Understanding the Spanish Alphabet and the Impact of Fair Trade Coffee

1. El alfabeto Coffee is an important export for many Central and South American countries. For extra credit, learn more about the industry and/or investigate the movement for Fair Trade coffee from Latin America.

2. Las vocales • A - ah • E* - ey • I * - ee • O - O • U - oo *These ones are often confusing to English speakers because Spanish E sounds like English A, and Spanish I sounds like English E. Devote some time to distinguishing these for yourself!

3. A - a • Alfabeto • Alberto • Hablar

4. B - be • B and V make an almost identical sound in Spanish, so to distinguish them, you might hear “B grande” or “B como burro” • Bandera • Burro • Beto

5. C - ce • C may make a hard or a soft sound. • When followed by a consonant or the vowels: a, o & u, C will make a hard “kuh” sound. • When followed by the vowels: e & i, C will make a soft “suh” sound • Cebra • Cuaderno • Campo

6. Ch - che • Che has been removed from alphabetized lists (like in dictionaries) but still is recognized as a letter by many people. It is kind of like Pluto… no longer a planet, but it’s still there. • Mochila • Chiapas • Champiñones

7. D - de • D makes a strong “duh” sound unless it is in between two vowels. If that is the case, it makes a “th” sound. • Diccionario • Terminado • Pasado

8. E - e • Excelente • Escritorio • Clase

9. F - efe • There is no “ph” spelling combination in Spanish, we just use F instead. • Teléfono • Geografía • Fotocopias

10. G - ge • G may make a hard or a soft sound. • When followed by consonants or the vowels: a, o & u, G will make a hard “guh” sound. • When followed by the vowels: e & i, G will make a soft “huh” sound. • Geografía • Lago • Imaginación

11. H - hache • The H is silent! ¡La hacheesmuda! • Hola • Hombre • Hermano

12. I - i • Dime • Imagínate • Inglés

13. J - jota • The J makes what we think of as an H sound. • Mujer • Jalapeño • Japón

14. K - ka • K is a borrowed letter, so you will only see it in words that originate from another language. • Karate • Kiosko • Karaoke

15. L - ele • Lápiz • Laboratorio • Libro

16. LL - elle • LL makes a Y sound, or depending on one’s accent is can even sound like a “Juh” or a “Shuh” • Llamar • Silla • Pollo

17. M - eme • Mercado • Matrimonio • Mano

18. N - ene • Nuevo • Natalia • Nadar

19. Ñ - eñe • Ñ makes the sound you will recognize from piñata. Words in English that sound this way are “onion” and “canyon” • Español • Mañana • Año

20. O - o • Ojo • Pulpo • Ocatvio

21. P - pe • Página • Policía • Pato

22. Q - qu • ¿Qué? • Queso • Don Quixote

23. R - ere • You will roll your R if the word begins with this letter. Otherwise, you make the sound by just a quick press of your tongue against the gums slightly above the back of your front teeth. • Raúl • Pero • Para

24. RR - erre • Also known as doble ere; however, it is not technically a letter. You roll the double R. • Carro • Perro • Correr

25. S - ese • Sí • Espectacular • Especial

26. T - te • Tigre • Tío • Toronja

27. U - u • Uruguay • Mundo • EstadosUnidos

28. V - ve • As you know, B and V make extremely similar sounds. V is known as “v chica” or “v comovaca” • Vivir • Veinte • Volumen

29. W – doble u/v • Like K, this is another borrowed letter. It works just like the English W. • Washington • Windsurfista • Waterpolista

30. X - equis • Equis makes a “k-s” sound • Examen • Excelente • Experiencia

31. Y – igriega • Y makes our usual Y sound, just the the LL. Also, like the double L, is may sound like a “juh” or a “shuh” depending on one’s accent. • Playa • Yo • Yema

32. Z - zeta • Z makes an S sound. Not a ZZZZZ! • Feroz • Zapatos • Zorro

33. Videos • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu54D15-21Q • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhYKuKA0qLo