I’ve noticed a few pronunciations I’m not used to from past spanish courses. The most notable is pronouncing ll with a soft j sound, but I googled that and see it’s common in some latin american countries.
But I’m a little confused about both “sed” and “naranja”. When I hear the memrise speakers say it, it almost sounds like “sed” is pronounced “seth”. And with naranja, it sounds like there is a gh sound with the “j” whereas I’m used to it just being a “h” sound.
Am I hearing these right? And are these common pronunciations or just in some countries? And are there other situations where these pronunciations are used (d = th and j = gh)?
Just like with English, Spanish speakers pronounce things differently. Even speakers from the same countries can pronounce words differently. I even catch some people that say a word in two different ways. My girlfriend, for example, says both ‘Sí’ and what sounds like ‘Chi’ for yes. As long as you are pronouncing it in a way that you have seen real Spanish speakers use it, you should be fine. Whatever is comfortable for you. I say both ‘Yo’ and ‘Jo’ interchangeably for the word ‘I’ since I am used to hearing both.
I believe both ways you’re hearing it are common. I personally pronounce sed similar to how you’d pronounce dead and naranja with the h sound.
Side Note: Some words sound different than others too it seems. Sometimes a Spanish V sounds more like a V and sometimes more like a B I’ve noticed. So I’d pick up what you personally find works for you, because the average person usually will still be able to understand what you are saying.
I realize this is a late reply, but figured this might be useful for anyone else wondering about it.
I’m a Spanish native and @Daniel_Todd62 is right! It’s very difficult to say with one is the right pronunciation! Every country and every zone of each country has a different way to pronounce! And it’s not the same when you speak slowly and when you speak fast! Same that happen with “you” and “ya”, some people when speak faster don’t pronounce properly all the letters and that’s normal! That’s why the “D” in “sed” sometimes sound like dead and sometimes like seth! Seth is the right way and like dead is the quick way!
And with the V, the right way is always pronounce like V but the B pronounce it easily and that’s why is common to ear it!
Sorry for my English! I hope this was helpful and not the opposite
