So far, I have been practicing in two ways:
1 - Lists of words
I found a website with exercises for Spanish pronunciation, some of which I find quite useful: StudySpanish
I used this to practice my alveolar trill [r] and the alveolar tap [ɾ] . I like the fact that it has practice contrasting the two, including minimal pairs and words which contain both (those are the most difficult!). I also used it to work on my /x/ and I plan to use it for other features as well (it has vowels, intonation, connected speech etc.).
I decided to pronounce the approximant /j/ (usually spelt as "ll" or "y", like in "llena" or "ayuda") just like in English, since it seems to me that this how the actress in my archetype is saying it. In other regions of Spain it is something between /j/ and /ʒ/, a sound that I find very difficult to get right.
2 - Reading aloud
I've done some reading out loud, focusing on the sounds mentioned above, and also on the /θ/, which I can produce but I have to remember to do it. My roommate listened to me reading and stopped me here and there, asking me to repeat and correct myself. I also stop and repeat the words when I have trouble or when I notice I said it wrong. The reading is especially useful for those "r"s and made me realize how difficult it is to juggle between the trill and the tap.
1 - Lists of words
I found a website with exercises for Spanish pronunciation, some of which I find quite useful: StudySpanish
I used this to practice my alveolar trill [r] and the alveolar tap [ɾ] . I like the fact that it has practice contrasting the two, including minimal pairs and words which contain both (those are the most difficult!). I also used it to work on my /x/ and I plan to use it for other features as well (it has vowels, intonation, connected speech etc.).
I decided to pronounce the approximant /j/ (usually spelt as "ll" or "y", like in "llena" or "ayuda") just like in English, since it seems to me that this how the actress in my archetype is saying it. In other regions of Spain it is something between /j/ and /ʒ/, a sound that I find very difficult to get right.
2 - Reading aloud
I've done some reading out loud, focusing on the sounds mentioned above, and also on the /θ/, which I can produce but I have to remember to do it. My roommate listened to me reading and stopped me here and there, asking me to repeat and correct myself. I also stop and repeat the words when I have trouble or when I notice I said it wrong. The reading is especially useful for those "r"s and made me realize how difficult it is to juggle between the trill and the tap.
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