Spanish 234 Chart of Spanish Sounds The following chart lists the sounds of the Spanish language chart to quickly check the sound of a spelling. There are s« exceptions to the sounds that cannot be presented easily in a simple chart. Det the discussion of the individual sounds. in alphabetic order. Refer to this ome special circumstances and ail is included in “These g's are pronounced [y) because they are between vowels. Spanish Letter & Position in Word IPA_ Example & IPA Page « 252 a syllable initial fo} atras,agua [a tras]. [a yuo) a syllable final fo) ‘mano, taza_—_{ma no]. {ta sa] 252 ‘ 252 ay syllable final [oi] hay, ay Gil foi) ai syllable final [ail paila, vainita {poi la] (bai ni ta} 252 a ai syllable final [ai pais,raiz (pais) {ra is) 22 au syllable final (au) causa, jaula {kau sa} [xau la} 253 ; b syllable initial (b) bala,bono [ba la) {bo no} 258 « b Betweenivowels (8) tubo, haba {tu Bo} fo fa) 258 following s,r (8) esbelio, hiérba [ez Bel to) (jer Ba) 258 « syllable final e (1 obscure (ofs ku ro} 28 submarino —(suma ri no} ( © beforea,o,u te) ‘casa, cosa, cuna {ka sa] [ko sa] (ku na] 258 « Cc before e, i (s} cesar, cima {se sar] [si ma] 258 ( ce across syllables ks} accion, ficcién (ak sjon) [fik sjon] 258 4 ch ch syllable initial i) choza, mucho [fo sa] [mu fo) 259 ( 4 syllable initial i) danza, discreto{dan sa}' {dis kre to] 259 } between vowels {0} hada, mido [a 8a) [mi 60) 260 afters, r [0] desde [dex de] 260 syllable final (0) verdad, usted [ber 608) [us ted} 260 e syllable initial fe] elegante, echar{e le yante] {e far) 253 e syllable final fel mesa, puse {me sa) {pu se] 253 ey syllable final, {cil rey {ceil 254 ei syllable final fei] reina, peine {rei na) {pei ne) 254 eu syllable final feu} deuda, feudal (deu Sa): [feu dal) 254 f £ syllable initial iG) facil, afanar {fa sil] [6 fon ac) 260 & before a, o, u ] gato, gota, {ga to) [90 ta] 261 before e, i) gente, gimnasia [xen te] (xim na sia) 261 between vowels i] haga, miga ~ {0 ya) {mi ya} 261 after s fy) desgana {(dez ya na} 261 desgarra. {dex ya ta)Spanish Letter & Position in Word IPA Example & IPA gua syllable initial {ova} agua, fraguar {a yua] [fra yuo] gs gue syllable initial {oe} guerra, guerrilla (ge Ta) [ge Ti fa) gul syllable initial (oi) guitarra, guiso (oi ta ta) [oi so} cont. iti syllable initial [owi) lingiiistica [lin gwis ti kal gue syllable initial fowe) averigiie [a Be ri ywe) h syllable initial silent hogar, ahorrarfo yar} {a otor} 262 hielo, huerta [ie lo} [ver ta] ee i syllable initial a imagen, isla {ima xen) {iz lo} 235 1 syllable final a piso, mi [pi so) {mi} ia syllable final al hacia, piano {6 sja] {pja no} ie syllable final Gel e, viene {ye ne) [bje ne} fu syllSble final Ge} viuda, ciudad [ju 8a} {sju tab] 255, jo — syllable final (jo) adiés, amplio [a djos) [am pljo} 255 x i syllable initial i joven [xo Ben} 262, jaula [xau to} 262 ajustar {a xus tor] 262 k syllable initial Od) kilogramo [kilo gra mo} 262 kibutz (ki Puts}, 1 syllable initial 0 litro, palo [li tro). [pa lo} 263 syllable final mM mil, vil, alto [mil] [bil} fal to} 263 ] ] i syllable initial [or {] Meno, abello [Ke no} (ka Be do) 242,263 m m_- syllable initial [m] mano, amasar [ma no] [a ma sar) 263, n syllable initial {n) nene, nido {ne ne} {ni 0} 264 n before m {m inmenso fi men so} 264 ' inmejorable {i mie xo'ra ble] befére 0X) [6] b) incubar, ingrato in ku Bar) [iy gra to} 264 Lise. ingle, incoherente_[ig gle] [in ko € ren te] A syllable initial i) fiato, pufio {pa to} {pu po} 242, 264 , 0 syllable initial (0) oro, ocaso_[o r0} fo ka so] 256 oO oy syllable final [oi] voy, hoy {boi} [oi] 256 of syllable final {oi} eroico, estoico [e roi ko} [es toi ko] 256 oi across syllables (oi) egoista, boina [e yoista] [boinc] 256 “These g's ate pronounced [y] because they are between vowels, “When a written stress is placed over the i the i is no longer a glide and the two vowels are pronounced in seperate syllables. (See page 255.)Spanish ¢ Chart of Sounds 236 ™ Page Spanish Letter & Position in Word IPA Example & IPA - - 0} [a postar} 264 P syllable initial 1 peso, apostar {pe 50] [0 POs 1 ote syllable final © optar, captar [op tar} (kep - = aail 265 ue Teel ‘queso, quedar (ke 30) [ke & I q = G Se eges i - t word initial fe) rosa,rana (To sa] [ta na] Ea r syllable initial fa perovapuro [peso] fepurol 368 syllable final (lor (t] — in,cesar fie) (se sac) thers ic} Israel, enredar [iz ta el) [ente dar) 265 LT @ beeen vowels fl perro, carro [pe to) (ka To] 265 ‘S$ Syllable intial i} ‘sala, asco {so la) [a se 0} 266 S between vowels fs} 050, pasa {0 50} {po sa] 266 before voiced consonants [7] desde, musgo [deze] [muz yo] 266 syllable final {s) los, nifios (los) (ni pos) 266 - t syllable initial ty tina, untar (lina) [ua tar] 267 syllable final uo allas, atmésfera fat las) [at mos fe ra] 267 u syllable initial (u) uso, usual {uso} (u swal] 256 u syllable final (ul nuca, confuso {nu ka) {kon fu so] 256 ua syllable final [wal suave, cuarto [swa Be] (kwar to] 245 ue__ syllable final [we] cucrda, puesta fkwer 80) [pwes ta] 245 ui syllable final (wi) cuidar, buitre (kwi Sar) (bwi ue) 245, 257 ui syllable final Iwi] cuidado {kwi 00 do} (245, 257 Gy uy syllable final (wi) muy [mwi] 245 v syllable initial to) vaca, vengo [ba ka} [ven 90] 267 between vowels (B) uva, tuvo. {u Ba) {tu Bo} 267 w syllable initial tw whisky {wis ki) 268 Xerocopiax —_ [se-10 ko pja) syllable initial tks} examen (ek sa men} 268 exoneracién {ek s0 ne ra sjon) y syllable initial a) yeso, yegua [ye so] jeywa) 257 Zz syllable initial {sor (8)"*zapato, zar (sa pa to) [sar) 268 syllable final (3) tez,nariz tes} {na 268 j before a voiced consonant —[z] hazlo, pazmadofaz lo] {paz mado] 268 Vv w x * sori (s) Xenofobia {se no fo ja) 268 “Not a letter of the Spanish alphabet; only appears in borrowed words. **Castillian Spanish.Special Features of Spanish Diction Alphabet—Sound Correspondences In contrast to English, Spanish is virtually pronounced as it is writ- ten. The alphabet-sound correspondences charted in the previous section hold true in all instances. Syllabification The division of Spanish words into syllables is quite straight- forward and follows clear rules. The correct division is important since it often determines how a sound is pronounced. Certain con- sonant sounds [p t k b d g] are pronounced differently if they occur at the beginning of a syllable or at the end. (See page 258 Spanish Consonants in Detail for more detailed explanations.) c initial (k] cfinal [y] See page 239 fora dinitialfd] deadription ofthe fricatioe d final [0] ely). Single Consonant A single consonant starts a new syllable when it occurs between vowels. ma-ma [ma ma] ca-sa [ka sa] _ to-ma [to ma] ‘The letters ch, Il, and rr represent one sound and are treated as a single consonant; therefore, they are not divided. mu-cho [mu fo] calle [ka he} _pe-rro [pe To] Double Consonants ‘Two consonants together may or may not be divided. te Note: A mule of thumb is that if the two consonants ‘can octur,at the beginning of a word, they forma cluster and Wiil always be in the same syllable. Blanco blan.- co ablandar a-blan- dar (él can occur at the beginning of a word) calma —cal-ma (lm cannot occur at the beginning of a word, so you must divide it into separate syllables) There are 12 clusters that can go together in the same syllable. They are: ‘bl br cl cr dr fl fr Peles Pl ph rr EE eeSpanish 238 AA wien accent mark over & vowel means that it is stressol, The siess mark over the | in the word raiz, for example, means thatthe iis sires Three Consonants ‘Three consonants are always divided. The rule above will hel you to decide where to divide them. Ifthe last two conson ants form one of the twelve indivisible clusters, you must keep them in the same syllable. siem-pre hom-bre am-pliar However, if the last two consonants are not one of the twelve, you make the division between the second and third consonant. ins-pi-rar cons-tar Four Consonants Four consoriants are rare. When they do occur, divide them in the middle. obs-true-cion Two Vowels ‘Two vowels together can be divided in two ways. If one of the vowels is an unstressed i or u, the two vowels occur in the same syllable, causa cai-go cielo pies Inall other cases, two vowels together are divided into separate syllables. le-n caer leer raiz ba-il Exercise: Divide the words into syllables: quieto poeta caido alla pasillo carro exponer deuda subyacente paisaje airoso isla) hombre dialecto transportar Breath Phrases Word boundaries are, for the most part, ignored: when speaking Spanish. Between breath pauses, whatever words are being spoken are run together and pronounced as one woud. The phrase "Témas anduvo con Ana” (Thomas walked with Ann) would be pronounced like this: (to ma san du Bo ko na na]. This long *word" is divided into syllables following the rules above. Note that any final consonant ina word that occurs between vowels begins the following syllable.Exercise: Divide the following lines from the chorus of the seilors in the zarzuela "La Gran Via", Act 1. Cuando Ios vientos cual furias se agitan, cuando las olas se encrespan e irritan. "b, v, d, g" Variations According to Word Positions ‘These consonants are pronounced differently if they occur at the beginning of a word or if they occur in the middle of a word, even though their position in the syllable is the same. Remember that b and 9 are pronouriced the same. (See page 258 for a more detailed discussion of the individual sounds.) Note: To produce the fricative b (B], put your Tips together Tightly and blow so that the air lows through your ips. Be sure to voice the sound. You will fecl your lips vibrate. ‘Articulating this sound is similar to articulating (b], except that the lips do not completely stop the air Mow. Note: The fricative g sound, [y], is articulated the same way a5 the German ach-laut [x], except that itis voiced. To produce the fricative g, [y], raise your tongue 9s you Jrould for ak sound (k], but don't let your tongue completely touch the soft palate. Through the small, opening between your soft palate and your tongue, Tela Sheam of air flow. Then voice the sound. You will feel your tongue and soft palate vibrate Examples: be-be b word initial {b) pbetween vowels —_{) ven vy word initial (o} uya + v between vowels [B) | dedo word initial {d) d between vowels [3] | gato. g word initial {al Hu-go g between vowels LY] uela ~ A short drama with incidental music, similiar to an operetta or musical comedy. Taken from the Palace of La Zarauela near Madrid where festive dramas were hin a word,” Wher @ conso it can also mean "within breath phrase”, which is like one long word made up of several saords run together. See “Breath ious page Phrases” on the prSpanish 240 Note: When a consonent ‘ends a word and the same consonant begins the next word, pronounce both |) consonants as one ‘Note: See page 249 for explanation of vowels across word boundaries, Exercise: Look at these lines from the “La Gran Via". Write the IPA symbol for the underlined consonant. Watch out for those sounds that begin a word, but within the phrase occur between vowels: Ya nuestro barco cual rauda gaviota Lasalas van rompiendo nuestra suerte en pos. (Hip! jA bogar! /Hip! |A bogar! iQué hermosa es esta vida de la mart Lack of Aspiration in "p, t, k" In English, these consonants are pronounced with a puff of air if they occur before a siressed vowel (Peter, appeal, king). Spanish has no such aspiration. Pronounce these sounds like the non-aspirated English sounds following an s, as in spill, still, and skill. (See page 258 for a more detailed discussion and more exercises for the individual sounds.) Exercise Practice saying these pairs of words in English to feel the difference in the aspiration/non-aspiration. peak speak till, still, © Kill skull pill spill teal steal key ski punk spunk ton stun _—Kate skate Exercise: Now, practice these Spanish words, being careful not to aspirate. Pablo [pablo] taza [ta sa] casa [ka sa] peso [peso] tengo[ten go] queso [ke so} pino (pino] tino [tino] quiso {ki so] pongo [po g0] topo [to po] cosa [ko sa] puso [puso] tuna ftuna] cuna {ku na} Note: Remember that the [t) is dental (See page 267.) Exercise: ~ Practice the p’s andt's from these lines from the “ Gran Via", Y alla en la playa que lejos se diviza_ {jo jaen lo pla ja ke le xo se 6i Bi say Pafiuelos que se agitan sin cesar [pa nwe los ke sea xi tan sin se sar] nos llaman con amor [nos ja man ko na mor} {Oh [Magico placer! jOhtDicha singular! {o ma xi ko pla ser o di fa sin gu lar) EES reer rT Ty yyy YY,Assimilation of [s] The rules forthe pronunciation of sor 2 are the same. The Ter are pronounced as [s] or [2] depending on the sound that follows. If the next sound is a voiceless sound, the s or zis also a voiceless [s}. rascar [Fas kar] haztu[as tu] If the next sound is a voiced sound, the s or zis pronounced as @. rasgar [Toz yar] hazlo (az lo] Exercise: Decide if the underlined s should be pronounced as [8] or @. mégangosto las mismas presente dices ; peses musgo este besos los afos signo Exercise: Remembering that the letter z follows the same pronunciation rules as the letter s, decide how you would pronounce the following 2's. cazar_ zapato taza chorizo esboz0 paz vez orn una vezmés —_hallazgo Assimilation of [n] ‘The n is pronounced at the same point of articulation as the sound that follows it. 1) mpronounced as an alveolar (n} ~ nena [ne na] una taza ~~ [una ta sa] uncielo {un sje lo} 2) mpronounced asa bilabial [m] un peso [um: pe so} unbeso {um: be so} ‘Note that the sounds following the m are bilabial. inmejorable {i me xo ra ble) inmadurez {i ma &u res} 1 Assimilation - The alter influenced by 2 neighborin sound, which males it more Tike the nefghboring sound. Alveolar - Formed by bringing the stip of tke tongue near or against the alveoli. Bilabial - Formed by both lips.Spanish 242 3) m pronounced as [p] SEW lee ite! te inglés fin gles} dine susinsl the ef Geicabar fin ku Bor] a Note that the sounds following the mare velar ungato {up ga to} tun caso {un ka so) (See page 264 for a more detailed discussion of n and more exercises.) Individual Consonants Unique to Spanish Du {4} It The I has two acceptable pronunciatjons; both are widely used in different parts of the Spanish-speaking world. Both variants are used in parts of Spain and parts of South America. You can pronounce the "elye”as the It in the English word "million"; or you can pronounce it as an English y [y]. calle [ka je] or (ka fe] Mamar (ja mar) or [Ka mar] (See page 263 for a more detailed discussion and exercises.) 2) fi [p) 1 The fi is pronounced similar to the mlin the English word "canyon." : nifo [nino] pato [pa no] (See pages 48 and 264 for a more detailed discussion and exercises. 3) j [x] ‘The [x] is similar to the German sound [x]. Put the back of Your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, in the same position that you would use for a {k]. Be sure ot to touch the palate, Feel the air rush through the narrow opening. joven [xo Ben] enojo [e no xo] (See page 262 for a more detailed discussion dnd exercises.)Spanish © 4) Dental t and d In English, these two sounds are alveolar. They are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. In Spanish, you should pronounce them with the tongue tip touching the back of the teeth, tengo [ten go] tuna [tu na] Exercise: Pronounce the following words. tengo [ten go] danza [dan sa] taza [tasa] desde [/ todo [to 80} dama [da ma] tuna [tuna] duque [du ke] tieso. [te so] dulee [dul se} 5) rand rr ‘There are two Spanish “r's." The single r is pronounced with a flap of the tongue, like the English f or d that usually ‘occurs between vowels. Pronounce the words "body, Betty, Adam’; feel how your tongue flaps against the aveolar ridge. Now, try the Spanish words “pero, pura, cera”. Exercise: ' Pronounce these words. ceramica [se fa mike] arbol [or Bol] brazo [bra so] otro {0 tro] frota [fru ta] madre [ma Ore} targo—_flar'yo] criatura_{keja tu ra] verde - [ber de] cortar [kor tar] ‘There is no comparative sound in American English for the double rr. It is pronounced with a trilled r. To approximate the sound, flap your tongue tip several times in rapid succession against the tooth ridge. perro [pe To] arroyo [a To jo] z forro [fo To] In word initial position (even within a breath phrase) a single r is pronounced’asttriiled [1]. This is an exception where the spelling of single r does not reflect the simple alphabet- : sound correspondence of Spanish. rosa [To sa] rojo [to xo] resto [Tes t0} (Gee page 265 for a more detailed discussion and exercises.)Spanish 244 Note: As in the other languages, [e) and [0] are pronounced without a diph- thongal offglite as in English See page 46 in Italian. Pure Simple Vowels Spanish vowels are never lengthened. The ¢, i, 0» ina stressed syllable as their English counterparts are- and u are not longer English Spanish me mi may me low lo too tu Exercise: Practice saying the following words. Be careful not to glide the vowels. masa [masa] mesa [meso] misa [mi sa] moza [mo sa] musa {mu sa} lama {la ma] tema flema] lima [li ma] Joma floma] luna flu na} paso [paso] peso [pe so] piso pozo [po so] puso [pu so] (See page 252 for a more detailed discussion of the individual vowels and exercises.) {pi so} Strong Vowels Spanish vowels are not weakened in unstressed syllables. Unstressed vowels are not reduced to a schwa [9]. The pronunciation is the same wherever a vowel occurs. Vowels in unstressed syllables English monologue [ma no lg] += Spanish mondlogo [mo no lo yo] English productive (pre dak tv] Spanish productivo [pro duk ti Bo] English legitimate [lo &t t mor) Spanish legitimo [le xi ti mo] Exercise: Be careful to differentiate between the unstressed vowels in these syllables as you pronounce these pairs. bueng [bwe no] buena {bwe na] comieron [ko mje ron} comieran [ko mje ran] peso {pe so} piso {pi so]matara (ipa pa na] francamente fran ka men te] estatua [es "ta twa] ahogado [a0 'ya bo] ambicioso [am bi'sjo so) inaplicabtes ina pli ka bles} Diphthongs The vowel closure when pronounci : ronouncing Spanish diphthongs is much faster than in English and closes more. Because Ted aces more, Exercise: Pronounce these words. Pro} fords, Pronounce vowels in the stressed , and rstiste e/tatts the nme, Note that the assim extranjero” [eks tran 'xe ro] desgracia. —(dez * vee wikia ae alanis xe lesgracia 2 "¥50 sj} fs velar so then become velar alc. Preposicion [pre po si'sjon] momento [mo ‘men to] on different symbols are used in Spanish: ) ) ; English far). [o1)_—‘fau) Spanish [ai] [oi] au) Example: English Spanish ray [rel] rey (rei) 1 fal fay [ail boy [bor] voy (boi) closure of the Spanish dipkihong [ai] eon [kes causa kan sa} ee cea alae Exercise: Pronounce the following words. peine [pene] deuda {deu 8a} rina [Fina] . caucho (kau fo] baile [baile] causa [kaw sa] naipe [nai pe) jaula_[xau la] eae eect : “, eautntisoceutent ree Jaime [aime] paula [pau ta] Ee eee On-Glide Diphthongs Spanish has eight diphthongs which have a glide before the vowel. You should be careful not to break these diphthongs into two syllables. ia hacia, [0 sja] va cuarto [kwar to] je terra [ijeTa] ue cuerda_ [kwer da} jo adids [adjos}] uo cvota [kwo ta] ju viuda [bju a) ui cuidar [ki Oar] Exercise: ‘As you pronounce the following words, be careful not 10 break the diphthongs into two syllables. fuera [fwera] piano [pja no] ruana [twana] —piojo_[pjo xo] suave [swaBe] patio [pa tjo] mueca [mwe ka] rego [Tye yo] hueso [we so] fil (fjel] DT EYSpanish 246 Stress ‘There are several aspects of Spanish stress that differ from Eng! stress, able patterns Spanish word stress follows simple rules. Words ending with vowels, or the consonants nor s are stressed on the next-to-last syllable: habio (a blo) imagen {i ‘ma yen] | esta [esta] —_visitarnos_ [vi zi tar nos] Words ending in other consonants are stréssed on the last syllable: comer [ko'mer] principal [prin si ‘pal] verdad [ber 600] capaz _—_[ka ‘pas] All exceptions to these two rules carry a written accent: esti festa] imiin {i man] atris [armas] habié [a blo] ripido [7a pido] impidemelo {im ‘pi Oe me lo] Vowels in combination with i or u form diphthongs, unless a written accent is found on the jor u; in this case, the two vowels occur in separate syllables. Diphthongs Separate syllables paisano — [paj sa no} pais — [pa is] tiara [ja ca) fa tia) miope —_ [mjo pe] mio | [mi o] actuacion [ak twa sjon] acta {ak tu a] Exercise: Where would you stress the following words? ~ limosna — lavar estas pafal perrito hable lesion estas animal lapices —digamelo _periodo rapido parar lentamente Syllable length Spanish stressed syllables are louder, but they are not longer, Every Spanish syllable is pronounced in the same amount of time. English Spanish indus ad ay industria magnificent — industrial mad AA bDA ADA AAD DDLDLDDDDDDAALADLAARRARAALAANExercise: Pronounce the following words. Do not reduce any of the syllables. Remember that the vowels in unstressed syllables do not reduce to [9]. ho-me-na-je ex-tra-or-di-na-rio es-pon-ta-nei-dad a-gra-da-ble mo-men-ta-rio de-sas-tro-s0 va-rie-dad re-co-men-da-ble ha-bi-ta-ci6n psi-co-lo-gi a Secondary stress Spanish does not have secondary stress. Long words are not broken up inio primary-sccondary patterns as they are in English. Words have several weak stresses and one primary stress. Together with similar syllable length, this, feature of Spanish stress creates the familiar staccato rythm in this language. English + Spanish 5 Ad - min - fs tra- tion ad - mi - is - tra -cion \ us age 4 ha - tion af-i-ty na-clo-na-li-dad eee ee See. ge - 0g-ra- phy ge-0-gra-fi-a pats eee agree td -i-c4-tion &- dice -cion Exer { Pronounce the following Spanish words. The stress patterns are marked for you. da $i-fi-ca-clén -spon- si-bi-li-dad : : Neher Toeannoe fon fi nita- in-odm- pa t1-bi-ll-dad ae et , al cia gion in-ca-pa-di-ded He cots oo see ee, fe- ve-1a- cin ga-ni-ba-Ifs-mo Reema TUE AYE ECR O Ne ny con-Si-de-ra-cion —sen=ti-men- 13 -1i8-mo Cognate words ‘Many words in Spanish and English have similar Latin soots. Their meanings and spellings are similar; however, watch out for different stress patterns! As in the exercises above, the majority of cognates have different stress patterns.Spanish WY ous See page 249 for vowel changes across word boundaries, Due to the strong-weok stress patterns in English, an English speaker will have a tendency to shorten and lengthen syllables when phrasing a musical line, even when the note values are the same, This tendency should noi eerry over when singing in Spanish. Base the stress pattern on rumber of syllables when phrasing a musical line ns Spanish. What are the English cognates for the following words? ‘Are the stress patterns the same or different? entusiistico individdal curiosidéd rapidamént metabolismo departamen inevitable ‘comunicativo Stress timing Spanish rhythm is very difforent from English thythi. Whoreas English yin s determined by the number of stresses, Spanish rhythm is determined: by the number of syllables. In other words, the syllable length varies in English according to the stress system, but in Spanish, syllable length stays the same. In poetry, or in songs, the number of syllables gives the "beat". Rosita, in "Luisa Fernanda", Act 1. La zurcidora buena la sur si 60 ra Bwe na] T syllables sabedesobra _ [sa Be de so Bra] 5 syllables gue a quien mucho le zurce{kea kjen mu Yo le sur se] 7 syllables: pocolecobra [po ko le ko bra] S syllables + Yes que el bolsillo [yes kel bol si £0] S syllables también necesitaba [tam bje ne se si ta Ba] 7 syllables buen zureidilto — [bwen sur si di £o] 5 syllables Guardias, in “La Gran Via", Act 2 Caiga latrampa (kai ya la tram pa] 5 syllables con precaucion —_ [Kon pre kau sjon] 4 syllables queyatenemos [ke ya te ne mos] 5 syllables dentru*elraion [den trwel ra ton] 4 syllables : ‘u instead of o (adentro) shows a dialect variation eappanisn Vowel Changes Across Word Boundries ‘As Spanish words run together within a breath phrase, several interesting changes occur when two vowels come together at the word boundaries. Vowel Deletion Two vowels combine into one vowel. In ra vowel is not even lengthened. aa tierra arida —[tje Ta ri Oa] ze aireentro (ai ren tro) 00 cuatro ojos —_[kwa tro xos] spid speech, this Open vowel + closed vowel ‘When a more open vowel (ie. a vowel pronou the jaw lower) is followed by a more closed vowel, vowel disappears. ave laesposa [les po so} a+o lahora [loro] a+i laisa [liz lo) a+u ladnica [luni ko} +i Meimagino [mi ma xi no] o+u lounico — [luni ko] Exception. This does not usually happen combinations e+ oro+i Ie utilizo [le u ti li so) anced with he first with the Jo informo [lo in for mo} ‘Vowel Relaxation When ¢ or @ come into contact with each other (probably because they both have the same degree of jaw lowering), the first vowel relaxes and almost turns the two vowels into an onglide diphthong, The two vowels are then part of the same syllable. e+o estectro [es te tro] gre esteceste [es te oes te] ‘This also occurs when ¢ or o comes into contact with a. eta estealma [es teal ma] me hablo- ..[mea blo] : toto aquello [to 80a ke £0] o+a pudo hacer [pu 60a ser]Spanish Vowel deletion and relaxation are both very important ia singing, Separate vowels combine into one syllable. This allows Spanish rhythm to be maintained. Notice the following lines from “Luisa Fpmnanda’. Vidal En mi tierra_extremefa fen mi tjeTeks tre me tengo_un nido de_amores [tep gu ni 60 Sea mo entre_encinas bizarras fen tren si nas Bi saz ¥y castaiios y robles , fiikas ta po sito bles) donde_el pajaro quieée {don del pa xa ro kje re] que_una pajara venga | [Keu na pa xa ra Ben sa] parasersoberana) * {pa ra ser so Be ra na) de mi casa labriega. (de mi ka sa la bre ya} Divide the following Jines into syllables. ( From the Chorus in “La Gran Via, Act 1.) se Porque ¢s el caso, que segiin dicen | dofia Municipalidad Rs vaa dara luz una Gran Via que de fijo no ha tenido iqual . Triphthongs Three vowels together occur only in the Castillian verb forms used with the pronoun vosolres. {Note that pronouns in Spanish are often deleted from the sentence. For example, vosotros canibiais becomes simply cambiais.) The three vowels together are pronounced as a glide-vowel-glido, all in the same syllable. cambidis [kam bjais] estudisis [es tu djais} contiudis (kon ti nwais) Tripthongs also occur with some frequency at word boundaries justicia humana [xus ti sjau ma na] estatua importante {es ta twaim por tan te] negocio importante —_(n€ Yo'sjoim por tan te] estudié historia [es tu djois to rja] Note: Neither of the glides carries a written accent. If either slide has a written stress, it will belong to a separate syllable. negocio improbo [ne yo sjo im pro Bo] negocio tinico {ne yo sjo u ni ko] | | | PI a | a aee Spanish 265 es The Spanish q is pronounced as [ke] or [ki], depending on the spelling. The [k] sound in the word quien [kjen) is the same as in English, que syllable initial [ke] qui que [ke] quebrar_(ke brar] quejar [ke xar] quechua [ke {wa} syllable initial [i] quicio [ki sjo] quiebra _[kje Bra] quien [kjen] Gpanish has two r sounds, The first sound, [r] is called a flap. ‘When you pronounce it, flap the tip of your tongue against your tooth ridge once. The sound is similar to the English t or d between vowels, as in the words Betty, city, reader, feeder. Notice that this [r] is always spelled with a single r. "The second r sound is called a trill. There is no comparable sound in English. When you pronounce it, flap the tip of your tongue against the tooth ridge several times. Notice that this [TF] can be spelled either with a single r or a double rr, depending on the position in the word. Note: The IPA symbol for tapped ris [r] and for trilled ris [7]. word initial [T] _religién [Te li xjon] remo [Te mo} tito [i to) resulta [Te sul ta] syllable initial [| pared [pared] mira (mi ro] virar [birar] orar [0 rar] pajaro [pa xa ro} syllable final [) or (F] ; subir (su Bir) tefir [te pir] venir [be nir] hablar [a Blar] after ann, ~-[F] _enredar [en Te Bar] Isracl [is Ta el) thetetersrr (X] barra [bata] — hierro Ge to) cierro [sje To] _enterrar [en te Tar] Decide how to pronounce the r-sounds in the following ‘words. Are they flaps, trills, or either? cerrado tomar subrayar otro roto robar ensojar, enriquecer alrededor brisa