In the Beginning

In the beginning was the WORD.  This holds true not only in the bible, but also forms the basis of learning languages too.  One of the most important fundamentals a student must understand when learning another language is the alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes in order to create words.  Spanish is no different.  Even though much of the Spanish alphabet sounds very similar to the English alphabet, they are not the same.  Let me say that again...EVEN THOUGH MUCH OF THE SPANISH ALPHABET SOUNDS VERY SIMILAR TO THE ENGLISH ALPHABET, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.

So with that said, let's get started!

We will begin with vowels because they are easy and hardly ever change.  Let me say that again...SPANISH VOWELS ARE EASY AND HARDLY EVER CHANGE THEIR SOUND.  A vowel in Spanish will most likely have the same sound, no matter what the word.  There are some instances where certain vowel combinations have a different sound, but that's another lesson.  Are you ready?

a = ah.  Always "ah".  Easy right?  Think about some of the Spanish words you already know...casa, pasa, hola

e = eh.  Always "eh".  Sounds like the short "e" sound in the word "egg".  Think about Spanish words you already know...dinero.  You're doing great!

i = ee.  Don't freak out!  The letter "i" in Spanish is the  long "e" in English.  Always thinking about words you already know...dinero, chica.  Not so bad, right?

o = oh. Always "oh".  Remember Spanish words you already know...hola, dinero, nacho.  Good job!

u = oo.  Usually, almost always "oo".  Think about Spanish words you're already familiar with...mucho.  See, you did it!

Now, the difference between the English alphabet and the Spanish alphabet is that the Spanish alphabet sounds are short and tense.  SHORT AND TENSE.  Not to be confused with English, where words are usually dragged out and syllables added to words.  

     ho-la                               chi-ca                         ca-sa

Short and tense.  I know that this is a lot of information.  Practice, practice, practice.  You've done great.  Remember, short and tense sounds in Spanish.  With what you've just learned, you can now read the following Spanish sentence that you might be familiar with...

                                     Mi casa es su casa.  

Guess what?  You've just spoken Spanish and you can now read it too!  I know that this is on a very small scale, but you've just learned the some of the basic principles of Spanish alphabet pronunciation.

Great job!