If your first language is Spanish, Portuguese, or French, you already have a head start in English. You share a huge amount of vocabulary thanks to Latin roots. But pronunciation? That is where Romance language speakers consistently stumble.
The reason is L1 interference: your brain tries to map English sounds onto the sound system you already know. And since Spanish, Portuguese, and French share a similar phonological foundation, the same mistakes show up again and again, regardless of which Romance language you speak.
This guide covers the 10 most impactful pronunciation errors shared across Romance language speakers, explains why each one happens, and gives you concrete techniques to fix them. Whether you speak Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, or French, this list is for you.
Mistake #1: Flattening Diphthongs (/eɪ/ becomes /e/, /oʊ/ becomes /o/)
What Happens
English has several diphthongs (vowel sounds that glide from one position to another within a single syllable). Romance languages tend to use pure, stable vowels. So when you say the English word "say" /seɪ/, it comes out as a flat /se/ with no glide. Similarly, "go" /ɡoʊ/ becomes a short /ɡo/ instead of gliding toward /ʊ/.
Who Is Most Affected
All three groups equally. Spanish has 5 pure vowels, Portuguese has 7-9 oral vowels (mostly monophthongs), and French has a rich vowel system but its closest equivalents to /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ are pure /e/ and /o/.
Why It Happens
Romance languages have stable vowels that do not change quality during pronunciation. English diphthongs require your tongue and jaw to move during the vowel. Your brain interprets the diphthong as a single pure vowel and strips out the glide.
How to Fix It
Think of each diphthong as two sounds joined together. For /eɪ/, start at /e/ and deliberately move your mouth toward /ɪ/. For /oʊ/, start at /o/ and round your lips toward /ʊ/. Exaggerate the movement at first.
Quick test: Record yourself saying "day" and "go." Play it back. Can you hear the glide? If it sounds like the Spanish "de" or "go," you need more movement.
Mistake #2: Adding Extra Vowels (Epenthesis)
What Happens
You add a vowel sound where none exists, especially before s + consonant clusters at the beginning of words. "Spain" becomes "eSpain," "stop" becomes "eStop," and "school" becomes "eSchool." Some speakers also add vowels at the end of words: "stop" becomes "stopu."
Who Is Most Affected
Spanish speakers are the most affected because Spanish does not allow /s/ + consonant clusters at the start of a word (it always adds an /e/: escuela, España, especial). Portuguese speakers do the same but often add /i/ instead (escola, especial). French speakers are least affected since French permits these clusters.
Why It Happens
Your L1 phonotactics (the rules about which sound combinations are allowed) forbid starting a word with /s/ followed by another consonant. Your brain automatically inserts a vowel to "repair" the illegal sequence.
How to Fix It
Start by making a long "sssssss" hissing sound. While still hissing, add the next consonant. For "speak," go: "sssss...peak." Never let a vowel sneak in before the /s/. Practice these words daily:
Mistake #3: Confusing /b/ and /v/
What Happens
You pronounce "very" as "berry," "vote" as "boat," or "vest" as "best." The /b/ and /v/ sounds merge into a single sound.
Who Is Most Affected
Spanish speakers are the most affected because Spanish treats B and V as the same phoneme (both realized as [b] or [β] depending on position). Portuguese speakers are also affected, though less so, because Portuguese does distinguish /v/ from /b/ in some dialects but the contrast is weaker than in English. French speakers are generally not affected since French clearly distinguishes /b/ from /v/.
Why It Happens
In Spanish, the letters <b> and <v> are pronounced identically. Between vowels, both become a bilabial approximant [β] (lips close together but do not fully touch). English /v/ requires the upper teeth to touch the lower lip (labiodental), a mouth position that does not exist in Spanish.
How to Fix It
For /v/: gently bite your lower lip with your upper teeth and push air through. You should feel a buzzing vibration on your lip. For /b/: press both lips together and release. No teeth involved.
Mistake #4: Substituting /t/, /d/, /s/, or /z/ for TH Sounds (/θ/ and /ð/)
What Happens
The voiceless "th" /θ/ (as in "think") becomes /t/, /s/, or /f/. The voiced "th" /ð/ (as in "this") becomes /d/ or /z/. You might say "tink" for "think," "ze" for "the," or "bruzzer" for "brother."
Who Is Most Affected
All three groups, but with different substitutions. Spanish speakers typically substitute /t/ and /d/. French speakers prefer /s/ and /z/ (saying "sink" for "think" and "zis" for "this"). Portuguese speakers vary between /t/, /f/, and /d/ depending on dialect.
Why It Happens
The dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ are rare across world languages. None of the major Romance languages have them as standard phonemes. (Castilian Spanish has /θ/ for the letter <z> and <c> before e/i, but Latin American speakers do not.) Your brain maps the unfamiliar TH onto the closest sound it knows.
How to Fix It
Place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth (or against the back of your upper teeth) and blow air. For /θ/ (voiceless), there is no vibration. For /ð/ (voiced), your vocal cords buzz. The key is that air flows continuously past the tongue; it is a fricative, not a stop.
Mistake #5: Pronouncing Silent Letters
What Happens
You pronounce letters that should be silent: the /k/ in "knight," the /s/ in "island," the /w/ in "write," or the /b/ in "doubt." Romance languages have a much closer correspondence between spelling and pronunciation, so you naturally try to pronounce every letter you see.
Who Is Most Affected
All three groups equally. Spanish has very transparent spelling. Portuguese and French have more silent letters of their own, but English silent letters follow completely different patterns, so speakers of all three languages get tripped up.
Why It Happens
Romance languages (especially Spanish) have highly phonetic spelling systems where each letter reliably maps to a sound. English spelling preserves historical pronunciations that disappeared centuries ago. Your brain sees a letter and wants to pronounce it because that is how your L1 works.
How to Fix It
You need to learn silent letter patterns as rules, not try to sound out words letter by letter. Here are the key patterns:
- KN-: the K is silent. "Know" = /noʊ/, "knight" = /naɪt/, "knee" = /niː/
- WR-: the W is silent. "Write" = /raɪt/, "wrong" = /rɔːŋ/, "wrap" = /ræp/
- -MB: the B is silent. "Climb" = /klaɪm/, "thumb" = /θʌm/, "doubt" = /daʊt/
- ISL-: the S is silent. "Island" = /ˈaɪlənd/, "aisle" = /aɪl/
- -GH-: often silent. "Night" = /naɪt/, "daughter" = /ˈdɔːtər/, "though" = /ðoʊ/
Mistake #6: Equal Stress on Every Syllable (Syllable-Timed vs. Stress-Timed Rhythm)
What Happens
You give every syllable in a word (and every word in a sentence) roughly equal length and volume. English words like "banana" come out as "BA-NA-NA" with three equal beats, instead of the correct "buh-NA-nuh" /bəˈnænə/ where only the second syllable is prominent. At the sentence level, every word gets equal weight, making your speech sound "machine-gun" like to English ears.
Who Is Most Affected
Spanish and Portuguese speakers most. Both languages are syllable-timed, meaning each syllable takes roughly the same amount of time. French has an even more extreme version of this (often described as syllable-timed with phrase-final stress), making French speakers also heavily affected.
Why It Happens
English is a stress-timed language: stressed syllables occur at roughly regular intervals, and unstressed syllables get compressed or reduced to fit between them. Romance languages are syllable-timed: each syllable gets roughly equal duration. This is a fundamental rhythmic difference that affects every sentence you speak.
How to Fix It
Practice the "rubber band" technique: stretch the stressed syllable (make it longer, louder, and higher in pitch) and squish the unstressed syllables (make them shorter, quieter, and lower). For example:
- ba-NA-na /bəˈnænə/: The middle syllable should be noticeably longer than the other two.
- pho-TO-gra-phy /fəˈtɑːɡrəfi/: Only the second syllable is stressed. The others are quick and reduced.
- COM-pu-ter /kəmˈpjuːtər/: Stress on the second syllable, others are reduced.
At the sentence level, practice stressing only the content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and reducing the function words (articles, prepositions, pronouns): "I went to the STORE to BUY some BREAD."
Mistake #7: Giving Full Vowel Value to the Schwa /ə/
What Happens
You pronounce every vowel clearly and fully, even in unstressed syllables. The word "about" is said as /aˈbaʊt/ (with a clear "ah" at the start) instead of /əˈbaʊt/ (with a quick, neutral "uh"). "Problem" becomes /proˈblem/ instead of /ˈprɑːbləm/.
Who Is Most Affected
Spanish speakers most, because Spanish gives every vowel its full, clear value regardless of stress. French speakers actually have a schwa-like sound (the "e muet"), so they adapt more easily. Portuguese speakers fall in between; Brazilian Portuguese reduces unstressed vowels significantly, giving them a natural advantage here.
Why It Happens
In Spanish, the letter <a> is always /a/, the letter <o> is always /o/, no matter where the stress falls. In English, any vowel letter can be reduced to /ə/ when unstressed. The schwa is the most common sound in English, appearing in about 30% of all syllables, yet it does not exist in Spanish at all.
How to Fix It
Learn to identify the stressed syllable in a word first (use a dictionary with stress marks). Then deliberately weaken every other syllable to a quick, neutral "uh" sound. Your mouth should be completely relaxed for the schwa, with your jaw barely open.
Rule of thumb: If you are not sure whether a vowel is reduced, check a dictionary. If the transcription shows /ə/, make it short and lazy. Never give it the full sound of the letter.
Mistake #8: Missing the /æ/ Sound (cat, bad, map)
What Happens
You pronounce "cat" like "ket" or "cot," "bad" like "bed" or "bod," and "map" like "mep" or "mop." The /æ/ vowel either gets raised to /e/ or lowered to /a/ or /ɑ/.
Who Is Most Affected
All three groups equally. The /æ/ phoneme does not exist in Spanish, Portuguese, or French. It sits in a "no man's land" between the /a/ and /e/ that Romance speakers know, so each speaker maps it to whichever of those two feels closest.
Why It Happens
Romance languages have a clean /a/ (open, central) and a clean /e/ (mid-front). English /æ/ sits between them: it is a near-open front unrounded vowel. Your tongue must be low (like /a/) but pushed forward (like /e/), a position that feels unnatural to Romance speakers.
How to Fix It
Start by saying /a/ (as in "father"). Now push your tongue forward and spread your lips slightly, as if you are about to smile. Your jaw should drop open more than for /e/ but less than for /a/. The result should sound like the vowel in "cat."
Mistake #9: Dropping or Mishandling the /h/ Sound
What Happens
This mistake goes two ways. French and Portuguese speakers drop /h/ entirely: "house" becomes "ouse," "happy" becomes "appy." Spanish speakers sometimes over-aspirate it, producing a harsh, guttural /x/ (like the Spanish <j> in "jalapeño") instead of the soft English /h/.
Who Is Most Affected
French speakers are the most affected because French has no /h/ sound at all; the letter <h> is always silent in French. Portuguese speakers also tend to drop it since Portuguese <h> is silent in most positions. Spanish speakers have a different problem: they have a strong /x/ sound (written as <j> or <g> before e/i) that they substitute for the softer English /h/.
Why It Happens
French: /h/ does not exist in the phonemic inventory, period. Portuguese: similar situation in most dialects. Spanish: the letter <h> is silent, but the phoneme /x/ (jota) is a strong voiceless velar fricative that speakers unconsciously use when they know "there should be a sound here."
How to Fix It
The English /h/ is simply a gentle puff of air from your throat, like fogging up a mirror or the sound you make when you sigh. Your mouth should already be in the position of the next vowel. There is no friction in the throat or mouth. Practice by holding your hand in front of your mouth and feeling the warm air on each /h/ word.
Warning for Spanish speakers: Do NOT use the Spanish <j> sound. English /h/ should feel like barely any effort. If your throat is tense, you are making it too strong.
Mistake #10: Simplifying or Dropping Final Consonant Clusters
What Happens
You drop consonants at the end of words, especially when multiple consonants are grouped together. "Texts" /tɛksts/ becomes "tex," "helped" /hɛlpt/ becomes "hel," "asked" /æskt/ becomes "as," and "friend" /frɛnd/ becomes "fren."
Who Is Most Affected
Spanish speakers most, because Spanish words almost never end in consonant clusters. Portuguese speakers are also heavily affected for the same reason (most Portuguese words end in vowels or single consonants). French speakers are somewhat affected; French has some final clusters but many final consonants are silent, creating a different kind of dropping habit.
Why It Happens
Romance languages have simple syllable structures, especially at word endings. Spanish words end with vowels or single consonants (mainly /s/, /n/, /r/, /d/, /l/). English words can end with 2, 3, or even 4 consonants in a row: "texts" /tɛksts/ has four final consonants. Your brain either deletes consonants to simplify the cluster or adds a vowel between them.
How to Fix It
Use the slow-build technique:
- Say the word without the final cluster: "tex..."
- Add one consonant at a time: "tex-t" then "tex-ts"
- Speed up gradually until the cluster flows naturally
Also practice linking final clusters to the next word: "asked_about" becomes easier when the /kt/ links into the vowel of "about."
Putting It All Together: A Practice Plan
Do not try to fix all 10 mistakes at once. Here is a recommended order based on impact on intelligibility:
- Week 1-2: Focus on word stress and rhythm (#6) and the schwa (#7). These affect every single sentence you say and have the biggest impact on how natural you sound.
- Week 3-4: Tackle diphthongs (#1) and the /æ/ sound (#8). These vowel issues affect hundreds of common words.
- Week 5-6: Work on TH sounds (#4) and /b/ vs /v/ (#3). These consonant substitutions cause the most misunderstandings.
- Week 7-8: Address epenthesis (#2), silent letters (#5), the /h/ sound (#9), and final clusters (#10).
Daily Practice Routine (15 Minutes)
- 5 minutes: Read a short paragraph aloud, focusing on the week's target sounds. Record yourself.
- 5 minutes: Listen to a native speaker (podcast, YouTube) and shadow their speech, paying attention to stress and rhythm.
- 5 minutes: Practice the minimal pairs and word cards from this guide. Exaggerate the target sounds.
Why These Mistakes Matter
Each of these 10 errors can cause real misunderstandings:
- Flattened diphthongs make "wait" sound like "wet"
- Epenthesis makes "Spain" sound like a two-syllable word to English ears
- /b/ for /v/ turns "I want to vote" into "I want to boat"
- Missing TH makes "think" and "sink" identical
- Pronouncing silent letters makes you sound like you are reading rather than speaking
- Equal stress makes you hard to follow in long sentences
- Missing schwas make your speech sound robotic
- Wrong /æ/ conflates "bad," "bed," and "bod"
- Dropping /h/ confuses "eat" and "heat," "air" and "hair"
- Simplified clusters turn "asked" into "ast" or even "as"
The good news: because these mistakes are systematic (they come from predictable L1 patterns), they are also fixable with targeted practice. You are not making random errors. You are making predictable errors, and that means they can be systematically corrected.
Start with the mistakes that affect you most. Use the practice cards and minimal pairs in this guide daily. Record yourself, compare with native speakers, and be patient. Pronunciation is muscle memory, and muscle memory takes time, but it always improves with consistent practice.