Why are there different pronunciations of letters in different Spanish-speaking países?

Question

Esto me preguntaba hace muchos años. Y ahora, ¡estoy preguntándolo por primera vez!

Por ejemplo:

En algunos países españoles, se pronuncia las y's y ll's como las j's de inglés.

Y también, en España, la gente se pronuncia las v's como las de inglés, no como las b's.

¡Le doy gracias por su ayuda!

Answer 1

There are some obviously different pronunciations of Spanish in the different regions of Spain, never mind other countries.

Equally there are some wonderfully different pronunciations of English in the East, West, North and South of the USA.

...and as for dialects in England, my grandma used to say things like "t'weet meks t'ens pike'em". Try that for size.

I'm accustomed to English dialects, Geof ... but I just can't figure this one out ... - patch, MAY 23, 2010

Wow. Was that "the wheat makes the hends [something] them"? That sentence doesn't entirely make sense, though. I think I've got something wrong. What was she saying? - MacFadden, MAY 23, 2010

Mac. The wet makes the hens pick (scratch) themselves. - geofc, MAY 27, 2010

Answer 2

Try entering 'dialectology' 'spanish' in Google (or some other search engine). You should find enough to keep you busy for a while.

Y también, en España, la gente se pronuncia las v's como las de inglés, no como las b's.

You have been misinformed.

Really? My Spanish teacher told us in Spain that's how they pronounce them. But she's a native of Peru, though. Hmmm. . . - june10, MAY 27, 2010

I have heard a native Bolivian, in the same conversation, say both "Volibia" and "Bolivia"! You cannot generalize like your Spanish teacher did. - waltico, JUN 1, 2010

Answer 3

Because of the distance, customs and dialects I guess. I live in a small country where you need only 3-4 hours to cross it, and there are lots of pronounciation differences. So it's strange to me that you're asking about all different Countries, not Regions.

Well, I know there are different regional pronunciations, but I don't think they're too different are they? I meant in a broader sort of sense. - june10, MAY 23, 2010

Sometimes they are. Of course, here I am speaking about my own country where in different regions not only pronounciation differs, but even words are not the same and I am not able to understand some of them. - swing, MAY 24, 2010

It just seems to me personally more easy to understand Spanish no matter where it is spoken. When you "get" the pronounciation, you can guess where it's from and understand - swing, MAY 24, 2010

Oh, ok! Thanks for the insight! :) - june10, MAY 27, 2010

1) I moved from Argentina, after having just got tuned in, to Chile where I understood one word in ten. 2) OK this is Portguese but I never tuned in because I'd have a a week in Sao Paolo, then a week in Rio. Same problem - could have been two languages. - geofc, MAY 27, 2010

Answer 4

You could also ask:

¿Porqué hay diferentes pronunciaciones de las letras en diferentes countries de habla inglés?

Because languages are living things that grow in different ways in different regions.