Voted Best Answer
Mar 26, 2011 - 02:48 AM
Nice discussion on phonetics. I've heard yo, ella, silla, etc pronounced using a number of different phonetic sounds...yo, using an english sounding y or j (not a super strong j as Eric mentioned but rather a soft j); ella as aya (long a's), ezha. Kind of hard to explain with words but you get the idea. Argentinians tend to use the zh sound for ll while other LA countries tend to use the y or j sound. Spain, you'll hear yo not jo. You'll also hear gracias pronounced as gratheas which really throws me because it sounds like they're lisping.
The important thing to remember is that all these pronunciations are correct. There are regional differences which you will hear as you continue your studies. Nothing to stress about. You will be understood wherever you are in the Spanish speaking world. When someone corrects my pronunciation of these words, I just say thank you for the help! Followed by ¿De dónde eres?
I had it explained to me this way. Imagine that there are 3 ''pronunciation roads''. As long as you are on one of those 3 roads, you will be just fine and will be understood. If you veer off of one of the roads then that is something you need to work on to get back on one of the roads.
Don't get discourage. Just continue to imitate the sounds of the Fluenz speakers until you can say them very rythmically. The audio CDs are perfect for speaking practice because you can't see what you are saying and can only imitate what is being said.
Coquito Clasico by Everado Zapata is a book that I use to practice phonetics daily. This book has been used for many years to teach children in Spanish speaking countries how to speak Spanish. It's still used today.
The important thing to remember is that all these pronunciations are correct. There are regional differences which you will hear as you continue your studies. Nothing to stress about. You will be understood wherever you are in the Spanish speaking world. When someone corrects my pronunciation of these words, I just say thank you for the help! Followed by ¿De dónde eres?
I had it explained to me this way. Imagine that there are 3 ''pronunciation roads''. As long as you are on one of those 3 roads, you will be just fine and will be understood. If you veer off of one of the roads then that is something you need to work on to get back on one of the roads.
Don't get discourage. Just continue to imitate the sounds of the Fluenz speakers until you can say them very rythmically. The audio CDs are perfect for speaking practice because you can't see what you are saying and can only imitate what is being said.
Coquito Clasico by Everado Zapata is a book that I use to practice phonetics daily. This book has been used for many years to teach children in Spanish speaking countries how to speak Spanish. It's still used today.