Medical Terminology Simplified

APPENDIX

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Glossary of

English-to-Spanish

Translations

This appendix provides guidelines to help health-care practitioners communicate with their Spanish-speaking patients.

The following information includes selected terms commonly used in various medical specialties.

SPANISH SOUNDS

Although the spelling of some Spanish terms resembles English terms, the terms are still pronounced with a Spanish

accent. Because of these similarities, the practitioner should learn the meaning and pronunciations of certain Spanish

words. The first step in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients is to learn the Spanish sound system. This sec-

tion provides Spanish pronunciations of vowels and consonants. The table below lists vowels and their Spanish pro-

nunciations. Practice the pronunciations before continuing with the other information in this appendix.

Letter Spanish Pronunciation Sounds Like

Vowels

a ahas in father

e ehas in net

i eeas in keep

o ohas in no

u ooas in spoon;silent following qor g

y eeas in bee

Consonants

c kas in kitten (before a, o, u,and any consonant except h); sas in sit (before eor i);

kafter eor i

g has in hit (when followed by eor i); otherwise, like gas in gold

h silent; never pronounced unless preceded by c

j has in hot

ll yas in yellow

ñ nias in onion

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