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May 23, 2024 · In English, “A” can sound bright and tense as in “cat”, open as in “car”, or even as a diphthong in “cake”. In Spanish, “A” consistently sounds like the “a” in “father”. This simplicity makes Spanish pronunciation easier: one letter, one sound. Practice this by saying “ah” and then try pronouncing the words casa ...
Mar 2, 2017 · The Venn diagram below shows how Spanish and English share almost all of the same phonological processes. The two differences relate to English not possessing a trilled /r/ and Spanish not containing vowels normally neutralized in vocalization. Image courtesy of Bilinguistics. How phonology is different in Spanish and English.
- Scott Prath
- 2017
There are other allophonic variations (differences in how a single phoneme can sound) of the “b,” “d,” and “g” sounds that exist in Spanish that we do not produce in English. In addition, the trilled “rr” is a phoneme in Spanish and changes the meaning of a word produced with “r.”. For example, perro means “dog” and pero ...
- A, as in Ala
- B, as in Bebé
- C, as in Casco
- D, as in Dado
- E, as in Leche
- F, as in Foto
- G, as in Gris
- H, as in Hola
- I, as in Imán
- J, as in Jamón
In English, the letter A can have a tense, smiley quality, as in “cat”, and a lax, low quality as in “car”. Oh, and it can also represent a diphthong, as in “name”! In Spanish, however, this letter is always like the “a” in “ah.” Yes, always. This is where Spanish presents a clear advantage over English! In Spanish, one letter = one sound. The Span...
The Spanish letter B is very similar to its English counterpart, with a small difference. While English B is a plosive consonant in which the air is released forcefully, the Spanish variant is softer and has no audible air release. Instead of obstructing the airflow, the two lips merely approximate each other, allowing the air release much more smo...
As in English, Spanish C has a ‘hard’ sound and a ‘soft’ sound. When followed by letters E or I, as in cena (dinner) and cielo (sky), it is pronounced like an S in Latin American Spanish and like a strong TH in Castillian Spanish: cena: /sena/ or /thena/; cielo: /sielo/ or /thielo/. In all other contexts, it is a K. Casco (helmet): /kasko/ So, how ...
In English phonetics, letter D is an “alveolar stop” because it involves contact between the front part of the tongue and the alveolar ridge, i.e., the front, hard area of the palate. However, Spanish D is only alveolar when it appears at the end of words. In other contexts, especially between vowels, it is a dental sound, meaning that you have to ...
E is one of the most straightforward sounds both in English and Spanish. The only difference is that the Spanish variant is slightly longer and a bit more relaxed. English vs. Spanish: Just imagine you’re speaking in slow motion and say the following words: nene (kid), ver (see), peine (combo).
Just as in English, Spanish F involves contact between your lower lip to your upper teeth. No exceptions, no surprises! Common Spanish words containing letter F include fósforo (match), freno (brake) and foto (photo).
G is one of those rare letters in Spanish that has two possible sounds depending on its phonological context. When followed by E or I, it sounds like a strong /h/ sound. Gente: /hente/ However, when followed by any other letter, its sound is very similar to the English G consonant in “grey” or “gown”. Gris: /gris/ How would you say the following wo...
In Spanish, H is always silent unless it is part of the cluster CH, in which case it forms the sound we know from words like “church” or “chimney”. In all other contexts, it is completely silent. With Spanish H, the real challenge is remembering to omit it! English vs. Spanish: Let’s practice the omission of H with these common words: hierba (herb)...
In English, the letter I has two common pronunciations, best illustrated by the words “spit” and “spite”. In Spanish, however, this letter is always pronounced with the long /i/ sound we know from words like “see” or “bee”. The Spanish version, though, is a bit shorter and more relaxed. Practice saying the following words: pinta (pint), lindo (pret...
Remember we said G has two possible pronunciations? Well, Spanish J is pronounced exactly like G when followed by E and I. But, unlike G, J is always pronounced like that, regardless of what letter comes after it. So, what sound was it? The best way to describe it is like a strong version of H, one in which the organs in your mouth come together mo...
- Do not pronounce the letter h when it’s by itself. For example, the word hola, which we’re sure you all know, is pronounced as if it was spelled ola (which is actually another word that means “wave”).
- Don’t mistake ñ for n. We know they look similar, but they’re definitely not the same. The letter n is the normal one we all know. The sound for ñ is a sound you might have heard before, but it’s not that common.
- The letters v and b have the same pronunciation, but it changes depending on their position in a word. When it comes to pronunciation, the letters v and b are essentially the same letter in Spanish and they always sound more like a b. However, their pronunciation does vary between two different sounds.
- Never pronounce the letters j and g as in the j in “juice.” The English sound for the letter j doesn’t exist in Spanish, so anytime you want to use it—don’t.
Jan 17, 2017 · Most people say this character is pronounced the same as it usually would be in English. But English actually has two “L” sounds: the “dark L” and the “true L.”. In Spanish, there is only the “True L.”. A common tendency for English speakers is to use both as if they were speaking English.
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Jul 31, 2023 · 3. Spanish negates words with “no”. English commonly uses prefixes—like “non-,” “un-,” “dis-,” “in-”—to make sentences or words negative. But in Spanish sentences, just putting no before the verb will negate it, and there are fewer prefixes to confuse you. Let’s compare a few negative sentences in English and Spanish:
