Sep. 17, 2009
Don't miss this pronunciation tutorial series!
Posted in grammar and language helps
 About.com is a great source of information, and their Spanish offerings are consistently accurate and high quality. They have just begun a Spanish pronunciation tutorial series that includes a clear, brief description and an audio file of the featured sound. The series begins, appropriately, with the letter "a". In Spanish this vowel has one pure "ah" sound, and no variety depending on countless phonics rules as in English.
Consistent and pure vowel pronunciation is a key to sounding good in Spanish. Unlike English, the vowels keep the same pronunciation regardless of where they fall in the word. If you have taught phonics, you have surely learned of the "schwa" sound in English - the nebulous "uh" that we render of most of our vowels in unaccented syllables. This is such an ingrained habit for most of us that it requires awareness and conscious effort at first to avoid it in Spanish. Check out the tutorial on the "a" sound - and look for more to come! |
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