ll & y sounds
Okay. So I know that ll and y sound the same in Spanish, but I have noticed something recently.
Words with "y" like "ya" seem to have a harder sound. Sounds closer to the j sound to me. While "ll" as in "llegar" seems to sound closer to the y sound in English.
Is this right or am I way over thinking this? I do know that the pronunciation varies by region, too...but is "y" generally harsher than "ll" or am I just hearing things?
3 Answers
Ya, llama y llega have the same English "j" sound in Costa Rica. While llave y yo are pronounced with either the English "y or j" sound depending on the person.
I don't know if it is a rule but the patteren for ll and y is: LL or Y followed by e or i has the j sound except at the begining of words.
Gallo-y, gallina-j, bella-y, ballena-j, mayor-y, inyector-j, etc.
Taller (workshop) is odd because it has both the y and j sounds together tayjer.
There are no firm rules really. Mostly it's paying attention to how more knowledgeable people speak, memorizing that, and then doing the same. That's how little children learn! They learn to spell later, and are amazed!
In English, "s" has four sounds: s, z, y, and sh. Examples: this (this), miss (mis); is (iz), his (hiz); vision (veeyen), division (diveeyen); mansion (manshen), dimension (dimenshen). You just have to memorize. I know it's difficult. I hope you understand.
Your question makes me think about tv commercials that I used to see in Argentina where ll is pronounced with a distinctive sh sound. They would end with the phrase ¡llama ya! Call now! If you find an advertisement like that online you could listen to the two sounds pronounced in sequence...
