The letter "y" sounds like "j" in English when it begins a word

Question

So I'm taking this "Medical Spanish" class for medical personnel. And some other Spanish classes. I'm somewhat advanced but I skipped some of the beginning stuff, I mostly learned from watching TV etc...

So the teacher is not native,

He wanted us to look at this: link text

and this states at the bottom: The letter "y" sounds like "j" in English when it begins a word. As a fact. Does it always in this sense? So I couldn't say with a Y sound. "Ya no quiero dormir". I would have to say "Ja no quiero dormir" with a J sound? I didn't realize it was THIS much of a rule where a beginning Y always always always sounds like an English J. ¿Que opinan ustedes?

Answer 1

Jeezle, I think that is very much an issue of regional dialect.

I've heard a Columbian accent in which all the Ys and ll's sounded like English Js.

And of course, in Argentina they all get the SH sound, not J at all.

And in Spain, they all sound like Y, right?

Nice remark the "Argentinian". - Dakie, Sep 11, 2011

Answer 2

"Ysabel" is pronounced "Eesabel", not "Jeesabel".

"Y" (as in "and") is pronounced "e", not "jee".

Beware of absolutes.

Answer 3

This is not a rule. This is an accent. In different countries people pronounce some sounds in a different way. It is not a mistake to pronounce 'ya' or 'ja'. Also, remember Argentinian way to pronounce this sound?

Answer 4

Hola Jeezzle. Ll and Y sound like J

It really does depend where you are... - Jeremias, Sep 11, 2011

Answer 5

Here in the north of Mexico. native speakers tell me that the " Y" sound for "yendo" and "ya" as well as others should be have the same sound as the "ll".

So then, in : llamamiento and yacimiento, the first letter would be pronounced the same.

Answer 6

It's very regional, but I've never heard it pronounced as hard as an English J. Maybe more like a Portuguese J, as in Rio de Janeiro.

Answer 7

Well, yes, if for English "j" he wanted to say something like:

journal, jenna, jogging, jack.

I was reading my dictionary and I basically had to use that rule for every word beginning with "Y", so maybe yes, it's kind of a rule .

So Dakie are you saying that every YA or YO should have a J sound like Jack? Because Maria says "lluvia" always has a J sound no matter what.and that is not regional. Is it not regional just always J like this site says? I seriously don't know. - jeezzle, Sep 11, 2011

Yes, you have to pronounce it that way but southamericans "Argentinians and Chileans" pronounce it like "SH": "Ya"-->"Sha". - Dakie, Sep 11, 2011

Of course, if the "Y" precedes a vowel. - Dakie, Sep 11, 2011