Help with the LL (Je sound) in Spanish in Argentina
 

I can get around pretty well on my Spanglish, but the Y and LL being a 'je' sound throws me off a little. What words will I really notice a difference with, so I can practice? Like, what would Yo sound like...sho...jo? Thanks!

Yo sounds like Sho....

I notice the difference most when trying to pronounce specific locations in Buenos Aires.

Callao, a main avenue, is pronounced ca shaw o.

Lavalle, a pedestrian street, is pronounce La va shay

and so forth....

Thanks...I guess I better get practicing. If I screw up and pronounce on occasion the North American Spanish version, would folks down there understand? Also, while I have your attention....do you know where I can find Scarlett's restaurant list? Thanks again!

In my two trips to Argentina, I can never remember to use the "sh" sound, so I always pronounce it like I learned (as an English y sound), and they understand. They answer with the "sh" sound. So I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks! The two ways sound so different. I guess I won't be saying 'tortilla' too much, like I would do every hour on the hour in Mexico. I love fresh tortillas. But I have been practicing sho-via...for lluvia. Since I may see some of that.

Another word you may come across if you are travelling around is Villa, pronounced Vee-sha As in Villa La Angostura.

I didn't find remembering to pronounce it that way a problem, I had to remember to understand the word I was hearing them speak. I didn't recognize vee-sha right away.

Good Luck.

You can be sure that they are used to hearing the non-Argentinian method of speaking.

One thing I noticed on my last trip to Mexico, and I don't know how I failed to notice it before, or I just met different people in different regions, was that I heard sounds like "Joe" for "yo", rather than the "yo" (as in "yogurt") pronunciation I had always heard before. So, for example, "llegar" was pronounced by some people as "Jay-gar", instead of "Yay-gar". I asked someone about it, and he said they had South American language teachers in school who wanted them to do this for enunciation (so you don't have so many vowels and semi-vowels together). If you hear, for example, Colombians or Venezuelans or even Argentinians outside of Buenos Aires, they will definitely say "Joe" or "Yay-gar".

Apologies if this linguistic observation is mixed up, but if you know more, please correct.

But back to the point, I would not worry a bit about y vs. j vs. sh. If you speak in a different accent, Argentinians will still understand you.

Thanks!

LOL, we spent 2 weeks taking cabs to nearby cross street Callao, and understood different pronunciations until we finally did get ca shaw o.

And parrilla is something like par i shaw. We got that one faster!

Chrisk, Thanks! If you have the time and can think of a few more words like that, I would really appreciate seeing them here. I'd love to practice a little before I take off. Thanks!

On the lakes crossing from Barioche AR to Puerto Varas Chile we stopped overnight in Puella. The Argentina guides called it PueShA and correctd our Castillian pronounciation. As soon as we got to the border crossing, the Chilean guide corrected it back to PueLL/Y a.

That's interesting, because I always hear Chileans use the "j" sound, rather than the "y" sound, but I imagine that might be a regional difference also.

What would 'estoy' sound like? Is the 'y' in that word different also? I would still love a brief list of the most common words that are used and the phonetic pronunciation. Thanks!

I think "y" in a dipthong sounds the same as you are used to. One thing I had a problem with (I'm not the slightest bit fluent, though) is how Argentinians "swallow" their "s" sounds. That was more confusing to me than any "y" or "ll" issues.

Try watching some Argentinian films to give you an idea. I just saw "El secreto de sus ojos" -- very good.

Willtravel, Give me an "s" sound example. Thanks

For example, "escondido" sounds more like "ay-cone-dee-doe", but with an abbreviated "ay" sound. "Vamos" sounds like "vah-moe".

When I arrived - a little jet lagged- I could not figure out what the hotel was asking in Cual es su ap-ay-jido? Of course awake the next day I realized it was apellido - my name.