I realize that I'm replying to an old message, but I really find this interesting. I was talking with my father about proper pronunciation of Spanish, because h

I realize that I'm replying to an old message, but I really find this interesting. I was talking with my father about proper pronunciation of Spanish, because he was very fluent in Spanish. I told of how "over the top" it felt to me, to pronounce certain things certain ways, like I was making fun of Mexicans or something. And he said, "You have to pronounce it that way, it is what they are used to hearing." What is interesting about your post to me is that I thought my attitude was common among Americans, but you add two other groups, Russians and "Dutchies". Americans like to degrade unstressed vowels to undifferentiated "schwa" sounds, while Spanish speakers retain the character of vowels when they are unstressed. To an American this difference on unstressed vowels is one of the things that good pronunciation has that makes it sound over the top to a naive American. Your observation about lip-reading as reinforcement of the pronunciation one hears, is intriguing.