Answers
Jul 06, 2012 - 12:16 PM
Dear Tony,
This is normal especially in South America, where pronunciation is a bit more lax than it should so they pronounce both B and V in the same way (usually as B), and Z and S the same (Usually as S). For instance, when saying "Venezuela" there is not much of a hissing sound on that V, but rather is short and sounds as a B. Or when saying "Zapato" (shoe) it sounds like "Sapato".
It really depends on the country, but generally those sounds are not distinguishable in everyday speech. Even for us native speakers, we need to learn it by rote because in common speech those sounds are not distinguishable. However in Spain they do pronounce and with distinct sounds these vowels (V, B, S, Z, LL, Y).
So that's one of the peculiarities of spoken language in Latin America. Hope it doesn't give you too much trouble! Cheers
This is normal especially in South America, where pronunciation is a bit more lax than it should so they pronounce both B and V in the same way (usually as B), and Z and S the same (Usually as S). For instance, when saying "Venezuela" there is not much of a hissing sound on that V, but rather is short and sounds as a B. Or when saying "Zapato" (shoe) it sounds like "Sapato".
It really depends on the country, but generally those sounds are not distinguishable in everyday speech. Even for us native speakers, we need to learn it by rote because in common speech those sounds are not distinguishable. However in Spain they do pronounce and with distinct sounds these vowels (V, B, S, Z, LL, Y).
So that's one of the peculiarities of spoken language in Latin America. Hope it doesn't give you too much trouble! Cheers
Jul 08, 2012 - 04:59 PM
Muchas Gracias!