ALPHABET.
A (a) G (ge) M (eme) Rr (erre)
B (be) H (hache) N (ene) S (ese)
C (ce) I (i) Ñ (eñe) T (te)
Ch (che) J (jota) O (o) U (u)
D (de) K (ka) P (pe) V (ve)
E (e) L (ele) Q (cu) X (equis)
F (efe) Ll (elle) R (ere) Y (y griega or ye)
Z (zeta)
K (ka) and W (doble ve) are only found in foreign words used in Spanish.
PRONUNCIATION OF VOWELS.
a as English a in f_a_ther e[1] " a " f_a_te[2] i " i " magaz_i_ne o[1] " o " n_o_te[2] u " u " r_u_le
These five sounds never vary, except that they are a little longer when they are stressed and shorter when they are not, as Yo amo (I love),[3] Amigo (friend), El cielo (heaven), Celeste (heavenly), Un recibo (a receipt), Interés (interest), Yo como (I eat), Contar (to count), Un buque (a ship), Una butaca (an armchair).
Y is considered a vowel in the conjunction y (and), and at the end of a word, as Rey (king), Hoy (to-day).
[Footnote 1: E and o are sounded a little more open when they form a diphthong with i and when they precede r followed by a consonant or r or l final, as Fernando (Ferdinand), Un tercio (a third), El tercer año (the third year), Porfiar (to insist), Amor (love), Español (Spanish).]
[Footnote 2: The a and o of "fate" and "note" are not pure vowel sounds. In English the a is distinctly pronounced a-ee and o is pronounced o-oo.
In Spanish the first part only of the two sounds is permissible.]
[Footnote 3: The examples given with their English equivalents should be learnt.
DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS.
There are no Diphthongs or Triphthongs in the English sense of two or three vowels meeting in one syllable and blending into a different sound, as "pause," "plough."
Every vowel is pronounced separately and each with its alphabetical sound, only the two or three vowels occurring in one syllable are pronounced rapidly, as Pausa (pause), Reino (kingdom), Cuenta (account), Buey (ox).
A, E and O never form diphthongs together. They may form diphthongs and triphthongs only in combination with I and U.
CONSONANTS.
The Consonants are pronounced as in English with the following exceptions:
B is pronounced much more lightly than in English, with no pressure of the lips, as Libro (book), Brevedad (brevity).
C before E and I—th in "theatre," as La Cena (the supper), La Cerveza (the beer). Otherwise pronounced K as in English, as Caja (case, box), Color (colour), Cúbico (cubic).
Ch always as ch in "church" (never hard as in "monarch"), as
Chocolate (chocolate), Charla (prattle).
D at the end of a word or after a vowel is pronounced very softly and lightly, with a tinge of th in "they," as Madrid, Amado (loved), Encarnado (red).
G before E and I is pronounced guttural, as El general (the general), El giro (the draft, bill). This sound is equal to ch in the Scotch word "loch." In all other cases G is pronounced hard, as in the English word "gay"; as Gato (cat), Gobierno (government), Gusto (pleasure, taste).
H is a mute letter. (Although in Andalusia it is aspirated in certain words.)
J is always guttural, as Juan (John), Jornalero (day labourer), Junio
(June), Reloj (watch, clock).
Ll—ly, stronger than li in "pavilion," as Belleza (beauty), Folleto (leaflet).
Ñ—ny, stronger than ni in "pinion," as Niño (child), Caña (cane), El otoño (autumn).
Q is only used before ue and ui (and the u is then mute), as
Querido (dear, beloved), Yo quiero (I want).
R as in English, but it is always rolled, as Caro (dear, expensive), Pérdida (loss). At the beginning of a word or when preceded by a consonant it is rolled more strongly, as La rosa (the rose), Deshonra (dishonour).
Rr always rolled strongly, as Carro (cart), El ferrocarril (the railway).
S always pronounced as s in "soap," and never as in "as" or "sure."
T as in "tea," but never as t in "nation." It must be pronounced softly, not explosive, as Fortuna (fortune), Cuatro (four).
V is pronounced much more lightly than in English, as Vino (wine), Vivir (to live). By the common people V is often confounded with B, but educated Spaniards will always make the proper distinction.
Y—Spanish I.
Z—th in "theatre," as Zarazas (cotton prints), Zorra (fox).
NOTE.—In modern Spanish Z is not used before E or I, its place being supplied by C.
RULES ON PRONUNCIATION.
RULE I.—Every letter is pronounced. There are no mute letters as b in "lamb" or n in "autumn."
EXCEPTIONS—H is not sounded as already explained in the alphabet. U is not sounded in the following syllables: que, qui, gue and gui, as Quedar (to remain), Quinta (villa), Guerra (war), Águila (eagle), unless the u in gue and gui has the diaeresis, as Argüir (to argue), Vergüenza (shame).
RULE II.—No consonant is doubled except C and N. C is found doubled in words like Acceder (to accede) when one C is hard—k and the other soft—th.
N is found doubled in words having the prefix in, as Innoble (ignoble), Innavegable (unnavigable). Also in Perenne (perennial) and a very few more words.
Ll and Rr are treated as single letters.
RULE III.—The stress of the voice falls on the last syllable but one in all words ending in a vowel or S or N; otherwise it falls on the last syllable, as Una factura (an invoice), Facturas (invoices), Hermano (brother), Cartas (letters), Ellos tienen (they have), Azul (blue), Abril (April), Labor (labour), Feliz (happy).
In diphthongs and triphthongs the stress is not on i or u, but falls on a, e or o, as Reina (queen), Gracia (grace), Igual (equal), Cielo (heaven).
When the diphthong is formed by i and u the last one bears the stress, as Un viudo (a widower), La ciudad (the city), Luisa (Louise).
The numerous exceptions to the above rule are all marked by the written accent (´), as Facturó (he invoiced), Escribirá (he will write), Háblame (speak to me), Inglés (English), Alemán (German), Útil (useful), Jóvenes (young men).
The stress of the voice should fall distinctly on the proper syllable according to the above rule, and the attention of the student must be earnestly called to this very important point.
A word in the plural maintains the stress on the same syllable as in its singular, as El océano (the ocean), Océanos (oceans), Cálculo (calculation), Cálculos (calculations), Inglés (Englishman), Ingleses (Englishmen); except Carácter (character), Caracteres (characters), Régimen (regime or rule), Regímenes (regimes or rules)—the latter hardly ever used in the plural.
SIGNS.
The Written Accent.
The only accent in Spanish is (´). It is used—
(1) To mark the exceptions to the Rule of Stress.
(2) To distinguish between two meanings of the same word, as El (the), Él (he); De (of), Que él dé (that he may give); Se (3rd person reflexive pronoun, "himself," etc.), Yo sé (I know); Más (more), Mas (but).
(3) In the following words established by use, as "ó" or "ú" (or), "é" (and), "á" (to).[4]
(4) In some words when used interrogatively, as Quién? (who?), Qué? (what?), Cuál? (which?), Cúyo? (whose?), Dónde? (where?).
(5) On I and U when they occur together with A, E or O, the I or U not belonging to the same syllable, viz., not forming diphthong with A, E or O, as Filosofía (philosophy), El continúa (he continues).
(6) On I following U when the I does not form a diphthong, but stands as a separate syllable, as Concluído (concluded), Imbuído (imbued).
(7) On Éste (this), Ése and Aquél (that) when these words are stressed.
[Footnote 4: According to the last edition of the Grammar of the
Spanish Academy, these words may now be written without the accent.]
Crema (Diaeresis).
The diaeresis is placed over u in "güe" and "güi" when the u is to be sounded.[5]
[Footnote 5: In poetry also to divide an ordinary diphthong into two syllables for the sake of rhythm.]
Tilde.
The tilde (~) is used on the letter N to turn it into Ñ, as Mañana (morning) (in old Spanish spelt Mannana).
Notes of Interrogation and Exclamation.
These are used in Spanish both at the beginning and at the end of the question or exclamation, as ¿Qué quiere V.? (what do you want?), ¡Cuántos sufrimientos! (how much suffering!). Note that at the beginning they are reversed.
The other signs of punctuation are used as in English.
Capital letters are used as in English with the following exceptions—
(1) Adjectives of nationality are written with small letters, as Un libro inglés (an English book).
(2) Days of the week generally (and sometimes the months of the year) are written with small letters.
DIVISION OF WORDS INTO SYLLABLES.
After the first syllable each succeeding one commences with a consonant, as a-for-tu-na-da-men-te (fortunately), except when a prefix occurs before a primitive word,[6] as Organizar (to organise).
[Footnote 6: A few minor exceptions will be learnt by practice.]
Des-or-ga-ni-zar (to disorganise).
When two consonants occur together one letter belongs to one syllable and the other to the next, as—
Ac-ci-den-te (accident) Pe-ren-ne (perennial) Tem-po-ral-men-te (temporarily) In-me-dia-to (immediate)
EXCEPTION—bl, br, pl, pr, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr and tr are not divided, as—
A-blan-dar (to soften)
Li-bro (book)
A-pla-zar (to postpone)
A-pre-ciar (to appreciate)
De-cla-mar (to declaim)
De-cre-tar (to decree)
A-me-dren-tar (to frighten)
Con-fla-gra-ción (conflagration)
Re-fren-dar (to countersign)
A-glo-me-rar (to agglomerate)
A-gran-dar (to enlarge)
En-con-trar (to meet)
If any of these combinations occur together with a third consonant, this of course will belong to the previous syllable, as
Em-bro-llar (to entangle).
If four consonants come together, two belong to the first syllable and two to the next, as Obs-tru-ir (to obstruct).
Ll and Rr, being treated as single letters, must not be divided, as—
Ba-lle-na (whale)
Una ca-lle (a street)
A-lla-nar (to level)
Tie-rra (earth)