The Fundamentals of Spanish Vowels

Spanish has 5 vowels: a, e, i, o and u. We even have y (known as i griega or “Greek i” in Spanish).

Students don’t fully agree on whether or not y is a vowel or not, so relying on the supply, you could find it beneath the vowel record or listed individually as a semi-consonant. For the needs of this submit, we’ll deal with it as a vowel.

As you possibly can see (or hear), Spanish and English vowels are pronounced in another way. Even in phrases which can be written precisely the identical, they sound totally different in every language.

And in contrast to in English, Spanish vowels are at all times pronounced the very same means. This video from Butterfly Spanish may also help you good your pronunciation of Spanish vowels:

Suggestions for Saying Spanish Vowels

Native English audio system studying Spanish have a tendency to offer their “English contact” to Spanish vowels. Many occasions they even change the sound fully, making a non-existent phrase or producing one other Spanish phrase altogether.

Listed here are a few of the most essential issues to recollect in an effort to enhance your pronunciation of Spanish vowels. 

1. All Spanish vowels are at all times pronounced the identical means.

It doesn’t matter if the syllable is confused or not or if the vowel has an accent mark. The sound stays the identical.

Their size can also be at all times the identical, whether or not they seem at the start or finish of a phrase, between consonants, earlier than a double consonant or wherever else within the phrase.

Hearken to the next phrases and pay particular consideration to the vowels. Attempt to repeat every phrase after the native speaker:

2. You need to pronounce all of the vowels in a phrase.

And all of the letters besides h, for that matter. There aren’t any silent vowels in Spanish, besides within the case of the exception under. If there’s a vowel in a phrase, pronounce it:

3. Don’t “diphthongize” Spanish vowels.

As said in level one, every vowel has its personal distinctive sound, and it by no means adjustments. Don’t add a special vowel sound to the top of a vowel. For instance:

4. All the time learn i as “ee.”

Pronounce it such as you would say the ee in “see.” That is true irrespective of how you’d learn the phrase in English:

5. The vowel u at all times feels like “oo.”

That is much like the u in “brute.” By extension, the diphthong eu is at all times pronounced as “eh-oo.”

Saying Spanish Vowel Mixtures

Vowels don’t at all times seem by themselves between consonants. You’ll typically discover Spanish phrases which have two or three vowels collectively in a row. When two or extra vowels seem collectively, we get a diphthong, a triphthong or a hiatus. 

Spanish Vowel Diphthongs 

Merely put, a diphthong varieties when two vowels are mixed right into a single syllable. The sound begins on the primary vowel, after which progressively strikes towards the sound of the second vowel. Some examples in English will be discovered within the phrases “loud,” “foil,” “boy” and “say.”

Spanish diphthongs can solely be fashioned if now we have at the very least one unaccented weak vowel (i or u) along with one other vowel. The pronunciation of the vowels in a diphthong isn’t totally different from the pronunciation of every vowel individually.

Diphthongs are available many varieties. Beneath you’ll discover an alphabetical record of Spanish diphthongs so you possibly can see them in motion. Apply saying them out loud and attempt to provide you with extra examples if you happen to can.

Spanish Vowel Triphthongs 

Now that we all know all of the doable diphthong combos in Spanish, let’s take a look at triphthongs. Triphthongs are fashioned when now we have three consecutive vowels in the identical syllable, if and provided that:

1. The 2 outer vowels are weak (i.e. i or u)

2. The central vowel is robust (i.e. a, e or o)

3. Not one of the weak vowels are accented

If these three guidelines are noticed, now we have a triphthong. Triphthongs are means much less frequent than diphthongs in Spanish, and although there’s quite a lot of them, the identical small group tends to seem extra typically than the remaining.

When saying a triphthong, pronounce the three vowels so as of look, stressing the center one. Listed here are a couple of examples: 

Spanish Vowel Hiatuses 

A hiatus is mainly the alternative of a diphthong and exists when two vowels are collectively however they belong to 2 separate syllables. Consecutive vowels will be in two syllables as a result of the vowels are each weak or robust, or as a result of the weak vowel is the confused one within the phrase.