If you had recently arrived in an English-speaking country and were faced with having to learn to read and
write the language, you would be faced with a monumental task. Words like "knight", and "knowledge" and
"pheasant" would be enough to discourage even the most determined student. Consider yourself lucky that you
have already learned the language! In English, each of the vowels and amny of the consonants have different
ways of being pronounced and for just about any "rule" there are a half-a-dozen "exceptions". So, don't
despair! Spanish is a cinch to read, write and pronounce. It is pronounced exactly as it is written and
conversely, it is written just as it is pronounced. Perhaps that is why there are no torturous "spelling bees"
in Spanish-speaking countries: if you can pronounce a word, you can spell it out correctly! You see, in
Spanish, every letter is pronounced which is why it is so simple to convert vocal Spanish to written words.
The most important part of spoken Spanish is the pronunciation of the vowels. It is this one aspect of Spanish
that separates the tourist from the native. If you pronounce the language correctly, it will encourage you to
speak it confidently.
Spanish pronunciation of the vowels differs from that in English. You will need to rework your brain cells
a bit in order to get it right but the good news is that in Spanish, like in English, there are only five
vowels. The even better news is that they are always pronounced exactly the same way. Compared to English
where, for example, the "a" must be pronounced differently for "apple" than it is for "acorn" or "awful", you
will find that in Spanish is a snap!.
Although the clock is ticking,let's take a moment to have a look at this most important part of
Spanish pronunciation. We will still have plenty of time left to learn the thousands upon thousands of
Spanish words you were promised on the main page.