To explain: /eː/ and /oː/ exist in Australian English, but they’re the vowels in SQUARE and NORTH respectively, so Australians don’t naturally associate them with foreign /e/ and /o/. If you can force an Australian to say “care-sore”, it sounds remarkably like Spanish “queso”!
As an Australian, I am ashamed at how long I sat here saying “care-sore… queso” to myself over and over listening to how strangely similar they do sound when I think about it
To explain: /eː/ and /oː/ exist in Australian English, but they’re the vowels in SQUARE and NORTH respectively, so Australians don’t naturally associate them with foreign /e/ and /o/. If you can force an Australian to say “care-sore”, it sounds remarkably like Spanish “queso”!
As an Australian, I am ashamed at how long I sat here saying “care-sore… queso” to myself over and over listening to how strangely similar they do sound when I think about it