Ll and Y sound like J

Question

Guys I'm not sure if I hear this right or my ears betray me, but some Spanish speakers pronounce ll and y like the English J.

Ya sounds like ja (English J) and 'Llegar' sound like 'jegar'. I thought it should be pronounced like 'ya' as in 'me llamo' [yaa-mo]

Answer 1

Folks in Panamá explained to me that there, they pronounce ll as English "J" only at the beginning of a word. So amarillo still sounds with "Y". This seems to be very regional.

Good to know. Thanks - SpanishPal, Jul 15, 2011

Answer 2

Si, Ll and Y sound like J

joker yoyo

jail llano

Julia LLuvia

Jackass llamas

good luck from Venezuela.

Thank you! - SpanishPal, Jul 15, 2011

Answer 3

It depends: they can sound like y, j, ch, or something imbetween.

Ch? Maybe more like "sh" or "zh" like the "s" in "leisure". - gintar77, Jul 15, 2011

What countries speak that accent / those accents? - SpanishPal, Jul 15, 2011

I've heard people from both Mexico and Ecuador use all of them. . .more than 3 when you count the imbetween sounds. - lorenzo9, Jul 15, 2011

Answer 4

Yeah, it depends on where someone is from. I notice that my brother in-law and his family (from Peru) use a slight "j" sound in these cases. Yesterday I was watching a cortometraje from Argentina and I noticed that the characters used a much more pronounced "j" sound. On the other hand, my friends and co-workers from Mexico don't seem to ever make this "j" sound.