Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Say "yes" in Vallejo

Probably I will expand later this post or maybe write another one about the topic and other related phonetic issues, buy for the moment I will try to keep this post short.
The Spanish proper name Vallejo, which happens to be also the name of a quite popular brand of paints is usually mispronounced by English speakers (also by German and Dutch, and in general any speaker of a Germanic language).
The word Vallejo has three syllables: Va-lle-jo
"Va" should be pronounced as the "ba" in Baltimore or in badminton
"lle" should be pronounced like the "ye" in yes and not as "le" in Lex (Luthor)
"jo" there is no close sound for this syllable in English, but people more or less got the idea from other Spanish words like "jamón" or "Jerez" (not only a kind of alcoholic stuff but also the city where it comes from)
The main issue of mispronunciation is on the "lle" syllable, so please don't say "le" in Vallejo, say "ye(s)".

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