Where are the speakers from in the RocketSpanish lessons? They all pronounce "LL" differently.

Where are all the speakers from, in level 1 of the RocketSpanish course?

Mauricio from the audio lessons pronounces letters with ll (eg lluvia) as "yu-via", but the man and woman in the language lessons pronounce it like "juu-via" or a buzzed "jjju-via".

It's great that RocketSpanish include speakers with different accents in the course, but it also throws me off when I do an audio lesson with, "repeat after Mauricio: yo necesito ayuda... yo necesito ayuda...", then doing an audio lesson where it's become "JO necesito aJUda". Half the course is audio lesson and the other half is language lesson, which means the pronunciation is different 50% of the time, even with fundamental words such as “yo”, “ella”.

I've spent way too much time researching this, and the best I can find is that "it's just a different accent, so YUU-via, JUU-via, and SHUU-via are all correct", but native Spanish speakers seem to use an unpredictable combination of two, with the SpanishDict.com "latam" lady pronouncing llenar "yeh-NARR" but allende "ah-JEN-deh".

I'd like my pronunciation to be reasonably consistent with a single country, hence the question.

Maruicio is a native Spanish speaker from Chile (you will meet his mother in Level 2).

In case you are wondering, Amy is a native English speaker who learned her Spanish in Ecuador.

As you have noticed, pronunciation, even conjugation and sometimes even word meaning can be very different across all the Spanish speaking countries. It can be frustrating for beginners trying to “get it right”. I have read the Columbia has (maybe) the most “neutral” accent, so I try to follow their pronunciation, but it can be tough (as you found out) to find guidance on how the various countries pronounce things. In fact, what I have found even within Columbia there are different pronounciations! Bogeta Spanish is what I choose to model.

These sites may be of help to you (I have no connection with the linked site). Good luck!!

https://learnmorethanspanish.com/blog/colombian-spanish-accents/

https://learnmorethanspanish.com/blog/tips-perfect-colombian-spanish-pronunciation/

Thanks Scott! That's also what I've heard- that Colombia has the most “neutral” and understandable Spanish of Latin America. I didn't realise how many different accents there were in one country, however. Thanks for the links.

If Mauricio is from Chile, then I'm curious where the other male and female speakers from the Language Lessons are from.

I have noticed in the exercises it is not always Mauricio or Amy, but I don't think they have ever been identified.

BTW, I think Mauricio was on his best pronunciation behavior because Chileans are famous for dropping the s when it comes at the end of a word, but I have never heard him do that. I am sure there are other things he has changed from the way he normally speaks.

“Scott, it's a slow day in my neck of the woods.”

Ha ha! I am fully retired, so most days are slow days. I love it!

I guess I lived in Europe too long (5 years) but I had no problem understanding 99% of what they said (an occasional word I had to think about for a second). I did enjoy the video quite a bit, thanks for sharing.

What I found really funny was it was really clear it wasn't that great. So keeping up the English tradition of making bad food!

Hola everyone,

This is a great discussion!

Scott_C is absolutely right; the principal speakers in the Rocket Spanish course are Mauricio from Chile and Amy, who learned Ecuadorian Spanish. 

You will notice a few other accents scattered throughout the course. For example, in our recent Rocket Spanish Play the Part Series, our native Spanish female speaker is from Mexico. 

Wrapping your head around the different pronunciations of the “double L” or doble ele can be a bit tricky when you are first training your ear to Spanish accents. As you pointed out, Spanish speakers with particular accents pronounce the double L differently. For example, hearing the double L pronounced as “sh” phonetically represented as [ʃ] or [ʒ] is common throughout the Río de la Plata region. 

However, the pronunciation of the double L as /j/, is not exclusive to any particular country but can be heard in different regions throughout the Spanish-speaking world. This may be a contributing factor in why you are hearing the same speakers use multiple pronunciations. 

Regarding the differences between the pronunciation of ll and y, in most Spanish, you hear they share the same pronunciation. The concept of them not sharing the same pronunciation is known as Lleísmo and is prevalent in some regions, for example, the South of Chile.   

It is important to note that you will be understood no matter which variety of pronunciation you use. The y pronunciation of the double L is historically the most widely taught variety as it is easy for speakers of English to pronounce. However, feel free to go with whichever feels most natural to you. Our speech recognition software will pick up any of the three varieties of ll pronunciation as correct. 

I hope this helps! This is a really interesting topic, so let me know if you have any further insights.

¡Saludos!

Indy 

Ha ha, catching up on old messages Indy? Thanks for your insights!

I'm English and as Scott will know, the UK has a huge variety of accents and pronunciations.  I was raised in Merseyside (Scouse accent) and the folk from Newcastle have a Geordie accent.  Both are very thick accents and to an outsider, unintelligible.  That's before we talk about the Glaswegian accent!  The foreign perception of an English accent is the BBC's 'received pronunciation’ i.e. IMHO, taught, not natural and contrived.

I spent my youth/teens in L.A. and a Boston accent was heard with amusement!

So - regional variations for Spanish will be no different, given the evolution of languages over the centuries.

Chris

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Thanks for the reply, Indy!

Hola AI22. Encantado.  I wasn't aware of you hijacking my thread, but thanks anyway!

Part of my love of learning languages is the history of how they reflect the historic journey of the speakers. I find it fascinating, and thanks for all your info.

Chris

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