Learn Spanish FREE - Vowel Sounds

Guide To The Spanish Language
An introduction to Spanish without the grammar - A new and fresh perspective with some interesting items on language and the similarities between Spanish and English 

1.   Learn Spanish Introduction
2.   Spanish Grammar
3.   The use of Language
4.   Spanish Pronunciation
5.   Common History of Spanish and English
6.   Learn to Listen
7.   Language is Musical
8.   Reading Spanish
9.   Spanish is NOT the Official Language of Spain
10. Language Courses
11. Interpretation
12. Some fun items
13. Vocabulary
14. Cognates - Do you know what a cognate is?
15. Learn Vocabulary
16. Efficient Study
17. Mnemotechnics
18. The 146 Most Used Words in Spanish
19. How Do We Make Real Spanish Sounds
20. Vowel Sounds
21. Consonant Sounds
22. Asking a Question in Spanish
23. Masculine Feminine Words
24. Direct Translation
25. Verbs
26. Spanish phrases
27. Cognates continued

Learning Spanish - Vowel Sounds

When discussing sounds we can use certain terminology and certain words to help us describe the way we make a speech sound. These words will only have some value if we know what they mean so, to help us make sense of the subject, we will discuss briefly some unusual words used to describe speech. Some of these words you will probably have heard before such as:
monophthong, diphthong and triphthong. They are derived from Greek words. Monopthong is from Greek for Single Note. Diphthong is from Greek for “with two tones” and Triphthong is from Greek for “with three tones”. They are used to describe the way we make VOWEL sounds.

• A Monophthong = A single pure vowel sound made without change in quality throughout the course of a syllable.

• A Diphthong (also a gliding vowel) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme, as in oa in boat or (oi) in boil.

• A Triphthong is a monosyllabic vowel sound combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another that passes over a third one. Put another way it is a compound vowel sound made from three simple ones compressed together to appear like one. While "pure" vowels, or monophthongs, are said to have one tongue position, triphthongs require a moving tongue.

The important point to grasp is that as in English, two or three vowels in Spanish can blend together to form one sound. Somewhat like the way words can blend together to form what sounds like one word; the effect known as elision. The sound heard may be the sound of the two or three vowels rapidly pronounced. For example, the u when followed by an a, e, i or o ends up sounding something like the "w" in "water." Examples: cuaderno, cuerpo, cuota. Phonetically these could be cwaderno, cwerpo, cwota. In the word cuaderna the sounds of the “u” and “a” merge together and the result is something that sounds like a different letter altogether a “w”.

The ai combination sounds something like the sound of "eye." Example: airear. Phonetically could be eyerear.

The i when followed by an a, e, i or u sounds like the "y" in "yellow." Example: hierba, bien, siete. Phonetically could be hyerba, byen, syete.

Vowel sounds are much more important in Spanish than English, so you should practice them often.

A, E, I, O, U. These are always pronounced the same. "A" is "ah." "E" is "ayh." "I" is "ee." "O" is "oh." "U" is "oo." Keep the sound short do not drag the sounds out too far. To explain in more detail………….

A - When your dentist tells you to open your mouth and say "aah" this is how you pronounce the vowel "a". Similar to "a" in "father" A is called in Spanish as it sounds “a”

E - Is similar to but not quite the sound of the English letter "A," which if pronounced slowly often has an "eh" sound at the end. E is called in Spanish as it sounds “e”

I - Is pronounced similarly to the "ee" in "feet" and “fee” the "e" in "me," although usually a little briefer. I is called in Spanish “I” and sounds like “ee”

O - Is pronounced like the "au" in "August" O is called in Spanish “o” sounds like “au”

U - When the "u" appears after a "q", it is silent otherwise it is pronounced like the " u" in rule or like the "oo" in "boot" or the “oo” in “Moo Cow” or the "u" in "tune." U is called in Spanish “u” sounds like “oo”