Fecha

Key to English Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers


The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of symbols that represent all of the sounds made in speech. This means it's an alphabet designed to represent each human speech sound with a unique symbol. The set of symbols and modifiers designed, principally on the basis of articulatory considerations, to provide a consistent and universally understood system for transcribing the speech sounds of any language: devised by the International Phonetic Association.

Following are the approximate Spanish sound for each symbols used in American English:

Vowels

æ   like a in gato, but more closed, such as slot /ˈslɑːt/
ɑ:   like a in calma, but more open, such as father /ˈfɑːðɚ/
ɛ   like e in bello, such as met /ˈmɛt/
ə   a more relaxed vowel than the ʌ sound; used only in unstressed syllable, such as focus /ˈfoʊkəs/
i:  like i in vino; in stressed syllable is longer and sounds like diphthong ii, such as sleep /ˈsliːp/; in unstressed syllable is shorter and sounds like i, such as lobby /ˈlɑːbi/
ɪ   like i in mitad; but more open and relaxed, such as skin /ˈskɪn/
ʊ   like u in luna, such as pull /ˈpʊl/
u:  like u in bulto; but more open and relaxed, such as spook /ˈspuːk/
ʌ   a relaxed vowel intermediate between the o in corro and the a in carro, such as but /ˈbʌt/
ɚ   like the preceding ʌ sound followed by an r; used only in a stressed syllable, such as burn /ˈbɚn/
eɪ  like ei in veinte, such as fate /ˈfeɪt/
aɪ  like ai en baile; but the a more open, such as pine /ˈpaɪn/
  like au in causa, such as house /ˈhaʊs/
oɪ  like oy in doy, such as boil /ˈbojəl/
  like ou in Souza, such as road /ˈroʊd/
ɑɚ  like ar in armario, such as heart /ˈhɑɚt/
  like er in merlo; but longer and open, such as dare /ˈdeɚ/
  like ir in mirlo; but more open and relaxed, such as fear /ˈfiɚ/
  like or in sordo; but longer and open, such as floor /ˈfloɚ/
  like ur in surco; but longer and open, such as tour /ˈtuɚ/

Consonants

b   like b in burro or v in vaya, such as bin /ˈbɪn/
d   like d in día; but the front and sides of the tongue contact the alveolar ridge anteriorly and laterally just behind the top teeth, such as day /ˈdeɪ/.
ʤ   like y in yo or ll in llama; with emphatic articulation, such as joke /ˈʤoʊk/
ð   like din cada, between vowels; or like d in mitad, end of a word, such as then /ˈðɛn/
f   like fin faja, such as fish /ˈfɪʃ/
g   like g in gala, such as go /ˈgoʊ/
h   like j in conejo with relaxed articulation, such as hat /ˈhæt/
j   like y in yerno, such as yet /ˈjɛt/; or i in diphthongs ia, ie, io, iu: viaje, bien, biombo, ciudad, such as yard /ˈjɑɚd/, yellow /ˈjɛloʊ/, yoke /ˈjoʊk/, beauty /ˈbjuːti/
k   like c in cola, such as keep /ˈkiːp/; or like qu in quedo, such as quay /ˈkiː/
l   like l in lazo, such as late /ˈleɪt/
m   like m in masa, such as man /ˈmæn/
n   like n in negro; involves the tip of the tongue, the same part that you use to make /t/ and /d/ sounds, such as nod /ˈnɑːd/
ŋ   like n before c or g in cinco and mango; involves the back of the tongue, the same part that you use to make the /k/ and /g/ sounds, such as sing /ˈsɪŋ/, rank /ˈræŋk/
p   like p in pulso, such as pen /ˈpɛn/
r   A very distinct sound of the Spanish r; it is pronounced with the tongue elevated towards the hard palate in a bunched configuration. The front of the tongue is usually close to the alveolar ridge but may be retroflexed. It is longer than that of the Spanish r, such as run /ˈrʌn/, carrot /ˈkerət/, bread /ˈbrɛd/
s   like the s in sala, such as sing /ˈsɪŋ/, cent /ˈsɛnt/, ferocity /fəˈrɑːsəti/
ʃ   like ch in charla; but with omission of the explosive element t, such as shall /ˈʃæl/, wish /ˈwɪʃ/
t   like t in tela; but the front and sides of the tongue contact the alveolar ridge anteriorly and laterally, and not as in Spanish, behind the upper teeth, such as talk /ˈtɑːk/, bitter /ˈbɪtɚ/, put /ˈpʊt/
  like ch in charco, such as chin /ˈtʃɪn/, much /ˈmʌtʃ/
θ   like z in zona or like c before e or i in the phenomenon called "ceceo" (sibilant sounding), in cero, cita. The tongue tip is brought forward just below the upper teeth or into slight contact with the back of the upper teeth to create a construction between tongue tip and upper teeth, such as thin /ˈθɪn/
v   like b in deber or v in uva; but with the lower lip positioned between the upper and lower teeth and not, as in Spanish, with both lips together, such as van /ˈvæn/, give /ˈgɪv/, river /ˈrɪvɚ/
w   like w in diphthongs ua, ue, ui, uo: cuando, bueno,cuidado, cuota, such as want /ˈwɑːnt/, wet/ˈwɛt/, win /ˈwɪn/, wove /ˈwoʊv/
z   like a variant pronunciation of the voiced consonant s in desde, mismo, such as zone /ˈzoʊn/, rose /ˈroʊz/
ʒ   like the variant pronunciation in certain regions (Argentina, Uruguay) of y in yo or ll in calle, such as azure /ˈæʒɚ/



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