Spanish Grammar and Words & Phrases The Municipal Courts Training Center in no way suggests that this material should be used as a substitute for the appointment of interpreters fluent in the Spanish Language. This presentation is meant to be a helpful resource when needing a Spanish phrase, word or help in pronunciation. Pronunciation Castillian and Latin American Unlike the United States where there are several versions of English but all versions are generally understood by anyone who speaks English, the major dialects of Spain and the Latin American countries are so distinct that each must be learned as a separate language. Pronunciation Catalán: a mixture of French, Italian, Spanish and Basque; Galician: a mixture of Portuguese, Basque, and Spanish; Castillian: the official dialect of Spain used in the courts, churches, schools and universities and the Spanish culture, generally; and Basque: a language more unto its own than a dialect. These dialects are as different from each other as are French, German, and English. Pronunciation Fortunately, the Spanish spoken in Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America, Except Brazil (Portuguese), closely resembles the formal Spanish, Castillian. Basically, the same grammatical rules apply except for the pronunciation of three letters. Pronunciation Although the Spanish alphabet is virtually the same as the English, very few, if any, letters in Spanish are pronounced exactly the same as English. English vowels tend to be suppressed where Spanish vowels must be pronounced sharply and clearly. Pronunciation Although a rather simple lesson in pronunciation will help you “get by”, only by practice will you begin to feel comfortable in speaking (pronouncing) Spanish. Pronunciation Vowels A Pan – bread Hablar – to speak As a in father Casa – house Madre – mother Papel - paper Pronunciation Vowels E Padre – father Necessario – necessary As a in bake when at the De – of, from end of a syllable Usted – you Sentir – to feel As e in bet when in a Verdad – truth closed syllable (syllable with Ser - true ends in a consonant) Decir – to say Pronunciation Vowels I (Y) Ir – to go As i in laughing, machine Libre – free, at liberty Ficción - fiction Pronunciation Vowels O Ojo – eye Malo – bad, evil As o in obey when at the Mano – hand end of a syllable Señora – woman, lady Señor – man As ou in wrought, Sombrero – hat brought when in a closed Contra – against syllable Consejo - council Pronunciation Vowels U Mucho – much As oo in tool Nunca – never Buscar – to look for Un(a) - one Pronunciation Consonants B Softly with lips touching Trabajar – to work but a little air passing between them Beber – to drink Not as forcefully as in English except as b in Bastante – enough bond when the initial También – also, too letter in a word or after n and m Pronunciation Consonants C Cómo – how As c in comb before a, o, Café – coffee u, or another consonant Cabrito –small goat Lección – lesson In Latin American Spanish, as s in see Decir – to say before e or i. As th in Cinco – five thin (Castillian) before e or i Hacer – to do, to make Pronunciation Consonants CH Mucho – much As ch in children Muchacho – boy Chorizo – spicy pork sausage Pronunciation Consonants D Donde – where As in the English d except when between Todo – all vowels and at the end Vender – to sell of a word, pronounce like th in they Pronunciation Consonants F Falta – fault, want, lack As in the English f Frío – cold Difícil – difficult Pronunciation Consonants G Pagar – to pay Alguno – some person As g in garden when Gracias – thank you before a, o, u, or a consonant Guacamole - guacamole Gente – People As a gutteral or General – general throaty h before e Gema – gem and i Gentil - gentle Pronunciation Consonants H Hoy – today Is always silent Hay- there is, there are Hermano – brother Ahora - now Pronunciation Consonants J Jardin – garden As h in hall Ejemplo – example Juan – John Jalisco – Jalisco Pronunciation Consonants K Kilómetro – kilometer As in the English k Kilogramo – kilogram Kiosco - kiosk Not found in Spanish-based words, only those based on another language Pronunciation Consonants L Libro – book As in the English l Libre – free, at liberty Cozumel – Cozumel Fácil - easy Pronunciation Consonants LL Calle – street In Latin American Spanish, as y in Llamar – to call yellow Llegar – to arrive, to come In Castillian, it is Llevar – to carry pronounced as lli in Caballo - horse million and William Pronunciation Consonants M Minuto – minute As in the English m Importar – to import Tomar – to take, to drink, to eat Pronunciation Consonants N Mano – hand As in the English n Negro – black Noche – night General – general Pronunciation Consonants Ñ Pequeño – little As in ny in canyon and lanyard Año – year Niña - girl Pronunciation Consonants P Posible – possible As in the English p Guapa – brave, stout of heart Rápido - quick Pronunciation Consonants QU Que – that, who, which Qué – what As in the English k Querer – to wish, to want Precedes only e and i Aquí – here Quedar – to stay, to remain Pronunciation Consonants R Servir – serve As in the English r but correctly Secreto – secret pronounced Rojo – red Río - river When at the beginning of a word, slightly trilled Pronunciation Consonants RR Arroz – rice As in the English r, but is pronounced Irregular – irregular with a stronger, more elongated trill Pronunciation Consonants S Siglo – century As s in similar Siempre – always Días – days Many persons will pronounce mismo Así – so, thus (same) as a z, especially when said quickly Pronunciation Consonants T Tener – to have As in the English t Tener Que – to have to Sentir – to feel However, tongue should touch back of Tinta – ink, tint upper teeth rather Tierra – earth, land than frontal roof of the mouth Pronunciation Consonants V As in the English v, Vivir – to live but not pronounced Verde – green as assertively as in Uvas – grapes English Juvenil – juvenile Very similar to the Spanish b The lips almost touch but air passes through them Pronunciation Consonants W Does not exist in Spanish Pronunciation Consonants X Examen – to examine When it occurs between vowels, Éxito – result, outcome pronounce like gs Existir – to exist Explicar – to explain When it occurs Exclamar – to cry out, before a consonant, to exclaim pronounce like s Extremo – last, extreme Pronunciation Consonants Z Zapato – shoe In Latin American Spanish, pronounced Paz – peace as the s Riqueza – riches In Castillian, pronounced like th in earth Diphthongs A, e and o are known as strong vowels. Two can never stand together to form a diphthong. They are always separated in pronunciation. De-se-o – I desire De-se-ar – to desire I-de-a – idea Diphthongs I (y) and u are weak vowels and when one strong and one weak vowel or two weak vowels come together, a diphthong is formed. Rui-do – noise Siem-pre – always Diphthongs If, however, a weak vowel is accented ('), it is separated from the other vowel, weak or strong, and the diphthong is broken. Dí-a – day Rí-o – river Ma-rí-a – Mary Diphthongs Jai alai – jai alai (game) AI (AY) Aire – air Hay – there is, there are As in English I Pausa – pause, AU intermission As in ou in out Pauperismo - poverty Diphthongs EI (EY) Reina – queen Ley – law As ey in they Peine – comb EU As in English long a/u Europa – Europe Rhymes with way to Diphthongs OI (OY) Hoy – today Oidor – listener As oy in toy Diphthongs IA Pronunciar – to pronounce As ya in yacht Diablo – devil, cunning person Silencio – silence IO Dios – God As yo in yolk Lecciones - lessons Diphthongs IE Bien – well Hierba – herb As ye in yellow if in a closed syllable As ye in yea, ya in Pie – foot Yale if in open Quiero – I want syllable Diphthongs Juan – John UA Agua – water As wa in wash Cualidad – quality Puente – bridge UE Pueblo – town, village As we in went Bueno – good UO Cuota – quota Antiguo – antique, old As wo in wore Diphthongs IU Ciudad – city Viuda – widow As in English you, but pronounced with brevity Cuidado – care ¡Cuidado! – Be Careful! UI (UY) Muy – very As English we Ruido – noise Latin American Pronunciation Rules That Differ From Castillian The final d is many times not pronounced Madrid – Madrid Sed – thirst, drought Verdad – truth Latin American Pronunciation Rules That Differ From Castillian An s before a consonant or at the end of a word is often not pronounced Dos Años – two years Los Libros – the books Buenos Noches – good night Although not absolutely correct grammatically, it is commonly heard and spoken in this manner. Latin American Pronunciation Rules That Differ From Castillian Z is pronounced like the English s Raza – race Cadiz – Cadiz Chorizo – a pork sausage Latin American Pronunciation Rules That Differ From Castillian C before e or i is pronounced like the English s Cinco – five Necio – stupid, foolish Latin American Pronunciation Rules That Differ From Castillian Ll is usually pronounced as y in yes Caballo – horse Amarillo – yellow Syllabication One consonant, including ch, ll, and rr, is always pronounced with the following vowel Ciu-dad – city Ha-ber – to have Lla-mar – to call Syllabication Two consonants between vowels are usually separated Car-ta – letter Es-tá – he (she, it) is Syllabication Where there are two abutting consonants and the second one is l or r, they are generally inseparable A-brir – to open, to begin Li-bre – free, at liberty Accentuation Except in the case of a word ending in n or s, always stress the last syllable of words ending in a consonant Hablar – to speak Accentuation When words end in a vowel, n or s, stress the second-to-last syllable Pluma – pen Hablan – they speak Cosas - things Accentuation If any syllable is accented with a ('), that syllable is pronounced with stress irrespective of the two rules above.