Comments on: Where did the Spanish ‘v’ go? Do you pronounce it like a b, a v or…? http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/ To inform and exchange opinions Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:08:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: L. A. Pinel http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-3706 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:08:57 +0000 http://tresculturasspanish.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-3706 Hola Joseph,

Languages adopt or drop sounds due to a variety of reasons too academic and complex to fully explain here. Comparing the nature of the sounds of one language with another can also be a hard task as each language is a separate entity by itself. In general terms, a group of people who speak a given language make use of linguistic features according to their particular circumstances.

What remains quite clear is that many centuries ago, Castilian Spanish speakers, little by little started to adopt the sounds /B/ & /b/ as a substitutes to v /v/, and even b /b/ in many cases. (See my post above). This phenomenon is neither bad nor good; it just is.

]]> By: Joseph Pekkar http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-3705 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:51:23 +0000 http://tresculturasspanish.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-3705 Hi there, why did the Spanish drop the V sound, and not the French or Italians? Thank you :)

]]> By: Luis Pinel http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-1360 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:31:51 +0000 http://tresculturasspanish.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-1360 Hola Ron,

As I explain above, the phonetic “V” does not longer occur in the ordinary speech of native Spanish language speakers. There are only two types of “b”, as presented in the post above.

Saludos,

Luis

]]> By: Ron http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-1351 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:41:05 +0000 http://tresculturasspanish.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-1351 I am having a hard time distinguishing the sounds in the word “sabe.” Specifically does the “b” have a “v” sound phonetically?
Thanks,
Ron

]]> By: Carl http://tresculturasspanish.net/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-885 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:50:27 +0000 http://tresculturasspanish.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/where-did-the-spanish-v-go-do-you-pronounce-it-like-a-b-a-v-or/#comment-885 I’m curious. When you say /B/, are you referring to a voiced bilabial fricative or a bilabial trill? I thought it was a slight point of ambiguity.

]]>