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KEY TO PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation of Vowels
Vowel sounds are generally shorter
and crisper in Spanish than in English. Although the five sounds
do combine in diphthongs and triphthongs, try to remember to keep
your vowels short and pure.
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a
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is pronounced
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ah
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e
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eh
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i
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ee
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o
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oh
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u
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oo
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y
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ee
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Pronunciation of
Consonants
You'll do well to remember that s
and z should be unvoiced--that is, they should sound
like sss and not zzz. All consonant sounds--regional
variations aside--follow entirely predictable patterns, governed
by their phonetic environment following rules far simpler than
those of English. Here are a few potentially confusing examples
of sound changes:
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j
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is pronounced as the English
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"h"
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ce; ge
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say; hey
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ci; gi
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see; he
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ca; ga
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kaw; gaw
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co; go
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ko; go
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cu; gu
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koo; goo
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