8/10/2019 AL1103 Pronunciation and Accentuation http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/al1103-pronunciation-and-accentuation 1/13 Pronunciation and accentuation Dr. Eduardo Tasis
8/10/2019 AL1103 Pronunciation and Accentuation
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Pronunciation and accentuation
Dr. Eduardo Tasis
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Consonants:◦ and v have the same sound:
Balón, varón, vela, beso.
◦ :
Before a, o and u is a hard sound (as in ´car`): Casa, cocodrilo, cuerno.
Before e and i is a soft sound: cerilla, cigarro.
In most of Spain is like the English “Th” in “Thing”
In Canary Ilands, part of Andalucia and Latinamerica it
sounds as “s”
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◦ g
:
Beforea
,o
andu
is a hard sound (as in “go”):
Gato, gusano, gorro.
Beforee
or i is a sound made in the throat, like “ch” in
Scottish “loch”: Gente, giro, gitano.
gu
a
is pronounced like “gw” in “Gwen”: Guante
gu
e, i
is pronounced like “go”. Guerra, Guisante
If a dieresis is placed over theü
the sound is “gw” as in
“Gwen”. Vergüenza
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◦ h is always silent: Huella, herrero, herida, huérfano.
◦
j is the “ch” of the Scottish “Loch”: Jeringuilla, jarrón.
◦ ll is pronounced like “ll” in “pillon”: Llave, lluvia.
◦ ~n is pronounced like “gn” in “Gnochi”. baño, niño.
◦qu sounds like “K” in “Kilometer”. Queso
◦ r,rr
r at the beginning of the word and rr inside the word soundslike the “r” in “race”. Ratón, raqueta, rueda.
r inside the word is softer. araña, caravana.
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◦x is pronounced as “ks”. Extra
◦ Y
is pronounced like ll when it works as a consonant andi, when it works as a vowel: Ya [lla], y (meaning “and”)
◦ z follows the same pattern as c+e,i: zapato, azucar.
◦ The remaining consonants are pronounced like inEnglish: d, f, l, m, n, p, s, t.
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Vowels: always the same pronunciation.◦ a like “a “ in “rather”:
Animal, Alfredo, anarquía.
◦ e like “a” in “say”:
Elefante, Eduardo, melena.◦ i like “ee” in “bee”:
Iglesia, Miguel.
◦ o like o in “lost”.
Oscar, coche, mono.
◦ u like oo in “wood”.
Uso, muela.
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Bate vuelo coche cena éxito
gente guapo guitarra hola jamón
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Llave año queso rojo cuarto
zorro
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In Spanish the stress is on the penultimatesyllable if the word ends in a vowel, n or s,and in the last syllable if the word ends in aconsonant other than n or s:◦ Casa, coche, chicas, ciudad, hotel, mantel.
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Exceptions are marked with a written accent:◦ If the word ends in a vowel, n or s and the stress is
on the last syllable:
Camión, estrés, revés, champú, habló.
◦ If the word ends in consonant other than n or s andthe stress is on the penultimate syllable:
Lápiz, árbol.
◦ If the stress is on a syllable before the penultimate
one: Esdrú jula, mágico.
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Gato lapiz camion papel
Azul pajaro
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The written accent is not used on words with onlyone syllable:◦ Ya, no, e…
◦ Except to distinguish meaning:
el (the) él (he) Mas (but) más (more)
Mi (my) mí (me)
Se (her/his/their self) sé (I know) imperative of ser
Si (if) sí (yes, oneself)
Solo (alone) sólo (only) Te (you object) té (tea)
Tu (your) tú (you subject)
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Vowels (Diptongos e hiatos):◦ Strong: a, e, o
◦ Weak: i, u
Same syllable: Strong + weak, weak + strong, weak+weak: Biología, guapo, ruido, baile.
Different syllable: strong + strong: Maestro, feo, peor, roer.
But if we have a weak + a strong and they arepronounced in different syllables, then the weak has awritten accent on it and it is no longer weak butstrong: María, día, oído.
Dr. Eduardo Tasis