Proper pronunciation of Sarria

[DurhamParish]

What is the proper way to pronounce the name of the town Sarria? Is is "SAH-ree-ah", with the emphasis on the first syllable, or is it "sah-REE-ah", with the emphasis on the second syllable, or is it something altogether different? And is it proper to roll the "r's"?

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi DurhamParish, The first way you wrote it out is correct. The accent is on the first syllable. If the accent were to be on the "ree", you'd need a written accent mark. And yes, roll those Rs!!!

 

[Anniesantiago]

I think it might be more like "SAR-rya?"
Two syllables instead of three?

 

[peregrina2000]

Yes, annie, you're right, I was only paying attention to the accent. Sorry. There are only two syllables, so the "ia" is a dipthong rather than two separate vowels.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Knowing how letters are pronounced is only one aspect of learning Spanish pronunciation. Another key aspect is knowing which syllable should be stressed.

Fortunately, in Spanish the rules for stress (also known as accent) are straightforward. In fact, there are only three basic rules that cover nearly every word:

• If a word without an accent mark ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress is on the penultimate (next to last) syllable. For example, toro, computadora, joven and zapatos all have their accent on the next-to-last syllable. Most words fit this category.
• A word without an accent mark that ends in other letters has the stress on the last syllable. For example, hotel, hablar, madador and virtud all have the accent on the final syllable.
• If a word isn't pronounced according to the above two rules, an accent is placed over the vowel of the syllable that gets the stress. For example, común, lápiz, médico, inglés, and ojalá all have the stress on the indicated syllable.

 

[DurhamParish]

Thanks everyone. Greatly appreciated.

I will be doing a slack-packing trip with wife and friends from Sarria to Santiago in April. I wanted to be able to pronounce "Sarria" correctly.

 

[scruffy1]

Spanish people along the Camino are very very forgiving when it comes to language. We all try to do our best in their native tongue, many speak it quite well, but if you start off with a heavy Irish brogue, speak Italian instead of Spanish because it is so similar(?), or as our Japanese comrades who would pronounce Sarria not as SAR-rya but rather SAL-lya, one quickly understands why they so often answer our lame attempts in English.

 

[vgen5122]

I've been mispronuncing it. Thank you for the lesson.

 

[Houlet]

'Allo 'Allo - I suspect it's not the only Spanish I've been pronouncing wrongly.

 

[julie]

And is it proper to roll the "r's"?

Would that I could! At least my family has the opportunity for a good laugh when I'm practising.

 

[Icacos]

Would that I could! At least my family has the opportunity for a good laugh when I'm practising.

I couldn't roll an 'r' if my life depended on it.

 

[november_moon]

I find that it is easier to roll the r's if you pronounce the "rr" with a slight "d" in the middle. So Sarria is kind of "Sardria" - you don't really pronounce the "d", just sort of hint at it. That gets your tongue in the right place so that you get a bit of a roll on the "rr".

 

[KinkyOne]

'Allo 'Allo - I suspect it's not the only Spanish I've been pronouncing wrongly.

As I remember that's more German, French & Italian

 

[Kiwi-family]

I couldn't roll an 'r' if my life depended on it.

If your life depended on it, you'd find it to be an eminently learnable skill. But don't wait for such drastic circumstances;-) If you really do have trouble you could try what worked for me - move to Poland for two years!

 

[Icacos]

I find that it is easier to roll the r's if you pronounce the "rr" with a slight "d" in the middle. So Sarria is kind of "Sardria" - you don't really pronounce the "d", just sort of hint at it. That gets your tongue in the right place so that you get a bit of a roll on the "rr".

If your life depended on it, you'd find it to be an eminently learnable skill. But don't wait for such drastic circumstances;-) If you really do have trouble you could try what worked for me - move to Poland for two years!

Thanks. I'll keep trying, but I think, for me, it's going to be a hard row to hoe.

Now, does anyone have any tips on how to get the 'g' right in Agés, or in La Virgen del Camino? Or what is the default for an English-as-a-first-language person?

 

[wayfarer]

This how my sons Spanish partner pronounces Sarria.
https://soundcloud.com/pat-casey-6/record-0003xx

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Galician website:

http://www.forvo.com/word/sarria/

 

[DurhamParish]

Thanks.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Galician website:

http://www.forvo.com/word/sarria/

Great site Falcon. Thank you.

 

[waveprof]

Supposedly it sounds different based on if one's first language is Castillian or Gallego......so even in Spain there is some disagreement.

 

[Houlet]

Of course here in Scotland all places have very simple pronounciation ,,,,,,,,,,like Milngavie and Kirkcudbright.