Why is the "v" pronounced "b" in Spanish?

Hi, there is no difference in pronunciación between ‘v’ and ‘b’. Both sound like ‘b’.

Hi, I´m from Argentina and in Latinoamérica there´s no difference. I think it´s a matter of habit. Take into account that in Spain, however, people do pronounce them differently. Having said that, you will be understood whatever your pronunciation is and I think nobody will correct you. Best.

Different sounds became in the Spanish medieval era similar (but not equal) sounds. Due to confussions when writing some words with similar sounds, the Real Academia Española (an institution wich declares what is and what is not "standard Spanish") decided to follow ethimologic rules (latin roots) for the writing of general words (with some exceptions) so that there is no confussion. Also in latin writing there was the use of the letter "v" with sound of the u, so that helped also to define the sounds of oher words. Notice that the use of different letters (or combination or arrangement of letters) in a word for similar sounds exists in almost every language. Think in some words like "pronunce": the letter "c" is pronounced like "s". Think of the word "rat" and "rate": the sounds are different. To sumarise, in modern written languages, we tend to use "conventions" outlined in some point of history by academics. Spanish is not an exception :).