SPANISH PRONUNCIATION 101
(La Pronunciación)
Did you know…
• That all of the sounds in Spanish are sounds you are
already know?
– It’s true! General American English has about 41 different phonemes (or
different clusters of letters that together make one sound) whereas Spanish only has
24. This means that you’ll only need about half of the sounds you probably already
know to begin speaking a foreign language.
¡Comencemos!
(Let’s begin)
Las Vocales
(ah)
Las Vocales
(eh)
Las Vocales
(ee)
Las Vocales
• Why not (Oh)?
• Notice that, when
pronounced, the
English O ends with a
slight “W” sound.
– “Oh-wuh”
(just “o”)
• The Spanish O does
not end in a “W”
sound.
Las Vocales
(oo)
i
e
a
o
u
i
e
a
o
u
i
e
a
o
u
a
e
i
o
u
a
e
i
o
u
a
e
i
o
u
ai
ao
ae
au
ea
ei
eo
eu
ia
ie
io
iu
oa
oe
oi
ou
ua
ue
ui
uo
a
e
i
o
u
a
e
i
o
u
TONGUE TWISTER #1
Ese oso se
asea.
Se asea ese
oso.
(eh
(eh--nyeh)
neh)
a e i o u
na
ña
ne
ñe
el niño
ni - ño
ni
ñi
no
ño
nu
ñu
la niña
ni - ña
nene
ne
ne
na
na
u - no, u - na, u - na ne - na
nena
no
no
ni
ni
nu
nu
Una nena.
(eh - meh)
a e i o u
ma
me
mi
mo
mu
la mano
el mono
ma - no
mo - no
ma
mo
mi
mu
me
ma
mo
mi
mu
me
ma no, mo na, mo no, mo ño, mo ña, ma ña
mama, mamá, mimo, mimó
Mi mamá me ama.
Me ama mi mamá.
Mi mamá me mima.
Me mima mi mamá.
Mi niño menea una mano.
Menea una mano mi niño.
(deh)
a e i o u
da
de
el dedo
de - do
di
do
du
la dona
do - na
El niño nada.
La niña nada.
• Ll is treated as a letter
of its own in the
Spanish alphabet.
=Y
(el(eh
- leh)
- yeh)
• The Ll and the Y are
used interchangeably
depending on the
word.
a e i o u
la
lla
le
lle
la leña
le - ña
li
lli
lo
llo
lu
llu
la lluvia
llu - via
(heh)
The “G” Rule
• Not all G’s in Spanish are pronounced the same.
• Depending on what vowel precedes it, the G may
either be pronounced like the hard G in the word
get, or like the H in the word hen.
• If G comes before A, O, or U, it is pronounced
with a hard G.
• If G comes before E or I, it is pronounced like
an H.
For example . . .
a e i o u
ga
ge
gi
go
gu
¡Ole!
REMEMBER:
•The G before A, O,
and U is hard as in
get.
• The G before E or I
is pronounced “H” as
in hen.el gato
la gitana
ga - to
gi - ta - na
(seh)
The “C” Rule
• Similar to the G’s, C’s are also pronounced
differently when coupled with an E or an I.
• For example:
– the C before an A, O, or U is pronounced like
the “hard C” in can.
– the C before an E or I is pronounced like the
“soft C” in cent.
For example . . .
a e i o u
ca
ce
ci
co
cu
la calle
el cielo
ca - lle
ci - e - lo
• Ch is treated as a
letter of its own in the
Spanish alphabet, as
well as in many other
alphabets.
• It is pronounced as
the “Ch” in chair.
(che)
a e i o u
cha
che
chi
cho
chu
la leche
la lechuga
le - che
le - chu - ga
Next is the letter
R
• First, try pronouncing the letter “R” as you
usually do.
– Notice how only the sides of your tongue
touch the roof of your mouth. Try it!
• When pronouncing the Spanish R, the tip
of your tongue should also touch the roof of
your mouth.
– Doing so will make your R’s sound “swishy.”
The Trill:
RR
• Now, with the tip your tongue lightly
touching the roof of your mouth, exhale
strongly.
• Doing so will cause a vibration between the
tip of your tongue and the roof of your
mouth. Try it!
• You have successfully trilled the R!
Notice the difference!
• Remember, it’s important
to pronounce the Spanish
R as accurately as possible.
• Practice, practice, practice!
(eh - reh) NOT (air - rey)!
a e i o u
ra
re
la rosa
ro - sa
ri
ro
ru
el charro
cha - rro
TONGUE TWISTER #2
R con R cigarra.
R con R barril.
Corren rápido los
carros cargados de
azúcar del ferrocaril.
(hoh - tah)
• This letter is
pronounced (hoh tah).
• When grouped with
other letters, it is
pronounced like the
“H” in hen.
• (Recall that ge and gi
are also pronounced
like the “H” in hen)
a e i o u
ja
je
el jamón
ja - món
ji
jo
ju
el jugo de naranja
ju - go de na - ran - ja
(ah - cheh)
• As indicated, the name
of this letter is
pronounced (ah cheh).
• However, this letter
makes no sound when
grouped with letters
other than C.
• That’s right: the
Spanish H on its own
is completely silent!
a e i o u
ha
he
hi
ho
hu
el helado
Honduras
he - la - do
Hon - du - ras
Ahora, el resúmen. ¿Están
listos?
el cerillo
el jarrón
el gaucho
las almohadas
el coche
la democracia
los girasoles