Spanish

Front 1

A

Back 1

The Spanish "a" is pronounced like the "a" in the word "father."

Front 2

E

Back 2

The Spanish "e" is most often pronounced like the "a" in the word "date," except that it is shorter and crisper.

Front 3

I

Back 3

The Spanish "i" is pronounced like the "ee" in the word "see," except that the sound is shorter.

Front 4

O

Back 4

The Spanish "o" is pronounced like the "o" in the word "no," except that the sound is shorter.

Front 5

U

Back 5

The Spanish "u" is pronounced like the "ue" in the word "due," except that the sound is shorter.

Front 6

D

Back 6

The Spanish "d" has two separate sounds, hard and soft. At the beginning of a word and after "n" or "l", the hard Spanish "d" closely resembles the "d" in the word "dog." The difference is that when pronouncing the hard Spanish "d", the tongue touches the back of the front teeth (rather than the gum ridge, as in English). In other situations (particularly between vowels) the "d" is softer, closely resembling the "th" sound in the word "this."

Front 7

Pronunciation:
The Spanish r

Back 7

The Spanish "r" has two separate sounds, depending on whether or not it is the first letter of a word. Neither one of these sounds even remotely resembles the English "r" sound. When the "r" is the first letter of the word, it is trilled like the "rr", which is covered in the next lesson. Otherwise, the "r" sounds much like the "dd" of the word "ladder." (It's not exactly the same, but it's much closer to this "dd" sound than to the English "r" sound.)

Front 8

Pronunciation:
The Spanish rr

Back 8

The Spanish "rr" is a vibrating, or trilling sound. The single "r" is also pronounced this way when it is the first letter of a word.

Front 9

Pronunciation:
Stress

Back 9

"Stress" refers to the loudness of a syllable. In Spanish, one syllable of a word usually is louder than the others. Stress is important because it can completely change the meaning of a word. The following words are identical, except for the location of the stressed syllable:

papá - father
papa - potato

compró - he bought
compro - I buy

Front 10

Intonation:
Statements

Back 10

"Intonation" refers to pitch, or the rising and falling of one's voice. Intonation is important because it can change the meaning of an utterance. In Spanish, normal statements end in a falling pitch

Front 11

Intonation:
Information Questions

Back 11

"Intonation" refers to pitch, or the rising and falling of one's voice. Intonation is important because it can change the meaning of an utterance. In Spanish, questions which elicit information end in a falling pitch. This is the same pattern as normal statements, but information questions are never confused with statements because they always begin with question words

Front 12

Intonation:
Yes/No Questions

Back 12

"Intonation" refers to pitch, or the rising and falling of one's voice. Intonation is important because it can change the meaning of an utterance. In Spanish, simple yes/no questions end in a rising pitch, conveying a meaning of uncertainty.

Front 13

Intonation:
Choice Questions

Back 13

"Intonation" refers to pitch, or the rising and falling of one's voice. When a question elicits an answer that is a choice between two or more alternatives, the pitch rises with each choice, and then falls with the final option.

Front 14

Pronunciation:
Linking - part one

Back 14

In spoken Spanish, when the last letter of one word is the same as the first letter of the next word, they are pronounced as a single sound. In the following examples, you will first hear the two words pronounced separately, and then pronounced as they are "linked" in natural spoken Spanish

Front 15

Pronunciation:
Linking - part two

Back 15

In spoken Spanish, when a word that ends in a vowel is followed by a word that begins with a vowel, those vowels are "linked" into one syllable, even if they are different. In the following examples, you will first hear the two words pronounced separately, and then pronounced as they are "linked" in natural spoken Spanish.