User:Ghoti/English is not Spanish

When we speak a language we always use the phonemes of that language, even if we are saying loanwords. For example, "adobe" in English is /əˈdəʊbɪ/ and not [aˈdoβe]. Similarly líder (Spanish for "leader") is pronounced [ˈliðeɾ] and not [ˈliːdəɹ] or [ˈliːdə]. This is more obvious in words that share a common origin (i.e. they are loanwords from Latin or another language). For example triangular is in English and  in Spanish, and practically nobody uses the Spanish pronunciation when speaking in English or the other way around.

If you speak Spanish you should remember that English is not Spanish, particularly in names of cities, movies, and concepts that don't exist in English (such as piñata or paella). This works also when using English names or concepts in Spanish, like when you say fui a Washington [ˈwatʃinton] or tomé un milk shake [milˈtʃejk]).

Best shot
Ideally a word should have the best possible adaptation, but not better. For example, good adaptations of the last name "Chávez" are  and  The correct Spanish pronunciation [ˈtʃabes] sounds artificial and should not be used in an English conversation.

With reduced vowels
The best shot for piñata is /piːˈnjɑːtɑː/. However the real pronunciation doesn't sound so foreign: /pɪnˈjɑːtə/. Anglicised words have /ə/ or /ɪ/ in unstressed syllables.

Distorted words
Sometimes words are distorted, either because their pronunciation is difficult or because they are pronounced according to different rules (e.g., spelling pronunciation). For example, in British English the word "junta" (Spanish [ˈxunta]) is pronounced /ˈdʒʌntə/, which is very different because of the spelling pronunciation. In American English a good adaptation with a reduced vowel is used /ˈhʊntə/. The best shot would be /ˈhuːntɑː/

Accepted pronunciation and less common words or proper names
If a word is common it will have an accepted pronunciation. For example, Columbus's ship Santa María has the accepted pronunciation Pronouncing  (best shot) or  (native pronunciation) would sound pretentious. Less common names or words (for example, your own name, or the name of a typical dish) can be pronounced with a best shot. If you are a native speaker of Spanish the native accent will not sound pretentious, but you might not be understood.

Examples
From Spanish to English

From English to Spanish (and back)

From Spanish to English and back