VOWELS.
A sounds like a in ah, midway between the English a in father and that in fat. Example, Pala, pronounced Pah´lah.
E sounds like a in hay, its sound being slightly varied according to situation. Example, Rode´o, pronounced Ro-day´o.
I sounds like ee in bee. Example, Vista, pronounced Vees´tah.
O sounds like o in hope. Example, Contra Costa, pronounced Cone´trah Coast´ah. This name is frequently mispronounced by using the short sound of o, as in not.
U sounds like u in rule. Example, La Punta, pronounced La Poon´tah.
Y, when a vowel, is equivalent to i. Y is considered a vowel only when standing alone, as in y (the conjunction and), or at the end of a word, as in ley (law), but is sometimes used interchangeably with I at the beginning of a word, as in San Ysidro, pronounced San Ee-see´dro, and sometimes spelled Isidro. In other cases it is a consonant and is pronounced like the y in the English yard.
CONSONANTS.
Only those consonant sounds differing from English usage need be mentioned here.