Spanish language reading for beginners. Spanish pronunciation - letters b, v, d

Letters b and v

The letters b and v are a rather interesting case in Spanish. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that this is actually the same letter. Both b and v are pronounced the same, and both can express both the sound [b] and the sound [ b]. In one case, b and v are pronounced as a plosive sound [b], and in another case, as a fricative [ b]. Everything will depend on their position in the word and sentence. What is required of us is to remember these cases.

1. Explosive [b]

The letters b and v are pronounced as explosive [b] when b or v is at the beginning of a word, at the beginning of a phrase, after a pause, and after the letters m and n. Explosive [b] is exactly the same sound as Russian b (gasoline, furniture).

For example: beso, un beso, vaca, un vaso, también, vino.

Comments: 1) beso - kiss. The first letter is pronounced like [b], as it is at the beginning of a word; 2) un beso - a kiss. The letter b reads like [b] because it is preceded by the letter n : unbeso; 3) vaca - a cow. The first letter is read as [b], as it stands at the absolute beginning. Correct to say: tank; 4) un vaso - a glass. The letter v reads like [b] because it is preceded by the letter n : unbaso; 5) tambien - too. The letter b is in the middle of the word, but there is a letter m before it, so it is a plosive sound [b] ; 6) wine - wine. read bino. The case is the same as with the word vaca.

Note that even if one word ends with m or n and the other starts with b or v , the explosive [b] will still be pronounced: u n b eso[unbeso], u n v aso[unbaso]. These letters do not have to occur in the same word.

Try to get used to the fact that v is pronounced the same as b. Don't pronounce the word vaca like in aka, and the word wine as in foreign. At the beginning of a phrase, these words will sound like b aka and b ino.

2. fricative [b]

The letters b and v are pronounced as a fricative [ b], when they are in the middle of a word or phrase, are in the flow of speech, and when there are no pauses and letters m and n in front of them. fricative [ b] pronounced almost like the English W (w ell), only the lips are not rounded into a tube. In order to do this correctly, you need to pronounce the usual sound b and leave a small gap between the lips so that the air passes unhindered - it will turn out [ b]. This is the fricative.

For example: libro, una vaca, vivo

Comments: 1) libro - a book. The letter b is in the middle of the word, and there are no letters m and n before it. The word is read as liwro; 2) una vaca - a cow. The letter v, although it is at the beginning of the word, is preceded by the article una. This is already considered a stream of speech. If you say una vaca without pauses, you should get - unawaka; 3) vivo - I live; the first v is read as a plosive b because it is at the absolute beginning. The second letter v is pronounced as a fricative w: biwo. Do not say: bibo or vivo .

As you can see, there are times when one word can be read differently in different cases:
vaca - una vaca, ventana - la ventana, bien - muy bien.

Try not to pronounce the Russian sound [in]. When we say "v" in Russian (Volga, yes, that's right), we put our lower lip against our upper teeth. A Spanish fricative [ b] pronounced with only the lips. Also, don't liken Spanish to English - don't think that if you write v , then we should speak in .
You can take the letters b and v for one. Historically, it has happened that in some word it is written b, and in some it is written v. By the sound of the word, it is impossible to determine which of these letters should be written. For example, if there was a word b aca, then it would sound the same as v aca, or v ien would sound like b ien. With what letter the word is written, you just need to remember. Here is the correct spelling of these words: vaca and bien.

It happens, of course, that illiterate Spaniards themselves confuse these two letters, and write vien instead of bien. But we must learn to write correctly and we will not take an example from the illiterate;)

You can read more about plosives and fricatives here.

1. Explosive [b]

beso , vaca , vaso , vino , blanco , verde , bolso , bastante , bajo , viejo , boca , bar , vale , verano , bien , bonito , bueno , ventana , bolígrafo , viernes , barato , visa , bota , blusa , vestido , bailar, ver, banco, también, hombre, nombre, bomba, alfombra, sombrero, Colombia, un beso, un vaso, un bar, invierno, tranvía.

2. Fricative [ b ]

libro , Pablo , sobre , pobre , nuevo , nueve , Cuba , cubano , tabaco , abogado , sábado , posible , Isabel , teléfono móvil , problema , nevera , abrir , hablar , abrigo , impermeable , debajo , escribir , habitación , por , revista favor, estoy bien, muy bien, hasta la vista, ¡qué va!

3. In different positions

vivir, vives, vivo, beber, verbo, vaca blanca, también vivo en Brasil, bien-muy bien, vino barato, sombrero bonito.

The Spanish letter d has three different pronunciations. It can also be plosive and fricative, but also something else. Now let's talk about everything in more detail and analyze each of the three cases.

1. Explosive [d]

The explosive [d] is pronounced exactly like the Russian "d". In Spanish, this sound occurs when: the letter d is at the absolute beginning (the beginning of a word or phrase), after a pause and after the letters l and n.

For example: donde, dinero, espalda.

Comments: 1) donde - where. Both letters d are read as an explosive sound. The first is at the beginning, and the second after the letter n; 2) dinero - money. The letter d is at the beginning of a word; 3) espalda - back. Although the letter d is in the middle of the word, the letter l comes before it, so there will be an explosive d.

2. fricative [d]

The letter d is read as a fricative [ d] in the middle of a word and flow of speech, when there are no pauses and letters l and n before it. fricative [ d] pronounced the same as if we wanted to pronounce the usual sound d, but only leaving a small gap between the tongue and the upper teeth. Try to pronounce the usual sound d, but so that the tongue barely touches anything. This is reminiscent of the English th sound in the or then words. We will denote this sound with a crossed out d.

For example: cuaderno, radio, una dama.

Comments: 1) cuaderno - notebook. The letter d is pronounced as a fricative d because it is in the middle of a word between vowels; 2) radio - radio. The letter d also stands between vowels; 3) una dama - a lady. The letter d is in the flow of speech, as it is preceded by the article una. Both words are spoken in the same stream.

3. Stunned fricative [ d ]

The third case of sounding the letter d occurs only when the letter d is at the end of the word. In this case, it will express the stunned fricative [ d]. We will denote it as a reduced fricative symbol d . This sound resembles the English voiceless interdental sound th in the word thanks, but only more weakened. It can be so weakened that it even becomes barely audible or not audible at all.

For example: pared, ciudad, Madrid, Usted.

There are Spaniards who pronounce these words simply as: paré, ciudá, Madrí, Usté.
We remind you once again that the stunned [ d] pronounced only when the letter d is at the very end of the word.

There are many cases when one word in different positions can be pronounced differently:
donde-de donde, pared-paredes.

In the word pare d es the letter d is no longer at the end, so it will be pronounced like a regular fricative [ d].

Listen and read the words after the speaker, paying attention to the correct pronunciation. Try to explain each use of plosives and fricatives.

1. Explosive [d]

da , de , di , do , du , día , don , dos , dama , drama , domingo , dormir , dormitorio , dentro , deporte , director , dinero , disco , discoteca , donde , falda , espalda , fondo , lindo , grande , bufanda, sandalias, tienda, no entiendo.

2. Fricative [d]

cada , nada , Prado , todo , vida , avenida , moneda , abogado , médico , ovalado , cuadro , cuaderno , cuadrado , ordenador , rosado , anaranjado , madera , cómodo , incómodo , verde , tarde , Pedro , gordo , perdón , estudiante, estudiar, radio, adiós, una dama, Museo del Prado, Canadá, Estados Unidos de América.

3. Stunned fricative [ d ]

pared , Usted , Madrid , edad , universidad , ciudad , bondad , facultad , verdad , nacionalidad , juventud .

4. In different positions

delgado, bandido, verdad, verdadero, edad, soledad, demasiado, oscuridad, redondo, día-buenos días, donde-de donde, delante de, al lado de, ducha-una ducha.

When I first started learn spanish, I ran into one popular problem. I think you already guessed that it was a matter of pronunciation and vocabulary. To get out of this situation, and finally improve my results, I decided to use a little trick.

By the way, if you learn Spanish for beginners, then the doors to any dialect or European language will swing open before you. It is difficult to explain this phenomenon, but it is a fact. After Spanish, other languages ​​are remembered like funny jokes that we love to tell our friends, and therefore we remember them quickly. But let's not deviate from the topic and talk about the very trick that came to my mind.

If I ask you to sing any song or recite a verse, if I ask you to remember any foreign word, then the result will be something simple and memorable. For example, people who have learned English will immediately say a cat (cat) or a dog (dog). And those who gathered learn spanish, are likely to pronounce gato (cat) or casa (house). And this suggests that everything is remembered simple and short. But that's not all, such words are the easiest to pronounce, and in this way you solve two problems: replenish vocabulary and improve pronunciation.

I think you have already guessed that for a start you need to learn short words. And a little later, with the accumulated experience, you will be able to memorize whole sentences at once or even songs in spanish. For now, focus on your workouts.

The note. Want to know which Spanish word has 5 vowels at once? I am sure that you will like this word: Murcielago [murcielaho] - which is translated into Russian: Bat. 5 vowels are used: A, E, I, O, U.

How to read in Spanish correctly?

If you want to parse the mistakes of other students, or understand how to read and pronounce Spanish words correctly, you need to visit the eighth lesson: Speak Spanish correctly - there we looked at all the most popular mistakes and nuances that our readers encounter.

For many beginner students, the same question arises all the time, why CAMA [kama] - bed, is read through the letter "K", and CERVEZA [serves] - beer, read through the letter "C". To quickly deal with this problem, we turn to a special plate. It is small and you can easily remember it. And so, let's look:

I feel that now you would like to relax, because you memorized as many as 6 words in Spanish and learned a new rule. But it's still early, you'll have to linger a bit, we haven't talked about other letters that obey this rule. If it's hard for you to learn only the rules, use our section of Spanish conversations and continue learning in an easy way. Remember, a few lines ago, we said that the Cat in Spanish sounds like "Gato" [gato], but how do you read the word "Gerente"? If someone thought that it reads like "serente" - urgently run to the fresh air, you need to refresh your thoughts. In fact, Gerente translates from Spanish into Russian as a manager! And it reads like this: herente. Hmm.. :) There's nothing to be done, learning Spanish from scratch is not as easy as many might think, but we can handle it. In general, let's see the plate, it's always easier with it!

Spanish reading rules - one way road. These are the rules of reading in the full sense of the word: by the appearance of a Spanish word, you can always use these rules to tell how it is read. But the reverse procedure is not so simple. Sometimes it is impossible to determine by the sound of a word whether it is written through g or through j, through b or through v, through s, c or z, you can only look it up in a dictionary - or not find it. But since I'm unlikely to ever have to disassemble anything like that by ear, I can say in good conscience that the rules for reading there are simple.

1. Alphabet
Spanish uses the Latin alphabet with slight modifications. There are no letters k and w(more precisely, they occur, but only in borrowed words) and there is a letter ñ . There are also letter combinations. ll and ch. They used to have their own place in the alphabet (that is, a word with ch turned out to be lower in the alphabetical lists than, say, the word with cu), but in the nineties this feature was removed. So, when dealing with Spanish dictionaries, you first need to check whether they have an old alphabetical order or a new one. In the new ones, each letter is counted separately.

2. Reading vowels
Single vowels are read, in general, as they are written, without frills (at the same time, of course, we must not forget that Russian akaniye for most other languages ​​\u200b\u200bis precisely a frill that they cannot afford).
Letter u not read in combinations gue,gui. She's not there for that.
After q it is also unreadable, at all.
Vowels are divided into weak ( i, u) and strong ( a, e, o). When letters are written side by side, one of which corresponds to a weak vowel and the other to a strong one (or vice versa), this means a diphthong. Diphthongs are pronounced together, but I don’t know exactly how, but I, in general, don’t need to. But they need to be able to identify to determine the stress.
If the letters are suitable for a diphthong, but do not form it (they are read separately and refer to different syllables), this can be determined by the presence of stress or trema over one of the letters (trema are two dots such, over u they can be placed).

3. Reading consonants
Letter c reads like with before e and i And How to in all other positions (and for syllables ke, ki letter is used q).
Combination ch reads like h.
Letter g reads like X before e and i And How G in all other positions. If you need to somehow write "ge" or "gi", an unreadable u: gue, gui.
Letter h not readable at all.
Letter j reads like X.
letter combination ll reads like eh. I mean not just how soft l, and specifically because eh. If, of course, you can say so. In any case, when rendering Spanish words in Russian letters, it is precisely this combination that corresponds to it.
Letter ñ reads like ny. In the same sense.
Letter q only found in combination qu, and the whole thing reads as to.
Letter x sort of like it can be read before consonants like with, but before vowels it reads like ks(or how gz- I will clarify))
Letter y usually read as th.
Letter z reads like with.
Letters b and v are read the same: at the beginning of a word as b, in the middle as something fricative between b and in. But, unlike the previous rules, this pronunciation chip is not taken into account when writing, for example, Spanish surnames in Russian letters.
Yes, I almost forgot to say that all Spanish sounds are different from Russian ones.

4. Emphasis
If the word is not stressed, then in order to determine where it falls, you must first break the word into syllables. No, it is not necessary to determine which syllable which consonant belongs to (that is, it may be necessary, but not for this purpose), but you will have to count the vowels.
Diphthongs count as one syllable.
Unreadable u in qu, gu before e, i, of course, are not considered at all.
After that, you need to look at the last syllable. If it is open (the word ends in a vowel), the stress will be on the penultimate syllable. The stress also falls by default on the penultimate syllable in words, where the last syllable is closed by the letter s or n. As far as I understand, there is no sacred phonological meaning in this: it’s just that a huge number of words in some forms have unstressed endings of just this kind (for example, the plural of nouns and adjectives usually ends in -es, -as or -os), and put on on all plurals and on several personal forms of the verb, the correct stress would be unprofitable.
In other cases - that is, when the last syllable of the word is closed and does not end in s and not on n- the emphasis falls on him.
If the accent is different from what should be the default, then it will be indicated in decently printed text.

in Spanish

Spanish has a fairly simple spelling, so it's easy to read Spanish. The most important thing is to clearly pronounce all sounds. And by the way, there are no particularly difficult sounds for a Russian person in Spanish either.

Spanish uses the Latin alphabet but has its own letter ñ , which reads like [n].

Vowels and their combinations

In general, vowels are read quite standardly: a [a], e [e], i [and], o [o], u [y], y [and]

Features of Spanish vowels

• i combined with other vowels reads like [th]: dais [dais], sois [soys], piano [piano], ciela [sela], adiós [adios], viuda [byuda]
• y between vowels is read as [th]: ayer [ayer], yo [yo], between consonants is read as [and]: dinero [dinero]

Consonants and their combinations

Most of the consonants are read in the standard way:

b - [b]; c - [k]; d - [d]; f - [f]; g - [g]; h - [x]; j - [x]; k - [k], l - [l]; m - [m]; n - [n]; p - [p]; r-[p]; s - [s]; t - [t]; v - [in]; w - [y]; x - [ks]; z - [z]

1. Features of Spanish consonants:

• b reads like [b] at the beginning of a word and after m and n, in other cases it is read as something in between [b] and [in], but closer to [in]:bailar [baylar], beber [bever]
• c reads like an interdental [c] before vowels e and i [c]), otherwise read as [to]:gracias [gracias], cantar [kantar]
• d at the end of the word it is read very muffled, almost inaudibly
• g before vowels e and i reads like x, in gue combinations like [ge] and gui like [gi], in other cases as [G]:gente [hente]; guitarra [guitar] gato [gato]
• h never read: hay
• j reads unusually for the Latin alphabet [X]:hijo [iho]
• ñ reads like [n]:pequeño [pequeño]
• q only used in combination que [ke] and qui [ki]:pequeño [pequeño]
• r reads like a slur [rr] at the beginning of a word and in combinations nr,lr and rr, in other cases it is read as a short [R]
• v reads like something in between [c] and [b] after the letters m and n, in other cases as fuzzy muted [in]
• x reads like [ks] between two vowels, in other cases it is read as [with]: examen [eksamen], extranjero [estranjero]
• z reads like an interdental [with](put your tongue between your teeth and say [c])diez

2. Special combinations of consonants

• ch reads like [h]: cocho [kocho].
• ll reads like [th]: llamar [yamar].

stress

Here you are waiting for just great news! There are only three stress rules in Spanish:

1. to the penultimate syllable: e If the word ends in a vowel, diphthong, or consonants n, s:gato [gato], comen [komen]

2.to the last syllable: eIf the word ends in a consonant (except -n and -s): compra r [compr]; animal [animal]

3. words that deviate from these rules are written with an accent: estudió [estudio]; camera [camera]

Typical mistakes of Russian speakers in the pronunciation of Spanish words

In general, it is very easy for a Russian person to speak Spanish. But you can also figure out a Russian in Spain 🙂 Usually, a Russian person who speaks Spanish is easiest to identify by the incorrect pronunciation of the following sounds:

• sound that is pronounced something in between [b] and [in]- it appears when v is at the beginning of a word or after m and n, and also when b is in the middle of a word. This sound is closer to [v], so if in doubt, just say the Russian sound [v]
• toothless [s]- it appears in words with a letter z and in combination ce and ci. To pronounce this sound, pronounce this sound correctly, you need to put the tip of your tongue between your teeth and say the Russian sound [s]. But this is only spoken in Spain itself, in the rest of the Spanish dialects this sound is pronounced like an ordinary Russian [s], so if you can’t get a toothless sound, just speak in the Spanish dialect. They will definitely understand you and when pronouncing the rest of the sounds correctly, they can take you for a resident of another Spanish-speaking country 🙂
• short r pronounced in all cases except when r stands at the beginning of a word and in combinations nr,lr and rr. Russian people pronounce r rolling always .
• clear vowel sounds- in Spanish there is no alternation of unstressed sounds [a / o] and [e / and] - unstressed sounds are always pronounced clearly (o does not change to a, or e to and)

But even if you pronounce all these sounds “in Russian”, you will still be understood. The Russian accent in Spanish is more like one of the Spanish dialects.

1. Alphabet

The Spanish alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet with the addition of one letter and two digraphs: ch, ll, ñ . Stress marks are sometimes placed over vowels, but they are not transmitted during transcription. Letters k and w found only in words of foreign origin.

2. Transliteration

Part of the Spanish letters is transmitted into Russian unambiguously:

b	→ b		ll	→ eh		r	→ R
ch	→ h		m	→ m		s	→ with
d	→ d		n	→ n		t	→ t
f	→ f		ñ	→ ny		v	→ in
j	→ X		p	→ P		x	→ ks
k	→ to		q	→ to		z	→ with

3. Letter combinations with U

Letter combinations in which the letter u unreadable: gue → ge, gui → gi, qui → ki, que → ke. For example: Miguel → Miguel, Enrique → Enrique.

Sometimes you can find a record gue → gue.

letter combination gua transcribed as gwa: Guatemala → Guatemala.

4. G, C, H

Before front vowels ( i and e) with → with, g → X: Caesar → Cesar, Angel → Angel.

In other contexts c → to, g → G: Cuba → Cuba, Gabon → Gabon.

Letter h not transmitted in transcription, except for the traditional spellings of some place names: haiti → Haiti, Honduras → Honduras and etc.

The "transcriptor" knows only a part of such exceptions.

5. Vowels after LL, Ñ, Y

In all cases ll → eh, ñ → ny. If followed by a vowel a or u, then it is passed according to the rules: lla → lya, na → nya, llu → pour, u → new.

letter at the beginning of a word y together with the following vowel is transmitted as one Russian letter: ya → I, ye → e, yo → yo, yu → Yu. So, Yoel → Yoel.

In the middle of a word as part of diphthongs, the letter y → th, and ya → ya, yu → yuu.

Between consonants, at the end of a word after a consonant, and as a separate word y → and: Jilly → Healy.

6. I in diphthongs

At the end of a word ia → and I. The exceptions are surnames and male personal names, in which i makes up a separate syllable and falls under stress - in such cases, two transcription options are possible: ia → ia, ia → and I. For example: Garcia → Garcia (Garcia). always in the middle of a word ia → ia.

"Transcriptor" always translates ia → and I at the ends of unknown words.

After consonants ie → ye: Fierro → fierro.

After vowels i → th: Raimundo → Raymundo.

7. A couple more notes

At the beginning of a word e → uh: Esteban → Esteban. In other contexts e → e.

In names and titles of foreign origin may occur tz, in this case tz → c.