Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

after other consonants it is pronounced

[rr].

rr is pronounced as a ‘trill’ or ‘roll’ [rr]

(with vibration of the tongue).

r at the beginning of a word is

pronounced [rr]; at the end of a word it is

pronounced [r] and often loses its voiced

quality in this position.

enredar

perro

rojo

dar

[enrreðar]

[perro]

[rroxo]

[dar]

s ese [s] The [s] of standard Castilian is
pronounced as an apico-alveolar sound,
that is, with the tongue slightly curled
back. The [s] of Latin American Spanish
is more like the [s] of English. Before a
voiced consonant, it is often
pronounced [z]. In many regional
pronunciations, s before a consonant or
at the end of a word is aspirated
(pronounced [h]) or tends to disappear
altogether.

paso

mismo

huevos

[paso]

[mismo] /

[mizmo] /

[mihmo]

[weβos] /

[weβoh] /

[weβo]

tte[t] In Spanish this sound is not
‘aspirated’ (accompanied by a short puff
of air) before a vowel as in English.

teme [teme]

uu[u] Also used before or after a vowel to
make different diphthongs (see
1.2). See also c, g and q.

fuma [fuma]

v uve Pronounced as b. vuelo [bwelo]
lavar [laβar]
w uve Relatively rare in Spanish, and exists water [báter]
doble only in borrowed words. Its
pronunciation varies between [b], [β]
and [w].

whisky

software

[()wiski]

[sofwer]

x equis Either [ks] or [z] between vowels; examen [eksamen]
/[ezamen]
before a consonant, pronounced as [ks]
in careful speech, but more often as [s],
especially in Peninsular Spanish.
In Mexican Spanish, x is pronounced [x]
(likech in Scots ‘loch’ or German ‘acht’)
in a number of words of Amerindian
origin, including the name of the
country México (the spelling used in
this book).

extra

Oaxaca

[ekstra] /

[estra]

[oaxaka]

y i griega Between vowels, after a consonant and
at the beginning of a word, y is
pronounced [j] (like y in English ‘yet’),
often strengthened to [] in some
regions.
It is also used before or after a vowel to
make different diphthongs (see 1.2). In
the conjunction y, it is pronounced [i].

trayendo

yate

[trajendo] /

[traendo]

[jate]/[ate]

The Spanish alphabet 1.1