SPANISH I

SPAN 1000

Dr. Leticia VICENTE R.

Office G 27
Tel: 3943 1678
lvicente@cuhk.edu.hk

Calcular (To calculate)

ms
menos
por

entre

Conversacin
Choose the correct answers:

Cmo te llamas?
Salvador es tu nombre o tu
apellido?
Y cmo se escribe, con be o
con uve?
Y Villa?

1. Salvador
2 Salvador
Villa
1. Es mi nombre. 2. Es mi
apellido.
1. Con uve
3. Con be
1. Tambin con uve. 2.
Tambin con be.

DUDAS Y PREGUNTAS Doubts and questions

Qu significa nio/ pas/ telfono?
What is the meaning of?

Mvil/ correo electrnico significa ?

Does mean?

h e

A l

S p
p ha

a n

is h

e t
b

(El abecedario espaol)

(a)

Like the a in father, but shorter.

Examples:
ms
pasa

nada
maana

casa
encantada

Note: In this presentation, all vowels will be circled.

(be)

The Spanish b is similar to the English b when initial

(pronounced at the beginning of a phrase) or after the letters
m or n.
el medio ambiente
Bailo con Mara.
It is softer, allowing some air to pass through the lips, when
intervocalic (located between vowels).
Iberia.
Hablan bien.
un banco
No bailo bien.
Note: Also see v.

(ce)

The Spanish c has two distinct sounds, depending on its

environment, that is, how it is located with respect to certain
vowels. The next slide provides more details.

c=k
. . . before the following
three vowels

c = /ce/
. . . before the following
two vowels

casa
copa
cura

Unlike the English k

sound, the hard Spanish c
is not aspirated, that is, no
air is expelled when it is
pronounced.

cero
circo
In Spain, the c before e or i is
pronounced /ce/ /ci/

*
*

ch

(che)

Until 1994, ch was a separate letter in Spanish, and

words that began with this letter were found in a
separate ch section in the dictionary after the section
containing words beginning with c. It is pronounced
like the English ch.
chimichanga
muchacho

chica

(de)

The Spanish d is similar to the English d but is

pronounced with the tongue farther forward against the
upper teeth. When initial or after the letters n or l, it
is harder.
Daniel es mi hermano.
andar
when intervocalic, it is a bit softer, much
like the voiced th sound in the English word
they.
nada
Buena idea!

(e)

Like the e in they, but without the y glide

es
tres

mesa
deporte

interesante
Mxico

(efe)

The Spanish f is essentially identical to

the English f.
Fernando
telfono

flan
frente

(ge)

The Spanish g has three main distinct

sounds, depending on its environment.
The next two slides provide more details.

g = g in "gap"

. . . before the following

three
vowels
at
the
beginning of a phrase or
after the letter n.
In other cases, such as when
intervocalic, the g is softer,
somewhat like the g in sugar,
before these three vowels: a,
o and u.

gato
gota
gusto
tengo
pagar
lago
igual

g = h in "harp"

. . . before the following

two vowels:
E and I

gemelo
gitano

g = /x/ in get
with U after the vowels e and i
/gui//gue/
Guitarra

Guerra

(hache)

The h is almost always completely silent.

Excepting in foreign words like hip hop,
h ol
Hong Kong

H ablo espaol.
h ospital
h otel

(i)

Like the ee in teeth or the i in machine, but

shorter
mi
nio

libro
tmido

inteligente
rico

(jota)

The j is pronounced in all cases like the soft

g, that is, much like an h in English. In some
areas,
particularly
Spain,
the
jota
is
pronounced more crisply, with a somewhat
harsh or guttural sound.
Jos
jarra
atajo
hijo

(ka)

The k is a letter borrowed from Greek

and is found only in words borrowed from
other languages.
The k is not aspirated in Spanish.
whisky
karate
kilogramo

(ele)

The l is pronounced with the tip of the

tongue against the alveolar ridge as in
English; however, the tongue is held
straight rather than slightly curled.
alveolar ridge
lotera
Lalo
azul

*
*

ll

Until 1994, ll,

letter in Spanish,
this letter were
dictionary.
See
information.

(elle)
like ch, was a separate
and words that began with
listed separately in the
the next slide for more

ll

(elle)

The ll is pronounced like the English y.

calle = caye

In Spain, it was formerly pronounced as ly, and some

conservative, older speakers still use this
pronunciation.

calle = calye

(eme)

The m is pronounced essentially like its

English counterpart.

mam
amor

mole
mensaje

(ene)

The n is pronounced very much like its English counterpart.

Elena
mquina

nada
Nora

Before the consonants b, p, and v, the n is

pronounced like an m.

un beso

un perro

un vaso

(ee)

After the changes to the Spanish alphabet in 1994,

the is the one letter that still does not appear in
the English alphabet.
It is pronounced like the ni combination in the word
onion.
ao

nio

maana

bao

(o)

Like the o in hope, but without the glide.

mono
perro

yo
no

(pe)

The p is unlike the English p in that the latter is

aspirated, that is, a puff of air is expelled after the
lips separate. In Spanish, we hold back the air,
avoiding the pop that is heard in English.
Pablo
pap
pata

ropa

(cu)

The q is always followed by u, as in English,

except for a few foreign words such as Iraq, although
this word can also be spelled Irak, since the sound of
q is essentially identical to that of k. Like the p
and [k] sounds, the q is not aspirated.
queso
quilate
pequeo
quien

r
The
intervocalic,
embedded (that is,
non-word-initial) r
involves a single tap
of the tongue against
the alveolar ridge.

(ere)
pero
Mara
arena
Eddie

rr

*
With the rr, or double r,
(A single letter previous to 1994)

(erre)
perro
barrio
derrota

the tongue is positioned just

as with the single r, except
alrededor
that it is held there briefly
en realidad
and
allowed
to
flap,
creating the rolling effect.
rosa
The single r is rolled more like the rr after l
and n.
rubio
When initial, the r is rolled exactly like the rr.

(ese)

The s is essentially like the English s in

most of the Spanish-speaking world.
s
peso

casa
sabroso

(te)

The t is similar to the English t except that it

is, again, more dental. The tongue is brought
forward against the upper teeth much as with
the d. Like the p and [k] sounds, the t is not
aspirated.
t
tamal
Tito
patata

(u)

Like the u in the name Lulu, but shorter

The important thing to remember about the u is that it has
no initial y sound as in English. When we pronounce the
word union, for instance, we actually say yunion. Leave the
y sound off ininusual
Spanish.
universidad

unin

comunidad

(uve)

In all environments, the v is identical in

pronunciation to the b.
Voy contigo
envidia
Eva

lavar

w (uve doble)
The w is a letter borrowed from English and is
found only in words borrowed from other
languages.
whisky
wter (closet)

(equis)

The x is pretty much as in English.

exacto

examen

auxilio

However, in words derived from Mexican indigenous

languages, of South America it is like a j when intervocalic . .
.
Mxico
. . . and like an s when initial.

Xochimilco

y (i griega)
The y, when word-final, acts as a semivowel, that
is, it has a sound similar to the vowel i.
Voy
rey
When word-initial or intervocalic, it functions as a
consonant and sounds like the y in English.
ya
rayo

(zeta)

The z has two distinct sounds,

depending on geography. The next slide
provides more details.

In the Americas

z=s
In all cases

zapato
("sapato")

In Spain

z=z
In all cases

(zapato")

SPANISH RULES OF STRESS (or ACCENT)

Three basic rules that cover nearly every word:
If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress is on the penultimate (next to
last) syllable. For example, libro, trabajadora, joven and familia all have their
accent on the next-to-last syllable. Most words fit this category.
Words that end in other letters have the stress on the last syllable. For
example, hotel, hablar, trabajador and abril all have the accent on the final
syllable.
If a word isn't pronounced according to the above two rules, an accent is
placed over the vowel of the syllable that gets the stress. For example,
mdico, ingls, and all all have the stress on the indicated syllable.

Exceptions
The tilde differentiates two words that are spelled and pronounced the
same way, but mean different things.
Possessive adjectives
mi (my)
tu (your)

Personal pronouns
m (me)
t (you)

Examples:
Mi amor me compra a m una rosa. (My love buys me a rose.)
Tienes un gato. Es tu gato. (You have a cat. It is your cat.)

Interrogatives/Question Words
All interrogative (question) words have a written accent to signal that
someone is asking a question and not just making a statement.
Cmo? How/What?
Cul(es)? Which (ones)?
Cundo?
When?
Cunto(s)/a(s)? How much/many?
Dnde? Where?
Qu? What?
Quin? Who/whom?
Por qu? Why?

There are also several other words that "just have" accents to differentiate them
other similar words. The tilde makes a big difference when written, but in speech,
although they share the same sounds, the one with the tilde is pronounced with more
stress.
o l (he)

el (the)

l le gusta el queso. (He likes the cheese.)

o t (tea) te (you - direct object) Te recomiendo que bebas el t. (I recommend that

you drink the tea.)
o s (yes) si (if) S, quiero ir al cafe si tienen la pizza. (Yes, I want to go to the cafe if
they have pizza.)
o cmo (how/what) como (like, as) Cmo se llama l? Es alto como Pablo?
(What is his name? Is he tall like Pablo?)
o slo (only) solo (alone) Ir slo si t vas tambin; no quiero ir solo. (I will go only
if you go; I don't want to go alone.)

PROFESIONES

Qu es/son?
Es/Son

SER (to be)

Yo soy
estudiante/ chino/
T eres
Hamlet
l/ Ella/ Usted es
de Hong Kong
Nosotros/-as somos
profesores
Vosotros/-as sois
espaolas
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes son

Ms profesiones
O/-A

OR/ORA

Veterinario/ -a
Arquitecto/-a
Camarero/-a
Enfermero/-a
Escritor/ -a
Director/-a
Dentista
Polica

APRENDER

(-ER) (to learn)

Yo aprendo
T aprendes
l/ Ella/ Usted aprende
Nosotros/-as aprendemos
Vosotros/-as aprendis
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes aprenden
Qu aprendes? Aprendo..

PREGUNTA Y RESPONDE: Ask and answer

Aprendes japons?
Eres espaola?
AFIRMATIVO
S, aprendo japons.
S, soy espaola.
NEGATIVO
No, no aprendo japons.
No, no soy espaola.

LUGAR DE RESIDENCIA: Place of residence

Dnde

vives? (Where do you live?)

Vivo en Hong Kong. Y t?

Yo tambin.

VIVIR (-IR) To live

Yo vivo
T vives
l/ Ella/ Usted vive

EN Hong Kong
Espaa

Nosotros/-as vivimos
Vosotros/-as vivs
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes viven

PRACTICA Practise
Eres?
Te llamas?
Vives en?
Hablas?

Muchas gracias.
Thank you very much.