La pronunciaci

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

• aiay like i in side
• baile hay
• au like ou in sound
• causa
• eiey 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 ones 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.