Please Recite This Again in Spanish

When you first started to learn Castilian, you were probably taught that the SpanishLL pronunciation was the aforementioned as the letter 'y' in English language.

And that is true… sometimes.

But, if y'all've already been learning Spanish for a little while, I bet you've discovered that's not ever the case.

Possibly you're wondering whyll sometimes sounds like 'y', merely other times seems to sound similar an English 'j' instead.

Or perhaps you've been to Argentine republic or Uruguay and you lot could swear they're actually making a 'sh' sound when they use the Spanish ll.

And then which of these sounds is it?

Well, believe it or non, there are actually four dissimilar ways to pronounce the Spanish LL sound in words like llamar and lluvia effectually the Castilian-speaking globe.

And in this article, you're going to learn near each one of them.

For a quick walkthrough the differentll sounds in Spanish, you can check out this video from my Fluent Spanish Academy YouTube aqueduct. Or if you lot prefer a more thorough caption of the Spanish ll or just adopt to see it in print, whorl downwards and read on!

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The Spanish LL Audio – A Background

Every bit you've probably realised, ll is very common in Spanish!

Rather beingness a split letter in the Spanish alphabet, ll is what's known as a digraph.

Put just, this ways it'southward a combination of 2 letters representing a single sound.

We also have digraphs in English language such as sh, th, and ck.

Merely, when you're learning to speak and understand Castilian, you probably care more well-nigh how to pronounce this sound than what information technology's called!

And so let's become to that…

The disruptive thing near the Spanish ll is that in that location are really four dissimilar ways to pronounce information technology and all of them are correct… somewhere in the globe!

To fully understand what I mean, let me pause each variation for you, i-past-i:

Pronunciation 1: LL Sounds Like The English Letter 'Y'

But as you learned in your beginner course or textbook, ll near oft sounds similar the English letter 'y' equally in the words "xanthous" and "yes".

This is the fashion ll is pronounced in Spain, parts of Mexico, and most of Central and South America.

When y'all are start learning to speak and read Spanish, this is the easiest pronunciation to use. Simply magine replacing any ll with a 'y' and that's it!

For example, you would pronounce lluvia (rain) as "yuvia" or se llama equally "se yama". Hither are some other common ll words and their pronunciations:

• llave (primal) – yave
• bella (beautiful) – existya
• amarillo (yellowish) – amariyo
• llegar (to get in) – yegar
• llenar (total) – yenar
• cuchillo (pocketknife) – cuchiyo
• ella (she) – eya
• lluvia (rain) – yuvia
• pollo (craven) – poyo
• toalla (towel) – toaya
• llorar (to cry) – yorar

This is the well-nigh common pronunciation worldwide and it's also the style virtually Spanish teachers volition teach new Spanish speakers to pronounce ll.

Ll is taught as 'Y' for good reason: since information technology's the most common pronunciation, it'south the most useful way for Spanish learners to larn to speak and understand the language quickly.

By mastering naught more than than this pronunciation of ll, you volition exist readily understood by the majority of hispanohablantes (Castilian speakers) effectually the globe.

That said, while knowing the standard ll= 'y' pronunciation is a great start, if yous've done much traveling or know many native Spanish speakers, you've probably already heard two other common pronunciations of ll.

Let'due south consider those adjacent…

Pronunciation 2: LL Sounds Like The English Letter 'J'

The second about common pronunciation of ll is similar to a soft 'J' sound in English language.

This variation can be heard regionally effectually the globe rather than in any ane item state.

And then, instead of "poyo" (pollo)or "yuvia" (lluvia), equally in the examples in a higher place, you'll hear "pojo" or "juvia."

It's of import to note that this soft 'j' is not quite the same every bit the hard, fast J of English language words similar "jam".

In fact, it's most closer to the 'S' in the English word "treasure" but stretched out a bit longer: jjjorar (llorar) or jjjave (llave).

Pronunciation 3: LL Sounds Like 'Sh' (Río de la Plata Spanish)

Another manner yous may hear ll pronounced is similarly to a 'sh' sound in English.

In this variation, tortilla becomes "tortisha" and llamar is "shamar".

Ll as "sh" is about exclusive to the Río de la Plata region of S America, which includes Argentine republic and Uruguay.

If yous've ever spoken to someone from Argentina, yous'll probably have noticed this audio before.

Many things about Spanish are unlike in the Rio de la Plata region. In fact, there is a word (Rioplatense) that describes that region's Castilian.

In addition to pronouncing ll differently than the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, Rioplatense Spanish has its own special conjugation for the atypical tú forms of verbs and lots of distinct vocabulary.

The Ll as 'sh' is probably the most singled-out variation in the Castilian speaking world and it can be very confusing for new Spanish speakers who aren't enlightened of it.

But now that yous know it exists and how it sounds, you won't have much of a problem!

In truth, unless you will exist living in either Argentine republic or Uruguay, you probably don't need to worry about pronouncing your ll this fashion.

But, no matter where you learn and speak Spanish, it's a good idea to be familiar with this pronunciation anyhow so you won't be caught off guard if others use it when speaking to you!

Is 'LL' The Same As 'Y' in Castilian?

Traditionally, the lettersll and y had different pronunciations in Castilian.

However, nowadays, in about Spanish-speaking countries, the ll in pollo is pronounced the aforementioned way every bit the y in arroyo.

This is true with any of the three variations of ll we've learned about then far.

For example:

• Someone who uses the ll as a soft 'j' sound would say "pojo" (pollo) and "arrojo" (arroyo)
• Argentineans and Uruguayans would say "posho" (pollo) and "arrosho" (arroyo)

In a few parts of the world, however, ll and y have maintained slightly dissimilar pronunciations.

The distinction might be difficult to hear unless you're listening for it specifically, only ll is actually pronounced equally a combination of the letters 'l' and 'i', every bit in the English give-and-take "million".

If you are familiar withItalian pronunciation, you can also think of it every bit the "gli" sound used in words similar famiglia or svegliare.

Then, what does this pronunciation sound similar?

Well, instead of pollo, you would hear "polyo", while arroyo would remain "arroyo".

This may seem pretty strange to you as a Spanish learner but it does have 1 major advantage – it makes information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to distinguish between words that incorporate ll and words that include a y instead, which helps when learning to spell Castilian words correctly!

This pronunciation (sometimes known as lleísmo) is specially common in isolated Spanish-speaking communities, such every bit among Spanish speakers in the Philippines and in parts of Republic of colombia, Paraguay, Republic of bolivia, and Peru.

Which Castilian LL Pronunciation Should You Use?

So which Spanish llpronunciation is the all-time?

To be honest, there is no best or worst way to say ll.

You may find that one pronunciation is easier or comes more naturally to you. But more than likely, the ll y'all choose will depend on where you alive, the people you speak with regularly and your reasons for learning Spanish.

In the end, it doesn't actually thing which Spanish ll sound you choose to apply. Later all, using and enjoying your Castilian is far more of import than focusing on whatever specific variation!

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Source: https://storylearning.com/learn/spanish/spanish-tips/spanish-ll-pronunciation