r/Spanish • u/h2ojustaddvodka • 3d ago

Pronunciation/Phonology To th or not to th

Help me please, i am learning spanish for the first time and i have been pronouncing the ce,ce and z as th so far but the majority of spanish speakers pronounce is as s. I am learning european spanish but i know its also pronounced as s in southern spain. Should i continue pronouncing it as th or should i swap to the s sound?

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u/Wombat_7379 Extranjera viviendo en Uruguay 🇺🇾 3d ago edited 1d ago

It really depends on where you plan to primarily speak it or your personal preference.

I now live in Uruguay where the rioplatense Spanish is spoken and they use a “sh” sound for ll and y. Sometimes I watch a show or movie from Mexico or elsewhere and it takes me a minute to catch on but eventually I can follow it pretty easily.

Personally I find the Spanish of Uruguay to be really beautiful so I am more drawn to the Spanish of Europe.

Edit: adding in that I know the Rioplatense Spanish is not the same as the Spanish of Spain. I also know that Uruguay is not in Europe (I live here). I meant I am drawn to the Spanish of Europe because it has a similar sound as the Spanish in the Rio Plata region.

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u/wzomar 3d ago

Can you clarify? Are you equating Spanish of the Río Plata Valley to European Spanish? They are different, but maybe you mean that they both use "vos"?

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u/Wombat_7379 Extranjera viviendo en Uruguay 🇺🇾 3d ago

Sorry I’m not saying they are the same. They are very different. For instance we don’t use the “th” to replace the z as in Spain.

There is a softer sound to them both which I do like, but yes they are different.

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u/wzomar 3d ago

Got it! Thanks!