Spanish Pronunciation

The vowel sounds in Spanish are different from those in English. “A” has the “ah” sound like in “pop.” “E” is similar to the sound in the English word “met” “i” is similar to the sound in the English word “see” “O” is very similar to the vowel sound in “boat” but is very short. “U” is similar to the vowel sound in “zoo” Vowel sounds -In Spanish, each vowel has just one sound. -Spanish vowels are also quicker and shorter than those in English

Consonants in Spanish: The letter C When the letter “c” comes before “a, o, u” or another consonant, it is pronounced like the c in “cat.” When the letter “c” comes before an “e” or “i” it is pronounced like the “s” in “silly”

The letter G The letter “g” sounds like the “g” in “go” when it is followed by “a, o, u” although it often has a slightly softer sound than in English. The letter “g” sounds like the “h” in “hot” when it is followed by “e” or “i”

The letters H and J In Spanish, the letter “H” is NEVER pronounced! The letter “j” is pronounced like the letter “h” in “hat” but with more of a breathy sound. It is made far back in the mouth—almost in the throat.

The letters L and LL In Spanish, the letter “L” is pronounced much like the letter “L” in the word “leaf.” For most Spanish Speakers, the letter combination “LL” is similar to the sound of the letter “y” in “yes”

The letter Q and ñ The letter combination “Qu” does NOT sound like the “qu” in “quality” but like the “k” sound in “kite.” The “ñ” does NOT sound like the n in banana but has a “y” sound that follows the “n” sound. For example señor is pronounced (Senyor)

The letter D In Spanish, the pronunciation of the letter “d” is determined by its location in a word. When “d” is at the beginning of a word or when it comes after “L” or “n,” it sounds similar to the “d” in “dog” When “d” comes between vowels and after any consonant except “L” or “n,” it sounds similar to the “th” of “the.”

Practice words (vowel sounds) Andar, cantar, trabajar, hablar, nadar, pasar Tele, me, es, Elena, deportes Sí, escribir, patinar, lápiz, ti, mí Bolígrafo, gracioso, cómo, teléfono, tampoco, otoño Mucho, lunes, usted, octubre, estudioso, según

Practice consonant sounds Computadora, cantar, escuela, tampoco, cómo, tocar, correr, practicar, Carlos, veces, sociable, gracioso, gracias, hacer, once, doce, trece Gustavo, domingo, tengo, agosto, pregunta, luego, amigo, gato, inteligente, generoso, general, gimnasio, tecnología, biología

Hora, hablar, hasta, hola, hoy, hace, hacer, hotel Trabajar, dibujar, jugar, videojuegos, hoja, jueves, junio, julio Lechuga, lunes, pasteles, helado, almuerzo, sol, abril, difícil Llamo, silla, allí, llueve, cebolla, pollo, ella, mantequilla

Diccionario, doce, domingo, día, deportes, calendario, bandera, donde Cansado, ocupado, puedes, idea, sábado, partido, tarde, ensalada, atrevido Señor, señora, señorita, año, mañana, baño