Pronunciation Guide: A | B
| C | CH
| D | E
| F | G
| H | I
| J | K
| L | LL
| M | N
| Ñ | O
| P | Q
| R | RR
| S | T
| U | V
| W | X
| Y | Z
English speakers generally find the pronunciation of Spanish vowels fairly
easy. Close approximations of all their sounds exist in English, and, with
the exception of the E and the sometimes silent U, all the
vowels have basically one sound.
The main thing to keep in mind is that in Spanish the vowels' sounds
are generally more distinct than they are in English. In English, any vowel
can be represented by what's known as the schwa, an unstressed vowel sound
such as the "a" in "about," the "ai" in "mountain," and the "u" in "pablum."
But in Spanish, such an indistinct sound isn't used. Although, as in most
languages, the sounds of the vowels can vary slightly with the letters
before and after them, in general the sound remains the same regardless
of the word it's in.
First, the more or less invariable sounds. You can hear a these sounds
and the others in this lesson by listening to the streaming
audio:
-
A is pronounced similarly to the "a" in "father"
or the "o" in "loft." Examples: madre, ambos, mapa.
There are some speakers who sometimes pronounce the a something
halfway between the "a" in "father" and the "a" in "mat," but in most areas
the first sound given is standard.
-
I is pronounced similarly to the "ee" in
"feet" and the "e" in "me," although usually a little briefer. Examples:
finca,
timbre,
mi.
-
O is pronounced like the "oa"
in "boat" or the "o" in "bone," although usually a little briefer. Example:
teléfono,
amo,
foco.
Now, the two vowels whose sound can change:
-
E is generally pronounced like the "e" in
"met" when it is at the beginning or within a word. It is pronounced similarly
to the Canadian "eh," kind of a shortened version of the "é" in
the English "café," when it is at the end of the word. Sometimes
it can be somewhere between those two sounds. It's not quite the sound
of the English letter "A," which if pronounced slowly often has an "ee"
sound at the end, but closer to the "e" of "met." Keep in mind that even
when it's at the end of the word, in a sentence it may sound more like
the "e" of met. For example, in a phrase such as de vez en cuando,
each e has approximately the same sound. Examples: café,
compadre,
embarcar,
enero.
-
U is generally pronounced like the "oo" in
"boot" or the "u" in "tune." Do not pronounced it like the "u" in "uniform."
Examples: universo, reunión, unidos. In the
combinations gui and gue, as well as after q, the
u
is silent. Examples: guía,
guerra, quizás.
If the u should be pronounced between a g and i or
e,
an umlaut (sometimes called a dieresis) is placed over it. Examples:
vergüenza,
lingüista.
Diphthongs and triphthongs: As in English, two or three vowels in
Spanish can blend together to form a sound. The sound is basically the
sound of the two or three vowels rapidly pronounced. For example, the u
when followed by an a, e, i or o ends up sounding something like the "w"
in "water." Examples: cuaderno, cuerpo, cuota. The
ai
combination sounds something like the sound of "eye." Examples:
hay,
airear.
The i when followed by an a, e,
i or u
sounds kind of like the "y" in "yellow.": hierba,
bien,
siete.
And other combinations are possible as well:
miau,
Uruguay,
caudillo.
The letter Y: Generally, the y
is pronounced the same as it would if it were an i, as part of a
diphthong. Examples: rey, soy, yacer. In some words
that are derived from English and have a y at the end often retain
the English pronunciation. For example, in popular songs you may hear words
such as sexy and phrases such as oh baby.
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