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Spanish pronunciation. A guide http://tiny.cc/b7eju. Vowels. 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’. A = c a t, E = g e t, I = f i t, O = h o t, U = h oo p.
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Spanish pronunciation A guide http://tiny.cc/b7eju
Vowels 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’. • A = cat, • E = get, • I = fit, • O = hot, • U = hoop 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 free They 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 – xho garaje – ga – ra - xhay gente – xhen -tay
Consonants we find difficult: ñ (ny) The tilde on the top means there is an added ‘y’ sound Españaaño Español
Consonants we find difficult:LL The double l sounds like the y in ‘yes’ Me llamogallina
Consonants we find difficult: R and RR Practise rolling your ‘r’. The rr is longer and stronger than the r pero perro caro carro
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. vivo vino veinte barato
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.
Useful places to find additional pronunciation practice: 1) Youtube tutoring: • http://tiny.cc/a0phu • http://tiny.cc/gm7epwx6b8 (see a Spanish boy learn his RR!) • http://tiny.cc/4szpu2 • http://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