In Spanish, does the "ll" make an American "y" sound (like in yard) or a "j" sound (like in Ajax)? ?

Question

I'd always heard it made the "y" sound, but I'm taking this Spanish course at LiveMocha.com and the lady always gives it a "j" sound. For instance she prounnounces "pasillo" as "PAH - SEE - JOH"

Answer 1

If you were in Texas, the sound would be "y".  But accents vary tremendously within the Spanish language.  That makes sense, considering the vast time and distances that encouraged dialects and regional differences.  Is the lady speaking Castillian?   THey also lisp when they pronounce "s" or so I was told by my Spanish teacher from Mexico City.

Answer 2

Yes, the "ll" is the sound of "y"

Answer 3

it depends. The actual pronunciation of LL is very diferent to the Y, but in many parts of LAtin AMerican and Spain, LL and Y have the same sound. But this varies too much between each region, and even between two individuals. Most of the people pronounces a hard Y (like y in English YARD), but in Argentina it is pronounced softer like J or even SH.

Answer 4

The right way to pronounce the "ll" in words is like the "y" sound, not the "j". But everything depends on the accent of the person, (Puerto Rican, Mexican etc...).