Pronunciation & Syllables Flashcards
How is “h” pronounced?
“H” is always silent.
How are the letters “ch” always pronounced?
“ch” [ie: chill]
How is “j” pronounced?
“J” always sounds like the English “h”.
How is “z” pronounced in most Hispanic countries? How is it pronounced in Spain?
In most Hispanic countries, “z” is pronounced like an “s”. In Spain, the “z” is pronounced “th”, as in thin.
How is “LL” pronounced?
“LL is pronounced like the English “y”, as in yam.
How is “C” pronounced before the vowels a, o, or u?
“C” is pronounced “k” (hard sound) before the vowels a, o, or u.
[ie: Casa, coro, cubo]
When is “C” pronounced with the hard sound “k”?
“C” is prounounced with the hard sound “k” before the vowels a, o, and u.
[ie: casa, coro, cubo]
How is “C” pronounced before the vowels e and i?
“C” is pronounced “s” (soft sound) before e and i. [ie: Celsius, ciclo]
When is “C” pronounced with the soft sound “s”?
“C” is pronounced with the soft sound “s” before the vowels e and i. [ie: Celsius, ciclo]
When “Q” is accompanied by ‘ue’ or ‘ui’, how is the u pronounced?
When “Q” is accompanied by ‘ue’ or ‘ui’, the u is silent. [ie: queso, Quito]
What “Q” words appear with ‘ua’ and ‘uo’ that are an exception to the rule, where the u is pronounced?
The few “Q” words that appear with ‘ua’ and ‘uo’ are mostly scientific words. In these cases, the “u” is pronounced. [ie: quasar, quorum]
When is “X” pronounced “ks”?
“X” is pronounced “ks” when found in the middle of a word. [ie: taxi, examen]
When found in the middle of a word, how is “X” pronounced?
“X” is pronounced “ks” when foudn in the middle of a word. [ie: taxi, examen]
“X” is pronounced as “h” in some words. Give an example of this pronunciation.
Mexico, Texas
How is “X” pronounced in the words Mexico and Texas?
In some words, such as Mexico and Texas, “X” is pronounced as “h”.
In the beginning of some words, such as xilofón and xerocopia [XErocopia], how is the “X” pronounced?
In xilofón and xerocopia [XErocopia], the “X” is pronounced “s”.
When is “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound)?
“G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound) before the vowels a, o, and u.
How is “G” pronounced before the vowels a, o, and u?
Before the vowels a, o, and u, “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound).
When is “G” pronounced “h” (soft sound)?
“G” is pronounced “h” (soft sound) before the vowels e and i. [ie: gema / GEma, gimnasta / GIMnasta]
How is “G” pronounced before the vowels e and i?
Before the vowels e and i, “G” is pronounced “h” (soft sound). [ie: gema / GEma, gimnasta / GIMnasta]
How is “G” pronounced before ‘ue’ and ‘ui’?
Before ‘ue’ and ‘ui’, “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound) and the “u” is silent. [ie: guerilla, guitarra]
In the words guerilla [GUErrilla] and guitarra [GUItarra],? is the “u” pronounced or silent?
The “u” is silent.
In the combinations gue/gui and que/qui, is the “u” pronounced, or not pronounced?
In the combinations gue/gui, and que/qui, the “u” is not pronounced.
Is “u” normally pronounced in words?
“U” is normally pronounced, unless it is in the following combinations: gue/gui and que/qui.
When the combinations gui/gue contain a dieresis [ie: güi/güe], is the “u” pronounced?
Yes, the “u” is pronounced when the combinations gui/gue contain a dieresis [ie: güi/güe].
How do you pronounce the combinations gui/gue?
The “u” is not pronounced in the combinations gui/gue. (GEE, GAY)
How do you pronounce the combinations güi/güe?
The “u” is pronounced in the combinations güi/güe, because of the dieresis. (GWI, GWAY)
How do you pronounce the combinations que/qui?
The “u” is not pronounced in the combinations que/qui. (KAY, KEE)
What is a dieresis [dī-ˈer-ə-səs] ?
A [dī-ˈer-ə-səs] is the double dot over a vowel. [ie: ü]
What is the double dot over a vowel [ie: ü] called?
It is called a dieresis [dī-ˈer-ə-səs].
How is “y” generally pronounced in a word?
In a word, “y” is generally pronounced “y” as in yam. [ie: yate / YAte, yudo / YUdo]
By itself, how is “y” pronounced?
By itself, “y” is pronounced “i” (as in taxi), and it functions as the conjunction ‘and’. [ie: Juan y Maria]
When not followed by a vowel, how is “y” pronounced in a word?
“Y” is pronounced “i” (as in taxi) when not followed by a vowel in a word. [ie: hay, muy]
Which vowels are considered the “strong” vowels, that represent one syllable, whether accented or not?
a, e, and o. [ie: peso, banana, excelente]
How do the “strong” vowels a, e, and o affect the syllables and pronunciation of a word?
The “strong” vowels a, e, and o represent one syllable, whether accented or not. [ie: peso, banana, excelente]
How do the “weak” vowels i and u affect the syllables and pronunciation of a word?
The “weak” vowels i and u can represent a syllable, but if they are beside other vowels, they are part of the same syllable. [ie: taxi, juicio]
Which vowels are considered the “weak” vowels, that can represent a syllable, but become part of the same syllable if they are beside other vowels?
i and u. [ie: taxi, juicio]
When the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ are accented, what happens in terms of syllables?
When the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ are accented, they become strong vowels and need to be separated from other strong vowels. [ie: país / pA-Is ; Raúl / rA-Ul]
When do the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ become strong vowels that need to be separated from other vowels?
When the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ are accented, they become strong vowels that need to be separated from other vowels. [ie: país / pA-Is ; Raúl / rA-Ul]
When is the letter ‘y’ considered a “weak” vowel that can be combined with other vowels in the same syllable?
When it sounds like the letter ‘i’, the letter ‘y’ is considered a “weak” vowel that can be combined with other vowels in the same syllable. [ie: muy, Paraguay / pA-rA-gUAY]
When it sounds like the letter ‘i’, what happens with the letter ‘y’ in terms of syllables?
When it sounds like the letter ‘i’, the letter ‘y’ is considered a “weak” vowel that can be combined with other vowels in the same syllable. [ie: muy, Paraguay / pA-rA-gUAY]
What is the definition of cognate?
Cognate: a word having the same linguistic derivation as another; from the same.
Identify the word which matches the following definition: “a word having the same linguistic derivation as another; from the same.”
Cognate.
When a word ends in a vowel or the letters ‘n’ or ‘s’, which syllable is stressed?
When a word ends in a vowel or the letters ‘n’ or ‘s’, the second-to-last syllable is stressed. [ie: camino / caMIno ; colores / coLOres]
When is the second-to-last syllable stressed in a word?
The second-to-last syllable is stressed in a word when the word ends in a vowel, or the letters ‘n’ or ‘s’. [ie: camino / caMIno ; colores / coLOres]
When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, which syllable is stressed?
When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, the last syllable is stressed. [ie: unidad / uniDAD ; leal / leAL]
When is the last syllable stressed in a word?
When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, the last syllable is stressed. [ie: unidad / uniDAD ; leal / leAL]
When the weak vowels ‘u’ (or ü) and i (or y) are together in a stressed syllable, which vowel in the syllable is stressed? (Example: genuino, juicio ; pinguino)
When the weak vowels ‘u’ (or ü) and i (or y) are together in a stressed syllable, the second vowel in that syllable is stressed. [ie: genuino / genuIno ; juicio / juIcio ; pingüino / pingüIno]
What is a written accent mark called? (Example: ó)
A written accent mark is called a tilde [TILL-duh].
What is a tilde [TILL-duh]?
A tilde [TILL-duh] is a written accent mark. (Example: ó)
When a word contains a written accent mark, or tilde [TILL-duh], which syllable is stressed?
When a word contains a written accent mark, or tilde [TILL-duh], the syllable with the tilde is stressed, regardless of the word. [ie: limón, corazón, ángel]
