Spanish oddities

 

Of course, written letters are always silent until we speak them, but as Spanish is "easy" to pronounce (so people think, search me why!) it is believed that there are no "catches" to the sounds of Castilian.

Did you know that in Madrid, Madrid is pronounced "Madrí" with no "d" sound? And worse still, many madrileños will say "Madriz", with the Peninsular "z", like "think." Listen to any version of the Mexican Agustin Lara´s  musical composition "Madrid," a chotis. 

Did you know that many people forget the sound of "j" in reloj (reló)? And yet they will pronounce it in the plural, "relojes." 

Did you know that the sound of pleasure, measure, treasure exists in Argentinian Spanish: Yo, pollo, whereas in other localities is is a plain sound like "io, poio"?

Did you know that Spanish does not have a "v" sound as in vase, vet, and that "baca" and "vaca" sound exactly the same? 

Did you know that Spanish-speaking people refer to their language in two different ways:  as "español" or "castellano"? 

Did you know that the Mexican Agustín Lara wrote three famous songs to Spain: Madrid, Valencia and Granada.