Pronuncing V and J in Spanish language
I've heard two different pronunciations for some letters in Spanish language. Once I read in a book that J is pronounced through throat with a little intension like the word "acht" in German language. But sometimes I hear that Paralee pronounce it like H in the word "hamburger" in English language. The same is for the letter V. The book says it should be pronounced something like "b" in the word "bee" in English, but Paralee pronounces it "v" like the word "valve" in English very clearly. Which one says correct? Does it pertain to different accents and locations in Spain??? Any explanation would be appreciated.
6 Answers
The H has many different regional variations, and the sound is articulated using the roof of the mouth, the uvula, the upper part of the throat, and below the glottis, so pick your favourite one.
The v and the b should be pronounced exactly the same. Replacing one letter with another should have no effect whatsoever in the sound. The only people who pronounce the V like in English are those bilingual ones with another language where the V sound exist, like Catalan in Spain, Guaraní in Paraguay and parts of Argentina... The same happens to English speakers like Paralee, who find it difficult not to pronounce the V the way it is natural to them.
In any case, the B (or the V) sounds like in English after a pausa, "l", "m" or "n". In all other cases, the lips do not touch, producing a soft whispering sound that doesn't exist in English.
I have found that paying a lot of attention to descriptions of sounds in a book can be very confusing and often misleading. Because there is such a variety of accents in the Spanish speaking world, I would concentrate on areas that you are interested in. Some people will be using Spanish only in Spain. Others need to know what Spanish sounds like in Mexico or Puerto Rico. It is good to be familiar with a variety, but the point is to just "listen" to the sounds you need to become familiar with and the rest will come naturally.
I think that trying to describe how Spanish sounds in a book is similar to trying to describe how a song sounds in a book. You are just not going to be able to get the complete and correct picture, so to speak.
I have several books which teach Spanish speaking natives how to speak English. I almost always cringe when I see how they describe some of the sounds in the English language. I know I would be confused.
So...bottom line...just "listen, listen and listen" some more and eventually the sounds will become second nature. 
The J is pronounced slightly differently from place to place. It's mostly like the English H, though you can hear it as harsh as the Portuguese J (English ZH) in some places.
The Spanish B and V are pretty much indistinguishable, sort of a combination of the English B and V. Try to say them without quite closing your lips.
You should read through Lazarus' reference article on the Spanish alphabet which details how to pronounce the letters.
The Spanish B and V are pretty much indistinguishable, sort of a combination of the English B and V. Try to say them without quite closing your lips
Nope. I wrote a longer (more detailed) response but it ended up in the bit bucket and I lack the energy/patience to rewrite it.
Though I would have been interested to see what Samdie's original response was, here is a link to a similar discussion that was posted a few months ago. You might find some of the responses and links (some of which link to various audio and video resources) provided by some of the respondents to be useful.
