Which Features of Spanish Learners’ Pronunciation Most Impact Listener Evaluations?

This study explores which features of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) pronunciation most impact raters’ evaluations. Native Spanish speakers (NSSs) from regions with different pronunciation norms were polled: 147 evaluators from northern Mexico and 99 evaluators from central Argentina. These evaluations were contrasted with ratings from non-native SFL instructors. Evaluators rated speech samples in terms of comprehensibility and pleasantness, and identified the specific features of the learners’ pronunciation that they found either acceptable or unsatisfactory. For all groups, negative personal attributes were associated with less accurate pronunciation. Significant quantitative differences were found in groups’ ratings, with the non-native raters falling between the two groups of NSSs. The different groups of NSS raters were largely in agreement in terms of the specific pronunciation features that they identified as important, however. Compared to non-native raters, the NSSs focused more on suprasegmentals and global voice qualities. Phonemes that appear to have the greatest impact on listeners’ evaluations are identified, and teaching implications are discussed.