Download
1 / 14
E N D
¡Pronunciaressencillo! Perhaps the most important component in learning a second language is being able to read that language effectively. Follow these steps and you should have no problem reading new Spanish words thereafter. Spanish is a very easy language to decode (you are lucky you already know how to read English, which is a very difficult language to decode).
The vowels only make one sound each: A, E, I, O, U (Y= I when it is a vowel) “H” doesn’t make any sound other than the vowel that it accompanies. • 2. Know how to pronounce dipthongs. • “a, e, o” are open (strong) and they are given the stress in pronunciation. • “i, u” are closed (weak) and are less pronounced when accompanied by open vowels. • dipthong = strong/weak vowel+ weak vowel • since “w” is not native to Spanish if it were added to a vowel it would act just like the dipthongs that begin with “u”.
3. Consonant –vowel/dipthong combinations (or strong vowels alone) =1 syllable. For the following combinations simply add the consonant sound to the vowel sound: • These consonants are pronounced the same so their combinations sound the same (but in Argentina the “ll” is pronounced like the 2nd “g” in “garage”):
The following are three sets of combinations that are similar in the following ways: Examples of “qu” and “gu” variations that are spelled differently in order to indicate the hard /k/ and /g/ sounds:
Choose which form correctly separates the following words from the first column into syllables. The first one is done as an example. en/fer/me/ra enf/erm/era e/nferm/e/ra méd/i/co mé/dico mé/di/co con/ta/gio/so con/tagio/so conta/gioso ju/n/tos jun/tos ju/nt/os ans/io/samien/te an/sio/sa/men/te ansio/sa/mente a/tra/pa/rí/as atra/parí/as atrap/arías
4. Finally, know on which syllable to put the stress. • I. Natural stress in words, without a written accent, ending in a vowel, “n”, or “s” falls on the second-to-last syllable. Sections II and III onnext 2 pages… (audio iscontinuous)
II. Natural stress in words, without a written accent, ending in a consonant (not n or s) falls on the last syllable.
III. Otherwise, if the accent is written for you, then you automatically know where to put the stress.
NOTE! Interogativesalwayshave a writtenaccentmarkoverthenaturallystressedvowel so todistinguishthemfrom… …theconjunctions, prepositions, and pronounthatwouldotherwisebespelledthesame.
NOTE! There are a variety of short wordsthat (1-2 syllables) thathavecompletelydifferentmeaningbasedonwhetherthey are writtenwithorwithout a writtenaccent. Here are someexamples… • “está” isthe 3rd person singular of theverb “ESTAR” conjugated in thepresentindicative • “té” is “tea” • “tú” isthe informal pronounmeaning “you” • “sólo” means “just” or “only” • “mí” isthe personal pronounfor “me” • “esta” is a femininedemonstrativeadjectivethatmeans “this” • “te” isthe personal pronounmeaning “you” • “tu” istheposessiveadjectivefor “your” • “solo” means “alone” • “mi” istheposessiveadjectivefor “my”
Printablesummary of howtopronouncewords in Spanish: • Know what sound each letter makes. • Vowels only have one sound each. • The “c” and “g” vary depending on the the vowel that follows (just like in English) • Know how to pronounce dipthongs. • “a, e, o” are open (strong) vowels. • “i, u” are closed (weak) vowels. • A dipthong = strong vowel + a weak vowel (ai, ia, ei, ie, oi, io, au, ua, eu, ue, ou, uo) • Or a weak vowel + a weak vowel (iu, ui) • When “i” and “u” are given a written accent they are separated from any dipthongs and can stand alone like a strong vowel. • 1 syllable = • Consonant-vowel combination (preferred form) • Consonant-dipthong combination (also preferable) • Also may be a consonant+vowel/dipthong+consonant • Or a strong vowel alone (usually when a word starts with that vowel or the word ends with more than one strong vowel) • Each syllable is pronounced, but you must know where to put the stress. • The natural stress for words, without a written accent, ending in a vowel, “n” or “s” falls on the second-to-last syllable. • The natural stress for words, without a written accent, ending in a consonant (not “n” or “s”) falls on the last syllable. • If the accent is written, then you automatically know where to put the stress.
