subject: Learn Spanish - and How to Pronounce it - the Easy Way [print this page] Learn Spanish - and How to Pronounce it - the Easy Way
The first thing to get to grips with when learning Spanish is how to pronounce words in Spanish. These 12 short rules explain how to do just that.
This article talks about the GENERAL RULES OF SPANISH PRONUNCIATION as it is spoken in Spain and, in particular, along the southern coast in areas such as Marbella.
Note that Spain has four official national languages: Castillian Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque.
Castillian Spanish is the most widely spoken language in Spain but there are different dialects of Castillian Spanish and several different forms of pronunciation.
Pronunciation of Spanish in the South of Spain is quite different to other areas of the country, for example, the letter C before E or I is not lisped (i.e., making a "th" sound) as it is in the rest of the country. The pronunciation in the South is more similar to that in Latin America than, for instance, in Madrid.
Here are the key rules:
1. The letters B and V are pronounced exactly the same way, i.e. both sound like a B. This is more noticeable when the B or V starts the word. It is a slightly softer sound when the B or V appears in the middle of the word. (phonetic = be, the 'e' as in the English word 'let')
2. C is pronounced K (as in 'cat') when followed by the vowels A, O or U. For example, LA CASA (house). When the C is followed by the vowels E or I, the C changes to a TH sound as in CINCO (five) and CERO (zero). However, in Latin America and southern Spain the C is pronounced as an ordinary S. (phonetic = kah or th)
3. D is pronounced as D but is often not pronounced at all at the end of a word, as in LIBERTAD (freedom, liberty) and MADRID. (phonetic = de, the 'e' as in the English word 'let')
4. G is pronounced as a guttural G (as in the Scottish word 'loch') when followed by E or I, as in GITANO (gypsy). When followed by A, O, U, UE or UI it is pronounced as a hard G, as in GATO (cat). Note that the U is generally not pronounced in the combinations GUE and GUI. (phonetic = gutteral ch or hard g as in the English word 'gate')
5. H is mute in Spanish except in the combination CH, for example LECHE (milk) and CHICO (boy). (phonetic = che, as in the English word 'champion')
6. J is always pronounced as a guttural G as in JEFE (boss). (phonetic = see G, point 4.)
7. The pronunciation of LL varies throughout the Spanish-speaking world but it is still most similar to the way we use Y as in YES. (phonetic = y)
8. is like the "ni" sound in 'onion', for example, MAANA (tomorrow, morning). (phonetic = ni-y-ah)
9. Q is always followed by UE or UI. It is pronounced as a K (as in 'cat') and the U is silent, for example QUESO (cheese). (phonetic = kah)
10. R is pronounced as an R, as in BARCO (boat), but it is pronounced RR (double/rolling R, more emphatic) when the R is the first letter of a word, for example RAMA (branch) and ROMPER (to break). The double consonant RR is always pronounced as RR, as in PERRO (dog). (phonetic = emphasised r)
11. S is pronounced S but according to dialect it can sound more like a Z when it appears in the middle of a word. For instance, MISMO (same) sounds more like MIZMO and LOS DOS (the two of them) can sound more like LOZ DOS. (phonetic = s as in 'same')
12. Z is pronounced as TH, as in ZAPATO (shoe) but again, in Latin America and southern Spain it sounds like an S. (phonetic = th)
There are more letters in the Spanish alphabet than in English. Do you know why?
