Common spelling errors
The next time that someone tells you that he/she (or some friend/teacher/etc.) can hear a diference in pronunciation between 'v' and 'b' you might want to ask "How is it that you (or he/she/they) hear a difference when Spanish speakers can't?" If that assertion is disputed, you can offer the following justification: All of the common spelling errors made by Spanish speakers can be traced to the few cases where Spanish orthography does not match the pronunciation (is not strictly phonetic). In other words, Spanish speakers (like pretty much everyone whose writing system is alphabetic) "spell by ear" and their difficulties stem from cases where words are spelled differently but pronounced identically (homophones).
In Spain (among speakers who do not use the "seseo") the most common spelling error is to confuse 'b' and 'v'. In Latin America and parts of Spain where the "seseo" is used, confusion of 's' with c/z is also quite common (possibly more so than b/v) since they are also pronounced identically.
Trailing by a long margin would be words involving the letter 'h' (not part of the digraph 'ch') which is not pronounced at all and the "ll'/''y' distinction for some speakers (quite possibly because such words are less frequent).
Of particular importance, one should note that it is only speakers that use the "seseo" that confuse c/z with 's' when writing. Those that pronounce them differently, consistently spell them differently. The b/v confusion, on the other hand, is universal (as is their identical pronunciation).
The situation would not be very different in English were it not for our chaotic spelling. See here common errors 1 and here common mistakes 2* for lists of commonly misspelled words. Note that many of them turn on the distinction between single and double consonants (which are pronounced the same in English) or on silent letters. Another major source of errors stems from the fact that unstressed vowels are usually pronounced as a "shwa" (and thus the pronunciation is not a guide to spelling). Finally, sloppy pronunciation seems to be much more common among English speakers than Spanish speakers (thus "Wensday" for "Wednesday" [it may help to remember that the day is named after the Norse god Odin/Wotan) or "liber(r)y" for "library".
5 Answers
I would like to point out that there are bilingual regions, such as parts of LA, where the b and v are pronounced differently, in a way that is consistent for certain words but is not consistent with regards to spelling. Among people who have not learned the English v sound, this difference seems to be pretty much nonexistent both in speaking and hearing. I am slowly learning not to key on the differences since people here in Ecuador can't hear them.
Just an observation and a comment.
The "v" and the "b" are next to each other on a keyboard.
As are "g" "h" and "j".
Comment:
Can anyone post a picture of the sound waves for these words.
Veinte and Vale / Barcelona and Valencia (add your own)
as spoken by native Spanish speakers - to prove that the "v" and "b" are always pronounced the exactly same.
They may be "heard" as being the same - but that is not the same thing,
I am sorry Samdie but "mixing" this with the idiosyncrasies of Engliah spelling and pronunciation just confuses me.
I have often seen words spelt with a "b" when I know it should be a "v" in places such as markets and shops. Example "bisa" instead of "visa".
This I believe is not a spelling mistake but because that is what the writer hears.
In Spain (among speakers who do not use the "seseo")
Forgive my ignorance, what's meant by "seseo"?
Thanks a lot Samdie, It could have taken me years to gather such valuable information.
"How is it that you (or he/she/they) hear a difference when Spanish speakers can't?
Nice one, Sam!
Very informative information Samdie. I voted after reading just the first paragraph. I can't tell you how many times I heard or read a description of the difference between "b'" and "v" in Spanish.
