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How to say "ll" , when is it y or J

How to say "ll" , when is it y or J

3
votes

Hola,

From the moment I started learning Spanish I realised that words with a double "L"for example "Pollo" would be read as "Poyo". However I have also come to discover while listening to native speakers from Mexico that sometime the double "L" can be pronounced as if its a j present rather than a y ( I hope that makes sense). My question is that I heard in a Spanish Song the same word being pronounced differently in the same sentence. Here is a sample:

"Llegas, se acabó una larga espera este invierno es primavera porque llegas"

Now the first "Llegas" was pronounced "Jegaz" while the second one "Yegas". My question is, while speaking when do you pronounce it with an Y and when do you say it with a J. Do I make sense wink

10423 views
updated Jul 29, 2017
posted by CatRocha
There is no standard pronunciation. As a non-native you can pronounce it like a "y" and it won't be a problem. If you eventually become fluent, you can pick the dialect you want to use. - Jubilado, Aug 30, 2014
you can say both that's why in a sentence you can pronounce it j and in the other y - Marine1384, Jul 29, 2017

4 Answers

2
votes

I understand what soraya is saying.

The same person on the same phrase has two different pronunciations of the same letter.

It happens with V/B's too, and it is a regional thing as well as a personal problem. ;-D

updated Sep 3, 2014
edited by chileno
posted by chileno
3
votes

Échale un vistazo a este enlace que incluye varios ejemplos de la pronunciación de la frase "Cinco de Mayo." Ten en cuenta que el sonido que se produce al leer el grafema "y" en la palabra "Mayo" equivale al sonido del dígrafo "ll."

Cinco de Mayo

updated Sep 3, 2014
posted by Observer
Ingles por favor - CatRocha, Sep 3, 2014
2
votes

I've heard 'yegua' (mare) pronounced almost like the English 'jaguar' (as in the cat / car, which is handy because the association is the only way I'll get this obscure word to stick). I've also heard 'll' pronounced similarly, like the 's' in English 'treaure' (or 'j' in French), sometimes transliterated as 'zh'. I suppose it's a question of regional dialect.

updated Aug 31, 2014
posted by Faldaesque
2
votes

Totally makes sense. That stumped me for a while too, till I realized that it is never really pronounced 'j', merely a sound really close to it (I would put it closer to the /zh/ in treasure or closure).

From what I gather, there are several regional variations in the pronunciation of 'll'. Latin Americans seem to have a tendency to 'strengthen' the 'll' into a near-j, while I think Argentinians (sorry if I am making a mistake here) pronounce it like 'sh'. And then there's the plain old 'y' people.

I managed to dig up a couple of old SD topics on the same topic you might find interesting to peruse. In the end, you will invariably want to try all three and decide on one to use. Here's them threads: One Two Three

updated Aug 30, 2014
posted by Helado_eclectico
Point of interest: I first noticed differences in 'll' pronunciation when watching Despicable Me 2. Yeah, it's that scene with the 'pollo loco' ;) - Helado_eclectico, Aug 30, 2014