"v" and "b" sound in "volver" & "uva"

Question

hello all, i want to know : how can we know that to use "b" or "v" sound when we use a word which has "v" . Por ejemplo :::: Volver : we use "v" sound , but "uva" we use "b" sound. "avión" we use "v" sound. "oveja" we use v or b i am not sure. What is the main grammer rule of this. thx

If you mean the "v" sound of Engluish (a labioal-dental), then the answer is "never" - samdie, Feb 15, 2010

Answer 1

The main rule is to be consistent. The two letters sound exactly alike, but that sound varies from one area to another.

In some places speakers make a distinction between the two letters, but in "correct" Spanish (according the Royal Academy of Spanish, RAE) the two letters are identical in sound.

Finally I have this problem sorted out. Thanks :) - bomberapolaca, Feb 16, 2010

Answer 2

For pronouncing either B or V, try to imagine the two sounds converging. The pronounciation is actually a mixture of both letters - B slightly soft because of the V influence, and V slightly hard because of the B influence.

Hay veinte criminales en el bote. "Viente" and "Bote" should have the same sound on the first letter.

("Bote" is slang for jail just like "Can" in English)

Answer 3

Native English speakers often use a hard V sound because it's how we speak our own language. All v-sounds in Spanish should be approximately equivalent to the English B sound.

Answer 4

Hi Altan. Welcome to the forum.

B and V are pronounced exactly the same in Spanish.

Answer 5

Not a reply, more of an observation.

I recall an interview with Enrique Tierno-Galvan, former Mayor of Madrid in the late 70s perhaps, though the interview was later, now deceased, who explained that he was from the last generation of Castillian speakers who still made a distinction in the pronunciation of these letters.