Pronunciation and Spelling of Spanish - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Pronunciation and Spelling of Spanish

ReviewSlide2

Spelling in Spanish vs. English

Spanish is very consistent in its spelling and pronunciation rules unlike English.

Spanish is a phonetic language, therefore the spelling is quite predictable and easier than in English. Slide3

Consonants

Consonants in Spanish are generally pronounced like they are in English, with some notable exceptions.

The following letters are pronounced in Spanish as they are in English:

f

,

k

(not used in words of Spanish origin),

l

,

m

,

n

,

p

,

s

,

w

(not used in words of Spanish origin),

xSlide4

B and V

The letters

b

and

v

sound the same in Spanish. The sound is a combination of

bv

: start by making the

b

sound, and slur into the

v

sound at the last second.

Native speakers tend to confuse

b

and

v

when spelling words.

Examples: vamos, vemos, besoSlide5

C

The pronunciation of the letter

c

is determined by the vowel that follows it.

The letter

c

is pronounced like a

k

when it is followed by an

o

,

a

, or

u

.

Examples: casa, cosa, curioso

The letter

c

is pronounced like an

s

when it is followed by

e

or

i

.

Examples: ceremonia, ciencia

The letter

c

is pronounced like

th

before

e

and

i

in parts of Spain.

The letter combination

ch

is pronounced as it is in English.

The double c,

cc

, is used to produce the

k

or

x

sound.

Example: diccionarioSlide6

D

The letter

d

is a bit softer in Spanish, but will not be stressed at the end of the word as it is in English.

Example: Say

Madrid

without the

d

at the end and you’ll sound like a native.Slide7

G

The pronunciation of the letter g is similar in English and Spanish.

A

g

that is followed by

o

,

a

or

u

is a hard g.

Examples: gas, go, gun / gala, gobierno, gusta

A

g

that is followed by

e

or

i

is a soft g, pronounced like an

h

.

Examples: geografía, gimnasioSlide8

G

When a hard g sound is required before an

e

or an

i

, a

u

is placed between the letters in order to maintain the sound.

Examples: guitarra, guerra

Avoid making a gwee or gway sound when the

u

is used. When gwee or gway sound is desired, an

umlaut

is used.

Example: biling

ü

eSlide9

H and J

The letter

h

is always silent.

Examples: hora, hola, hasta

The letter

j

is pronounced like the

h

in “hello” or “happy.”

Examples: jamón, JapónSlide10

LL

Ll

is pronounced like the consonant

y

in “yes.”

In some countries, the letter

ll

is pronounced like a combination of the sound of

sh

and the letter

j

in English.

Examples: ella, llama, llaveSlide11

Ñ

The Spanish letter

ñ

is pronounced like

ni

or

ny

in English. The squiggle in the n is called a

tilde

.

Examples: Hispaniola / HispañolaSlide12

QU

Qu is used before an

e

or

i

when a

k

sound is desired.

Examples: quesadilla, quien, quesoSlide13

R

A single

r

within a word is pronounced as a lightly trilled

r

.

Examples: aroma, era

An

r

at the beginning of the word or an

r

r within the word is rolled.

Examples: Puerto Rico, puertorriqueño, horror, RosaSlide14

T

Similar to English but softer, the

t

is especially soft when followed by an

r

. The sound of the

tr

in triple would be more like a

tl

sound in Spanish.

Example: tratarSlide15

Vowels

Vowels are easy to pronounce in Spanish. Each vowel has only one way to be pronounced and it will be pronounced that way in every word.

There are no silent vowels in Spanish as there are in English, but some vowels will slur together to form one sound.

a

and

o

as in taco

u

and

i

as in burrito

e

as in café

y

by itself as in pennySlide16

Diphthongs: Strong vowel first

The strong vowels are

a

,

e

, and

o

.

When 2 strong vowels are used together, the result is 2 separate syllables with both vowels strongly pronounced.

When a strong vowel is used beside a weak vowel, the resulting vowel is a slur of the two vowels, called a diphthong.

Ai, ay= English example: ice, Spanish: bail

áis

Ei, ey= English example: vein, Spanish: v

ei

nte, r

ey

Oi, oy= English example: joy, Spanish: s

oy

,

oi

go

Au= English example: cow, Spanish:

au

to,

au

senteSlide17

Diphthongs: Weak vowel first

The weak vowels are

i

and

u

.

When used with a strong vowel, the last one is stressed.

U

creates a sound like an English

w

.

Examples: agua, bueno

I

creates a sound like the consonant

y

.

Examples: bien, tienesSlide18

Stress and Accentuation: Rules

Spanish speakers normally stress the last syllable of a word when it ends in any consonant other than

n

or

s

. (alrede

dor

, pa

pel

, actr

iz

)

When the last syllable ends in n, s, or a vowel, the natural stress is on the next-to-last syllable. (re

su

men,

ro

sas,

ca

sa)Slide19

The Accent Mark

Some words do not follow rules 1 or 2. In these cases, a mark over the vowel indicates where the stress is to be placed.

Examples:

lá

mpara,

lá

piz, detr

ás

, reu

nión

The accent mark also distinguishes meanings between words that otherwise have the same spelling.

Examples: el (the) v. él (he)Slide20

The Accent Mark

The accent mark also causes

i

and

u

to be pronounced apart from the vowel near them, breaking up the diphthong or semi consonant.

Examples: pa

ís

, polic

ía

, a

ún

The accent mark appears on the stressed vowel of every interrogative word.

Examples: ¿Cu

á

l? ¿D

ó

nde?Slide21

Pronunciation Practice with Cognates

Aceptar

To accept

Acción

Action

Banco

Bank

Básico

Basic

Base

Basis

Causa

Cause

Carácter

Character

Condición

Condition

Diferencía

Difference

Doble

DoubleSlide22

Pronunciation Practice with Cognates

Error

Error

Excepción

Exception

Favor

Favo

r

Humano(a)

Human

Línea

Line

Oportunidad

Opportunity

Popular

Popular

Posible

Possible

Probable

Probable

Problema

ProblemSlide23

Pronunciation Practice with Cognates

Público

Public

Puro

Pure

Calidad

Quality

Realidad

Reality

Secreto

Secret

Situación

Situation

Social

Social

Estado

State

Símbolo

Symbol

Uso

UseSlide24

Exclamations

¡Aja!

Aha!

¡Achís!

Achoo!

¡Bú!

Boo!

¡Buuah!

Boo-hoo!

¡Ja ja!

Ha ha!

¡Alto!

Halt!

¡Aló!

Hello!

¡Jo jo!

Ho ho ho!

¡Yupi!

Whoopee! Yippee!

¡

Ñam ñam!

Yum yum!