Common mistakes

In this entry I will be posting common mistakes we, Spanish speakers, make when pronouncing some words. We tend to utter words not paying attention to differences and not forgetting our Spanish accent and pronunciation. For instance, it is important to say that in English a word can have more than one accent (not graphic), that is, stress. Apart from that, I have to say that here we are using RP, that is, received pronunciation as used in England, not General American (GA) as used in the States. 

1. Difference between 'your' and 'you're': Bear in mind that the first is a possessive and the second is the verb 'to be'. 

Spanish pronunciation: your /jur/ 

Correct pronunciation: your /jə/  

Spanish pronunciation: you're /jor/

Correct pronunciation: you're /jə(r)/                 

2. The word 'difficult' is terribly pronounced by Spanish speakers. 

Spanish pronunciation: difficult /dɪfɪ'kult/

Correct pronunciation: difficult /ˈdɪfɪkəlt/

* The accent marks the beginning of a stressed syllable. Notice that monosyllables don't need a graphic accent. 

3. The word 'comfortable' is pronounced with an altered stressed position and a wrong ending in Spanish. 

Spanish pronunciation: comfortable /komfor'teibol/

Correct pronunciation: comfortable /ˈkʌmfə(r)təbl̩/

* The primary accent, the strongest one, goes above (') and the secondary accent goes below (,) An English word can have four different stresses or accents. 

4. The difference between 'know' and 'now' is usually mistaken by Spanish speakers. Either they pronounce them the same way or thet switch it. Apart from that, some people even pronounce the letter k, which it is not uttered before another consonant.

Spanish pronunciation: know /knau/

Correct pronunciation: know /noʊ/

Spanish pronunciation: now /nou/

Correct pronunciation: now /naʊ/

* More words coming soon...