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Hispanic (?) J/Y names
I have seen a lot of Hispanic names that seem to be spelled interchangeably with a J or a Y. Some examples:Yareliz/Jareliz
Yareli/Jarelly
Yessica/Jessica
Yessenia/Jessenia
Yennifer/JenniferWould these pairs be pronounced identically or are they separate variations of the names?Vote on my name list!: http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9768400Shameless self promotion: http://www.namenerds.com
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In standard Spanish, the J represents always the sound [x] (KH); in some American dialects, the sound can be [h] (H). The sound represented by J in English ([dʒ]) doesn't exist in Spanish and this is why the English names with J (Jessica, Jennifer) are pronounced with [j] (Y), the nearest Spanish sound. Since those names are pronounced with [j], they are often respelled with Y (Yésica/Yessica, Yénifer/Yennifer), to follow the Spanish rules.That said, since the same name, with the same pronunciation, coexist spelled with J (in the original English form) and with Y (in the adapted or half-adapted form) some speakers deduce wrongly that the J can have the sound [j] and then alternate spellings with J and Y for new names (Yessenia, Yareli, Yareliz).
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thanks!!!That makes things a lot easier with spelling groupings!
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