Pronunciation & Syllables

Question 1

How is “h” pronounced?

Answer 1

“H” is always silent.

Question 2

How are the letters “ch” always pronounced?

Answer 2

“ch” [ie: chill]

Question 3

How is “j” pronounced?

Answer 3

“J” always sounds like the English “h”.

Question 4

How is “z” pronounced in most Hispanic countries? How is it pronounced in Spain?

Answer 4

In most Hispanic countries, “z” is pronounced like an “s”. In Spain, the “z” is pronounced “th”, as in thin.

Question 5

How is “LL” pronounced?

Answer 5

“LL is pronounced like the English “y”, as in yam.

Question 6

How is “C” pronounced before the vowels a, o, or u?

Answer 6

“C” is pronounced “k” (hard sound) before the vowels a, o, or u.
[ie: Casa, coro, cubo]

Question 7

When is “C” pronounced with the hard sound “k”?

Answer 7

“C” is prounounced with the hard sound “k” before the vowels a, o, and u.
[ie: casa, coro, cubo]

Question 8

How is “C” pronounced before the vowels e and i?

Answer 8

“C” is pronounced “s” (soft sound) before e and i. [ie: Celsius, ciclo]

Question 9

When is “C” pronounced with the soft sound “s”?

Answer 9

“C” is pronounced with the soft sound “s” before the vowels e and i. [ie: Celsius, ciclo]

Question 10

When “Q” is accompanied by ‘ue’ or ‘ui’, how is the u pronounced?

Answer 10

When “Q” is accompanied by ‘ue’ or ‘ui’, the u is silent. [ie: queso, Quito]

Question 11

What “Q” words appear with ‘ua’ and ‘uo’ that are an exception to the rule, where the u is pronounced?

Answer 11

The few “Q” words that appear with ‘ua’ and ‘uo’ are mostly scientific words. In these cases, the “u” is pronounced. [ie: quasar, quorum]

Question 12

When is “X” pronounced “ks”?

Answer 12

“X” is pronounced “ks” when found in the middle of a word. [ie: taxi, examen]

Question 13

When found in the middle of a word, how is “X” pronounced?

Answer 13

“X” is pronounced “ks” when foudn in the middle of a word. [ie: taxi, examen]

Question 14

“X” is pronounced as “h” in some words. Give an example of this pronunciation.

Answer 14

Mexico, Texas

Question 15

How is “X” pronounced in the words Mexico and Texas?

Answer 15

In some words, such as Mexico and Texas, “X” is pronounced as “h”.

Question 16

In the beginning of some words, such as xilofón and xerocopia [XErocopia], how is the “X” pronounced?

Answer 16

In xilofón and xerocopia [XErocopia], the “X” is pronounced “s”.

Question 17

When is “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound)?

Answer 17

“G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound) before the vowels a, o, and u.

Question 18

How is “G” pronounced before the vowels a, o, and u?

Answer 18

Before the vowels a, o, and u, “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound).

Question 19

When is “G” pronounced “h” (soft sound)?

Answer 19

“G” is pronounced “h” (soft sound) before the vowels e and i. [ie: gema / GEma, gimnasta / GIMnasta]

Question 20

How is “G” pronounced before the vowels e and i?

Answer 20

Before the vowels e and i, “G” is pronounced “h” (soft sound). [ie: gema / GEma, gimnasta / GIMnasta]

Question 21

How is “G” pronounced before ‘ue’ and ‘ui’?

Answer 21

Before ‘ue’ and ‘ui’, “G” is pronounced “g” (hard sound) and the “u” is silent. [ie: guerilla, guitarra]

Question 22

In the words guerilla [GUErrilla] and guitarra [GUItarra],? is the “u” pronounced or silent?

Answer 22

The “u” is silent.

Question 23

In the combinations gue/gui and que/qui, is the “u” pronounced, or not pronounced?

Answer 23

In the combinations gue/gui, and que/qui, the “u” is not pronounced.

Question 24

Is “u” normally pronounced in words?

Answer 24

“U” is normally pronounced, unless it is in the following combinations: gue/gui and que/qui.

Question 25

When the combinations gui/gue contain a dieresis [ie: güi/güe], is the “u” pronounced?

Answer 25

Yes, the “u” is pronounced when the combinations gui/gue contain a dieresis [ie: güi/güe].

Question 26

How do you pronounce the combinations gui/gue?

Answer 26

The “u” is not pronounced in the combinations gui/gue. (GEE, GAY)

Question 27

How do you pronounce the combinations güi/güe?

Answer 27

The “u” is pronounced in the combinations güi/güe, because of the dieresis. (GWI, GWAY)

Question 28

How do you pronounce the combinations que/qui?

Answer 28

The “u” is not pronounced in the combinations que/qui. (KAY, KEE)

Question 29

What is a dieresis [dī-ˈer-ə-səs] ?

Answer 29

A [dī-ˈer-ə-səs] is the double dot over a vowel. [ie: ü]

Question 30

What is the double dot over a vowel [ie: ü] called?

Answer 30

It is called a dieresis [dī-ˈer-ə-səs].

Question 31

How is “y” generally pronounced in a word?

Answer 31

In a word, “y” is generally pronounced “y” as in yam. [ie: yate / YAte, yudo / YUdo]

Question 32

By itself, how is “y” pronounced?

Answer 32

By itself, “y” is pronounced “i” (as in taxi), and it functions as the conjunction ‘and’. [ie: Juan y Maria]

Question 33

When not followed by a vowel, how is “y” pronounced in a word?

Answer 33

“Y” is pronounced “i” (as in taxi) when not followed by a vowel in a word. [ie: hay, muy]

Question 34

Which vowels are considered the “strong” vowels, that represent one syllable, whether accented or not?

Answer 34

a, e, and o. [ie: peso, banana, excelente]

Question 35

How do the “strong” vowels a, e, and o affect the syllables and pronunciation of a word?

Answer 35

The “strong” vowels a, e, and o represent one syllable, whether accented or not. [ie: peso, banana, excelente]

Question 36

How do the “weak” vowels i and u affect the syllables and pronunciation of a word?

Answer 36

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]

Question 37

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?

Answer 37

i and u. [ie: taxi, juicio]

Question 38

When the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ are accented, what happens in terms of syllables?

Answer 38

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]

Question 39

When do the “weak” vowels ‘i’ and ‘u’ become strong vowels that need to be separated from other vowels?

Answer 39

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]

Question 40

When is the letter ‘y’ considered a “weak” vowel that can be combined with other vowels in the same syllable?

Answer 40

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]

Question 41

When it sounds like the letter ‘i’, what happens with the letter ‘y’ in terms of syllables?

Answer 41

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]

Question 42

What is the definition of cognate?

Answer 42

Cognate: a word having the same linguistic derivation as another; from the same.

Question 43

Identify the word which matches the following definition: “a word having the same linguistic derivation as another; from the same.”

Answer 43

Cognate.

Question 44

When a word ends in a vowel or the letters ‘n’ or ‘s’, which syllable is stressed?

Answer 44

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]

Question 45

When is the second-to-last syllable stressed in a word?

Answer 45

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]

Question 46

When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, which syllable is stressed?

Answer 46

When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, the last syllable is stressed. [ie: unidad / uniDAD ; leal / leAL]

Question 47

When is the last syllable stressed in a word?

Answer 47

When a word ends in a consonant other than ‘n’ or ‘s’, the last syllable is stressed. [ie: unidad / uniDAD ; leal / leAL]

Question 48

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)

Answer 48

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]

Question 49

What is a written accent mark called? (Example: ó)

Answer 49

A written accent mark is called a tilde [TILL-duh].

Question 50

What is a tilde [TILL-duh]?

Answer 50

A tilde [TILL-duh] is a written accent mark. (Example: ó)

Question 51

When a word contains a written accent mark, or tilde [TILL-duh], which syllable is stressed?

Answer 51

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]