La Vendedora
Hola again...I know I just posted a question on how to pronounce the "V"...and I know someone answered that the V sounds like a B. But in the lesson taught by Paralee... The word Vendedora...is pronounced like a V. Is this correct ? Thanks again...I tried to look up this information, but the answers seem to vary.
6 Answers
Bear in mind that Paralee is a native English speaker giving lessons to people who are just learning Spanish. Her pronunciation is not quite the same as what a native Spanish speaker would use when talking to another native Spanish speaker.
I can say that I can't hear the native speakers from Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Spain, or Puerto Rico pronounce B differently from V, it's not like either one in English, sort of half-way between.
I had a Mexican friend that spoke pretty good English but he always pronounced Vons (the supermarket) like the English word "bones". How you pronounce the b's and v's doesn't make much difference in the larger scheme of things, since if you're a non native speaker as I am, the rest of your pronunciation is off anyway. I think that everywhere that I've been it's a soft v sound.
It depends upon where you are. In Madrid, Spain V sounds like B.
What we think of as the V sound "no existe."
I have a friend, Victor, in Madrid. For one year, I called him Victor, and he never corrected me. Then, in my Spanish class, an instructor explained that the V sound "no existe." The next time I saw Victor, I said, "I just learned that your name is prounounced "Bictor," is this true?"
Yes, he confirmed it. I was so embarrassed, because he was our very best friend in Madrid, and for one year I saw him at least once a week and he never corrected me.
On the other hand, I have never minded it when he calls me "Yoyce."
go to www.hojsay.com for alot of pronunciations of word, but i think there only in english
¡Hola!, Niksfantazy8:
It was me that lead you to the answer that "B" and "V" are both pronounced as an English "B". Think of that as Rule #1. Then here is the next rule:
Rule #2 - If you have doubts about Rule #1, re-read it. Rule # 2 is a repeat of Rule #1.
What it comes down to is to think of Rule #1 as the words and music to a song. The words and music are correct but sometimes the singer will slip up, hit a bad note or perhaps mispronounce a word or sound.
Do not doubt Rule #1.
Muchos saludos/Best regards
It obviously varies from country to country. In Mexico, the B and V are pronounced the same (a combination of both - either a hard V sound or a soft B sound).
