POWERPOINT OVERVIEW EL ALFABETO

A The Spanish letter a is pronounced like the a in the English word father. However, it is shorter and sharper. A AGUA

B The Spanish letter b is pronounced like the English word bay. However, the lips are held slightly more tensely in the Spanish b than the English b, and the “y” sound of bay is not drawn out. B BORRAR

C The Spanish letter c is pronounced like the English word say. When c comes before an e or i, it is pronounced with an s sound. All other times it is pronounced like the c in car. *In Spain, when c comes before an e or i, it is pronounced like the English th sound. C CASA CESTA CINCO

D The Spanish letter d is pronounced like the English word day. When d is at the beginning of the word, it sounds like the d in dog, except a bit lighter. To make it lighter, instead of putting the tongue on the roof, put it on the back of the top teeth, where the teeth and gums meet. When d is between vowels or at the end of a word or phrase, it is even lighter. The tongue comes out between the top and bottom teeth, much like the th sound in English. D DEDO VALLADOLID

E The Spanish letter e is pronounced like the e sound in the English word pet and egg. However, it is shorter and sharper. E ELEFANTE

F The Spanish letter f is pronounced effe. In words it sounds exactly like the English f in first. F FEO

G The Spanish letter g is pronounced like the English word hey. In words, when g comes before e or i, it is pronounced like the English h in the word have. All other times it is pronounced like g in the word gate, although slightly softer. G GENTE GIGANTE GATO

H The Spanish letter h is pronounced a-che. However, in words, it is always silent! It is like the h in the English word hour and honest. H HOSPITAL HORA

I The Spanish letter i is pronounced like the English letter e. In words, it is like the “ee” in sheep. It is short and crisp, not carried out like in English. I IDEA IGLESIA

J The Spanish letter j is pronounced hota. In words, it is pronounced like the English h in have, but it is harsher. J JOVEN JUGAR

K The Spanish letter k is pronounce kah (rhymes with blah). In words, it is pronounced like the English k, but without blowing any air afterwards. K KILO

L The Spanish l is pronounce ele. In words, it is pronounced very similar to the English l, although the tongue is held higher, above the back of the teeth. L LÁPIZ LAGUNA

LL The ll sound is no longer its own letter, but it has a unique sound. The sound is like the y in yellow and yes. LL LLAMO

M The Spanish letter m is pronounce eme. In words it sounds like the English m. M MANO

N The Spanish letter n is pronounced ene. In words it sounds like the English n. N NO

ῆ The Spanish letter ñ is pronounced eh-nyeh. In words it sounds like the ny sound in the English word canyon. However, it is a bit stronger in Spanish. ῆ Niῆo Maῆana

O The Spanish letter o is pronounced like the English o in the word open. However, it is shorter and sharper. O OSO

P The Spanish letter p is pronounced pe. In words it is pronounced like the p in the English word pork. P PIZARRA

Q The Spanish letter q is pronounced ku. In words it is pronounced like the English k sound in kite. Q PEQUEῆO QUE

R  The Spanish letter r is pronounced ere. In words it has two different sounds. If it is the first letter of a word, it is rolled like the rr, which you will see is the next letter. When it is located inside a word, it sounds a lot like the English letter d. R ROJO PARA

rr The Spanish letter rr is pronounced erre. In words it pronounced by rolling your tongue. *The rr is only in the middle of words. rr PERRO ARRIBA

S The Spanish letter s is pronounced ese. In words it is pronounced like the English s sound in say. S SANDIA SOL

T The Spanish letter t is pronounced tay. In words it is like the t in tie, but the tongue should touch the teeth instead of the roof of the mouth. This creates a softer sound than the English t. T TORO TOCAR

U The Spanish letter u is pronounced oo. In words, it is pronounced like the vowel sound in moon, except it is shorter and sharper. When u comes before another vowel, it is pronounced like the w in twice. U UVA BUENO

V The Spanish letter v is called uve, ve corta, or ve baja, depending on the country where it is spoken. In words it is pronounced like the Spanish b sound, which is similar to the English b sound but with more tense lips. V VERBO VIEJO

W The Spanish letter w is called uve doble, doble ve, doble v, or doble u, depending on the country where it is spoken. It is not a common letter in Spanish; it is only seen in words borrowed from another language. It is pronounced similarly to the English w, although sometimes it is pronounced as a gw sound. W WAFLERA

X EXAMEN MÉXICO XELA XILÓFONO The Spanish letter x is pronounced equis. In words, it has four different sounds. First, it can sound like the ks in the word walks, such as in the word extra. Second, it can sound like the English letter h such as in the word México. Third, it can be pronounced like the English ch sound and is usually used in specific proper nouns like Xela. Finally, it can sound like the English z in words like xilófano.

Y The Spanish letter y has been pronounced i griega for many years. Recently it has also been called ye. In words it is generally pronounced like the English y in the word yet. However, its pronunciation can vary depending on the country where it is spoken, and it can sometimes sound like the j sound in jet. Y YOYO PLAYA

Z The Spanish letter z is pronounced zeta. In Spain it is pronounced in words as a th sound. In Latin America, it is pronounced like the s sound. Z ZAPATOS ZORRO