CHAPTER 13: Pronunciación

Stress in Spanish/Acento en Español

A stressed syllable is one that is pronounced with more energy than an unstressed one and hence is auditorily more prominent.

For example, in the word potato it is the second syllable which bears the stress and hence ‘stands out’ acoustically.

The phonetic symbol indicating stress is a small superscripted vertical line ‘ˈ’ placed immediately before the stress-bearing syllable, as in the examples below:

[ˈlaɾɣo] largo ‘long’[reˈlox] reloj ‘watch’[ˈinteɣɾo] íntegro ‘whole’ 1

1 Word stress in Spanish. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/stress.htm

The position of the stress in Spanish can play an important role in distinguishing between the different grammatical functions of otherwise identical sequences of sounds.

Consider, for example, the phonetic sequence [animo]. Stressing the first syllable, as in [ˈanimo], produces the noun ánimo ‘spirit/excitement’.

Stressing the second syllable, [aˈnimo], produces the 1st person singular present indicative form of the verb animar ‘encourage’.

And stressing the final syllable, as in [aniˈmo], delivers the 3rd person singular preterite form of the same verb (written as animó). 2

2 Word stress in Spanish. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/stress.htm

Stress in Spanish/Acento en Español

Stress in Spanish/Acento en Español

There are four main categories of words you come across when talking aboutSpanish Word stress:

palabras agudas, palabras graves palabras esdrújulas and palabras sobresdrújulas.

Let's take a closer look at each one.

Las Palabras AgudasLas palabras agudas are words that are stressed on the last syllable. listen and repeat the next examples:

Azul , avestruz, matador, estoy, inglés, colibrí, balcón, hablar

If a word ends in a consonant other than -s or -n and the word does not have a tilde anywhere, the word is a palabra aguda.

Las palabras agudas have a written accent, or tilde (’ ) on the final syllable to mark word stress if the last letter in the word is a vowel or the consonants -s or -n.

Las Palabras Graves/LlanasLas palabras graves, also called palabras llanas, are words that are stressed on the penultimate (second-to-last syllable). Listen and repeat the next examples:

ágil, cóctel, comida, árbol, álbum, bíceps, verde, dolar, naranja. Las palabras graves have a

written accent on the second-to-last syllable to mark word stress in words that end in any consonant other than -s or -n and in groups of consonants like -psand -cs.

Palabras EsdrújulasLas palabras esdrújulas are words that are stressed on the antepenultimate (third-to-last) syllable.

rápido, pájaro, América, clásico, teléfono, fantástico, imágenes, ídolo, pólvora

Acording to La Real Academia espanola, las plabras Esdrújulas siempre llevan tilde. 1

Las palabras sobresdrújulasLas palabras sobresdrújulas are words that are stressed on the fourth-to-last, fifth-to-last, or sixth-to-last syllable. Listen and repeat the next examples:

cómpramelo, préstaselo, enséñenoslo, devuélvemelo, llévatelo, pruébatelo, regálaselo.

Las Palabras AgudasLas palabras agudas are words that are stressed on the last syllable. listen and repeat the next examples:

Azul , avestruz, matador, estoy, inglés, colibrí, balcón, hablar

If a word ends in a consonant other than -s or -n and the word does not have a tilde anywhere, the word is a palabra aguda.

Las palabras agudas have a written accent, or tilde (’ ) on the final syllable to mark word stress if the last letter in the word is a vowel or the consonants -s or -n.

Hora de PracticarPalabras Agudas. Escucha y repite lo siguientes ejemplos:

Bebé, Perú , sofá , café , rubí , menú , marroquí , bebé, avión, amor, cantidad , papel , reloj , capaz , pared , estoy, avestruz , virtud , fatal , contador.

Hora de PracticarPalabras Graves/Llanas. Escucha y repite lo siguientes ejemplos:

árbol , cárcel , ángel , difícil , túnel, azúcar, lápiz, césped, fácil, útil, carácter, débil, problema, adulto, martes, zapato, volumen, pesca, amazonas, tasa, ,piso , corazones

Hora de PracticarPalabras esdrújulas . Escucha y repite lo siguientes ejemplos:

América, Bélgica, Sudáfrica, música, miércoles, sílaba , máquina , gramática, económico, pájaro, séptimo, cuídate, brújula, gótico, hígado, ejército, características, cállate, dámelo, fósforo, cáscara, cerámica , oxígeno, didáctico , válido.

Hora de PracticarPalabras sobresdrújulas. Escucha y repite lo siguientes ejemplos:

Cuéntamelo, devuélveselo, éticamente, fácilmente, explícaselo, rápidamente, juégatela, véndemelo, repíteselo, frívolamente, ágilmente, ábremelo, dígaselo, cálidamente, difícilmente, dibújamelo, dócilmente, gánatela.

Syllables and Syllabification Rules/ Silabas y Reglas de silabificacion.

Knowing how to separate a word into syllables can help you pronounce and spell Spanish words correctly, as well as help you decide if a word needs a written accent or not.

The sophisticated word for dividing a word into syllables is syllabification. Here are some general rules for Spanish syllabification.

Word/ palabra Syllabification/ Silabificacion

sábana sá-ba-na

vaso va-so

velita ve-li-ta

musica mu-si-ca

comida Co-mi-da

Invitalo In-vi-ta-lo

escoba es-co-ba

Rule # 1: Consonant Plus VowelWhenever possible, you should break up words so that each syllable contains a

consonant followed by a vowel. A consonant between two vowels belongs to the syllable with the second vowel. The goal is to end each syllable with a vowel. Listen and Repeat.

Rule # 2: Two Consecutive ConsonantsTwo consecutive consonants will generally belong to separate syllables. However,

if the second consonant is a r or l, the consonant pair is not separated into

different syllables. Listen and Repeat.

Word/ palabra Syllabification/ Silabificacion

deseschable de-se-cha-ble

alcanzar al-can-zar

abrazo A-bra-zo

llegar lle-gar

frecuente fre-cu-en-te

amarillo a-ma-ri-llo

hecho he-cho

Rule # 3: Three Consecutive ConsonantsWhen three consonants appear together, the first one will generally belong to a

separate syllable or consecutive consonants will generally belong to separate

syllables. Listen and Repeat.

Word/ palabra Syllabification/ Silabificacion

ingles in-gles

panfleto pan-fle-to

ombligo om-bli-go

constante cons-tan-te

instrumento Ins-tru-men-to

construcion cons-tru-ci-on

Rule # 4: Weak and strong vowelsSpanish has both strong vowels (a, e, o) and weak vowels (i, u). Here are some rules on how the

combinations of these vowels are divided into syllables.

Two weak vowels together form a diphthong and are not separated into different syllables.

Examples escucha y repite :

Fui, Ma-ria, poe-ta, cui-da-do, pau-sa

Rule # 4.1: Weak and strong vowels

A weak vowel and a strong vowel together form a diphthong and are not separated into different syllables. Example, Listen and Repeat:

Juan, co-me-dia, tie-rra, fue-go, re-si-duo, pia-no, A-sia, Po-lo-nia, hie-lo, qui-sie-ras, mie-do, vie-nto,no-vio, mi-llo-na-rio.

Rule # 4.2: Two strong vowels

Two strong vowels together form a hiatus and are separated into different syllables. Listen and Repeat

Le-o, to-a-lla, fe-o, ti-o, cre-er, ca-os , po-se-er.