language other than English? Throughout Europe and Africa, people routinely speak 3, 4 languages. In most Germany most people seem to speak English. Ditto France, S America, etc.

Are English speaking Americans just dumber than most or is something else afoot?

And if he were french born, probably say it with a french accent.

I understand exactly what the OP is saying. "I don't understand the nuances of cultural assimilation".

I understand exactly what the OP is saying. "I don't understand the nuances of cultural assimilation".

Please explain then. It's an effort to resist assimilation, not shared by other groups? I have a lot of Jewish friends who feel strongly about preserving their culture but none of them says their name with a Hebrew accent. If you understand, please be so kind as to explain.

The New UncleB wrote:

Why can't Americans speak any language other than English? Throughout Europe and Africa, people routinely speak 3, 4 languages.

Um, speak for yourself and your wife/cousin, not the rest of us who actually do.

CoachB wrote:

And if he were french born, probably say it with a french accent.

I understand exactly what the OP is saying. "I don't understand the nuances of cultural assimilation".

No, he wouldn't. Not unless his English pronunciation was poor (which admittedly is the case for a lot of French, but not those who've spent most of their lives in America). Believe me, I have TONS of francophone friends, with whom I'm often acting in a multilingual environment, and they don't use the same accent when speaking English as French to say their names. Neither do I.

What would be really impressive is if Soledad O'Brien pronounced her name with a Spanish and Irish accent, respectively.

So, you have bullied your wife, nicely integrating her into mainstream America, and now you get on a running website to bemoan the fact that you cannot bully others into your neat little scenario of American life. Why can't you embrace a little diversity, especially that which is right in front of you?

mandalit del barco.

love the way she signs off from her reports! whenever i hear her, i try to say it to myself like she does and i just repeat it over and over. i sound nothing like her, but the anticipation of hearing her name is great.

surprisingly, renee montagne introduces del barco with the anglicized pronunciation. usually montagne and crew are pretty good at throwing in the appropriate pronunciations (think the way M. Block says Bahrain in the afternoons).

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133740560/Lady-Antebellum-Leads-Grammy-Winners-With-5-Awards

STROMY SEAS, YOU ARE SO DAMNED IGNORANT! GET A LIFE!

Under Ultra wrote:

Your wife is a coward and ashamed of her heritage. Sell-out.

Well said.

The New UncleB wrote:

Why can't Americans speak any language other than English? Throughout Europe and Africa, people routinely speak 3, 4 languages. In most Germany most people seem to speak English. Ditto France, S America, etc.

Are English speaking Americans just dumber than most or is something else afoot?

You answered your own question uncleB. Since most everywhere native-English speakers go someone else (and usually almost everyone else) speaks quite a bit of english, it creates a dependency. Why go to the trouble to try to learn another language if someone else is just going to speak to you in english anyway? Also, look at the cultural differences between america, and it's only neighboring country that speaks a foreign language, mexico. the lifestyles and way of life/standard of living are hugely and entirely different.

Europe is more assimilated, and more languages are stationed right next to each other. For example, spain, france, belgium, and italy are all rather close to each other, and the languages represented by those countries are spanish, french, dutch, italian, and quite a bit of english as well. Someone growing up in France will likely know many native speakers of multiple other languages, and have the opportunity to learn and practice another language quite often in daily life. I take french in college right now, and outside of the french department at my university, I know 1 person who is a native french speaker (and she is from the congo). Other than that, i know no one else who speaks another native language besides english. So, even if i were to want to learn german, spanish, etc, the opportunity to actually live and practice it in daily life just isn't there.

It is not that americans are dumb, or that they do not have the ability. the conditions and incentives to learn other languages just aren't there. Again, if everyone else (well, for the most part) already speak english, and can/will speak to you in english, why go to the trouble to learn another language?

Haven't you heard? Multiculturalism is dead. RIP.

I had to take a class in multiculturalism for work about 15 years ago. The teacher was a Venezuelan woman who went on and on about how the term Hispanic was wrong, that you should address people as Cuban, or Puerto Rican, etc. She then went on to refer to white people as Anglos. Hilarious!

kartelite wrote:

CoachB wrote:

And if he were french born, probably say it with a french accent.

I understand exactly what the OP is saying. "I don't understand the nuances of cultural assimilation".

No, he wouldn't. Not unless his English pronunciation was poor (which admittedly is the case for a lot of French, but not those who've spent most of their lives in America). Believe me, I have TONS of francophone friends, with whom I'm often acting in a multilingual environment, and they don't use the same accent when speaking English as French to say their names. Neither do I.

My girlfriend, who grew up in France, whenever she says a french word she automatically pronounces it with a french accent.