How to Pronounce “Llama”

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, my name is Michael Harris, and I’m calling from Irving, Texas.

Hi, Michael, how are you?

Hi, Michael, what’s up?

Hi, I’m doing just fine, thank you.

My question is about the word which is spelled L-L-A-M-A, yama, an animal which is common in Peru,

And I think native to South America.

I’ve always pronounced this word, yama, because in my Spanish classes in school,

I always learned that the double L in Spanish is pronounced like a Y.

Yeah, like in the words tortilla, tomatillo, pollo, which means chicken,

Or caballero, which means gentleman.

But ever since I saw a particular animated movie in 2000,

The movie was The Emperor’s New Groove, an animated movie.

All throughout that movie, that word was pronounced llama.

And I think in the movie, an emperor is turned into a llama.

I don’t remember exactly why or how, but anyway, all throughout that movie, that word was pronounced llama.

So, I mean, here living in Texas, I can accept the fact that an armadillo can, that you can find an armadillo in Amarillo.

But llama is just too much for me because I’ve always learned it was llama.

So how did this happen?

This is complicated.

Okay.

All right.

Here’s a couple things.

The first one is that in Spanish, that double L is a single character.

And that double L, you’ll even find it alphabetized differently in Spanish dictionaries, if you remember.

That double L has a bunch of different pronunciations depending upon the dialect of Spanish that you’re speaking.

All right?

So in some places, it is a Y sound.

Right.

In Spain and Mexico, for sure.

Some places, it’s more like a J.

So they say llama.

In some places, it almost sounds like a D.

It’s like you can actually feel your tongue kind of shift from the Y to the J to the D.

It’s just a little bit different on the mouth.

And so the pronunciation that you learn in school, if you don’t learn it natively in

Your household or on the streets, is going to be an approximation, kind of like the best

Case pronunciation of that word.

So there’s not one fixed pronunciation of llama, and that’s okay.

The other thing is, the word is the same case as armadillo.

Been fully anglicized. It is fully and completely adopted into English and is no longer a foreign

Word. You will find no source anywhere that does something like italicize it or put it in quotes

To show that it’s not native to English. And so the pronunciation is the L sound as far as

Most Americans are concerned. I don’t know anybody that says it with the Y sound except if they’re a

Spanish speaker, and that’s what their particular dialect has to say. So I can get being a little

Annoyed if you learned it differently. Definitely when we’re

Taught stuff in school and

We hear something different, it takes a

While to reconcile that, right? Yeah, it does.

Yeah.

It can be a little bit of a stumbling

Block, right, Martha, to get over that thing that you

Learned and it

Seems so true and you’re like, wait a second.

Oh my gosh, especially

In terms of pronunciation.

We hold so closely to that.

Yeah, yeah, because

Identity is closely bound to pronunciation.

It shows that we’re a member of a group.

But unfortunately, Michael, the pronunciation of llama is probably best as just a straight-up L sound.

Now, if you go to parts of South America and Central America, you’re going to be absolutely fine with your pronunciation.

Okay.

Well, thanks for talking me through it.

I mean, I feel a little bit better about it now.

We talked you off the roof, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, pretty much, yeah.

Hey, Mike, I have a question for you.

Yes.

What are we going to do about Vicuna?

Oh, that’s a big one.

Oh, you’ve given him something all new to worry about, Martha.

That’s right.

Forget the llamas.

What about the bicunas, you know?

Yeah, I know.

Well, it’s something new to think about, I guess.

Yeah, something to pass the hours.

Well, Michael, thank you for calling.

It’s a thoughtful question, and we’re glad to answer it, all right?

Okay, thank you very much.

Okay.

Take care.

Adios.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

We should probably go back and say that just because the movie did it that way,

That’s not what makes this right, because big, big productions get things wrong.

And professionals get things wrong all the time.

Witness, Martha, and Grant.

Right.

Exactly.

I was going to say that.

Yeah.

No, but I remember a drama that was done on the BBC, which is a highly professional organization.

It was a radio show, so it’s all about the voice, right?

And it was about my hometown of St. Louis where I was born.

And through the entire drama, they pronounced it St. Louis.

Oh, really?

I had to email them and say, you know what?

That pronunciation is only a joke.

We only say that in the song and only when we’re kidding.

Nobody in seriousness ever called the town St. Louis.

Did they write you back?

They were reading this.

Yeah, they did.

They actually read my letter on the air.

They were reading these dramatic letters from this woman.

It wasn’t a comedy.

It was drama.

They were reading these dramatic letters, and she would say,

I can’t wait to see you in St. Louis.

And I’m like, no, she would never say that.

It was St. Louis.

Or in the St. Louis accent, she might actually say St. Louis,

Because that’s how they say it.

Anyway, so I just wanted to say to Michael, you know, you should always call those higher authorities in the question.

Yes, and you should call us at 1-877-929-9673 or send your emails to words@waywordradio.org or pop by our discussion forum.

That’s at waywordradio.org slash discussion.