Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Circumlo… what? This is just a fancy word for describing something when you don't know
how to say it. If you are looking to buy an umbrella and don't know how to say it, what can
you do? You can describe it using words you know. You can say, it is something used for
the rain that opens and closes and then hopefully someone will understand you, help you,
and maybe teach you how to say this word. Using circumlocution is excellent language
practice and is much better than just giving up when you don't know how to say a word.
So keep talking even if you have a limited vocabulary. Say what you can and describe or
act out what you can't!
A
SECTION 1: THE BASICS
Chapter 1: Getting the Pronunciation Down
Below I will break down general Spanish pronunciation for the whole alphabet dividing it
into vowels and consonants. One great thing about Spanish is that the letters almost always
stay consistent as far as what sound they make. Unlike English in which the vowels can
make up to 27 different sounds depending on how they are mixed. Be thankful that you
don't have to learn English or at least have already learned English. There are of course
some sounds in Spanish that we never make in English and you possibly have never made
in your life. So get ready to start moving your mouth and tongue in a new way that may
seem strange at first but as I keep saying, practice makes perfect!
The charts on the next page will explain how to say the letter, pronounce it, and if there is
an example in an English word of how to say it I put it in the right column.
Vowel Sounds
Vowel
How to say the
letter
How to pronounce
it in a word
As in…
a
Ah
Ah
T
a
co
e
Eh
Eh
E
gg
i
Ee
Ee
Easy
o
Oh
Oh
O
pen
u
Oo
Oo
B
oo
k
