Vowels
vocales – as in English before the ‘great vowel shift’ (1400–1700);
e.g., ‘bite’ was pronounced as we now say ‘beet’
a, e, and o are vocales abiertas – strong vowels; i and u
are vocales cerradas – weak vowels.
|
| e.g.
| as in
| tongue
↕, ↔
|
| a
| casa
| hat
| low, mid
|
| e
| recto
| pen
| mid, front-mid
|
| i
| vino
| meet
| high, front
|
| o
| como
| not
| mid, mid-back
|
| u
| gusta
| rule
| high, back
|
Semivowels (semivocales) may be transcribed in Spanish as
[ i̭ ] and [ ṷ ], both with circumflex underneath,
and constitute the second element of any decreasing diphthong in
words, e.g., peine – comb.
Important diphthongs:
|
| e.g.
| sound
|
|---|
| aa
| contraataque
| ah
|
| ae
| aerodinámico
| ah-eh
|
| ai
| bailar
| aye, y, /j/
|
| au
| aplaudir, audiencia
| ow, w, /w/
|
| ea
| ideal
| ayah
|
| ee
| leemos
| ey, long ‘e’
|
| ei
| veinte, comisteis
| eh, ‘a’ in ‘space’
|
| ie
| comieron
| yeh
|
| io
| adiós
| ‘i’-‘o’
|
| oo
| coordinación
| long ‘o’
|
| ua
| cuarenta, guapa
| wah
|
| uo
| antiguo
| woe
|
Consonants
Consonantes; generally similar to English, except:
|
| e.g.
| as in
|
|
| b/v
| bar, vino
| big
| b, softer than Eng., partial v in in word (not after n, m e.g., hombre)
|
| c
| +e or +i
| cero, cinco, cine
| thin
| cc is hard+soft (e.g., acción)
|
| +others
| cuatro, casa
| cat
| c+u is almost a kw or q sound
|
| ch
| mucho, leche
| chair
| |
| d
| directo, adiós
| dog
| softer between vowels; final ‘d’ often softer, dropped, or th
|
| g
| +a, +o, +u
| gato, gordo, gusta
| gap
| ‘hard’ g
|
| +e or +i
| gente, ginebra
| loch
| gutteral, tending towards h sound
|
| +ua or +uo
| guardia, antiguo
| gap
| ‘hard’ g, u is pronounced (see also ua and uo above)
|
| +ue or +ui
| alguien, guerra, guitarra
| gap
| ‘hard’ g, u is not pronounced
|
| +üe or +üi
| vergüenza, pingüino
| gap
| ‘hard’ g, u is pronounced
|
| h
| hombre
| —
| always silent
|
| j
| joven, jugar
| loch
| gutteral, tending more towards h sound; exceptions like rojo
|
| k
| kilo
| scatter
| only in loan words
|
| ll
| paella, llamo
| foyer
| also like million, with hint of ‘j’ (i after ll is always stressed)
|
| ñ
| España, año
| onion
| (i after ñ is always stressed)
|
| qu
| que, queso
| kilo
| u is silent
|
| r
| at start or rr
| rápido, barrio
| rose
| trilled
|
| elsewhere
| señor, atrás, camarero
| rose
| softer, rolled
|
| s
| before b d g l m n
| mismo, desde
| rose
| z sound, or ‘s’ in some dialects
|
| elsewhere
| casa, salir
| same
| softer
|
| w
| web
| web
| only in loan words
|
| z
| azúcar, luz, vez
| thin
| or ‘s’ in some dialects
|