Answers
Nov 17, 2015 - 12:41 PM
In follow up, also, I note that Sonia at the end of lesson 8 says we deemphasize accent marks. However, one cannot type the words in and have them be correct without putting accent marks in, so how is this de-emphasis?
Nov 17, 2015 - 12:58 PM
If you turn off Challenge Mode, you'll be able to type any word without the accent mark, and Fluenz will accept it. I will note that this doesn't apply to the tilde over the N, since that's not technically an accent mark -- it's a separate letter of the alphabet.
As for your original question about the pronunciation of "yo" and "ella," think of the difference between American, British, Irish, Scots, and Aussie English. Same language -- different pronunciation of various words. Same applies to Spanish and the particular country you're in.
As for your original question about the pronunciation of "yo" and "ella," think of the difference between American, British, Irish, Scots, and Aussie English. Same language -- different pronunciation of various words. Same applies to Spanish and the particular country you're in.
Nov 20, 2015 - 11:40 PM
http://forvo.com/word/ella/ note the one from argentina, they pronounce the "ll" as "sh". If you go for a neutral accent (like Sonia's) you're safe by saying "ejya", and "yjo"
Nov 21, 2015 - 06:35 PM
I concur with Dennis - the different pronunciations are regional. I live in Austin, TX - lots of Spanish speakers around me - and I hear it all: y yo, y jo, eyya and ejja. I also hear lots of differences in the pronunciation of single r's. And then there are the b's versus v's which drove me bonkers until I learned about it. You can find pronunciation info in Wikibooks, Wikipedia, Wikimedia. I also found the International Phonetic Alphabet very helpful.