How to Pronounce These and the Like?
I hear these sounds always pronounced like their other counterparts:
k ->g; p ->b; t ->d.
para ejemplo:
"mucho gusdo" (mucho gusto);
"es dodo bara hoy" (es todo para hoy);
"balabra" (palabra);
"gómo esdás" (cómo estás);
"guadro" (cuatro);
"cinco" (cinco);
"sbanishdict bundo com" (spanishdict.com) (here we see that the mix of English/Spanish clearly has a contrast to the rule: i.e. it's not pronounced: sbanishdigd pundo gom).
"Tom" would be pronounced like Tom in English (not Dom). But how would a Spanish speaking native say Tom? Just curious.
Are they always pronounced this way by the natives?
6 Answers
You have to remember. English is spoken different in Mississippi than it is in California. It's spoken different in Luisiana than New York. There will always be native speakers who are on the verge of being illiterate. Just stick to the basic rules of spanish and if you decide later that you like the way a certain group of people speak, you can conform your accent.
You can always listen to different pronunciations of common words online and find a nice balance for yourself. Just remember. The goal of a language is to be understood, so no matter how you achieve that. It's the right way.
PD: I prefer venezuela as my favorite spanish speaking country... but even within the country, people have their own varying voices. I hope you are able to progress!!
I hear these sounds always pronunced like their other counterparts: k ->g; p ->b; t ->d. para ejemplo: "mucho gusdo" (mucho gusto); "es dodo bara hoy" (es todo para hoy); "balabra" (palabra); "gómo esdás" (cómo estás); "guadro" (cuatro); "cinco" (cinco); "sbanishdict bundo com" (spanishdict.com) (here we see that the mix of English/Spanish clearly has a contrast to the rule: i.e. it's not pronunced: sbanishdigd pundo gom).
Tom would be pronunced like Tom. But how would a Spanish speaking native say Tom? Just curious.
Are they always pronuced this way by the natives?
First of all, Spanish speakers say "Tom" like how we would say "tome" or "tohm" The O is pronounced like how you say the letter o.
In Spain, oftentimes a Z or an S is pronounced with a "th" sound.
Merluza=merlutha.
My Colombian friends pronounced double L's like a soft J/ch sound, like zha or zsa: llaves=zhaves
CarsonEM is right in that natives from different places speak with different accents.
Spanish speakers also use different parts of their mouth to speak, more than English speakers do. If you watched a Spanish-speaker and an English speaker speaking their native languages with no volume, you will see that Spanish speakers tend to use their lips in a softer way, and English can be a bit harsher. Spanish speakers also speak with the tongue more forward in the mouth. Due to this, the sounds can be very different than the way an English speaker could pronounce them.
Also, are you sure the person you were talking to didn´t just have a cold?
Pass me the butter-->Bass me the budder.
In English, the voiceless consonants like k, p, are t are aspirated more (There's a stronger puff of air.) than in Spanish. There's also more friction with the English k than with the Spanish k (It's more fricative). The voiced consonants like b, g, and d are more strongly voiced in English. We native English speakers rely on voicing and aspiration to help identify the sounds. When a native Spanish speaker dentalizes a d or a t (touches the teeth instead of the alveolar ridge with the tongue), it becomes harder for us to distinguish the sounds, especially with the reduced voicing of d. Using the IPA, I'd say that 'Tom' is pronounced [t?om] by Spanish speakers and [t??m] by English speakers.
Judging by your use of esoteric vernacular, you are more familiar than many with the world of languages. Without wishing to sound critical, I'm surprised at your question 'are they always pronounced this way by the natives'. Clearly there is a massive variation of pronunciation with geography and social group.
Maybe of interest to you, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and as I understand in other parts of the Caribbean, the s within a word is often aspirated so strongly that it sounds more like an h and final ss are hardly pronounced, nosotros sounding akin to nohotro...
In English the voiceless consonants become voiced typically when they are preceded by s, such as: sky ->"sgy"; study -> "sdudy", speak -> "sbeak".
I'm assuming that you're serious. Have you ever encountered this assertion in the phonetic literature? In the George Mason University transcriptions from Lewistown, Glenside, and New Eagle, Pennsylvania, your suggested voicing of voiceless stops after a voiceless sibilant in a consonant cluster never occurs. The Spanishdict audio for 'poco' doesn't voice the consonants to my ear.
Gracias jlupine. My experience with Spanish so far is that it would pronounce people as "beoble" where the voiceless labial explosive "p" would become "b" of the vocal cord sound. Comparing the pronounciation of two similar English and Spanish words I do feel the differece:
In English the voiceless consonants become voiced typically when they are preceded by s, such as: sky ->"sgy"; study -> "sdudy", speak -> "sbeak".
poco is sounded like "bogo" to my ears (http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/poco) but Poconos Mountains (close to where I live) in PA is just sounded like the way it's spelt.
But I do find Spanish easier to pronouce: it's always clear, crisp and solid. I enjoy listening to it.
