Pronunciation of 'usted'

Question

I am a little confused by the correct pronunciation of 'usted'. I am practising Spanish with a CD. When the male speaker says 'usted' it sounds like he pronounces it oo-sted (English phonetic). When the female speaker says it, the word sounds like oo-stair (English phonetic). Are my ears playing tricks on me? Or does the pronunication / ending change in some circumstances?

Answer 1

The correct pronunciation is oo • stehd, with the emphasis on the "oo".

However, some native speakers will sort-of drop off the final "d", making it sound like oo • steh, or kinda like oo • stair as you said.

Also, because the correct way to pronounce the "d" in Spanish is to place the tip of the tongue against the back of the front teeth (different from the English "d", where the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth just before the back of the front teeth), usted can sound like oo • steth, with a a slight, hard "th" sound.

Thanks! That helps. - LittleLou, Jan 23, 2013