The letter Z

[Alan-Clifford]

Hola
Tengo pregunta, por favor.
What’s the pronunciation of the letter Z en español ? I have heard both S and Th.
Taza
zapatos
Azul
Azúcar
Muchas Gracias.

[Tony_Davis]

I think it’s a regional accent thing. When I was in a Granier in December I asked the server for tarta de manzana and she pronounced it like “manthana” so I asked one of the Spanish ladies at my hotel and she said that that is how some regions pronounce Z, and C for that matter.

Others may know better of course

[Alan-Clifford]

Yeah i just wore my new zapatos azules to the café to buy a taza de tae sin azúcar. But i got confused

[RichardBuck]

Big news - exciting times - finally, finally we're moving on other languages

Actually, that’s a difference you’ll find even within Spain. Half of Andalusia does one, half the other: the former Spanish PM, Felipe González, came from the part with an ‘s’, and Spanish media respectfully pronounced his name the same way he did; the BBC, as well-educated foreigners, were ‘th’ all the way down

[Deborah-SSi]

I had a lot of South American friends when I originally studied Spanish living in Australia, so I naturally pronounced it as “s” like them. When I arrived in the Basque Country, I was told by some local speakers that if I wanted to speak Spanish “properly” then I should use the “th”, however, much of the south of Spain, and the Canaries, uses the “s” sound, and as I now have a Venezuelan housemate, I’m reverting to my original pronunciation with glee

[Alan-Clifford]

Muchas Gracias
I guess this happens even in all languages Irish, Welsh. Its about knowing or being aware of both and adapting depending on which you hear spoken. Licio/hoffi, rwân/nawr etc.
I have gotten into SSIS app, its starting to get enjoyable and i hear slight improvements as opposed to having been doing challenges. Currently heard puedo tener, then came across a teacher on Facebook promoting his classes saying that that would never be spoken in spanish. Im aware of these situations but they can still be frustrating and discouraging.
Muchas Gracias

[christopher-14]

In high school, I studied Spanish, and my teacher, who was from Spain, told us that Spanish spoken in Spain often uses a “th” sound for words with z or c (before e or i), while Spanish in most other countries uses an “s” sound instead.

That said, it depends on where you are in Spain. In some places, like the south, they also use the “s” sound instead of “th.”

There’s also a myth that the “th” sound came from a Spanish king who had a lisp and that people copied him to avoid offending him. But that’s not true, he “th” sound was already part of the language before his time.

I remember all of this because she used to bring it up every other lesson lol.