Pronunciation Guide to Castilian Spanish
The following pronunciation guide is excerpted from the six volumes of Canciones de España—Songs of
Nineteenth-Century Spain, edited by Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, Scarecrow Press, 2003, 2005, 2007.
The great Spanish explorers brought with them the Castilian language and pronunciation from the Castille
region of Spain to the “New World” in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Just as British English
underwent tremendous changes in vocabulary and pronunciation in its colonies, the Spanish language
experienced the same evolution. When singing the vocal literature of Latin America, Latin American
pronunciation or Standard American Spanish (SAS) is proper, but when singing the vocal literature of
Castilian Spain, Standard European Spanish (SES) is necessary. The determining factor is the place of
education of the poet.
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
a a all positions casa 'ka.sa similar to a
in father
ai, ay aj all positions vainilla baj.'ni.¥a lie
hay aj
au au all positions caudillo kau.'Di.¥O count
b b initial in phrase brazos 'b|a.TOs brave
or sentence
(after a breath)
b following m emblema ”m.'bl”.ma emblem
un beso um 'b”.sO
B in all other cases debajo d”.'Ba.xO none in
English—soft b
with lips lightly
touching
c T preceding e, i impaciencia im.pa.'Tj”n.Tja thank
k preceding a, o, clamor kla.'mOr call
u, & consonants
cc kT always acceso ak.'T”.sO none in
English—k as in
call, T as in thank
1
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
ch tS in all positions chiquitita tSi.ki.'ti.ta chili
d d initial in phrase dios djOs dog
or sentence donde 'dOn.d”
(after a breath)
d after l or n bendito b”n.'di.tO dog
D within phrases, no digas nO 'Di.øas there
except after l
or n
e ” all positions responde r”s.'pOn.d” set
ei, ey ”j all positions reino 'r”j.nO no English
ley l”j equivalent—” as
in set and i as in
sleep
eu ”u all positions reunir r”u.'nir no English
equivalent—” as
in set and u as in
food
f f all positions flores 'flO.|”s flowers
g g initial in gusto 'gus.tO grey
phrase or
sentence
(after a breath)
or following a tengo 't”N.gO finger
nasal consonant sangre 'saN.g|”
x preceding gitano xi.'ta.nO no English
e&i equivalent—
Ger. Bach
ø within a word seguidilla s”.øi.'Di.¥a no English
or phrase, & equivalent—
before a, o, u, de gracia D” 'ø|a.Tja soft g sound
and consonants
2
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
gue g” always guerra 'g”.rra get
gui gi always guiño 'gi.≠O geese
güe gw” always vergüenza b”r.'øw”n.Ta segue (but
with open ”)
güi gwi always lingüista liN.'gwis.ta extinguish (but
with i)
h silent always hablar a.'Blar heir
i i always sí si sleep
ia ja always gloria 'glO.|ja as in the
Italian—piano
ie j” always prefiero p|”.'fj”.|O siesta
io jO always ilusión i.lu.'sjOn viola
iu ju always ciudad Tju.'DaD cue
j x always pajarita pa.xa.'|i.ta no English
jojoba xO.'xO.Ba equivalent—
Ger. Bach
k k always kiwi 'ki.wi kiwi
l l always paloma pa.'lO.ma lesson
ll ¥ always llorar '¥O.|ar yes
caballero ka.Ba.'¥”.|O
m m always mañana ma.'≠a.na morning
n n initial, mientras 'mj”n.t|as never
interior, final
3
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
n m before b, m, sin mancha sim 'man.tSa mama
p in words convidados kOm.bi.'Da.DOs
or within phrases
M before f enferma ”M.'f”r.ma no English
confusa kOM.'fu.sa equivalent—
similar to sing
with m, not n
N before c, g, k, blanca 'blaN.ka sinker
q, x in words or con guitarra kON gi.'ta.rra
within a phrase ven que b”N k”
ñ ≠ always señor s”.'≠Or onion
o O always amor a.'mOr more
oi, oy Oj always sois sOjs boy
voy bOj
p p always pobre 'pO.B|” poor
q k always querer k”.'|”r king
r r (rolled) always if initial rosa 'rO.sa as in the
or just after British—
a breath merry
r (rolled) after s, n, l sonreír sOn.r”.'ir as in the
(Saturday Night British—
Live), before a merry
consonant, or perlas 'p”r.las
final in a word placer pla.'T”r
| (flipped) after consonants María ma.'|i.a no English
other than s, n, equivalent—
l , & between de rocío D” |O.'Ti.O one flip
vowels in a against the
word or word upper front
group teeth
4
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
rr r (rolled) always tierra 'tj”.rra as in the
British—
merry
s s always if initial sustento sus.'t”n.tO soft
or between mis ojos mis 'O.xOs
vowels in a tu sonido tu sO.'ni.DO
word or word rosa 'rO.sa
group
z before voiced desde 'd”z.D” rose
consonants mientras la 'mi”n.t|az la
(b, B, d, dZ, entusiasmo ”n.tu.'sjaz.mO
D, g, ø, l, ¥, verdes río 'b”r.D”z 'ri.O
m, n, ≠, N,
|, r, v, y, z)
in a word or
within a
word group
t t always dental tener t”.'n”r no English
with the tongue equivalent—
at the back of It. tutti
the upper teeth
u u always when luz luT food
followed
by a consonant
ua wa always agua 'a.øwa Guatemala
ue w” always, except bueno 'bw”.nO sweater
after g & q
” after g & q que k” kent
juguetón xu.ø”.'tOn guess (soft g)
ui, uy wi always, except ruidoso rwi.'DO.sO queen
after g & q or
if the two vowels mui muj no English
are in different guíon 'gi.On equivalent
syllables huy ui
5
Letter in International Placement Spanish International Pronunciation
Alphabet Phonetic in Text Example Phonetic Example
Alphabet (IPA) Alphabet (IPA)
Symbol Transcription
ui, uy i after g & q guiño 'gi.≠O guild but with i
quince 'kin.T” keep
uo wO always cuota 'kwO.ta quota
v b always vivo 'bi.BO brook
if initial
b after n enviar ”m.'bjar amber
B within a word novia 'nO.Bja none in
or phrase English—
soft b with
lips lightly
touching
w w used only windsurf wind.'surf wicked
in foreign
words
x s if initial xilófono si.'lO.fO.nO soft
ks in interior exhalar ”k.sa.'lar exhale
position
y j if initial, yema 'j”.ma year
interior joya 'xO.ja
or final
dZ following inyección in.dZ”k.'TjOn jelly
n or l
z T initial, zapata Ta.'pa.ta thimble
interior, cabeza ka.'B”.Ta
final voz bOT
z z before voz de bOz D” ease
voiced
consonants—
in a word
or within
a word group
6
Canciones de España: Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain, Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, Scarecrow Press. All
rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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