Pronunciation Guide to Castilian Spanish The following pronunciation guide is excerpted from the six volumes of Canciones de España—Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain, edited by Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, Scarecrow Press, 2003, 2005, 2007. The great Spanish explorers brought with them the Castilian language and pronunciation from the Castille region of Spain to the “New World” in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Just as British English underwent tremendous changes in vocabulary and pronunciation in its colonies, the Spanish language experienced the same evolution. When singing the vocal literature of Latin America, Latin American pronunciation or Standard American Spanish (SAS) is proper, but when singing the vocal literature of Castilian Spain, Standard European Spanish (SES) is necessary. The determining factor is the place of education of the poet. Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription a a all positions casa 'ka.sa similar to a in father ai, ay aj all positions vainilla hay baj.'ni.¥a aj lie au au all positions caudillo kau.'Di.¥O count b b initial in phrase or sentence (after a breath) brazos 'b|a.TOs brave b following m emblema un beso ”m.'bl”.ma um 'b”.sO emblem B in all other cases debajo d”.'Ba.xO none in English—soft b with lips lightly touching T preceding e, i impaciencia im.pa.'Tj”n.Tja thank k preceding a, o, u, & consonants clamor kla.'mOr call kT always acceso ak.'T”.sO none in English—k as in call, T as in thank c cc 1 Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription ch tS in all positions chiquitita tSi.ki.'ti.ta chili d d initial in phrase or sentence (after a breath) dios donde djOs 'dOn.d” dog d after l or n bendito b”n.'di.tO dog D within phrases, except after l or n no digas nO 'Di.øas there e ” all positions responde r”s.'pOn.d” set ei, ey ”j all positions reino ley 'r”j.nO no English equivalent—” as in set and i as in sleep l”j eu ”u all positions reunir r”u.'nir no English equivalent—” as in set and u as in food f f all positions flores 'flO.|”s flowers g g initial in phrase or sentence (after a breath) or following a nasal consonant gusto 'gus.tO grey tengo sangre 't”N.gO 'saN.g|” finger x preceding e&i gitano xi.'ta.nO no English equivalent— Ger. Bach ø within a word or phrase, & before a, o, u, and consonants seguidilla s”.øi.'Di.¥a de gracia D” 'ø|a.Tja no English equivalent— soft g sound 2 Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription gue g” always guerra 'g”.rra get gui gi always guiño 'gi.≠O geese güe gw” always vergüenza b”r.'øw”n.Ta segue (but with open ”) güi gwi always lingüista liN.'gwis.ta extinguish (but with i) h silent always hablar a.'Blar heir i i always sí si sleep ia ja always gloria 'glO.|ja as in the Italian—piano ie j” always prefiero p|”.'fj”.|O siesta io jO always ilusión i.lu.'sjOn viola iu ju always ciudad Tju.'DaD cue j x always pajarita jojoba pa.xa.'|i.ta xO.'xO.Ba no English equivalent— Ger. Bach k k always kiwi 'ki.wi kiwi l l always paloma pa.'lO.ma lesson ll ¥ always llorar caballero '¥O.|ar ka.Ba.'¥”.|O yes m m always mañana ma.'≠a.na morning n n initial, interior, final mientras 'mj”n.t|as never 3 Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription n m before b, m, p in words or within phrases sin mancha convidados sim 'man.tSa kOm.bi.'Da.DOs mama M before f enferma confusa ”M.'f”r.ma kOM.'fu.sa no English equivalent— similar to sing with m, not n N before c, g, k, q, x in words or within a phrase blanca con guitarra ven que 'blaN.ka kON gi.'ta.rra sinker b”N k” ñ ≠ always señor s”.'≠Or onion o O always amor a.'mOr more oi, oy Oj always sois voy sOjs bOj boy p p always pobre 'pO.B|” poor q k always querer k”.'|”r king r r (rolled) always if initial or just after a breath rosa 'rO.sa as in the British— merry r (rolled) after s, n, l (Saturday Night Live), before a consonant, or final in a word sonreír sOn.r”.'ir as in the British— merry perlas placer 'p”r.las pla.'T”r after consonants other than s, n, l , & between vowels in a word or word group María ma.'|i.a de rocío D” |O.'Ti.O | (flipped) 4 no English equivalent— one flip against the upper front teeth Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription rr r (rolled) always tierra 'tj”.rra s s always if initial or between vowels in a word or word group sustento mis ojos tu sonido rosa sus.'t”n.tO mis 'O.xOs tu sO.'ni.DO 'rO.sa z before voiced consonants (b, B, d, dZ, D, g, ø, l, ¥, m, n, ≠, N, |, r, v, y, z) in a word or within a word group desde mientras la entusiasmo verdes río 'd”z.D” 'mi”n.t|az la ”n.tu.'sjaz.mO 'b”r.D”z 'ri.O rose t t always dental with the tongue at the back of the upper teeth tener t”.'n”r no English equivalent— It. tutti u u always when followed by a consonant luz luT food ua wa always agua 'a.øwa Guatemala ue w” always, except after g & q bueno 'bw”.nO sweater ” after g & q que juguetón k” xu.ø”.'tOn kent guess (soft g) wi always, except after g & q or if the two vowels are in different syllables ruidoso rwi.'DO.sO queen mui guíon huy muj 'gi.On ui no English equivalent ui, uy 5 as in the British— merry soft Letter in Alphabet International Placement Phonetic in Text Alphabet (IPA) Symbol Spanish Example International Pronunciation Phonetic Example Alphabet (IPA) Transcription ui, uy i after g & q guiño quince 'gi.≠O 'kin.T” guild but with i keep uo wO always cuota 'kwO.ta quota v b always if initial vivo 'bi.BO brook b after n enviar ”m.'bjar amber B within a word or phrase novia 'nO.Bja none in English— soft b with lips lightly touching w w used only in foreign words windsurf wind.'surf x s if initial xilófono si.'lO.fO.nO soft ks in interior position exhalar ”k.sa.'lar exhale j if initial, interior or final yema joya 'j”.ma 'xO.ja year dZ following n or l inyección in.dZ”k.'TjOn jelly z T initial, interior, final zapata cabeza voz Ta.'pa.ta ka.'B”.Ta bOT thimble z z before voiced consonants— in a word or within a word group voz de bOz D” ease y 6 wicked Canciones de España: Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain, Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, Scarecrow Press. 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