If you want to learn Spanish free, you simply need to practice your pronunciation. It might seem demanding at first, but honestly learning any language can be difficult; all languages use various pronunciation keys to string sounds together to form words.
Spanish is no different, but when you consider how many exceptions to the rule there are in English, the Spanish language and its emphasis on phonetics is actually fairly simple.
The Sound Of Spanish Vowels
All of Spanish's vowels are associated with strong sounds that will help each word jump off the tongue, like from a diving board. The letter "A" is pronounced like an "uh," an "e" sounds like "ay," the letter "i" becomes an "eee" sound and finally a "u" results in an "ooh" noise. The only vowel that retains the same sound from English to Spanish is the "o," which keeps the "oh" pronunciation.
By examining a short sentence in Spanish, you can see more clearly how to use this information. Our sample here will be "I want to buy new pants."
Me gusta comer el pollo frito.
"Quiero" is the first word, and it means "I want." Pronounce this "kee-air-oh." The next word, "comprar," means "to buy" in Spanish and is spoken "comb-per-ahr." "Pantalones nuevos" means "new pants," and can be pronounced "pahn-tah-lone-ays new-ay-vozz."
The Sound Of Spanish Consonants
Consonants in Spanish take a backseat to the vowels, much like they do in English, but even so there are more rules to watch out for here than before, and even a couple extra "letters" come into play. The first, "ch," is pronounced just as they would be in English.
When the letter "c" makes an appearance by itself, it adopts an "s" sound if in front of either an "i" or an "e," as in the word "cero," or "zero" in English. The "g" letter makes a sound like "ch" if used in front of an "e" or "i" but elsewhere, it will be used like the "g" in "go."
More trouble makes itself known with the letter "z," which brings about a "th" sound like in the word "with." Any "h" in the Spanish language is always silent. The "ll" is another sound, used very commonly in Spanish, and it sounds very much like the hard "y" sound of "you." An example of the "ll" letter is "llamar," which sounds like "ya-MAR."
A tilde (~) makes frequent appearances in Spanish as well, such as in the word "el nio." This word imitates that "ll" sound and makes the word sound like "el neen-yo." These sounds make up 90% of the sounds used in the Spanish language, so by practicing these you'll be able to say just about anything you would like to.
This article won't tell you everything you need to know to speak fluent Spanish or even prepare you to visit some Spanish speaking friends, but by going over the sounds here you can give yourself a good base to help you learn Spanish free.
There are still more sounds if one cares to look, including "qu," which becomes a hard "k" sound. "R" letters are always rolled, particularly when they crop up at the beginning of a word. The letter "y" is pronounced just like its English equivalent unless it's used by itself or at the end of a word in which case it sounds like "eee. - 30231
Spanish is no different, but when you consider how many exceptions to the rule there are in English, the Spanish language and its emphasis on phonetics is actually fairly simple.
The Sound Of Spanish Vowels
All of Spanish's vowels are associated with strong sounds that will help each word jump off the tongue, like from a diving board. The letter "A" is pronounced like an "uh," an "e" sounds like "ay," the letter "i" becomes an "eee" sound and finally a "u" results in an "ooh" noise. The only vowel that retains the same sound from English to Spanish is the "o," which keeps the "oh" pronunciation.
By examining a short sentence in Spanish, you can see more clearly how to use this information. Our sample here will be "I want to buy new pants."
Me gusta comer el pollo frito.
"Quiero" is the first word, and it means "I want." Pronounce this "kee-air-oh." The next word, "comprar," means "to buy" in Spanish and is spoken "comb-per-ahr." "Pantalones nuevos" means "new pants," and can be pronounced "pahn-tah-lone-ays new-ay-vozz."
The Sound Of Spanish Consonants
Consonants in Spanish take a backseat to the vowels, much like they do in English, but even so there are more rules to watch out for here than before, and even a couple extra "letters" come into play. The first, "ch," is pronounced just as they would be in English.
When the letter "c" makes an appearance by itself, it adopts an "s" sound if in front of either an "i" or an "e," as in the word "cero," or "zero" in English. The "g" letter makes a sound like "ch" if used in front of an "e" or "i" but elsewhere, it will be used like the "g" in "go."
More trouble makes itself known with the letter "z," which brings about a "th" sound like in the word "with." Any "h" in the Spanish language is always silent. The "ll" is another sound, used very commonly in Spanish, and it sounds very much like the hard "y" sound of "you." An example of the "ll" letter is "llamar," which sounds like "ya-MAR."
A tilde (~) makes frequent appearances in Spanish as well, such as in the word "el nio." This word imitates that "ll" sound and makes the word sound like "el neen-yo." These sounds make up 90% of the sounds used in the Spanish language, so by practicing these you'll be able to say just about anything you would like to.
This article won't tell you everything you need to know to speak fluent Spanish or even prepare you to visit some Spanish speaking friends, but by going over the sounds here you can give yourself a good base to help you learn Spanish free.
There are still more sounds if one cares to look, including "qu," which becomes a hard "k" sound. "R" letters are always rolled, particularly when they crop up at the beginning of a word. The letter "y" is pronounced just like its English equivalent unless it's used by itself or at the end of a word in which case it sounds like "eee. - 30231
About the Author:
One of the easiest ways to learn a new language is to search for whatever is offered free online. You will find many sites that will let you learn Spanish free. Most of the time you can get some free Spanish lessons if you supply your email subscription. Do your ground work and qualify the various resources to see what kind of course would suit you best.
