SPANISH PRONUNCIATION 101 (La Pronunciación)

Did you know… That all of the sounds in Spanish are sounds you are already know? It’s true! General American English has about 41 different phonemes (or different clusters of letters that together make one sound) whereas Spanish only has 24. This means that you’ll only need about half of the sounds you probably already know to begin speaking a foreign language.

¡Comencemos! (Let’s begin)

Las Vocales A (ah)

Las Vocales E (eh)

Las Vocales I (ee)

O Las Vocales (just “o”) Why not (Oh)? Notice that, when pronounced, the English O ends with a slight “W” sound. “Oh-wuh” The Spanish O does not end in a “W” sound. (just “o”)

Las Vocales U (oo)

i e a o u a e i o u

ai ao ae au ea ei eo eu ia ie io iu oa oe oi ou ua ue ui uo a e i o u

TONGUE TWISTER #1 Ese oso se asea. Se asea ese oso.

Ñ N (eh - nyeh) (eh - neh)

a e i o u el niño la niña na ne ni no nu ña ñe ñi ño ñu ni - ño

nene nena ne na no ni nu Una nena. u - no, u - na, u - na ne - na

M (eh - meh)

a e i o u ma me mi mo mu la mano el mono ma - no mo - no

ma no, mo na, mo no, mo ño, mo ña, ma ña mi mu me ma no, mo na, mo no, mo ño, mo ña, ma ña mama, mamá, mimo, mimó Mi mamá me ama. Me ama mi mamá. Mi mamá me mima. Me mima mi mamá. Mi niño menea una mano. Menea una mano mi niño.

D (deh)

a e i o u da de di do du el dedo la dona de - do do - na

El niño nada. La niña nada.

L Ll =Y (el - leh) (eh - yeh) Ll is treated as a letter of its own in the Spanish alphabet. L Ll =Y The Ll and the Y are used interchangeably depending on the word. (el - leh) (eh - yeh)

a e i o u la leña la lluvia la le li lo lu lla lle lli llo llu le - ña

G (heh)

The “G” Rule For example . . . Not all G’s in Spanish are pronounced the same. Depending on what vowel precedes it, the G may either be pronounced like the hard G in the word get, or like the H in the word hen. If G comes before A, O, or U, it is pronounced with a hard G. If G comes before E or I, it is pronounced like an H. For example . . .

a e i o u el gato la gitana ga ge gi go gu REMEMBER: ¡Ole! REMEMBER: The G before A, O, and U is hard as in get. The G before E or I is pronounced “H” as in hen. el gato la gitana ga - to gi - ta - na

C (seh)

The “C” Rule For example . . . Similar to the G’s, C’s are also pronounced differently when coupled with an E or an I. For example: the C before an A, O, or U is pronounced like the “hard C” in can. the C before an E or I is pronounced like the “soft C” in cent. For example . . .

a e i o u ca ce ci co cu la calle el cielo ca - lle ci - e - lo

Ch Ch is treated as a letter of its own in the Spanish alphabet, as well as in many other alphabets. It is pronounced as the “Ch” in chair. (che)

a e i o u la leche la lechuga cha che chi cho chu le - che

Next is the letter R First, try pronouncing the letter “R” as you usually do. Notice how only the sides of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth. Try it! When pronouncing the Spanish R, the tip of your tongue should also touch the roof of your mouth. Doing so will make your R’s sound “swishy.”

The Trill: RR Now, with the tip your tongue lightly touching the roof of your mouth, exhale strongly. Doing so will cause a vibration between the tip of your tongue and the roof of your mouth. Try it! You have successfully trilled the R!

R (eh - reh) NOT (air - rey)! Notice the difference! Remember, it’s important to pronounce the Spanish R as accurately as possible. Practice, practice, practice! (eh - reh) NOT (air - rey)!

a e i o u ra re ri ro ru la rosa el charro ro - sa cha - rro

TONGUE TWISTER #2 R con R cigarra. R con R barril. Corren rápido los carros cargados de azúcar del ferrocaril.

J (hoh - tah) This letter is pronounced (hoh - tah). When grouped with other letters, it is pronounced like the “H” in hen. (Recall that ge and gi are also pronounced like the “H” in hen) (hoh - tah)

a e i o u el jamón el jugo de naranja ja je ji jo ju ja - món

H As indicated, the name of this letter is pronounced (ah - cheh). However, this letter makes no sound when grouped with letters other than C. That’s right: the Spanish H on its own is completely silent! (ah - cheh)

a e i o u el helado Honduras ha he hi ho hu he - la - do

Ahora, el resúmen. ¿Están listos? el cerillo el jarrón el gaucho

las almohadas la democracia el coche los girasoles