tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post115571718990725363..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: pronouncing words from Spanishlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7939315940050852082020-08-25T21:45:53.781+01:002020-08-25T21:45:53.781+01:00Surely pronouncing Mozart's z as "ts"...Surely pronouncing Mozart's z as "ts" is correct in German? In some varieties, anyway - certainly, that is what I was taught. As for chorizo, I have heard it with the "h" dropped, as in choir or chemist.Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48491698879868620162020-08-25T21:41:01.100+01:002020-08-25T21:41:01.100+01:00I think "tack-o" would be a short a, as ...I think "tack-o" would be a short a, as in cat, but "tah-co" a long one, like in ball. Personally, I tend to call it take-oh, having read it for many years before I ever heard anybody say it.<br />Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-62798265745129125102020-08-25T17:01:16.143+01:002020-08-25T17:01:16.143+01:00BrE (Scot) For me, I don’t really understand. The ...BrE (Scot) For me, I don’t really understand. The way you have written the two pronunciations would sound the same to me.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48912079188628196862020-08-25T16:56:00.792+01:002020-08-25T16:56:00.792+01:00Sorry I’m reading this for the second time over a...Sorry I’m reading this for the second time over a year later. Segregation should be she, and there is a them after called. I can’t even guess what happened.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-14336086150805743542019-06-08T18:40:58.159+01:002019-06-08T18:40:58.159+01:00I am reminded of The Bolter (in Nancy Mitford'...I am reminded of The Bolter (in Nancy Mitford's "The Pursuit of Love", dated just post-War), who calls her Spanish boyfriend "Hoo-arn", but Uncle Matthew, her brother-in-law, says "Gee-wan".Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-9478709766076777882019-06-08T17:06:32.156+01:002019-06-08T17:06:32.156+01:00BrE. My sister introduced my mother to fah-he-tahs...BrE. My sister introduced my mother to fah-he-tahs, which ever since segregation has called hah-fee-tahs. But for her, and many other Brits, sudoku has become either sodooku or soodooku.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-86618247879697837882017-01-30T17:34:06.044+00:002017-01-30T17:34:06.044+00:00Thanks for the warning. I stopped at the first bec...Thanks for the warning. I stopped at the first because I knew it wasn't a typo and I realised that the extra effort required of me, the reader, was unlikely to be rewarded. I do hope the effort it must cost you to write like this is in some way repaid. FWIW I suggest you eschew it on CVs/resumes.KeithDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10451059429340892054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52159719082446834012016-07-07T01:05:26.704+01:002016-07-07T01:05:26.704+01:00I'm an American, East Coaster, lived in SF are...I'm an American, East Coaster, lived in SF area for a long time, now living in Wales--there's a Mexican restaurant here I heard about that supposedly serves Oaxacan cuisine. Being homesick sometimes for Mexi-Cali food DONE RIGHT, I went looking for it but couldn't bring myself to go in when I saw their name... Wahaka. NOOOOOOO! Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15337688095905333832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-345716594134678132015-03-06T15:39:22.548+00:002015-03-06T15:39:22.548+00:00Warning, I write with sum simplified spellings.
A...Warning, I write with sum simplified spellings.<br /><br />As someone who not only livd in Latin America for several year but learn'd to dance salsa (Latino teachers), I can only say that if you're in Latin America … it does NOT rime with 'gal'! Maybe it does in Spain but not in Latin America and thus not in the US. … And the first syllable in samba does not sound like the name Sam.<br /><br />Niki-k is right on … no lisp in Latin American Spanish. However, if you go to Buenos Aires, they hav a bizarre accent. The 'll' and 'y' sound like zh/sh. That threw me at first … still does. It took me a bit to figur out that "arrozho" was "arroyo". BTW, in Argentina they don't even call it Spanish. It is "castellano".<br /><br />Oddly, maybe for that I learn'd German before Spanish and mayhap I hav sumthing of a German accent, but folks often ask me if I'm German.<br /><br />I luv Tex-Mex food (tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, and so forth). The spelling is Spanish orthography and throws a lot folks off if they don't know that. Truthfully, we should shift the spelling but they came to us thru Mexican restaurants and they're not going to do that. But I think most folks nowadays in the States know how to say them right or at least near right.<br /><br />Qwick food lesson … 'qu' is said like the English 'k', 'll' like 'y', 'ñ' like 'ny', 'j' like 'h'.<br />fajita … fah HEE ta<br /> jalapeño … ha la PAIN yo (sum say peen yo but that isn't Spanish)<br />quesadilla … kay sa DEE ya<br />taco … TAH co.<br /><br />Go forth and eat!AnWulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14561827352709157334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44041329719406888282014-09-05T00:57:11.132+01:002014-09-05T00:57:11.132+01:00re:
Many can't pronounce Yosemite. Not Yoh-s...re: <br />Many can't pronounce Yosemite. Not Yoh-seh-mite, but FOUR syllables: Yoh-seh-mih-tee, accent on the second syllable. And La Jolla is Luh Hoy-uh, at least to native (white) Southern Californians. <br /><br />Actually, the correct Spanish spelling is "La Joya". Local lore has it that real estate developers changed the spelling to make it seem "more Spanish".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31192019753847689482013-08-14T01:28:28.437+01:002013-08-14T01:28:28.437+01:00Radio and TV new bulletins are currently full of r...Radio and TV new bulletins are currently full of reports of two young women form Scotland and Ireland supposedly working in <b>Ibiza</b> but detained in Peru with large quantities of cocaine.<br /><br />Virtually every journalist said <i>ighBEEthuh</i> (<b>ˌaɪˈbiːθə</b>). The pronunciation has become BrE Standard. It can no longer be regarded as working class or ill-informed.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35194862465213799432013-07-28T15:52:16.317+01:002013-07-28T15:52:16.317+01:00The British pronunciation of "Ibiza" wit...The British pronunciation of "Ibiza" with /θ/ can lead, in accents with TH-fronting, to something like /ɪ'biːfə/. <br /><br />I've just come across an example, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MAB_NqPXdPY&t=2732" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />A wonderfully twisted journey from Catalan /s/ to Estuary English /f/, don't you think?vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48245574158593476082013-07-25T00:02:56.291+01:002013-07-25T00:02:56.291+01:00@Gilmoure
Your description of the old men makes m...@Gilmoure<br /><br />Your description of the old men makes me think that they are descended from Marranos--Jews that hid from the Inquisition, and came to the New World. They may be speaking Ladino, which sounds similar to Spanish. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-69867958615208353112013-07-24T19:24:47.376+01:002013-07-24T19:24:47.376+01:00Born in California (can't really speak Spanish...Born in California (can't really speak Spanish) and married to a man originally from Mexico, I've learned a few Spanish words nonetheless. <br /><br />My husband pronounces both Los Angeles and Los Feliz "white": Lahs An-ge-less and well, Los Feliz gets pronounced two ways by us--Lohs Fee-liss and Lahs Fee-liss, but NEVER it's "correct" way, Lohs Feh-leess. But Las Vegas is always Lahs Vay-gas.<br /><br />What was funny was my husband having a problem with Cahuenga. He says it's because it's an Indian name. Btw, it's Cah-hwen-gah, not Cah-hu-en-gah.<br /><br />Many can't pronounce Yosemite. Not Yoh-seh-mite, but FOUR syllables: Yoh-seh-mih-tee, accent on the second syllable. And La Jolla is Luh Hoy-uh, at least to native (white) Southern Californians. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-40968583862975822232013-07-23T00:22:21.803+01:002013-07-23T00:22:21.803+01:00According to wikipedia the Catalan pronunciation o...According to wikipedia the Catalan pronunciation of Ibiza is [əjˈvisə], the first syllable of which may have influenced the /aɪˈbiːθə/ pronunciation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-30823612155227545422013-07-16T10:10:22.406+01:002013-07-16T10:10:22.406+01:00Any observations from the TV coverage of the arres...Any observations from the TV coverage of the arrest of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales? Reporters seemed to be going into overdrive trying to pronounce all the Spanish names and places correctly, would be interesting to know how well they did.Johnny Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332149992788801634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-16076458398468337552013-07-11T19:31:15.390+01:002013-07-11T19:31:15.390+01:00re: tortilla. My New Mexican mother, who grew up i...re: tortilla. My New Mexican mother, who grew up in the mountains where the old people spoke the "funny lisping Spanish" (and where some of the old men prayed on Friday nights, wore scarves over their heads, and spoke a "really funny Spanish"), makes tortillas in a Horno (or-noe) for Christmas and a potato-egg-veggies skillet dish (tor-te) for dinner. <br /><br />When she was teaching (English as Second Language) and presented a paper down in Mexico City, she noticed lots of smiles. She asker her friend in the audience why everyone liked her paper. "It wasn't your paper. You sound like a hillbilly!" <br /><br />For what it's worth, when I took Spanish at a Florida university, I had a devil of a time understanding the Puerto Rican professor's Spanish.JuhnDonnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795417373366495092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56269989531384091102013-07-08T22:00:36.719+01:002013-07-08T22:00:36.719+01:00I once tried serving a Spanish tortilla wrapped in...I once tried serving a Spanish tortilla wrapped in a Mexican one (well, in a wrap, anyway), only it didn't quite work... And, of course, are they not also some kind of hair-covering in Spain?<br /><br />Here, one would pronounce it as written quite unironically - to say "tor-tee-ya" would probably be considered rather affected. I am not sure how we pronounce "quesadilla", as I have never had occasion to do so!Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87891274134448722472013-07-08T18:45:56.479+01:002013-07-08T18:45:56.479+01:00Mrs. Redboots - that's another borrowed differ...Mrs. Redboots - that's another borrowed difference between Spain and Mexico: I don't know what they would call the egg-and-potato dish in mexico; in the US it's fairly rare, but when you do find it it's called Spanish tortilla or tortilla espagnole to distinguish it from the the flat, saucer-sized, cornmeal things from Mexico. US grocery stores stock more flour tortillas than cornmeal since the taste is less foreign and corn tortillas have no shelf life whatsoever. The dinnerplate-sized ones used for sandwich fillings can be called wraps here too. <br />MP - the (mexican) spanish pronunciations aren't *universal* in the US, just vastly more prevalent than than anglicized versions. You could probably expect older or more rural speakers to say something like "kway-sa-dill-ah", but that pronunciation would get you laughed at in most of the country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-64925241329653719312013-07-06T15:08:19.218+01:002013-07-06T15:08:19.218+01:00Is the AmE long vowel pronunciation carried over i...Is the AmE long vowel pronunciation carried over into other languages e.g. not just Del Poetro but also Joakavitch for Del Potro and Jokovic? Is it over self-enforcement of a rule about long vowels before single consonants?Clydesdale Jeffersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14631644050118490759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-85006719537635447462013-07-04T20:26:29.537+01:002013-07-04T20:26:29.537+01:00Goodness, I go away for a couple of weeks and come...Goodness, I go away for a couple of weeks and come back to not one, but two blog posts!<br /><br />I thought it was pronounced "Take-oh" (I have never learnt Spanish, although I can usually make head or tail of it as I know French)! <br /><br />One interesting difference is that when someone talks about a tortilla, I think of a potato omelette, but I believe that in the USA - and Mexico - it refers to what I call a "wrap" for sandwich filling.Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50082476571313759132013-07-03T20:06:01.279+01:002013-07-03T20:06:01.279+01:00I've been to American restaurants with my in-l...I've been to American restaurants with my in-laws and have heard all the examples you've brought up. May I humbly add the "quesadilla" (kway-sa-dill-ah) and the inexplicable "quinoa" (kween-o-la).MPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31772478601269552832013-07-01T20:22:54.515+01:002013-07-01T20:22:54.515+01:00@Autolycus: debuccalisation of /s/ (other than bet...@Autolycus: debuccalisation of /s/ (other than between vowels) is common to most Southern American accents, but <i>rehilamiento</i> (the realisation of /ʝ/ as [ʒ] or [ʃ]) is characteristic of the River Plate region only. So yes, you are right in that Spanish accents vary widely. It could hardly be otherwise in a language spoken in such a wide geographical area.Alonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8833800999916451392013-06-26T10:54:43.863+01:002013-06-26T10:54:43.863+01:00David Crosbie's comments apply also to "E...David Crosbie's comments apply also to "Englished" place names - better known in writing than in everyday speech (plus the fact that an English person not quite achieving a properly Spanish-Spanish pronunciation of Don Quixote sounds like someone commenting on the attractiveness of an ass).<br /><br />I suspect there are also quite wide variations in Spanish accents. To judge from one brief visit to Argentina, it's very different there from "standard" Castilian - the "ll" seemed to come out more as a ZH sound, and words like "mismo" sounded more like "mihmo", almost as though the speaker had a cleft palate.Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-43232968662002818182013-06-25T11:44:23.604+01:002013-06-25T11:44:23.604+01:00Lynne
The adjective is pronounced as English, bec...Lynne<br /><br /><i>The adjective is pronounced as English, because it is English. The name is pronounced more Spanish because it is a personal name.</i><br /><br />Yes, but I don't think anybody says MOHT-sart for the name and moh-ZART-ian for the adjective. We <b>can</b> manage to pronounce <i>Mozartian</i> with a non-English sound value for letter-Z. What stops us doing the same with the letter-X of <i>quixotic</i> is partly historical inertia and partly because even an English <b>h</b> sound is much, much more removed from any associations with letter-X.<br /><br />I think the reason for the change in pronunciation of <i>Don Quixote</i> and <i>Don Juan</i> is that they're not just personal names but <b>literary</b> names. For a very long time, more people knew the names though reading than though conversation. And those who knew the Spanish pronunciation were more likely to be among those who had read the book. As the proportions changed, steadily fewer people used the spelling pronunciations.<br /><br />The change was slower with <i>Quixote</i> because we hardly ever encounter the name for anybody else (apart from some parodies). It was quicker with <i>Juan</i> because it's a name we encounter very frequently in speech and writing.<br /><br />Both changes were quicker in America because, as you said, a much larger proportion of people are familiar with Spanish spelling and pronunciation.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.com