Pronounciation "s"

[Premium]

Some days ago I saw a video about the Spanish accent(peninsular). It caught my attention when he mentioned that they pronounce the letter "S" differently.



The part begins at 1:34.

Is it just an example of the peninsular Spanish? Because I thought the Spanish "S" is pronounced just like in English or German.

[wrholt]

The phoneme /s/ is one of several phonemes in Spanish that has some degree of regional variation. What this presenter describes as the typical pronunciation of /s/ in Spain was the one pronunciation feature that I noticed most the first time that I spoke in Spanish with a Spaniard from central or northern Spain, as I had not heard anything about it previously.

He claims 2 things about how /s/ is pronounced in central & northern Spain: (1) the slightly fuller sound, and (2) it is pronounced the same at the beginning of a syllable and at the end of a syllable. The reason he mentions the second item is that in many areas (much of southern Spain and in many areas in America) an /s/ at the end of a syllable is typically aspirated (that is, pronounced as [h]), and it may disappear completely, especially in casual conversation.

[Villa]

Esto es muy interesante. Es bueno para el aprendizaje del español y es una lección de como hablan algunas personas en España. Puedo entender todo lo que él dice. Tenemos el mismo sonido de la letra "S" en inglés y el español latino americano solo que se considera como un defecto del hablar. El Pato Lucas personaje de dibujos animados habla con ese sonido (ceceo) de la "S".
Si pronuncias la letra "S" mientras silbas puedes hacer este sonido de la letra "S" como él lo hace.

• YouTube - MERRIE MELODIES PATO LUCAS Y ELMER GRUÑON ESPAÑOL ...
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[Liquinn3]

Tengo una duda.

Has anyone pronounced "th" like "th" but pronounced the b and v differently?

[poli]

The TH combination doesn't exist in Spanish. B's and V's are pronounced the same way in Spanish, but the B in front of an R as in Brasil is pronounced a bit more explosively like the English B.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by poli

The TH combination doesn't exist in Spanish. B's and V's are pronounced the same way in Spanish, but the B in front of an R as in Brasil is pronounced a bit more explosively like the English B.

Ahh. So it's impossible to pronounce the "th" like an "s" and pronounce the "b" and "v" the same?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I'm not sure about what you are asking, Liquinn. There is no "th" in Spanish.
Can you give some examples of what you are thinking?

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I'm not sure about what you are asking, Liquinn. There is no "th" in Spanish.
Can you give some examples of what you are thinking?

Ahh. You're correct. I mean... could I pronounce "Feliz" using the "s" and not the "th" while pronouncing the "z" and pronounce the b and v the same?

Spain "z" pronunciation is "th"
Spain v and b pronunciation is the same.

Elsewhere they pronounce the "z" as an "s" in different places.
The b and v are not pronounced the same in Bolivia.

So is it possible for me to pronounce the "z" like the people in say, Bolivia do... (as an "s" - Bolivia) and then say "b" and "v" the same (as in Spain Spanish)?

So what I'm asking... could I pronounce the "z" as an "s" like they do in Bolivia. And then say "v" and "b" the same like they do in Spain Spanish?

I hope this makes sense.

[Rusty]

You can adopt any pronunciation you'd like.

The same is true wherever English is spoken.
However, if you plan on living in England, you should probably learn how words are pronounced there. Otherwise, you'll sound like you're not from England.
Likewise, if you want to live in a particular country where Spanish is spoken, it would be better if you learned how words are pronounced there. Otherwise, you'll sound like a foreigner.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Rusty

You can adopt any pronunciation you'd like.

The same is true wherever English is spoken.
However, if you plan on living in England, you should probably learn how words are pronounced there. Otherwise, you'll sound like you're not from England.
Likewise, if you want to live in a particular country where Spanish is spoken, it would be better if you learned how words are pronounced there. Otherwise, you'll sound like a foreigner.

I understand, Rusty. I think pronouncing the "z" as an "s" is easier, personally. Looks like I'm going to have to pronounce it as "th" from now on.