Pronunciation (Part 1)

 

In this topic we will we will we will look at improving our Spanish pronunciation.

Back in the fifth topic of the course we introduced the Spanish Alphabet and learned the basics of Spanish Pronunciation. In this topic we will delve deeper into exactly how to pronounce each letter and combinations of letters correctly.

In general and in relation to other languages, Spanish pronunciation is easy. Spanish Pronunciation Rules are straightforward and quite regular. Once you know the sound of each letter, or group of letters, you know how to pronounce almost every Spanish word from the way it is written.

Spanish Grammar may be more complex than English Grammar, but Spanish Pronunciation Rules are straightforward. With a bit of practice you can be reading Spanish texts out loud and sounding like a native Spanish speaker in no time at all. English words on the other hand demand familiarity with vocabulary before attempting reading out loud as English letters are pronounced differently in different words.

First, let’s review how to pronounce the Spanish Vowels:

A: ah (as in “apple”)
E: eh (as in “bed”)
O: oh (as in “orange”)
U: oo (as in “do”)
I: ee (as in “bee”)

The vowels A, E, I, O, U are not tricky as very similar sounds exist in the English language and the Spanish vowel sounds are very distinct and reliable (unlike the English vowels which vary considerably). Maybe the only challenging aspect of pronouncing the Spanish vowels is not confusing E (eh) and I (eeh). The Spanish I (eeh) pronunciation sounds like the English letter E.

The sounds of the Spanish vowels can vary a little bit depending on which letters are before and after them (we will look at this in more detail later in the course), but on the whole we can say that the sounds are distinct regardless of the word they are a part of.
The rest of the Spanish Alphabet:

There are three extra letters in the Spanish alphabet: CH, LL and Ñ. Many of the letters are pronounced the same as in English. Others are quite different to English, or even silent as in the case of the letter H.

A: Ah
B: B
C: C (however, if the C is before an E or an I it is pronounced th)
CH: Ch
D: D
E: Eh
F: F
G: G (however, if the G is before an E or an I it is pronounced h)
H: Silent
I: Ee
J: H
K: K
L: L
LL: Y
M: M
N: N
Ñ: Ny/Ni (like the ny in canyon or the ni in onion)
O: Oh
P: P
Q: K
R: R
S: S
T: T
U: Oo
V: B
W: W
X: X
Y: Y
Z: Th

Most of the Spanish consonants are pronounced in a very similar way to English. There are a few, however, to watch out for.

b & v: These two consonants are pronounced the same – as B (e.g. Barcelona & Valencia)
h: The Spanish H is silent (e.g. Hola)
j: The Spanish J is pronounced like a strong English H (e.g. Jamón: Hamon)
ll: This letter is specific to Spanish and is pronounced Like an English Y (e.g. Llamo: Yamo)
ñ: This is another letter specific to the Spanish alphabet and sounds like the NI in Onion (e.g. Baño: Banio)
t: The Spanish T is not dissimilar to the English T but you need to pronounce it without releasing air from your mouth (e.g Té)
z: The Spanish Z sounds like an English TH (e.g. Zapato: Thapato)

Pronunciation

Play the audio below and practice your pronunciation by repeating with Laura.

 

Transcript
a: ah
e: eh
i: eeh
o: oh
u: uh
ai: Aire
ei: Veinte
b & v: Barcelona & Valencia
h: Silent: Hola
j: Like a strong English H: Jamón: Hamon
ll: Like an English Y: Llamo: Yamo
ñ: Like the NI in Onion: Baño: Banio
t: Like an English T but without releasing air from your mouth: Té
z: Like an English TH: Zapato: Thapato

Listening

Play the audio below and try to follow the conversation. Please listen at least twice before checking the transcript.

 

Transcript
Teacher: Vamos a practicar las vocales en español. A E I O U
Student: A E I O U
Teacher: Ahora repite: Valencia
Student: Valencia
Teacher: No, no Valencia. En español no tenemos el sonido V.
Student: ¿No?
Teacher: No. Decimos Valencia, por favor, …
Student: Valencia, por favor…
Teacher: Muy bien. Ahora la letra T. Repite Tú.
Student:Tú
Teacher: No, no, escucha TÚ
Student: Ah sí TÚ
Teacher: Muy bien. Ahora repite estos nombres de personas con la letra T: Teresa, Tina, Tomás, Teodoro.
Student: Teresa, Tina, Tomás, Teodoro.
Teacher: Muy bien, continúa practicando.

Reading

Open the text below and try to follow what is written. Please read at least twice before checking the translation.

Text
Elena: ¿Desde cuándo estudias español? ¡Hablas fatal!
Robert: ¿Qué?
Elena: Hablas muy mal Robert. Hemos gastado mucho dinero en tus clases de español y sigues haciendo muchísimos errores.
Robert: No es verdad. No hablo perfecto pero he mejorado mucho y no hago tantos errores ahora.
Elena: ¡Pero, tu pronunciación! ¡¡Pronuncias como un guiri total!!
Robert: Se nota que soy inglés, claro. Pero no hablo como un guiri. Conozco un montón de vocabulario y frases coloquiales.
Elena: Bueno, usas algunas frases coloquiales. Tienes razón, tienes bastante vocabulario. ¿Pero tú pronunciación? ¡¡Horrible!!
Robert: ¡¡Me das mucha seguridad cariño!!
Elena: No quiero mentirte Robert, tienes que pensar mucho más en la pronunciación o la gente no te va a entender.
Robert: Exageras mucho. Pocas veces la gente no me entiende. Muy pocas veces. Puedo pronunciar mejor, pero no es tan importante. Soy inglés y tengo acento inglés. Da igual.
Elena: De eso nada. Estamos pagando mucho dinero para tus clases.
Robert: Mira, si estás tan preocupada sobre el dinero, dejo las clases.
Elena: No, no, tienes que seguir con las clases, pero tienes que mejorar. Tienes que prestar más atención en clases, estudiar más en casa, ver más televisión en español y menos en inglés, y también tienes que hablar más conmigo en español. ¡Y me tienes que escuchar también!
Robert: Vale, vale. Tranquila. Yo creo que este tipo de sermón no me ayuda pero lo voy a hacer, voy a esforzarme más en mejorar mi pronunciación.
Elena: Gracias cari. Me pones un huevo frito y un poco de chorizo, tengo un poco de hambre ahora.
Robert: Vale.
Translation
Elena: How long have you been studying Spanish? You speak terribly!
Robert: What?
Elena: You speak very badly Robert. We have spent a lot of money on your Spanish classes and you still make a lot of mistakes.
Robert: It’s not true. I don’t speak perfectly but I have improved a lot and I don’t make so many mistakes now.
Elena: But, your pronunciation! You pronounce like a tourist!
Robert: You can tell I’m English, of course. But I don’t speak like a tourist. I know a lot of vocabulary and colloquial phrases.
Elena: Well, you know some colloquial phrases. You’re right, you have quite a bit of vocabulary. But your pronunciation? Horrible!!
Robert: You give me a lot of confidence, honey!
Elena: I don’t want to lie to you, Robert, you have to think a lot more about pronunciation or people will not understand you.
Robert: You exaggerate a lot. Seldom people don’t understand me. Very rarely. I can pronounce better, but it’s not that important. I am English and I have an English accent. It doesn’t matter.
Elena: No way. We are paying a lot of money for your classes.
Robert: Look, if you’re so worried about money, I will stop the classes.
Elena: No, no, you have to continue with the classes, but you have to improve. You have to pay more attention in class, study more at home, watch more television in Spanish and less in English, and you also have to talk more with me in Spanish. And you have to listen to me too!
Robert: Okay, okay. Relax. I think this kind of sermon doesn’t help me but I will do it, I will try harder to improve my pronunciation.
Elena: Thank you, dear. Can you make me a fried egg and a bit of chorizo, I’m a little hungry now.
Robert: Okay.

Writing

Open the questions below and answer them in writing using the box provided. Check the answers afterwards to see how you got on.

Questions
Please write a little in Spanish about your experience of learning a foreign language. Do you enjoy learning Spanish? What do you find difficult and what do you find easy? What about your pronunciation? Do you think it is important to try to pronounce as well as possible in Spanish and are you happy with your own pronunciation. What are the best ways to learn a foreign language?

Answers
Possible answer:

Para mí es muy interesante aprender otros idiomas y culturas. Creo que es una buena forma de abrir la mente y darse cuenta de que hay muchas otras interpretaciones del mundo según otras personas de otros partes del mundo con historias muy distintas. Hay partes de la gramática que no encuentro fáciles pero en general no tengo miedo a la gramática. Aprender vocabulario es un proceso largo y hay que tener mucha paciencia. Recordar vocabulario es mucho más fácil cuando vives en un país donde la gente habla español. La gramática la puedes aprender fácilmente con libros. Cuesta tiempo hablar con fluidez y hace falta seguridad. Tienes que estar relajado y antes de pensar en hablar con fluidez hay que escuchar mucho a gente nativa. Estoy seguro de que la habilidad más importante cuando estás aprendiendo un idioma extranjero es escuchar. Sé que no pronuncio perfectamente pero para mí no es tan importante. Tienes que pronunciar suficientemente bien para ser entendido pero no hace falta pronunciar como un nativo. Puedes mantener tu acento propio y hablar muy bien.

Review

Play the audio below and respond to the questions Laura asks you. Check the answers afterwards to see how you got on.

 

Answers
1. Madre
2. Dado
3. Baño
4. Libro
5. Valencia
6. Barcelona
7. Paella
8. Europa
9. Euro
10. Ayuntamiento
11. Frigorífico
12. Hijo
13. Hermano
14. Alcohol
15. Diamante
16. Cerveza