Past participle ending: ado > ao

Question

I'm given to understand that in the spoken form of European Spanish there is a common tendency to drop the d from the past participle ending -ado, thus rendering a quite different pronunciation, i.e. a diphthong -ao (like the -ow in English 'how'), which to my ear actually sounds slightly more Italian.

Thus, for example: he terminao mi trabajo (ter-mee-now)

My question is: does this also happen in other Spanish speaking countries ?

Gracias por ayudarme

All 'd's towards the end of words are dropped down south, where I am, and nearly all ' s's. Strangely, people understand each other.. - annierats, Jun 26, 2015

Answer 1

I think it is not so much that it is "dropped" but rather that even when it is spoken it is much softer than in English and it gets "gobbled" up in the rapid way Spanish speakers emphasise individual vowels whereas in English the consonants convey a lot of the meaning.

Wacha wanna say ? Choo no wadda mean ? ;-) - Faldaesque, Jun 25, 2015

It is just that the intervocalic "d" is so soft that sometimes it doesn't get pronounced at all. - Daniela2041, Jun 25, 2015

Especially in Southern Spain where I come from. - Daniela2041, Jun 25, 2015

i agree Daniela, I think it has got totally disused.. like the ' s'.. - annierats, Jun 26, 2015

Answer 2

Ian, you are correct. Not only is the D soft and non-explosive but it also has a TH sound when partnered with O at the end of words (in central and northern Spain). For example:

Tomado - toh-mah-thoh This soft D and Th sound makes it almost absent to English-speaking ears, especially when spoken muy rápidamente. The Spanish Prime Minister, Rajoy, is an example of this mode of speech.e.g.. "hemos habla(d)o"

The combination ao is not a diphthong and each vowel is given its full syllabic value as in:

cod - bacalao - bah-kah-lah-oh

Cheers

In Danish the letter D is pronounced with the tongue behind the lower front teeth. The word "gade" (street) sounds like ga'er. - ian-hill, Jun 26, 2015

Answer 3

Does the same happen with non-verb forms of '-ado', e.g. does 'al lado' become 'al la-o' ?

Yes, it happens but it´s more correct if you prononounce all the letters. If you are learning Spanish, learn the correct way and don´t try to make the same mistakes as natives make. ;) - SpanishSkypeorg, Jun 26, 2015

;-) - Faldaesque, Jun 26, 2015

Yes, in A ndaluciá ' hasta luego' is pronounced ' a'a ueo. Fast! It's usually followed by ' adios' wich sounds like aios . - annierats, Jun 26, 2015

Answer 4

Yes.

Answer 5

I tried this in real life in a Mexican restaurant in Tenerife yesterday evening when the waitress came to clear our table... 'Terminao'... Not a blink of the eye, she understood perfectly

Answer 6

Once more into the breach dear friends.