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The letters

A - a

This vowel is very similar to the a in father. One of the first signs of an estadounidense is pronouncing the a like an uh sound, especially at the end of the word. Practice on the word para until the final a sounds the same as the first one.

 

B - be

You can usually get away with pronouncing the b just like in the States. For the more advanced speaker, however, the lips do not completely close, giving the b a slightly softer feel. Practice the soft b using the word bautismo.

 

C - ce

The c is pronounced like the k when it precedes any consonant or the vowels a, o, or u. When the c precedes the e or i, it sounds like the th in with. Practice the following words: coche, circo.

 

CH - che

The ch is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English. Although Spanish dictionaries have separate sections for the c and ch letters, when saying the alphabet (abecedario), most Spaniards will omit the ch.

 

D - de

Most estadounidenses have trouble with the d because they think you can't really change the way a d sounds. The subtle difference, however, is readily apparent to native speakers. Instead of forming the d by placing the tip of the tongue on the ridge of the roof of the mouth slightly behind the front teeth (like it is normally formed when speaking English), you will need to place it touching against the back of the top front teeth, but not against the roof of the mouth.

 

E - e

The easiest, although not entirely correct, way to describe the e sound is like that of the a in the English word hate. The Spanish e is a shorter sound than that. To get an idea of the correct sound, say the letters A E quickly in succession, slurring the letters together as you say them. The native speaker will hear a sound much like that when we say the e. (Say hate again, and listen for the A E slur.) Now, try to cut off the slurred A E sound so that just the A comes out. That is closer to the Spanish e sound. It is almost a cross between the long A and the short E English sounds.

 

F - efe

The f is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English.

 

G - ge

Like the c, the g has two distinct pronunciations depending upon the letter immediately following it. If the g precedes the e or the i, it is pronounced like the Spanish j, otherwise it is pronounced like the g in the English word good.

 

H - hache

Spoken correctly, the h is the easiest letter to pronounce in the Spanish language. Pronounce it incorrectly, though, and you immediately mark yourself as a second-rate tourist. To practice, say the English word hate, but pronounce it like the English word ate. That's right. The h is silent. Do not pronounce it.

 

I - i

The i sounds like the e in the English word he. Like all Spanish vowels, the i is a short sound, so don't draw it out as much as in English. Try the word hipnótico to practice both the h and the i.

 

J - jota

This sound is a little more difficult for estadounidenses to reproduce at first, because there is no equivalent sound in English. The basic idea of the j is that of the English h, with a healthy clearing of the throat mixed in.
The sound is produced in the back of the mouth, almost in the throat, and involves the partial restriction of airflow by moving the tongue back (not up) toward the throat. To get the hang of it, produce the English h sound, and while doing so move the tongue toward the back of the throat until the back of your mouth vibrates. Beware: During the first week or so of saying the j correctly, you will often find yourself with a slightly sore throat.

 

K - ka

The k is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English.

 

L - ele

The l is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English, except when it comes in twos.

 

LL - elle

The pronunciation of the ll varies widely among Spanish speakers, and even among the various regions of Spain. Probably the easiest (as well as the most common) way to pronounce this letter correctly is like the English y. The Spanish pronunciation never differs much from this, but there are some areas that add an almost imperceptible l sound slightly before the y sound. Other areas of Spain pronounce the ll with a hint of an English z - sh mix, although it is never as distinct as the ll of Argentina.

 

M - eme

The m is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English.

 

N - ene

The n is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English.

 

Ñ - eñe

The single letter that most quickly identifies written words as being part of the Spanish language, the ñ is simple to pronounce. It is like the ny sound in the English word canyon. Practice on España and español.

 

O - o

The o is pronounced very similarly to the o in the English word token. In English, we tend to draw out the o sound, producing almost a w sound at the end, while in Spanish the o sound is cut off before it reaches the w sound. Practice saying the word conozco.

 

P - pe

You can get by using the same pronunciation for p as in English. However, the Spanish pronunciation tends to be much less aspirate than in English. To get an idea of the correct pronunciation, place your hand about a half inch from your mouth and say the English words pool and aspen. You will notice that you expel much less air when saying aspen. Try not to aspirate as much while practicing the common Spanish word pero.

 

Q - ku

As in English, the q is always followed by a u in Spanish, but the pronunciation is a bit different. The q makes the same sound as the k, and is never pronounced as kw. Practice the word queso.

 

R - ere

The r sound is produced by mixing the English r with a very soft d sound. Leaving off the d sound will still allow you to be understood, but will immediately mark you as an estadounidense. When the r comes at the beginning of the word, it is pronounced the same as rr. Practice saying the words para and porque.

 

RR - erre

Most people have no trouble with this sound, but there are some who struggle more with the rr than any other sound in the Spanish language. The rr is pronounced as a trilled r. Practice on the words royal and perro.
If you are having trouble with this sound, you might try the following technique. Place your tongue on the ridge just behind the top front teeth, so that when you try to exhale through the mouth no air can exit. Keep trying to exhale as you slowly relax the tip of the tongue. Most likely the first few times this won't produce the desired sound, but keep adjusting the force with which you press the tip of the tongue to the roof of your mouth until you get a vibration that makes the trill sound. The idea is to keep the tongue against the roof of your mouth with the muscles in the middle and back of the tongue, while the tip of the tongue is allowed to relax so that it can be moved by the airflow.

 

S - ese

The s is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English.

 

T - te

In order to pronounce the t correctly, you must place the tongue against the back of the upper front teeth instead of on the ridge on the roof of your mouth as is normal when saying the English t. Then, much like the Spanish p, you must make the t much less aspirate in comparison to the English t. The resulting sound should be softer than English speakers are used to. Try the Spanish words te and está.

 

U - u

Most of the time, the u is pronounced like the oo in the English word shoot. When the u follows the g or the q and precedes the e or i, it is not pronounced. There are times when you might see the gü letter combination, (where the u has two dots above it), which indicates that the u should be pronounced, and it makes a sound like the English w.

 

V - uve

The pronunciation of the v should be indistinguishable from that of the b.

 

W - uve doble

The w exists in the Spanish alphabet only for ease in writing foreign languages. There are no Spanish words that use the w, so you are safe pronouncing it the same as in English.

 

X - equis

The x is pronounced the same in Spanish as in English. In both Galician (gallego) and Basque (euskerra), the x is pronounced like the sh in English.

 

Y - igriega

The y is pronounced the same as the Spanish i. When the y or the i is immediately followed by another vowel, the resulting sound is similar to the y in the English word yes. Practice saying y (pronounced EE), yeso (like YAY-so), and hielo (similar to the English word yellow).

 

Z - zeta

The z makes a th sound like in the English word with. For speakers who have learned Spanish in the States, it is often difficult to get used to the constant lisping sound of Spain's Spanish, but after a few months of hearing it, the American Spanish pronunciation pales in comparison. Practice lisping the word civilización.

The accents

1. A word with a written accent mark is stressed on the vowel that has the accent mark.
2. An unaccented one syllable word is unstressed.
3. An unaccented multi-syllable word which ends in any consonant except n or s is stressed on the last syllable.
4. All other words are stressed on the second to last syllable.