what would two l's sound like together

Question

how would you pronounce the word"caballos"?

Answer 1

Typically it is a "y" sound but I have also heard it sound like a "j" (that's as close as I can get to a good explanation). I am sure the gurus will weigh in soon!!

Answer 2

The way Argentinians pronounce the double L is very unique. it almost sound like the Chinese pinyin sound for zh?? Check this link out and click on the syllable to hear the sound.

link text

Cool, didn't know. - Jason7R, Oct 3, 2009

Answer 3

Some Mexicans pronounce an initial ll between a j and ch sound.

Answer 4

I would say it sounds like a fusion of j and y. Its kinda like v and b. Because spanish is spoken fast, the tongue is kept closer to the front of the mouth, which causes the j and y to fuse together

Answer 5

Jason7R's anwers is probably the best you can do to express it in writing. I would also suggest using our dictionary here to hear how specific words would sound by a native speaker.

When you look up a word, notice there is a little speaker by the word in the dictionary entry, click on it to hear how the word is pronounced.

Click here for the dictionary:

http://www.spanishdict.com/dictionary

Click here for caballo:

http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/caballo

There's a good reference article here on the entire alphabet:

http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/100209/spanish-alphabet-how-do-letters-sound

There are regional variations on how the letter is pronounced, but most often it's as Jason7R pointed out, like a 'y'....so caballos, as you'll hear from the dictionary link, would be like "ka-ba-yos"

Actually, pay close attention to the 'b' also...it's a little different that you might expect.

Answer 6

Those two 'l's are actually a letter of the Spanish alphabet. The letter LL is usually pronounced ay-yay, but varies by country. For example, most Columbians pronounce LL as ay-jay, so caballos would sound like kah-bah-jos. In Mexico you would hear kah-bah-yos.

Jack