Questions tagged [pronunciación]
Normas o consejos de pronunciación. // Rules or advice about pronunciation
262
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Why is the "x" in "México" or "Texas" pronounced as the letter "j"?
Even as a native speaker I don't know the reason for this: why is the "x" in México, Texas or Xavier pronounced as the letter "j"?
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6
answers
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Why don't Spanish words start with "sp"?
I've noticed that there aren't any words in Spanish that start with sp. Latin words are altered to include an e in front of the sp. Even loan words are often modified to esp...:
spaghetti → ...
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votes
15
answers
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How to pronounce the consonants "y" and "ll"?
ENGLISH
I have heard y/ll pronounced in two different ways:
[j] (like 'y' in "yellow")
[ʒ] (like 's' in "measure")
Do native speakers use both interchangeably? Or is it pronounced [j] in some ...
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36
votes
4
answers
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Are there other words in Spanish that can't be written? (like sal-le)
Recently, I learned that there is at least one Spanish word that can be pronounced but not written.
It is the imperative form of 'salirle'. It is pronounced as 'sal-le' and the written form should ...
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34
votes
11
answers
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Can I learn to roll my R's?
Whenever I try to say words like perro or arroyo, I sound like I'm telling a pirate joke. I can identify the sound I'm supposed to make and I've been told how my tongue is supposed to move, but I can'...
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31
votes
12
answers
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Are there native-born Spanish speakers that can't trill their R's?
ENGLISH
It seems that one of the greatest difficulties some native-English speakers have is learning to trill their R's. Some, it seems, are completely incapable of performing this task.
Is this ...
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27
votes
10
answers
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How to pronounce 'C++' in Spanish
I'm doing a presentation in Spanish class, and I'll be mentioning the programming language C++. I'm not sure if it should be pronounced the same way as in English, or if there's a different way to ...
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8
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In what ways is the letter “s” (or the /s/ sound) pronounced in Spain?
I’ve heard varying things regarding the varying pronunciations of the “s” sound in Spain. However, no one was willing (or at least, able) to explain these variations to me.
How is the “s” sound ...
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19
votes
3
answers
1k
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Does an accent mark change the pronunciation of single-syllable words?
I know that some single-syllable words (most pronouns, for example) come in two varieties, with and without an accent mark on the vowel.
"Él" has a different meaning than "el", but is it pronounced ...
19
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5
answers
2k
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Why is "Enrique" pronunced as though it has a double "r"?
Why is "Enrique", even though its 'r' position is at the middle of a word, pronounced as a double "r"? What are the orthographic rules you need to know to determine if an "r" must be pronounced as a ...
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18
votes
3
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¿Cómo se pronuncia un número de siglo?
Cuando leo artículos de Wikipedia, o libros historicales, es muy común encontrar una frase como siglo [numeración romana]. Por ejemplo,
Aljedrez, tal como se conoce actualmente, surgió en Europa ...
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18
votes
6
answers
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What is the difference between allí and ahí ("there")?
English
What is the difference between allí and ahí? Is there any difference in pronunciation between the two? Are there any contexts where one is correct and one is wrong, or are they completely ...
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17
votes
5
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¿Por qué razón en España suelen pronunciar los extranjerismos de acuerdo a las reglas del español y no a las reglas del idioma original?
En México y América Central los extranjerismos más recientes suelen pronunciarse de acuerdo a las reglas del idioma original, o más comúnmente aproximaciones o deformaciones de estas acercando la ...
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17
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5
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Why is the 'b' and 'v' pronunciation inconsistent?
I've learnt that the v sound in Spanish is pronounced as a "b", however why are some words such as "por favor" and "Revolucion" pronounced as a "v"? Also, is this type of pronunciation Spanish (spoken ...
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17
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6
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¿Por qué la diferencia entre s y z/c solo se da en España?
La pronunciación en el centro y el norte de España, como sabemos, pronuncia la "ce" y la "zeta" en forma diferente a la "ese" que es el único sonido que se utiliza para estas tres letras en ...
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2
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How should I pronounce programming language names (like "Java") and technical terms (like "JSON") in Spanish?
In Spanish, English names are usually pronounced following English rules. E.g. we pronounce "Peter" as "piter" (that's to be read in plain Spanish, i.e. "pee-ter").
However, some tech-related words ...
user13628
16
votes
1
answer
3k
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Approximant vs. fricative realization of /b/, /d/, /g/
According to the Wikipedia article on Spanish phonology, the phonemes /b/, /d/, and /g/ are realized as approximants or fricatives instead of plosives in all but certain contexts (after a pause, nasal ...
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15
votes
12
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Do any Spanish words exist that aren't pronounced as expected from their spelling?
English is a language that does not have a consistent system for the pronunciation of words with similar spellings (e.g. compare rough with through), this can lead to a situation where it is not ...
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8
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Why does Latin America not “lisp” consonants, having learned its Spanish from Spain?
I am referring to the sounds made by the letters ⟨z⟩ and the soft ⟨c⟩ the way they’re said in Spain, like in the Spanish words zorro and cena. (This is the unvoiced dental fricative sound heard at ...
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3
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Audio maps of Spanish dialects?
Apart from vocabulary differences, the Spanish language has an enormous and fascinating diversity in pronunciation and accents. In my country (Argentina) people from the central inland region have a ...
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14
votes
2
answers
109
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¿Cómo se pronunciaban infinitivos ligados a pronombres con doble ele?
En el Quijote hay varios ejemplos de infinitivos ligados a pronombres con doble ele:
...jurando de ir a buscar al valeroso don Quijote de la Mancha y contalle punto por punto lo que había pasado...
.....
- 241
13
votes
7
answers
5k
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Help me pronounce single "r"
I've recently started studying Spanish (Latin American) with Rosetta Stone. I think I'm doing trilled r's right but I'm not sure if I'm doing single r's right. Are they supposed to have a single trill,...
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13
votes
2
answers
898
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Distribution of Spanish speakers regarding 's' and 'c' pronunciation
We know that following groups of syllables
se, si, sa, so, su
ce, ci, za, zo, zu
can be pronunced in 3 different ways:
Context
distinción
seseo
ceceo
"s" + vowel
/s/
/s/
/θ/
"c/z&...
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12
votes
3
answers
4k
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Historical pronunciation of letters "b" and "v"
In another question, a Wikipedia article was quoted saying:
The letters ⟨b⟩ and ⟨v⟩ were originally simply known as be and ve. However, there is no longer any distinction between the sounds of ...
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12
votes
4
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3k
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Is the dropped /s/ in Argentina a class marker?
I'm watching La pelea de mi vida, an Argentinean film, and in it the characters are dropping their esses all over the place. E'ta, e'tuve, even stuff like E' muy e'traño and E'to tene'
The film is ...
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2
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¿Cómo se llama la característica que tiene el español, y otros idiomas, por la que las vocales siempre se pronuncian de la misma manera?
Me gustaría saber cómo se llama cuando los sonidos de las vocales escritas suenan siempre de la misma manera al pronunciarlas.
Una vez me topé con la definición, pero esta vez no tuve mucha suerte en ...
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4
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4k
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Why is Argentinian pronunciation different from other countries?
I was watching some Argentinian telenovelas to get used to Spanish language and noticed that there's a different pattern regarding the pronunciation of the imperative command than what Michel Thomas ...
- 213
11
votes
1
answer
2k
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Pronounce and distinguish "ñi" and "ni"?
I'm new to Spanish and I'm trying to learn pronunciation first.
I listened to a few materials and I'm finding it difficult to distinguish "ñi" and "ni", for example "niñito". And it's even harder to ...
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10
votes
2
answers
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Are there any dialects of modern Spanish which preserve a phonemic distinction between b and v?
Are there any dialects of modern Spanish which preserve a phonemic distinction between b and v?
I understand that by the 1600s it was largely gone from Castillian Spanish, but since some other ...
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10
votes
1
answer
888
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How are words with "ps" or "pt" pronounced?
Here are a few examples:
psicología
ptosis
Ptolomeo
Interestingly "sicología" is also found in the RAE but most of the time I've seen it written as "psicología".
How are they pronounced?...
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10
votes
1
answer
1k
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How to pronounce "criar"?
I was taught that when a "weak" vowel (i, u) combines with a "strong" vowel (a, e, o) you pronounce them as a single syllable diphthong. But an online dictionary says that the verb criar is pronounced ...
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10
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3
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6k
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What accents do not use yeísmo?
Something I've wondered ever since I started learning Spanish about 8 years ago.
One often hears that the sound for "ll" and "y" is merged in "most accents". Wikipedia's IPA for Spanish guide, for ...
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10
votes
1
answer
474
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¿Por qué no existe una palabra escrita «hoder» (en vez de la versión con «j-»)?
Se me ocurre que el verbo e interjección malsonante joder parece ser una excepción a la regla (o más bien, a la ley) que nos dice que cada palabra (que no sea cultismo) que en latín comienza una f‑ + ...
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votes
2
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2k
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Uso de "r" como "rr" tras consonante en el español medieval
Siguiendo con la saga de preguntas sobre "r/rr", buscando en el CORDE me di cuenta de que hay muchos textos de alrededor de los siglo XV y XVI que contienen una "rr" tras ...
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10
votes
2
answers
568
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Any variety with the palatal glide [j] in words like cuello?
Some friends of mine insist that in some varieties of Spanish, words like cuello and yo have the palatal glide [j] in them. However, I've only ever found the palatal lateral liquid [ʎ] or the palatal ...
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9
votes
4
answers
2k
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C as K and S and silent (rules of thumb for pronunciation of C?)
I am just learning Spanish. For the most part, I find that pronunciation is very consistent. However, I am having a little difficulty with the letter "C." Most of the time it is pronounced like "K" in ...
9
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6
answers
2k
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How to pronounce 'c#' in Spanish?
In How to pronounce 'c++' in Spanish I see some comments there debating how is the language C# called in Spanish.
Wikipedia states si sharp is the way they pronounce it in English. I have ...
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7
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Is there "liaison" in Spanish?
In French, there is a very specific phenomenon called "liaison", where words may be pronounced differently when combined with another word.
For Spanish, let's take the letter "d" as an example.
...
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4
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2k
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Do any dialects of Spanish still pronounce "h"?
In most dialects of Spanish, "h" is a silent letter (except when appearing in the digraph "ch" or loanwords e.g. hámster). Indeed the RAE notes that in standard Spanish it is silent.
But this letter ...
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9
votes
3
answers
2k
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"gua" pronouncing like "hua" (silenced G)?
I've always been taught that "g" in ga, go, gu (or "gu" in gue and gui) sounds the same, like English "g".
But most online tutorials don't make the "g" quite audible, like this one (9th voice). It ...
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9
votes
3
answers
660
views
When to drop the 's' at the end of words in Spain?
I often hear people say things like "mucha gracias" instead of "muchas gracias". When do you usually drop the 's'? And where is this common? I currently live in Barcelona.
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3
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251
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Are single-syllable accented words like “mí” and “tú” pronounced a certain way?
“Tu” and “tú” are the same spelling, except for the accent. Are words like “tú” and “mí” pronounced differently from how they would be without the accent?
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3
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Are doubled consonants geminated in Spanish?
Excluding ll, rr (which represent distinct sounds) and cc (which represents two different pronunciations of c), orthographic doubled consonants occur very infrequently in Spanish, only really ...
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5
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La oración con más homófonos
En Many meanings of "llama" @guifa nos regala esta linda frase:
Llama «llama» la llama a la llama.
Y recuerdo que cuando mi papá encontraba difícil alguna pregunta nos decía:
Oh, tengo un ...
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8
votes
1
answer
2k
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Paso de B a U: ¿evolución fonética o falta de ortografía?
A raíz de la pregunta ¿Existe alguna reminiscencia en el español actual de la confusión "u/v" de la Edad Media? y de esta su respuesta, me ha surgido una duda.
Tomemos dos ...
user13628
8
votes
3
answers
8k
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How should I pronounce the Spanish consonant 'd'?
I was taught that Spanish d has two pronunciations: at the beginning of the word it is a hard d; between vowels, it is pronounced /ð/, much like th in English the.
Please look at this sentence:
...
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8
votes
2
answers
470
views
Is there a difference in the pronuciation of a single vowel or multiple vowels in a row?
There are several phrases, most of which are easily distinguished by context, that have very similar, if not the exact same pronunciation. The distinction I'm curious about is a single vowel in a ...
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8
votes
4
answers
505
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Pronunciación de la letra uve a final de palabra
Aprovechando que han subido la serie de Evangelion a Netflix España con una nueva traducción y doblaje, es el momento de ir planteando aquí algunas preguntas sobre el idioma que dicha serie me está ...
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8
votes
2
answers
6k
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Pronunciación letras "d", "b" y "v" entre vocales
Mi lengua nativa es el español y recientemente me percaté que al momento de pronunciar la letra d, como en el caso de
cada, asado, soldado, jugada, nado
y la letra b (o v como fonema b) como en
...
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8
votes
1
answer
493
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How to hispanicize (rather unknown) German toponyms with umlaut?
If one is interested in proper names in German, like München or Zürich, one easily knows the Spanish translation, and if not, one goes to Wikipedia and finds the translation. But what to do with ...
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