La pronunciación

1. La pronunciación El sistema fonológico del español (The sound system of Spanish)

2. Las vocales • A has the sound of ah as in father. • E has the sound of a as in late. • I has the sound of e as in beet. • O has the sound of o as in wrote. • U has the sound of oo as in boot.

3. Vowel Combinations • A, E, O are strong vowels. • U and I are weak vowels. • A combination of two strong vowels is pronounced as two syllables. • leer; maestro • A combination of weak + strong is a dipthong (one syllable), with greater stress on the strong vowel. • baila; cierra • A combination of weak + weak is a dipthong (one syllable), with the stress on the second vowel. • ruido

4. Los diptongos • ai;ay like i in side • baile; hay • au like ou in sound • causa • ei;ey like ey in they • reina, rey • eu like may-you without y • deuda • oi; oy like oy in boy • oiga; soy • i or y before a vowel like y in yes • bien ; apoyo • u before a vowel like w in well • fuente; agua

5. Accented weak vowels • When a weak vowel carries a written accent mark, the pronunciation is stressed on that vowel. • tío; baúl NOTE: familia historia biología geografía

6. La acentuación • If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the second to the last (penultimate) syllable is stressed. Such words are called palabras graves. • zapato, zapatos, divide, dividen • If the word ends in a consonant other than n or s, the last syllable is stressed. Such words are called palabras agudas. • verdad, practicar

7. Breaking rules of accentuation • If the word is pronounced contrary to those two rules, an accent mark is written over the vowel that must be stressed. These types of words are called palabras esdrújulas. • tendré; difícil Note: crimen; crímenes

8. Las consonantes B and V • These two letters have the same value in Spanish. • At the start of a word or after m and n, they sound like the English b. • bomba; enviar; ambos • In all other positions, they sound like a b without touching one’s lips together. • caber; severo

9. C • There are two different values for the letter C. • C before a, o, u or a consonant sounds like k in keep. • caminar; contar; culebra; acto • C before e, i sounds like th in thin or s in same (This is called seseo, and is used in Latin America and parts of Analusia, Spain.) • cinco; hacer • NOTE: Both sounds are heard in the following words: acción; sección (Not sh)

10. D • There are three different values, depending upon the position and context. • At the start of a word and after l, n, the letter d sounds like the English d. • dama; aldea, andar • Between vowels and after consonants other than l, n, the sound of d is more relaxed, and sounds like the th in this. • pide, pardo • As the last letter of a word, the d become further relaxed or altogether omitted. • usted; verdad

11. F • F has the sound of f in for. • fama; informe

12. G • There are three different values depending on position and context. • Before e or i g sounds like a Spanish j, which makes the sound of ch in Bach. • general; gitano • At the start of a word and after n, the sound is g like in get. • gloria; tengo • In all other positions, the g sounds like g in get, only not as explosive. • haga; agosto

13. gue, gui : The u is silent, except when marked by a diaeresis. • guerra; guitarra; pingüino; antigüedad • gua: All letters are sounded. • guapo

14. H • H is always silent! • hola (ola) • Hay (ay) • hermano (ermano) • bahía (baía)

15. J • J at the beginning of a word or in the middle of a word has a strong gutteral sound, not found in English. It is like the ch in the word Bach. • jota; baraja • J at the end of a word is silent. • reloj

16. K • K is pronounced like the k in kick, but without the aspiration. • kilómetro

17. L • L is pronounced like the l in love. • limón; fácil LL • LL is pronounced like lli in million or like the y in yes. In parts of Latin America and Spain, the ll is pronounced like j in juice. • calle; ella, millón

18. M • The letter m is pronounced like the m in made. • madre; caminar

19. N • N is pronounced like n in none, except before a written v. • nadie, pan • When n comes before a written v, it sounds like m. • enviar ; sin valor

20. Ñ • The letter ñ approximates the sound of ni in onion. • niño; ñandú

21. P • P sound like the p in put, but without the aspiration. • papá

22. Q • Q sounds like the k in kick, without the aspiration. It is always followed by a silent u. • que; quince

23. R • R has a single trill, but is pronounced with a stronger trill (rr) at the start of a word (or after l, n, s). • coro; rápido RR • RR has a strong trill. • carro; irreal

24. S • For the most part s sounds like the s in same. • casa, Isabel • Before b, d, g, l, m, n the letter s is often pronounced like s in rose. (a soft z sound) • desde; mismo

25. T • Like the t in tame, but without the aspiration. • tanto

26. W • The letter w is found in “loan words” from other languages. It can be pronounced as a Spanish b/v, like an English v, or like an English w. • week end

27. X • Between vowels, the letter x is usually pronounced like x in tax or like gs in eggs. • examen • Before a consonant x is often pronounced like s in same. • extra

28. Y • The letter y is normally pronounced like the y in yes. • Yo ; mayo; Loyola • In emphatic speech, it is pronounced like the j in jam. • In Chile and in Argentina, it is pronounced like the s in leisure.

29. Z • The letter z is pronounced like th in thin, but like s in same in Latin America and in parts of Andalusia, Spain. (This is known as seseo.) • zapato; luz

30. A E I O U El burro sabe más que tú.