# 2.2 The voiced fricative

The voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/ such as in mayo has quite a variable pronunciation across dialects and contexts. It can be a very soft glide [j], or in utterance-initial position or after a nasal or lateral it can become a strong affricate-like sound, something similar to English [ʤ] as in j oke, but more palatal.

Note that orthographic ll as in calle (street) is pronounced in the same way in most of the Spanish-speaking world. In some areas e.g. Paraguay and Catalonia, a lateral palatal sound is preserved [ʎ].

In the area of Rio de la Plata (Argentina and Uruguay), it is pronounced [ʒ] as in the middle of pleasure, or [ʃ] sh e.

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