Pronunciation when 2 vowels come together

Question

I believe when 2 of the same vowel come together in 2 separate words it is pronounced once.

does para hacer and para ser sound the same? If you pronounce the c as an English s not an English th sound as they do in Spain. I'm interested in the latin american pronunciation.

Also in latin music I hear singers pronounce tu amor as one word. Twamor

Are these pronunciations common in daily speech and also correct?

Answer 1

In song lyrics it has been a long time custom to combine any two vowels especially when the occupy a place in the song where only one beat note occurs and so only one sound can be emitted. I do not think this happens in a combination like para+hacer, but perhaps it does. Correct pronunciation does not encourage combining 2 strong vowels like O and A, into one sound, but with weak vowels like I and E combination does occur. Here is a guide for basic pronunciation that I prepared as an introduction to Spanish (note that phonetics are to be interpreted by English speakers not international phonetics):

Dipthongs: AI, AY (eye) AU, AO (ow) EI, EY (ay) OI, OY (oy) EU (eoo)

Semivowels: IA, YA (yah) IE, YE (yeh) IO, YO (yo) IU (you) UA (wah) UE (weh) UI, UY (wee)

Separate Syllables: AE (ah-eh) EA (eh-ah) EO (eh-oh) OA (oh-ah)

:) - ian-hill, Oct 11, 2014

Answer 2

This blending effect is a common occurrence in many languages, not just Spanish. A general term that is used by linguists to describe this phenomenon is "synalepha," or in Spanish, "sinalefa" (although a term more specific to the blending of adjacent vowels into a single syllable might be "synizesis").

In English, for example, it might not be uncommon to hear some of the following pronunciations.

• Me either: m??•th?r
• He ate last night: h??t last n?t
• Too often: t?of•ten or twof•ten

does para hacer and para ser

Not exactly, but close perhaps. The blending effect is such that the adjacent vowels form a single syllable, but there may often be a slight but perceptible difference in the length of pronunciation of this blended syllable.

In terms of syllabification, it might be something along the lines of pa•raa•ser rather than pa•ra ser. You might also notice this same effect with certain expressions using the perfect tense such as "he hecho" which comes out sounding more like he•cho. Notice, there is a similar effect in the pronunciation of "me he enamorado de ti" which blends all three adjacent vowel sounds: me•nam•o•ra•do de ti

Also in latin music I hear singers pronounce tu amor as one word. Twamor

The same sort of blending effect is seen here as well. In this case, the vowels "u" and "a" combine to form a diphthong: tua•mor

I have never heard "•Me either" - except in the U S A :) - ian-hill, Oct 11, 2014

Great explanation. :) - rac1, Oct 11, 2014

Yes. Definitely American - Observer, Oct 12, 2014

Answer 3

does para hacer and para ser sound the same? No, if you are careful pronouncing. But people, like anywhere in the world, will link words, so context will determine.

:) - ian-hill, Oct 11, 2014