Department ofModern Languages

La Lengua española

Gramática nueva(New Grammar)

(The alphabet)

Like the a in “father,” but shorter

másExamples:

pasanadamañana

casaencantada

Like the e in “they,” but without the “y” glide

estres

mesadeporte

interesanteMéxico

Like the ee in “teeth” or the i in “machine,” but shorter

mi

niño

libro

tímido

inteligente

rico

Like the o in “hope,” but without the glide

mono

perro

yo

no

Like the u in the name “Lulu,” but shorterThe important thing to remember about the “u” is that it has no initial “y” sound as in English. When we pronounce the word union, for instance, we actually say yunion. Leave the “y” sound off in Spanish.

unión

inusual

universidad

comunidad

(Let’s practice all together)

Practiquemos todos juntos ahora

El alfabeto español

El alfabeto español

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

• The letters b and v are pronounced exactly alike, as a b.

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

• C sounds like the English k before a, o, or u worldwide:

• In Latin America, the letter c is pronounced like s before e or i.

• In most of Spain, c before e and i, as well as all z’s, are pronounced like the English th.

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

In Spain, the “c” before e or i is pronounced “th”

. . . before the following three vowels

. . . before the following two vowels

Unlike the English “k” sound, the hard Spanish c is not aspirated, that is, no air is expelled when it is pronounced.

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Casa(House)

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Cinco(Five)

• The letter g is pronounced like the Spanish j (or hard English h) before e or i:

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

. . . before the following two vowels…

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

. . . before the following three vowels: a / o / u.

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

• The combinations gue, or gui are pronounced like the English g in gate, like:–Guisar, guerrilla, juguetón

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Guitarra(Guitar)

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Gemelas(Twins)

The “l” is pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge as in English; however, the tongue is held straight rather than slightly curled.

alveolar ridge loteríaLaloazul

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

The “ll” is pronounced like the English y.

calle = caye

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

niño

mañana

año

baño

It is pronounced like the “ni” combination in the word onion.

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Muñeca(Doll)

Voluntarios(Volunteers)

¿Cómo se dice? (How do you say it?)

Spell and then pronounce the word you see below using the rules you just learned.

Llave(Key)

• At the beginning of a word, r is always pronounced as a trilled rr, for example:

• Ramón, Rosa, reloj.

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

With the “rr,” or double “r,” the tongue is positioned just as with the single “r,” except that it is held there briefly and allowed to “flap,” creating the “rolling” effect.

perrobarrioderrota

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

Eddie

arena

pero

María

The intervocalic, embedded (that is, non-word-initial) “r” involves a single tap of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. The result is a sound much like the dd in the name “Eddie.”

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

In the Americas

In Spain

In all cases

In all cases

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

• When a letter carries an accent, say con acento after saying the name of the letter, as in:

María eme - a - ere - i con acento - a

Sonidos irregulares (irregular sounds)

María

CONCLUSIÓN

¿ Cómo se dice…?(How do you say…?)

eme, a, e, ese, te, ere, o ce, ele, a, ese, a e, ese, te, u, de, i, a, ene, te, e

Adiós y hasta luego

RECORDAD QUE…

…PARA APRENDER,

¡ES NECESARIO PRACTICAR!