Ella está leyendo. I hear a soft j in there..

Question

I keep hearing this prounced with a soft j:

A-ja está la-jen-do

Am I hearing that correctly? In particular, I have been learing that LL sounds like "Y" but apparently, I am mistaken...

thanks.

Answer 1

Depends on who's saying it. LL can sound like J or Y. Basically the "ya" sound can sound like "ja" wherever you hear it. I don't think I've ever heard a Spanish guy call rain lluvia, always Juvia.

Here listen to our Spanish guy: Juvia

Answer 2

Some sounds depend on the region of the speaker. I have Argentinian friends who would probably have trouble using a "Y" sound instead of a "J" sound. For them it's a very pronounced difference in the sound that they use. Learning Spanish around them I sometimes find myself pronouncing "LL" with a soft "J" sound added in, to the amusement of some of my gringo friends.