Spanish pronunciation

A GUIDEhttp://tiny.cc/b7eju

Spanish pronunciation

VowelsA = cat, E = get, I = fit, O = hot, U = hoop

In Spanish, the vowels always sound the same, unlike in English. So, whenever you see an ‘e’, it will always need to be pronounced like the e in ‘get’.

The red vowels are HARD.The blue vowels are SOFT. These make a difference when

following G or C, see later…

Consonants we find difficult: C

( K before a hard vowel : a, o, u)( TH before a soft vowel : e,i. The TH sounds like the end of teeth)

cinco – has both sounds. [THinKo]cero – the-ro

Consonants we find difficult: Z

Always pronounced ‘th’ like the last two letters of

teeth.lápiz – lap-eeth

It is important to pronounce the soft c and

z as th, not f. Practise pronouncing ‘thin’ and

‘fin’ correctly in English.

Consonants we find difficult: Z & soft C

It is important to pronounce the soft c and z as th, not f.

Practise pronouncing these English pairs:thin and fin

three and freeThey do not sound the same so make sure you don’t say them

the same! The th sound is important!

Consonants we find difficult: J & soft G

J and G (before a soft vowel : e,i)

These sound like a hard H sound in the back of your throat, like the ch in loch or the cc in leccy (Liverpool stylee!)

conejo – kon – E – xhogaraje – ga – ra - xhaygente – xhen -tay

Consonants we find difficult: ñ (ny)

The tilde on the top means there is an added ‘y’ sound

EspañaañoEspañol

Consonants we find difficult: LL

The double l sounds like the y in ‘yes’

Me llamogallina

Consonants we find difficult:

R and RRPractise rolling your ‘r’. The rr is longer and stronger than the r

peroperrocarocarro

Consonants we find difficult: V & B

These two sound fairly similar (and in some regions identical). Neither are as strong as in English. Try making a softer sound.

vivovinoveintebarato

Stress

Spanish words are generally stressed on the last syllable: comer, hotel, individual, español

If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress is on the penultimate syllable: perro, España

Where this isn’t the case, a stressmark tells us where the stress should be pronounced:habitación, lápiz, comí.

ejercicio eh xhair thee thee ohjovenes xho ven ess

deberían deb air ee anazucar ath oo carcuerpo coo air po

aconsejable ack on se xhab layidea ee day ah

finalmente fee nal ment ayveinte bvayn tayjuicio xhoo eeth ee oh

contiene con tee enn aypulmones pool mon esschocolate choc oh lah tay

desafío dess aff ee oh

Practise pronouncing these Spanish words:

ejercicio jovenes

deberíanazucarcuerpo

aconsejableidea

finalmenteveintejuicio

contienepulmoneschocolate

desafío

Practise pronouncing these Spanish words:

suelen soo ell encomida com ee da

beneficioso ben ef eeth ee oh sojugar xhoo garjuego xhoo ay go

generación xhen air ath ee onverduras bvair door ass

entero en tair ohzumo thoo mo

demasiado dem ass ee ah donocivo noth ee voh

naranja nar an xha

Practise pronouncing these Spanish words:

suelencomida

beneficiosojugarjuego

generaciónverduras

enterozumo

demasiadonocivo

naranja

Practise pronouncing these Spanish words:

Useful places to find additional pronunciation practice:

1) Youtube tutoring:http://tiny.cc/a0phuhttp://tiny.cc/gm7epwx6b8 (see a Spanish boy learn

his RR!)http://tiny.cc/4szpu2http://tiny.cc/rpr6w Songs help you to pronounce as well! Search

youtube for ‘canción+ letra’ (song + lyrics) and you’ll have plenty to choose from, eg:

http://tiny.cc/9yu30 (PLENARY) http://tiny.cc/6df9w (the song starts after 15 seconds) http://tiny.cc/iiqx8 http://tiny.cc/l4a4w http://tiny.cc/yiljm

Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation