Va a ser / Va a hacer / Va a apagar / Donde está
When hearing them spoken, is there any difference in pronunciation between va a ser and va a hacer?
I realize there would be in Spain, but what about everywhere else? I realize that, even if they are pronounced exactly the same, context would clue one in. But I just wonder if Spanish speakers hear any difference between the two phrases -- like perhaps a slightly longer a sound in va a hacer?
Finally, is va a apagar seriously pronounced exactly vapagar? Or, is there any clue at all that there are three A's in sequence? Perhaps a nearly undetectable pause between them, perhaps a lengthening of the a sound?
Is donde está really just dondestá?
Is ha apagado really just apagado and he hecho just hecho?
I ask because I heard an audiobook narrator seem to take special care when he came to ha when he said ha engordado. He paused before and after ha. Perhaps he was just catching his breath or something, though.
When saying va a apagar, do you feel like you are saying all three A's? (Whether they can be detected or not). Or, are you aware that you are skipping the second two?
What about when you say donde está, he hecho, and the others? Do you feel yourself saying all the letters, or do you feel yourself skipping some?
Sometimes I feel like I hear a slight difference, and sometimes I don't (and maybe it's a sometimes sort of thing).
And, don't get me wrong, I'm not mocking Spanish with this question. English has a long list of homophones. (If you read that list, know that where I live want / won't are NOT homophones, but all the rest seem to be). Context normally resolves the possible confusion. The few times it doesn't, a clarifying question does. This would be similar to homophones...except with phrases and not just words.
This question was inspired by my struggling to figure out how "va a hacer" fit into a sentence in a movie I was watching (Kung Fu Panda) only to turn on subtitles and see "va a ser"
4 Answers
Good question web,
I realize there would be in Spain, but what about everywhere else?
I mean, not even in Spain everywhere
Here in Madrid, yes, but in Andalusia...may be not notizable.
In other countries,,you are right, you can only guess or know by context.
If you pronounce hacer like aser, there is no difference. I mean, there really should be, as there are two a's in there, but the first a is sort of dragged and you don't really hear it.,
ke baser
Few would say:
ke ba aser
I think it depends on the individual speaker. Some people speak very clearly and distinctly, others don't. This is true in english as well. Some people have more sensitive hearing as well and can distinquish sounds that I cannot. I have trouble with va a ser and va a hacer when spoken by my girlfriend and I have to rely on overall context.
In Spanish it depends a great deal on the speaker. In some languages doubled vowels are clearly distinguished from single vowels (Japanese being one) there is a "rhythm" associated with syllables and doubled vowels (and consonants) receive two "beats" (in musical terms) rather than one. Italian, on the other hand, distinguishes between signle and doubled consonants.In English, doubled letters (vowels or consonants) usually reflect the history of the word rather than its pronunciation. Latin had a well established distinction between "long" and "short" vowels (indicted by macrons and microns/breves).
Personally, I would fall among the "few" (mentioned by Heidita) who would say "¿Qué va a hacer?" (or as she transcribed it "ke ba aser" {except that I don't, any more than she, use the "seseo"). In other words, It takes me slightly longer to say "¿Qué va a hacer?" than it does do say "¿Qué va a ser?" but to appreciate the difference you would probably need to see a voiceprint.
Just one more question.
but the first a is sort of dragged and you don't really hear it.
Can you (or any other Spanish speakers) sense yourself dragging that first a out? I mean can you feel a slight difference (in your mouth) between saying ba a aser and baser? When talking at normal speed, I mean.
The whole reason I may be hearing a slight difference at times is because I mostly watch English movies dubbed over in Spanish, in which the Spanish is likely slowed down quite a bit in order to match the mouth movements of the English-speaking actors. It has to be slowed down, because when I listen to audio books that are in Spanish I can barely understand anything, but when I listen to the dubbed movies I can understand quite a bit.
