Different Sounds

Here, some of the sounds of the alphabet are pronounced strong in relation to the sounds of other countries. We were reminded of that in our most recent trip to Honduras, two weeks ago--more about that later. As we talked with people, we noticed how softly they spoke, and how their words seemed to flow together much more smoothly somehow. One reason is because of the ll sound--pronounced, "ja" here, but in Honduras, it's much gentler, like "ya."

Our teachers have tried to prepare us for this. In Spanish, depending on the country, there are different sounds and different sayings, but everyone can understand each other. I guess it must be like the difference between the northern accent and the southern accent in the USA. We can all understand each other, but our English at times sounds very different.

Last week we were told, "When you get here, you need to try to lose the strong 'ja' sound so that people will have an easier time understanding you." Our teachers have assured us it's easy to make the switch, but in the meantime, we will still be understood. Gracias a Dios!