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Chapter 2: Structure of Spanish

Chapter 2: Structure of Spanish. DewEtta Moss. What?. Phonetically, Spanish is an easier language to learn than English because there are 22 phonemes and 29 letters that form them. Vowel sounds are consistent. Examples: a -- /a/ -- short o sound in father and spa .

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Chapter 2: Structure of Spanish

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  1. Chapter 2: Structure of Spanish DewEtta Moss

  2. What? • Phonetically, Spanish is an easier language to learn than English because there are 22 phonemes and 29 letters that form them. • Vowel sounds are consistent. Examples: a -- /a/ -- short o sound in father and spa. o -- /o/ -- long o sound in no and old. • Consonant phonemes are a little more challenging because a few of them have more than one sound. Examples: c -- /k/ -- before a, o, and u, such as, cama and cosa. -- /s/ -- such as, cena and cita.

  3. What? • Spanish phonics instruction can improve Spanish-speaking students’ English reading abilities. • Suggested guidelines for this instruction include teaching vowels first, then consonants, and progressing to digraphs, blends, and vowel combinations. • The final two steps are combining consonants with vowels to help student to decode Spanish words and staggering the “consonant sounds to vary the type of articulation: • Bilabial (/p/, /b/, /m/) • Labiodental (/f/) • Dental (/t/, /d/) • Alveolar (/s/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /rr/) • Palatal (/ch/, /ñ/, /y/) • Velar (/k/, /x/, /g/)” (pp. 56-57)

  4. What? • The printed Spanish language can be divided easily into syllables. • Rules to follow when dividing words are: • Syllables should end in a vowel. • Digraphs ch, ll, rr, are never separated. • Prepositional prefixes are separate syllables, unless followed by s + consonant: con-sul-tar vs. cons-tan-te. • Vowels forming a diphthong or triphthong are not separated unless they are divided by an accent mark: llu-via vs. dí-a. • Letters l and r are not separated from the preceding consonant unless it is part of a prefix: a-bra-zo vs. sub-ra-yar. • Consonants standing between vowels are separated: pron-to.

  5. What? • On pp. 60-61 is a chart showing differences between English and Spanish orthography and phonology. Understanding these differences can give a teacher the tools needed to help an ELL student who may be applying Spanish language rules to reading English and becoming confused. • Some of the phonics rules are similar: • /b/ spelled b, • /m/ spelled m, • h is a silent letter. • However, there are several English phonetic elements that can not transfer from Spanish. Examples include: • all short vowel and schwa sounds • long vowels with silent e • /v/ spelled v (in Spanish v has the /b/ sound)

  6. What? • There are a number of English/Spanish cognates (words in two languages that share a similar spelling, pronunciation, and meaning) which will facilitate an ELL student’s mastery of the English language. Examples include: • banjo/banjo • artist/artista • interesting/interesante • However, there are a few false cognates which do not have the same meaning, such as: • papa/papa (potato) • pan/pan (bread) • fabric/fàbrica (factory) • red/red (net)

  7. Conclusion • Having recognized that specific vowels, consonants, blends make specific sounds in Spanish will help an ELL student to understand English phonics. • A teacher who understands the similarities and differences between Spanish and English phonetics will be better equipped to guide an ELL student to improve his or her reading strategies.

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