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Letters Are Important To Learn Spanish Free |
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Written by Mike Adams
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Tuesday, 22 June 2010 07:10 |
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As attractive and effortless as Spanish sounds, there is always a certain amount of demanding work involved in learning any new language. The rules might seem difficult at first, but don't forget that the English language is often cited as one of the most complicated to learn, thanks to each rule's numerous exceptions. Spanish is fairly straight forward, and therefore great for self-education. Mastering the following guidelines can go a long way toward helping you learn Spanish free.
by MikeAdams
As attractive and effortless as Spanish sounds, there is always a certain amount of demanding work involved in learning any new language. The rules might seem difficult at first, but don't forget that the English language is often cited as one of the most complicated to learn, thanks to each rule's numerous exceptions. Spanish is fairly straight forward, and therefore great for self-education. Learning the following rules can go a long way toward helping you learn Spanish free.
Spanish Vowels And How They Sound
All of Spanish's vowels are associated with strong sounds that will help each word jump off the tongue, like from a diving board. The letter "A" is pronounced like an "uh", an "e" sounds like "ay", the letter "i" becomes an "eee" sound and finally a "u" results in an "ooh" noise. The only vowel that retains the same sound from English to Spanish is the "o", which keeps the "oh" pronunciation.
The Sound Of Spanish Consonants
Consonants in Spanish are understated for the most part. Even so, many rules apply to the consonants that can make subtle changes to not only meaning but the very sound of a word. In addition, there are a couple new letters to play with in Spanish. The first new letter is "ch", which is voiced just as it would be in English.
The letter "c" becomes an "s" sound when used in front of an "e" or "i", for instance the word "cero", or the Spanish version of the English word "zero". A "g" in front of an "e" or "i" produces the "ch" sound, but if it's used anywhere else it represents a hard English "g" sound, as in "go".
More trouble makes itself known with the letter "z", which brings about a "th" sound like in the word "with." Any "h" in the Spanish language is always silent. The "ll" is another sound, used very commonly in Spanish, and it sounds very much like the hard "y" sound of "you." An example of the "ll" letter is "llamar", which sounds like "ya-MAR."
Then there's the little tilde that appears in many Spanish words, such as "el nio". This produces a similar sound to the "ll", and as a result "el nio" is spoken "Ehl neen-yo".
There are still more sounds if one cares to look, including "qu", which becomes a hard "k" sound. "R" letters are always rolled, particularly when they crop up at the beginning of a word. The letter "y" is pronounced just like its English equivalent unless it's used by itself or at the end of a word in which case it sounds like "eee". With enough practice, you'll be able to say just about any word you'd like -- and that's a great way to learn Spanish free.
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