pronunciation
 

1.How is the "w" in Taiwan pronounced in spanish.
Is it like "v" as in van or "b" as in bee.

2.Also I have a confusion with the "v" in spanish.
Is it always pronounced as "b"?

Is volver pronounced as "bol-ber"?Sometimes I notice the "v" in spanish pronounced as "v" as in van.

Yes, the B in Spanish sound like to the V, only que these word're used in distinct sentences, for example:

Volver. Ok
Bolver. Bad
Bolber. Bad

Vaca. This word's ok.
But, Baca. This word's bad although sounds same boths.

Beso. This word's ok.
Veso. This word's bad.

Becerro. ok
Vecerro. Bad

Visera. Ok
Bisera. Bad.

Viseversa. Ok
Biseversa. Bad.

Volovan. Ok
Bolovan. This word's ok in only a pet name, but still so, the word of this formt is bad.

Bestia. Ok
Vestia. Bad

These're some examples, all these words sounds same, but it doesn't write same.

Regards.

The pronunciation of the v and the b is identical. However, when these consonants are between vowels, the lips aren't totally closed, so you get a softer sounding consonant.

The w, used in loanwords and foreign terms, is pronounced like the 'oo' in boot, so it sounds like the English w.

I'm sorry Rusty, I can't really understand your explanation about w, as I would pronounce boot like /bu:t/ (IPA, AFI, I hope it's clear).

BTW, "w" has got its own phoneme in Spanish, /w/, which is said to be "uau". It's a semivowel or semiconsonant sound (depending on the phonetic context) really important in the evolution of the language. Nowadays, it's pronounced, as Rusty said, in loanwords and foreign terms: /w/ (IPA, AFI).

The part I said about pronouncing 'w' like the 'oo' in boot is so that Raji would get the idea that it is pronounced the same way as in English. Most English speakers don't realize that the 'w' is very nearly an 'oo' sound, followed by a vowel (or diphthong). For example, many Spanish-English dictionaries give 'uáter' as the approximate English pronunciation of water, where u = oo.

In some dialects (in Spanish), the w at the beginning of a word sounds like gu. water = guáter.

That's right like in the word hueso, huevo but oddly never in the word oeste.There must be a linguistic law here. (when the Spanish equivalent of W starts with an H, sometimes a G is sounded as in a glottal stop.)
Has anyone ever heard huésped pronounced with a G? I haven't.

Like you also have in `¡Que guay!´.;)
The `guay´ is pronounced as `why´...
:)

OK, but "oo" in "boot" is not followed by a vowel. So, why do you say that boot contents a /w/ sound? How would you transcribe phonetically "boot"?

I have never heard such a pronunciation, which sounds really funny to me. It's common to say, and to write, váter. Where did you hear that pronunciation, David?

I was just using boot as an example of a word that contains the correct 'oo' sound. The 'oo' sound in the word good, for example, is not the right sound.

Huevo, hueso, huésped, Huesca, hueco, huerta, huella, huelga...
Todas las anteriores se pronuncian también /we.../ y /gue.../. Se trata de un fenómeno de consonantización de la vocal U en el diptongo UE. La secuencia es vocal > semivocal> consonante.

No existen palabras importantes que empiezen en español por "UE", sin hache.

El caso de "oeste" es completamente distinto, pues se trata de vocales fuertes en hiato: "o-es-te".

OK, I see. I'm sorry I'm used to sounds between slashes: I would say, the sound /u/, in the English "oo" (for example in boot). A question of notation. ;)

Jane is right! guay is an arabic word commonly used in modern Spanish slang.

No need to apologize. That is great notation, but not so common outside of the classroom or linguistic realms. I'd like to see it become more common, but alas, I don't think it will.

Well, I am no linguistic major or anything like that but there are subtle differences in the pronunciations of güey and why....

With the word güey - you are closing the back of your throat to make the subtle g sound

But

With the word why, the back of your mouth is open so that there can be flow of air.

The difference is not very pronounced I must admit, but a little different even when you are speaking at a faster pace.

My two cents worth.

Elaina:cool:

I think yuour remarck is great, Elaina, and very true. Why is pronounced /w.../ while guay is pronounced /gu.../. Your explanation is much better than this. Anyway, for a Spanish ear both sounds are almost the same. That's guay you could hear a Spanish speaker saying something like guay did you say that?

The point is also that /w/ is a semiconsonant, that's why its sound gets close to /g/.