Thread: Para or Por
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  #18  
Old July 05, 2009, 07:50 AM
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chileno chileno is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
In many languages (although not in English, in most instances), the letter n is pronounced as if it were the letter m when it is followed by a labial consonant (i.e., b, m, p, and v). There is also a spelling convention, which is what you were stating, that the letter n is changed to an m before those consonants.

The spelling convention isn't always followed, like in the word inconveniente, but the pronunciation rule is. This word is pronounced as if an m appeared before the v.
Here are more examples:

Convencer is pronounced combencer.
Conmigo is pronounced commigo.
Enmascarar is pronounced emmascarar.
Sinvergüenza is pronounced simbergüenza.
Tan bien is pronounced exactly like the word también.
En piezas is pronounced exactly like the word empiezas.
Ok, now I got it.

Although some of the combinations, at least en Chile, are not used like that, due to not pronouncing the v correctly.

Sinvergüenza becomes sinbergüenza etc.

Let me add that this phenomena appears in the lower social stratus where education is scarce at best. :/
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