Beginning Spanish students are often told that the L of Spanish is pronounced pretty much like it is in English. But that isn't necessarily true. While the English word "low" and the Spanish lo are pronounced very much alike, "tall" and tal are not. Although you may not have noticed, English has two "L" sounds that are quite different — and, as explained in our lesson on pronouncing the L, only one of them is used in Spanish.
Related Searches bado
Explore Spanish Language
Must Reads
Most Popular
By Category
- Learn Spanish Grammar
- Spanish Pronunciation
- Written Spanish
- Spanish Language Schools
- Spanish-Language Culture
- Spanish Vocabulary
- In the News
- Spanish-Language Literature
- Entertainment in Spanish
- History of Spanish
- Spanish-Language Products
- Translation Resources
- Spanish for Travelers
- Tips for Learning Spanish
- Teaching Resources
©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.
A part of The New York Times Company.
Comments
Another English word with an L resembling the Spanish L : Leak.
“Hola, ¿Qué tal?” is a great practice phrase AFTER you hear a native speaker say it a few times in person. Another is : “Él habla solo español”. You’ll actually get goosebumps when you start hearing yourself say it correctly.
Here is a short list of some tricky words to get right : alto, pelo, pilas, polvo, dulce, devolver, pulsera.
Well, English tall is correctly pronounced with a different vowel than Spanish tal as well…
Unless you’re a cot-caught merger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cot-caught_merger#Cot.E2.80.93caught_merger), in which case, learn to distinguish them!