question about "dondé"
Why is it that sometimes when you say "dondé" it sounds like "dond" like the é has been dropped? example " ¿Dondé esta? please help.
12 Answers
lazarus1907 said:
James Santiago said:
The short E in where (as in bet) and the A in are (as in father) are pronounced differently. That's why I chose it as an example. The presence of the R following each vowel is probably what makes us elide the vowels in this particular case.
Ok, I used the words too loosely: the diphthong in "where" stays in a close-mid position, and it moves from the front to the back position, with a slight descend of the tongue. If you continue this motion of the tongue form front to back, with a slight descend, and you maintain your lips unrounded, the result is the exact vowel you get in "are". It is, in a matter of speaking, an extension of the natural diphthong. I was referring to combinations where you move from open to close, front to back, or similar, where in English you clearly make a distinction, but in Spanish you clearly join the sounds together. It is something that English speakers need to practice over and over to get right, because English does not do this as often as Spanish does.
It occurs to me to wonder whether these combined words perhaps occur less frequently in British English than in American (I understand in Britain they're more careful of their pronunciation). The "where are" example, especially, is probably pronounced very differently on opposites sides of the Atlantic, as the British tend to drop final r's.
Shelly said:
What's the name of the book? I could use a copy from a library or bookstore.
I'd like to know that too...
What's the name of the book? I could use a copy from a library or bookstore.
James Santiago said:
The short E in where (as in bet) and the A in are (as in father) are pronounced differently. That's why I chose it as an example. The presence of the R following each vowel is probably what makes us elide the vowels in this particular case.
Ok, I used the words too loosely: the diphthong in "where" stays in a close-mid position, and it moves from the front to the back position, with a slight descend of the tongue. If you continue this motion of the tongue form front to back, with a slight descend, and you maintain your lips unrounded, the result is the exact vowel you get in "are". It is, in a matter of speaking, an extension of the natural diphthong. I was referring to combinations where you move from open to close, front to back, or similar, where in English you clearly make a distinction, but in Spanish you clearly join the sounds together. It is something that English speakers need to practice over and over to get right, because English does not do this as often as Spanish does.
Yes, but you are using another example where the last vowel of a word (phonetically) matches the first vowel of the next one. What about when the vowels are clearly different'
The short E in where (as in bet) and the A in are (as in father) are pronounced differently. That's why I chose it as an example. The presence of the R following each vowel is probably what makes us elide the vowels in this particular case.
I used to teach the following to my students in Japan.
- Jeet yet?
- No, joo?
Can you figure it out'
James Santiago said:
For example, when we say "Where are the birds'," we often pronounce it like "Where the birds'," because the "where" and "are" sounds are so similar.
Yes, but you are using another example where the last vowel of a word (phonetically) matches the first vowel of the next one. What about when the vowels are clearly different? Do you still pronounce them together? Do you pronounce "where others..." as "whereothers..."? In Spanish we do.
I have a book of phonetics for American who want to improve their pronunciation in Spanish, and it dedicates a whole section to explain how and when it happens, and suggests exercises to practice them.
In written Spanish and most other languages, space between words is just a convention to separate words, but in speech words blend together. Look at the following examples:
¿Dónde está'---|> ¿Dóndestá?
Mi hijo---|-> Mijo
Pretérito de reír---|-> riieron becomes in written and speech- rieron
Trajieron---|--> trajeron in both written and speech for the "j" is an elongated "i" in Classical Latin which causes it to blend.
Whatisazukey? Answer: a key to a zoo.
I didn't mean to imply that the vowels have to be the same (although, of course, this happens more often when they are the same). And why would English speakers find this weird, when it happens in our own language, too? We have fewer words that end and begin with vowels than in Spanish, but there are many ways that we crunch our words together.
For example, when we say "Where are the birds'," we often pronounce it like "Where the birds'," because the "where" and "are" sounds are so similar.
I think this happens in all languages, although naturally in slightly different ways. In Japanese, they don't crunch the words together as often as we do in English, and tend instead to omit words.
James Santiago said:
It's called liason in French, and it happens in every language. The two E's overlap and one cancels out the other.
The same thing happens, for example, with "me encanta," which is pronounced as "mencanta."
It is not just when the two vowels are the same: it happens with all vowels, even if they don't match, and English speakers find it weird when they start learning it.
The word "sinalefa", by the way, is Greek, and it means "to blend (until they are undistinguishable)".
It's called liason in French, and it happens in every language. The two E's overlap and one cancels out the other.
The same thing happens, for example, with "me encanta," which is pronounced as "mencanta."
"Dondé" doesn't exist. You have "donde" and "dónde": the first one for relatives; the second for interrogatives.
The reason why you don't seem to hear the final "e" is because in Spanish, when a word ends in vowel, and the next one begins with a vowel too, both vowels are pronounced as one, without any pause. This is called "sinalefa" in Spanish grammars.
Maybe because the first and second word end and begin with e respectively'
