Creaking in the throat – why Danish high school students have a hard time pronouncing Spanish

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¿Mi casa… Jacobolo Ditzolo. Pablo spaniol?

The quote comes from Jacob Ditzel, a character played by comedian Charter McCloskey from the Danish satirical TV show called Ditzel All Inklusiv. Ditzel has gone to the Spanish island of Mallorca and is explaining to the viewers how you make do on the island with only a few Spanish words and phrases. Most importantly, he reminds 11- 12 year old kids that they should say ’¡no!’ to sangrias and cervezas.

One of the reasons why the show is funny to Danes is that many of us have some knowledge of Spanish, although it might be quite limited. This helps us realize that there is something strange about Ditzel’s Spanish – it’s just …