Simple Pronunciation Tips To Learn Spanish Free

December 21, 2009 by Jesus Sosa
Filed under Travel

If you want to learn Spanish free, you simply need to practice your pronunciation. It might seem demanding at first, but honestly learning any language can be difficult; all languages use various pronunciation keys to string sounds together to form words.

Spanish is no different, but when you consider how many exceptions to the rule there are in English, the Spanish language and its emphasis on phonetics is actually fairly simple.

The Sounds Of Spanish Vowels

All of Spanish\’s vowels are associated with strong sounds that will help each word jump off the tongue, like from a diving board. The letter \”A\” is pronounced like an \”uh,\” an \”e\” sounds like \”ay,\” the letter \”i\” becomes an \”eee\” sound and finally a \”u\” results in an \”ooh\” noise. The only vowel that retains the same sound from English to Spanish is the \”o,\” which keeps the \”oh\” pronunciation.

As an example, let\’s take a look at a sentence in Spanish and work it out. For our example, we\’ll use the simple sentence \”I like to eat the fried chicken.\”

Me gusta comer el queso.

\”Quiero\” is the first word, and it means \”I want.\” Pronounce this \”kee-air-oh.\” The next word, \”comprar,\” means \”to buy\” in Spanish and is spoken \”comb-per-ahr.\” \”Pantalones nuevos\” means \”new pants,\” and can be pronounced \”pahn-tah-lone-ays new-ay-vozz.\”

The Sound Of Spanish Consonants

Consonants in Spanish are understated for the most part. Even so, many rules apply to the consonants that can make subtle changes to not only meaning but the very sound of a word. In addition, there are a couple new letters to play with in Spanish. The first new letter is \”ch,\” which is voiced just as it would be in English.

When the letter \”c\” makes an appearance by itself, it adopts an \”s\” sound if in front of either an \”i\” or an \”e,\” as in the word \”cero,\” or \”zero\” in English. The \”g\” letter makes a sound like \”ch\” if used in front of an \”e\” or \”i\” but elsewhere, it will be used like the \”g\” in \”go.\”

Additional complications arise with the letter \”z,\” which results in a \”th\” sound like in the English word \”width.\” The letter \”h\” is always silent. Another new sound is present with the \”ll\” used frequently in Spanish, which usually brings about a sound not unlike the \”y\” sound in \”you.\” One example is \”llamar,\” which is pronounced \”ya-MAR.\”

Then there\’s the little tilde that appears in many Spanish words, such as \”el nio.\” This produces a similar sound to the \”ll,\” and as a result \”el nio\” is spoken \”Ehl neen-yo.\”

With enough practice, you\’ll be able to say just about any word you\’d like — and that\’s a great way to learn Spanish free. A bit of patience and perseverance will go a long way in the learning process.

One would be \”qu,\” which makes a nice \”k\” sound. Any \”r\” should be rolled off the tongue if you are capable of dong so. And the \”y\” letter is pronounced like its English counterpart, except that when it\’s alone it becomes an \”eee\” sound.

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