Phonetics

Phonetics: The Pronunciation of Vowels in Spanish (I)

U

nlike languages like French or English, from my own experience, the pronunciation of vowels in Spanish is quite simple. There are five vowels: a, e, i, o, and u. With just a few rules that we'll explore in this article, you'll be able to understand the pronunciation of each of them, with examples of similar sounds in German, English, and French, the languages in which I write this blog.

A Bit of History.

In Classical Latin, there were ten vowel sounds: five long vowels (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and five short vowels (ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ). This distinction between short and long vowels was very important in phonetics and is a feature of modern languages such as English and German. However, in Vulgar Latin, this distinction gradually faded, and short and long vowels merged into single vowel sounds. Thus, for example, the short ă and the long ā in Latin merged into a single a in Spanish, the short ĕ and the long ē merged into e, and the short ŏ and the long ō merged into o. The resulting five-vowel system (a, e, i, o, u) is what was preserved and characterizes modern Spanish.

Additionally, as Latin evolved into the Romance languages, several phonetic changes occurred in vowel pronunciation, such as:

    • Diphthongization of Open Vowels in Stressed Syllables: The short vowels ĕ and ŏ in stressed (accented) syllables evolved into the diphthongs ie and ue, respectively. This phenomenon, which is very characteristic of Spanish, can be observed in words such as:
      • terra > tierra
      • novu(m) > nuevo
    • Reduction of Final Vowels in the Transition from Latin to Spanish: In Vulgar Latin, certain final vowels began to weaken and disappear in some Romance languages. This process is especially noticeable in Spanish, where many words lost their final vowels, except -a (common in feminine words), and in some cases, -e and -o. In contrast, Italian, for example, retained these vowels in many words, which is one of the reasons why Italian words often sound more similar to Classical Latin words compared to Spanish. Let’s look at some examples:
      • Pane(m) → pan in Spanish,but pane in Italian.
      • Flore(m) → flor in Spanish, but fiore in Italian.
      • Seniore(m) → señor in Spanish, butsignore in Italian.

No, I don’t speak Italian, but I can understand the basics, and I know people who are learning it. This kind of difference catches my attention because I really enjoy reading about the historical evolution of languages. But let’s get back to our topic.

Pronunciation of Vowels in Spanish: A Basic Guide.

Unlike in other languages, such as English and French, vowels in Spanish have a consistent and clear pronunciation. Learning to articulate them correctly is essential to achieve accurate pronunciation. In this article, we will explore the five vowels in Spanish: a, e, i, o, and u, with examples to help you practice them. If we translate these vowels into the International Phonetic Alphabet, they would be /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with this alphabet: I’m introducing the symbols because further down, we will see examples of words in English, German, and French, the languages I speak and/or learn, which contain these sounds. This will help you identify the vowel sounds in Spanish with examples from your own language or languages you speak or are learning. An important detail to note is that the pronunciation of vowels is very stable in the Spanish language, with very little dialectal variation. Therefore, mastering these five sounds will ensure you are understood and can understand any variety of the Spanish language.

The Five Vowels in Spanish: An Attempt at Comparative Phonetics.

A: It is pronounced as an open “a”. Examples: casa, mamá, amor.

In English, the sound /a/ is not very common, but in certain dialects and specific words, it can approximate this sound:

  • Father /ˈfɑːðər/ —in British English, the “a” sound is close to the Spanish sound.
  • Spa /spɑː/ —in some British dialects, the sound is almost identical.
  • Pasta /ˈpɑːstə/ —
    in British English, the “a” in the first syllable sounds like /a/.

In German, the /a/ is common and appears in many words with a pronunciation similar to that of Spanish:

  • Mann /man/ — “hombre”
  • Tag /taːk/ — “día”
  • Land /lant/ — “país” o “tierra”

In French, the /a/ sound is common and appears in words such as:

  • Patte /pat/ — “pata”
  • Chat /ʃa/ — “gato”
  • Papa /papa/ — “papá”

E: The /e/ sound in Spanish is mid and clear. Examples: mesa, perro, feliz.

In English, the /e/ sound is not very common and tends to vary in pronunciation, but some dialects bring it closer to the Spanish sound in certain words:

  • Bed /bed/ — “cama”.
  • Pen /pen/ — “bolígrafo”.
  • Set /set/ — “poner” o “colocar”.

In German, the /e/ sound is common and appears in several words:

  • See /zeː/ — “lago” o “mar” (in different contexts).
  • Tee /teː/ — “té.”
  • Leben /ˈleːbən/ — “vida.”

In French, the /e/ sound is common in open syllables and also in stressed vowels:

  • Été /ete/ — “verano”.
  • Télé /tele/ — abreviación de “télévision” (televisión).
  • Bébé /bebe/ — “bebé”.

I: The /i/ sound in Spanish is closed and clear. Examples: silla, niño, camino.

In English, the /i/ sound appears in many words, especially when represented by the letters “ee” or “ea“:

  • See /siː/ — “ver”.
  • Feel /fiːl/ — “sentir”.
  • Meet /miːt/ — “encontrar”.

In German, the /i/ sound is very common and appears in many words:

  • Bier /biːɐ/ — “cerveza.”
  • Liebe /ˈliːbə/ — “amor”.
  • Kind /kɪnt/ — “niño/a”.

In French, the /i/ sound is also common and similar to the “i” in Spanish:

  • Si /si/ — “sí”.
  • Vite /vit/ — “rápido”.
  • Lit /li/ — “cama”.

O: It sounds like a clear and rounded “o”. Examples: sol, flor, color.

In English, the /o/ sound is less common and tends to vary between dialects, but here are examples where it approximates the Spanish sound in certain dialects:

  • Go /ɡoʊ/ — “ir” (In some varieties of British English, the sound is similar to the Spanish one).
  • More /mɔːr/ — “más” (in British English, the sound can resemble the Spanish /o/).
  • Port /pɔːt/ — “puerto” (in British English, the sound is closer to the Spanish “o“).

A very common pronunciation of the “o” sound among native English speakers who speak and/or learn Spanish is to round it with a final “u,” like in /ɡoʊ/. Do you know the song “Wellerman”? A sea shanty that became popular on platforms like Instagram or TikTok after Nathan Evans’ performance? In that rendition, the pronunciation of “go” in “We’ll take our leave and go” or “tow” in “He’d take that whale in tow” closely resembles the “o” sound in Spanish without the rounding into a “u” that native English speakers often make.

In German, the /o/ sound is common and is pronounced similarly to Spanish.

  • Sohn /zoːn/ — “hijo”.
  • Rot /ʁoːt/ — “rojo”.
  • Brot /broːt/ — “pan”.

In French, the /o/ sound is frequent and similar to that of Spanish.

  • Beau /bo/ — “hermoso”.
  • Haut /o/ — “alto”.
  • Pot /po/ — “olla”.

U: It is a closed sound. Examples: uno, luz, lugar.

In English, the /u/ sound appears in several words, especially when represented by the letters oo o ou:

  • Moon /muːn/ — “luna”.
  • Food /fuːd/ — “comida”.
  • Boot /buːt/ — “bota”.

In German, the /u/ sound is common and appears in many words:

  • Hund /hʊnt/ — “perro”.
  • Blut /bluːt/ — “sangre”.
  • Kunst /kʊnst/ — “arte”.

In French, the /u/ sound of Spanish is found in words like the following:

  • Loup /lu/ — “lobo”.
  • Fou /fu/ — “loco”.
  • Tout /tu/ — “todo”.

“Quite easy, right? In the next article on this topic, we’ll look at some details about the pronunciation of vowels when there are consecutive vowels in a word, cases where U doesn’t sound in Spanish, and the particular case of Y. Thanks for reading!”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TOP
Conexión Español.
Hablamos tu idioma.