How do you teach your children to pronounce the word yo in Spanish?

[NanceXToo]

In Getting Started With Spanish they teach that the word "yo," meaning "I," has more than one pronunciation which varies by locale. It basically says you can use whichever you are most comfortable with but suggests that while yo is most common in the U.S. (and acceptable), jo is more "authentic."

 

So which do you use? As of now, it's doubtful we would be traveling to any Spanish speaking countries and don't know any Spanish speakers, this is just for purposes of practicing at home, really. Does it even matter?

[Scuff]

I think it's regional differences, similar to how we pronounce everything differnt in English. I learned yo in high school. But I'm using All Bilingual Press Spanish and they say things with j.

[scrappyhappymama]

It basically says you can use whichever you are most comfortable with but suggests that while yo is most common in the U.S. (and acceptable), jo is more "authentic."

 

 

Hmmm. I don't know that I'd say "jo" is more authentic. It really depends on where the native speaker is from. My Cuban and Puerto Rican friends are more likely to say "jo." My in-laws who are of Mexican descent all say "yo."

 

Since we live in TX and our family says "yo" this is what we teach our kids. If we lived in S. Florida, we'd probably teach "jo."

[tex-mex]

Hmmm. I don't know that I'd say "jo" is more authentic. It really depends on where the native speaker is from. My Cuban and Puerto Rican friends are more likely to say "jo." My in-laws who are of Mexican descent all say "yo."

 

Since we live in TX and our family says "yo" this is what we teach our kids. If we lived in S. Florida, we'd probably teach "jo."

:iagree:

Never heard of the "j" in yo either from my family or others from latin america. It is just "YO" Heavy on the "Y" (yuh) as you speak it, if that helps.

Edited December 7, 2011 by tex-mex

[Mergath]

I've only ever heard it pronounced "yo," and my teacher in high school was a native speaker. Don't know where she was from, though.

[tex-mex]

If we lived in S. Florida, we'd probably teach "jo."

Off-topic, but heard "Ja" the other day while in the restroom -- a young mom and her toddler. Was cracking up so much over the conversation (easedropping -- but I was in the next stall) in Spanish. Loved it when she said "Ja" to hush him up. HAAAAA :lol:

[chiguirre]

Hmmm, JA is an important part of my mom arsenal. When I say "Ja esta", the kids know I mean business.

 

As to jo or yo, it depends on the country and sometimes on the register of speech. I'd use yo in more formal situations and slide to jo in more informal or slangy one. The same with ja instead of ya. I speak Venezuelan Spanish although we also lived in Argentina (where it's jjjjo with a Frenchish j).

 

I'd go with yo as the most neutral pronunciation.

[Sputterduck]

Here it's "Yo" unless you are a young adult and I'm told the young people say "Jo" here to sound more cool. I definitely use "Yo" here when talking to adults.

[Cinder]

My in-laws who are of Mexican descent all say "yo."

 

Ds1's teacher is from Mexico and she says "jo." I learned "yo" back in high school, but only one of my teachers was a native speaker and she was from either Venezuela or Argentina. (I don't remember.)

[Just Robyn]

I was taught 'yo' in high school. In college I was taught that the most common pronunciation is with a palatal stop - not a sound found in English.

 

ETA: Here it says the 'yo' version is used in Central America and northernmost Mexico. The palatal stop version is used in most varieties in Spain and the Americas. The 'jo' pronunciation is used in Andalusia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Edited December 8, 2011 by crstarlette

[zaichiki]

In college I was taught that the most common pronunciation is with a palatal stop - not a sound found in English.

:iagree: I think the closest we can get in English is like a "dy" sound.

[Belacqua]

Something close to "jo" is how I've taught it. Same with the double l; "llamo" is pronounced close to "jahmo." I learned Spanish from a Cuban, so I suppose that's why.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

It does depend on where you are. Here in Guatemala it also depends on how educated you are. Less educated people say "jo" and more educated people say "zho" (kind of a soft z or j sound).

[AHASRADA]

I learned it pronounced more like "zho" from my Colombian professor. The more I think about it, we pronounced the double LL similarly, "me zhammo Lupe," for example.

[Ohdanigirl]

I have never heard a native speaker say "yo", unless they had been speaking English so long that they have gotten lax. I live in northern Mexico, and have only heard Mexican-Americans do it here. In Ca. you do hear it, and even from some native speakers. It is mostly because they hear it so much they adapt. Once they get around other native speakers, it tends to morph back to "jo". At least, this last part is what I have witnessed.

 

If you would like to be authentic, I would go with "jo."

 

Just my two cents.

 

Danielle

ETA: Dh and BIl wanted me to add that this might be more of an ear issue. Yo in Spanish is pronounced very similar to Jo (the name), but then again... There is a hint of the y sound (yes) there, but to our (DH, BIL, and I) the j sound is very clear. This is why many Spanish speakers struggle with the word yes. When they are first learning English, many pronounce yes, jes. Hope that makes sense.

Edited December 8, 2011 by USDGAL

[Veritaserum]

I grew up on the border with Mexico. "Yo" is what I heard, but it is different from how you would say "yo" in English. My parents met in eastern Argentina, where they both lived in the early 70s. They say "zho." Dh lived in Argentina for a couple of years as well. He was in the northwest near Bolivia, so he says "jo." In high school, we hosted an exchange student from northeast Argentina. She says "zho." My accent is a Mexican/Argentine mix, depending on whom I'm talking to. :tongue_smilie: I prefer "zho" and the vos conjugation, but if I'm speaking to Mexican speakers I will adopt a more Mexican accent. When we went to Spain this year I went full Mexican because that took less mental effort. I do love the Spanish accent. We had a cab driver who was the stereotypical sexy, dark Latin and his accent was beautiful. :svengo:

 

Anyway, I teach "yo." It is more universal. :)

[NanceXToo]

I really appreciate all the replies. They sure are diverse. I'm still undecided which I want to go with lol. I am thinking "yo" is what will be commonly known to people we may practice our new-found skills on around here, but, still, it is good to keep in mind that there are other pronunciations.

[cathmom]

I teach and use "yo."

[Carrie12345]

My husband works with Spanish speakers from all over Mexico and South America. HE says he only hears a y sound, but I've asked him to survey a couple of his closer employees today. :)

 

I've been teaching y with GSWS b/c I feel the kids have enough pronunciations to deal with, why add an unnecessary one? Personally, I feel (hear?) a very soft j is more authentic. The audio clips go with a hard j.

 

PS -Nance, we signed up for family membership at the environmental center last week!

[Chrystal]

Most of the native Mexicans I have met pronounce it yo, but our Spanish exchange student pronounced it jo. She also asked for Joo-Hoos when I went to the store : )

I learned yo in high school and college.

[hearts4homeschooling]

BJU Spanish 1 on DVD teaches the J sound for "yo" and for the double l in "ella", both of which are different than the three years of Spanish I took in high school. I don't know yet if the Spanish 2 and 3 teachers do this or not.

 

We are loving BJU Spanish DVDs after having tried the big R. My kids say it is a much easier way to learn it and comment that they are learning so many practical things right from the start. They like it much better than R even though BJU is a 45-minute class five days a week!

 

I am doing the class together with my 10th and 8th graders. I have my own workbook and take quizzes and tests right along with them! Kinda fun!

[Audrey]

Something close to "jo" is how I've taught it. Same with the double l; "llamo" is pronounced close to "jahmo." I learned Spanish from a Cuban, so I suppose that's why.

 

I only know Cuban Spanish and I say 'jo' (sort of like 'dyo' if you smoosh the d and y together really fast).

[cmarango]

I teach jo. My dh is from Colombia.

[asta]

:iagree: I think the closest we can get in English is like a "dy" sound.

 

This is what I grew up with (Sonora, Mexico).

 

A

[melissel]

Hmmm. I don't know that I'd say "jo" is more authentic. It really depends on where the native speaker is from. My Cuban and Puerto Rican friends are more likely to say "jo." My in-laws who are of Mexican descent all say "yo."

 

Since we live in TX and our family says "yo" this is what we teach our kids. If we lived in S. Florida, we'd probably teach "jo."

 

:iagree: as does my Puerto Rican/Dominican DH.

[silliness7]

I say "yo" because it looks like it should say "yo" and like you am not around any Spanish speakers.

[Jaybee]

In Argentina, we used 'jo' where we lived, but some friends lived on the western side near the Andes, and they used 'yo'. For both "y" and "ll", the sound was a soft "j" though, not a hard "j" like we would say the name Joe.