Letra y sonidoLetra y sonido

Español IEspañol I

Señor GarcíaSeñor García

Spanish vowels - vocalesSpanish vowels - vocales• The Spanish vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are The Spanish vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are

pronounced clearly and distinctly.pronounced clearly and distinctly.• ““a” – as in fa” – as in faather, but with the tongue ther, but with the tongue

closer to the front of the mouth (Ana, closer to the front of the mouth (Ana, amiga, tarea)amiga, tarea)

• ““e” – as in the” – as in theyey, but without the “y” , but without the “y” sound (este, eres, noche, excelente)sound (este, eres, noche, excelente)

• ““i” – as in machi” – as in machiine, but much shorter ne, but much shorter (isla, día, íntimo)(isla, día, íntimo)

• ““o” – as in lo” – as in loow, but without the “w” w, but without the “w” sound (hola, moto, dónde, color)sound (hola, moto, dónde, color)

• ““u” – as in ru” – as in ruule (fruta, uno, fútbol, le (fruta, uno, fútbol, música)música)

Trabelenguas – tongue Trabelenguas – tongue twisterstwisters

• ¡A, e, i, o, u! ¡A, e, i, o, u! •Arbolito del PerúArbolito del Perú• ¿Cómo te llamas tú?¿Cómo te llamas tú?

Letter “D”Letter “D”

• The letter “d” in Spanish represents The letter “d” in Spanish represents two possible pronounciationstwo possible pronounciations

• At the beginning of a phrase or At the beginning of a phrase or after an “l” or “n” it sounds like the after an “l” or “n” it sounds like the “d” in the English word “did” “d” in the English word “did” except with the tip of the tongue except with the tip of the tongue closer to the back of the teeth.closer to the back of the teeth.

• Dinero, diez, diccionario, dar, Dinero, diez, diccionario, dar, andar, faldaandar, falda

““D” part 2D” part 2

• Anywhere else in the word or Anywhere else in the word or phrase (especially between phrase (especially between vowels) its pronounciation is vowels) its pronounciation is softened and is similar to the softened and is similar to the “th” in the English word “they”.“th” in the English word “they”.

• Modo, cada, estudiar, verdad, Modo, cada, estudiar, verdad, calculadoracalculadora

Letter “H, J, G”Letter “H, J, G”• ““H” is always silent (hora, hijo, H” is always silent (hora, hijo,

hospital)hospital)• ““J” represents a sound that has no J” represents a sound that has no

equivalent in English. It’s pronounced equivalent in English. It’s pronounced like the “h” in the English word like the “h” in the English word “house” but much stronger & with the “house” but much stronger & with the back of the tongue near the soft palate back of the tongue near the soft palate (jugar, jefe, joven, caja, juego)(jugar, jefe, joven, caja, juego)

• ““G” before the vowels “e” & “i” has the G” before the vowels “e” & “i” has the same sound as the letter “j” as the same sound as the letter “j” as the previous examples (gente, general, previous examples (gente, general, corregir)corregir)

““G” cont’dG” cont’d

• Before the vowels “a, o, u” the letter Before the vowels “a, o, u” the letter is pronounced like the g in the is pronounced like the g in the English word “go.”(tengo, gusto, English word “go.”(tengo, gusto, mango) mango)

Between vowels this sound is much Between vowels this sound is much softer (haga, agua, mucho gusto)softer (haga, agua, mucho gusto)

It is pronounced hard like the “g” in It is pronounced hard like the “g” in the word “get” when it’s followed by the word “get” when it’s followed by “ue” or “ui” (guerra, llegué, guitarra)“ue” or “ui” (guerra, llegué, guitarra)

Letters “B, V”Letters “B, V”

• These letters in Spanish represent the These letters in Spanish represent the same sound. That single sound has two same sound. That single sound has two possible variations.possible variations.

• At the beginning of a phrase or after an At the beginning of a phrase or after an “m” or an “n” these letters sound like the “m” or an “n” these letters sound like the “b” in the English word “bean” “b” in the English word “bean” (biblioteca, bailar, viernes, invierno)(biblioteca, bailar, viernes, invierno)

• Between vowels & after other consonants Between vowels & after other consonants their pronounciation is softened with the their pronounciation is softened with the lower lip slightly forward and not resting lower lip slightly forward and not resting against the upper teeth ( lobo, uva, Cuba)against the upper teeth ( lobo, uva, Cuba)

AccentsAccents• One purpose is to tell you which syllable to One purpose is to tell you which syllable to

stressstress• Words ending in a vowel, n, or s, are Words ending in a vowel, n, or s, are

stressed on the next to the last syllable stressed on the next to the last syllable (examen, hablan, discos, toma, quiero)(examen, hablan, discos, toma, quiero)

• Words ending in any consonant besides Words ending in any consonant besides “n” or “s” are stressed on the last syllable “n” or “s” are stressed on the last syllable (animal, feliz, Madrid, hablar)(animal, feliz, Madrid, hablar)

• Exceptions to rules 1 & 2 get an accent Exceptions to rules 1 & 2 get an accent mark over the syllable to be stressed mark over the syllable to be stressed (semáforo, lápices, rápido, lámpara)(semáforo, lápices, rápido, lámpara)

• Some words have an accent mark to tell Some words have an accent mark to tell them apart from a similar wordthem apart from a similar word

• mi versus mí (my, me) tu versus tú (your, mi versus mí (my, me) tu versus tú (your, you) you)

si versus sí (if, yes)si versus sí (if, yes)

Letter “R”Letter “R”

• The “r” in Spanish does not sound like The “r” in Spanish does not sound like the r in English. English does have a the r in English. English does have a sound that is similar, however. It’s sound that is similar, however. It’s the sound made by quickly touching the sound made by quickly touching the tip of the tongue to the ridge the tip of the tongue to the ridge behind the upper teeth, as in butter, behind the upper teeth, as in butter, batter, ladderbatter, ladder

• At the beginning of a word or after an At the beginning of a word or after an “n” or “l” the single “r” has a trilled “n” or “l” the single “r” has a trilled or rolled sound. It is also trilled at or rolled sound. It is also trilled at the end of a word the end of a word

• The double “r” in Spanish always has The double “r” in Spanish always has a trilled or rolled sounda trilled or rolled sound

Example of “R”Example of “R”

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phohttp://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#netics/#

Click on Spanish, vibrantes, video Click on Spanish, vibrantes, video will pop up and you can see and will pop up and you can see and

practice along with itpractice along with it

Letters “ll” “y”Letters “ll” “y”• Usually pronounced alike. Their Usually pronounced alike. Their

pronunciation in many Spanish-pronunciation in many Spanish-speaking countries is similar to the speaking countries is similar to the “y” in the English word “yes”. (yo, “y” in the English word “yes”. (yo, yerno, yema, llamo, llora, yerno, yema, llamo, llora, maquillaje)maquillaje)

• The single “l” in Spanish is The single “l” in Spanish is pronounced like the “l” in the pronounced like the “l” in the English word “live”. Keep the tip of English word “live”. Keep the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth the tongue behind the upper teeth when pronouncing “l” (lavarse, when pronouncing “l” (lavarse, levantarse, lo siento)levantarse, lo siento)

Letter “C”Letter “C”• The letter “c” before the vowels “e” The letter “c” before the vowels “e”

and “i” is pronounced like “s” as in and “i” is pronounced like “s” as in ‘centro’ & ‘cielo’.‘centro’ & ‘cielo’.

• Before the vowels “a, o, u” it is Before the vowels “a, o, u” it is pronounced like “k” in the English pronounced like “k” in the English word ‘kitchen’. (carne, rico, cuchara)word ‘kitchen’. (carne, rico, cuchara)

• To spell the “k” sound of the word To spell the “k” sound of the word ‘kitchen’ before the vowels “e & i” us ‘kitchen’ before the vowels “e & i” us the letters “qu” (que, saque, quien, the letters “qu” (que, saque, quien, queso)queso)

• This pattern is similar to the “g & j” This pattern is similar to the “g & j” sound alike.sound alike.

Letter “S, Z, C”Letter “S, Z, C”• The letter “S” in Spanish in pronounced The letter “S” in Spanish in pronounced

like the ‘s’ in the English word “pass.” like the ‘s’ in the English word “pass.” (camiseta, flores, gris, seda)(camiseta, flores, gris, seda)

• In Latin America, the letter “Z” is also In Latin America, the letter “Z” is also pronounced like the ‘s’ in the English pronounced like the ‘s’ in the English word “pass” (azul, zapatos, zanahoria) word “pass” (azul, zapatos, zanahoria) However, in Spain, the ‘z’ is pronounced However, in Spain, the ‘z’ is pronounced much like the “th” in the English world much like the “th” in the English world “think”“think”

• In Latin America, the letter ‘c’ before In Latin America, the letter ‘c’ before vowels “e & i” is also pronounced like an vowels “e & i” is also pronounced like an ‘s’ (dulces, calcetines, cinturón)‘s’ (dulces, calcetines, cinturón)

• In Spain, the letter ‘c’ before the vowels In Spain, the letter ‘c’ before the vowels “e & i” is also pronounced like the “th” “e & i” is also pronounced like the “th” in English.in English.

Letters “P, T”Letters “P, T”• In English we pronounce p, t, k (as in In English we pronounce p, t, k (as in

pin, tin, and kin) with a puff of air. pin, tin, and kin) with a puff of air. This puff does not happen in Spanish. This puff does not happen in Spanish. Practice saying these words without Practice saying these words without releasing that puff of air. (hotel, papa, releasing that puff of air. (hotel, papa, caminata)caminata)

• In addition the letter “t” in Spanish is In addition the letter “t” in Spanish is pronounced with the tongue against pronounced with the tongue against the upper teeth, not against the area the upper teeth, not against the area immediately above the teeth known as immediately above the teeth known as the alveolar ridge. (tienda, carta, the alveolar ridge. (tienda, carta, hasta, tanto)hasta, tanto)

Vowels cont’dVowels cont’d• In Spanish the vowels a, e, o are called In Spanish the vowels a, e, o are called

strong vowels and i, u are weak vowels. strong vowels and i, u are weak vowels. • Two strong vowels together are Two strong vowels together are

pronounced as separate syllables (peor, pronounced as separate syllables (peor, oeste, rodeo, correo)oeste, rodeo, correo)

• A strong vowel and a weak vowel or two A strong vowel and a weak vowel or two weak vowels combine into one syllable weak vowels combine into one syllable called a diphthong. When the weak called a diphthong. When the weak vowel comes first in this combination, vowel comes first in this combination, the “i” is pronounced like the “y” in yet the “i” is pronounced like the “y” in yet and the “u” is pronounced like the “w” and the “u” is pronounced like the “w” in wet. (familia, pie, ciudad, cuando, in wet. (familia, pie, ciudad, cuando, bueno, Europa, fui)bueno, Europa, fui)

• An accent mark over a weak vowel keeps An accent mark over a weak vowel keeps it from combining into one syllable with it from combining into one syllable with another vowel (tía, día, período)another vowel (tía, día, período)