Dic_06

SPANISH PRONUNCIATION In Spanish, all letters are pronounced with the exception of h when not preceded by c , and u in the combinations gue , gui , que , qui . Vowel sounds are short and sharp, not drawn out. Variations are slight, so the only way to learn them is to hear them. The following is an approximation. a as ah (English): casa , posada . e as net or let : metro , estos . i as ee in meet : mirar , dormido . o as oa in soap : todo , solo ; or ou in bought : cortar . u as oo in boot : burro , multitud . CONSONANT SOUNDS c before a , o , u , like the English k : caso , contar , curso . Before e , i , like s in Latin America and like th in most of Spain: cese , cita , cepillo. ch strong as in church : chorro , muchacho . g before a , o , u as in gown : gato , cigarro , guante . Before i , e like the strong aspirated h in helmet : gitano , gente . gue, gui as in guest , the u being silent: guerra , guitarra. güe, güi when the u is to be sounded, a dieresis is placed over it: agüero , lingüista . h always silent except in the combination ch , as explained above. j like the aspirated h in horse : jabón , rojo , jefe , tejido , justo . ll, y as in jew , jet , jam: llover , llave , yelmo , yo .Also like y in yellow (similar to a soft j in English). ñ like ny in canyon : niña , cañón , ceñir . qu like k in the combinations que , qui : queso , quiero .The letter q is used only in these combinations or in foreign words. r at the beginning of a word or after n , l , s , it has a strong rolling sound somewhat like red , rat : rojo , enredo . In other positions, it is softly trilled: pero , partimos . rr always has the strong, rolling sound of initial r : perro , corriente . v much like the English b , but less explosive. z like th in most of Spain; like s in all of Latin America and Southern Spain: zoológico . The pronunciation of the remaining consonants is similar to English. Stress and accents A written accent shows the stressed syllable of a word, as follows: 1. Words stressed on the last syllable carry a written accent ( ´ ) only if they end in a vowel or in consonants n or s : levanté , corazón , Tomás , comí , quizás . If the word stressed on the last syllable ends in any other consonant, the written accent is not placed: poder , calor , calidad . 2. Words stressed on the next-to-last syllable carry a written accent only when they end in a consonant other than n or s , or in a vowel: cárcel , césped , dólar , árbol , fénix . If the word stressed on the next-to-last syllable ends in a vowel or in consonants n or s , there is no written accent: oso , marca , fruta , crisis . 3. All words stressed on any other syllable carry a written accent: ácido , música , número , legítimo , cuéntaselo , línea . DICCIONARIO BILINGÜE ILUSTRADO ESPAÑOL-INGLÉS