Re: first lesson
 

Mahou ... :D

Re: first lesson
 

I have trouble with the rolling 'rrr' as well, even though a native andaluz tried to teach me, I just can't do it.

We have a small town near us, named Ugijar, I hadn't a clue how to pronounce it when we first arrived.

Listened to the natives and finally got it: Ug-I-kar. (accent on the I).

Re: first lesson
 

A lot of expats, and there are a lot of them, can't pronounce the name of the town they live in: Torrevieja. It has it all, the double R, the V, the J, and the emphasis is on the last syllable.

Re: first lesson
 

that's a horrid one

I know how you're meant to say it, of course, but I've heard it mis-pronounced far more often than pronounced correctly, which means my ear & brain tend to scramble it




so whenever I want to say it, it comes out San Miguel ;)

Re: first lesson
 

:confused:

surely not

Re: first lesson
 

Yes, it's written Ugíjar, so naturally the stress falls on the "I". Friends of ours have a place in Otívar, and that suffers the same, I've heard the "O" and the "VAR" stressed, but rarely the "í", except by locals of course.;). My brother pronounces Vejer something like Vecker.

Re: first lesson
 

This is from a Spanish-English webpage, with suggested pronunciations, some sound weird to me!
surprise (serpráids) - sorpresa; extrañar;
exactly (igdsǽktli) - exactamente
happen (jǽpən) - pasar; suceder; suceder
harry (jéri) - asolar; acosar; hostigar
manage (mǽnədch) - lograr; administrar;
used (yúdsd) - acostumbrado; usado
advantage (ædvǽntidch) - ventaja

Re: first lesson
 

Torrevieja ..... agree with Lynn. Slight emphasis on the 2nd bit of the dipthong, I'd have thought...??

Ugijar (can't figure how to put a tilde)...
scampicat described the local pronunciation as 'Ug-I-kar. (accent on the I)'.
Accent I understand, cos of the tilde. I'd have assumed it would be 'ooheeja' for want of a better English way of describing it:D
But then of course places have different pronunciations, as we all know. My late aunt's home village of Calonge - initially I always said calonhe.... but figured after a few times hearing her say calonshe that of course we're in Catalunya!!!
......is there an accepted way of expressing in 'english' lettering how the j tends to be pronounced? cos h obviously is fractionally too soft, k too hard. :confused:

Re: first lesson
 

Most Brits do pronounce it this way until they listen to the locals.

Re: first lesson
 

So oo-gee-kha? with a hard g? blimey!!

Re: first lesson
 

How about Almegijar? (Tilde on the i)

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These are mountain people in the rural wilds of Andalucia, remember.:)

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Not fair. Going to sulk:p



Al-me-gee-kha (guessing hard g again but no doubt wrong). Emphasis on the gee syllable.:fingerscrossed:


...so are Colmenarenos;)

Re: first lesson
 

Sorry, I edited my post to say there was a Tilde on the I.

You are correct : Al-me-GEE-kha. Looked unpronounceable to me when I first saw it!

Re: first lesson
 

Have heard Brits who live in Fuengirola call FuengArola. Or usually Fuengy! The LL in marbella is ignored by lots. Miguel is often pronounced as MigWell. There seems to be a few who live in Friggy:rofl: