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Spanish/Pronunciation
Pronouncing Spanish based on the written word is much simpler than pronouncing English based on
written English. This is because, with few exceptions, each letter in the Spanish alphabet represents a
single sound, and even when there are several possible sounds, simple rules tell us which is the correct
one. In contrast, many letters and letter combinations in English represent multiple sounds (such as the
ou and gh in words like cough, rough, through, though, plough, etc.).
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013
Letter
Name of
the letter
Aa
Bb
b
be, be
larga, be
alta
Cc
ce
Ch ch che
Dd
IPA
a
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/s
Like ch in church.
de
Ee
Ff
efe
Like f in four.
Like g in get.
Gg
ge
Hh
hache
Ii
Jj
jota
Like the ch in loch, although in many dialects it may sound like English
h.
Kk
ka
Like the k in ask. Only used in words of foreign origin - Spanish prefers
c and qu (see above and below, respectively).
Does not have an exact English equivalent. It is similar to the English "l"
in line, but shorter, or "clipped." Instead of the tongue touching the roof
of the mouth behind the teeth, it should touch the tip of the teeth
themselves.
Ll
ele
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013
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Ll ll
doble ele,
/
elle
Mm
eme
Like m in more.
Nn
ene
ee
/nj/]] (ny) + vowel, as in canyon, where the y is very short. For example,
when pronouncing "aos", think of it as "anyos", or an-yos. To practice,
repeat the onomatopoeia of chewing: "am, am, am".
Oo
Pp
pe
Like p in port.
This has two pronunciations, neither of which exist in English. The 'soft'
pronunciation [] sounds like American relaxed pronunciation of tt in
"butter", and is written r (always written r).
Rr
cu
ere, erre
Ss
ese
Tt
te
Does not have an exact English equivalent. Like to the t in ten, but
instead of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth behind the teeth, it
should touch the teeth themselves.
Uu
u
u
Vv
uve, ve,
ve corta, b,
ve baja
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013
Ww
Xx
Yy
Zz
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uve
Used only in words of foreign origin (Spanish prefers u). Pronunciation
doble,
b, , w varies from word to word: watt is pronounced like bat or huat, but kiwi
doble ve,
is always pronounced like quihui.
doble u
ks
Note that x used to represent the sound of sh, which then evolved into
the sound now written with j. A few words have retained the old
spelling, but have modern pronunciation /x/. Most notably, Mxico and
its derivatives are pronounced like Mjico.
, s
Always the same sound as a soft c i.e. either // (most of Spain) or /s/
(elsewhere). See c for details.
equis
i griega,
ye
zeta,
ceda
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013
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http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013
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The diaeresis ( )
In the clusters gue and gui, the u is not pronounced; it serves simply to give the g a hard-g sound, like in
the English word gut (gue [ge]; gui [gi]).
However, if the u has a the diaeresis mark (), it is pronounced like an English w (ge [gwe]; gi
[gwi]). This mark is rather rare.
Examples:
pedigeo = beggar
agis (2nd person plural, present subjunctive of the verb aguar). Here, the diaeresis preserves the
u (or [w]) sound in all the verb tenses of aguar.
argir (to deduce)
pingino = penguin
Aprovchalo!
Learn the Spanish language
Contents Introduction
Lesson one Lesson two Lesson three
Lesson four Lesson five Lesson six
Lesson seven Lesson eight Lesson nine
Pronunciation Contributors
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Pronunciation
8/13/2013