TIPS FOR PRONOUNCING DIPTHONGS Flashcards
WHAT ARE THE 5 TIPS FOR PRONOUNCING DIPTHONGS (a sound that occurs when two vowel sounds are combined to create a single vowel sound in the same syllable.)
- Always pronounce them exactly the same
Languages like English and French change the pronunciation of vowels depending on their placement within a word and the surrounding letters. That’s not the case with Spanish. Save for a few very specific situations, all vowels in Spanish are pronounced exactly the same every time. This is great news for learners, as you only have to worry about learning one pronunciation for each vowel!
- Don’t extend them
English is a repeat offender of extending the sounds of vowels and other letters. For example, take the word “no” in English. Its phonetic pronunciation (ˈnoʊ) shows that there is a “ʊ” sound after the “o,” making it sound almost like you’re saying “no-uh” instead of a dry “noh.” Compare that to the Spanish pronunciation of “no” (ˈno) and you’ll see that Spanish vowels are completely dry and don’t carry any additional sounds beyond the vowel itself.
- Pay attention to the accent mark
While accent marks don’t change the sound of a vowel per se, they do change the emphasized syllable of the word. This can be crucial and making sure you pronounce the stressed syllable correctly can save you from plenty of confusion. A good example of this is the case of “papá” (dad) and “papa” (potato). Although people will probably be able to figure out whether you’re talking about your dad or your potato from the context, this is a potentially embarrassing mistake that you can easily avoid!
- Don’t mix up your E’s and I’s
Mixing up the E and I sounds in Spanish is one of the most common mistakes native English speakers make. That’s because the Spanish I sounds like the English E, making it easy to get the two sounds mixed up.
A good tip to keep the two of them separate is to remember that Spanish vowels always make the same sound in Spanish no matter what, so pick one word with E and one word with I in Spanish and use them as references. For example, you can pick “España” and use the “E” in there any time you forget how to pronounce any word with an E in Spanish.
- Start with individual vowels and then move on to diphthongs
As you now know, diphthongs aren’t much more difficult to pronounce than individual vowels. However, you do have to say two vowels one after another very quickly, which might make it difficult if you’re still getting comfortable with individual vowels. Try not to stress too much about getting the diphthongs just right at the beginning. Take your time working through them, and you’ll naturally start saying them faster!
