Orthography#
The Spanish language uses an alphabet with 27 letters and is largely phonemic:
| Letter | Spanish Name | Phonemes & Pronunciation Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A a | a | /a/ |
| B b | be | /b/ |
| C c | ce | /s/ (/θ/ in Castilian Spanish) before <e> and <i> /k/ otherwise |
| D d | de | /d/ |
| E e | e | /e/ |
| F f | efe | /f/ |
| G g | ge | /x/ before <e> and <i> /g/ otherwise |
| H h | hache | /∅/ in all native words /x/ in loanwords |
| I i | i | /i/ |
| J j | jota | /x/ |
| K k | ka | /k/ |
| L l | ele | /l/ |
| M m | eme | /m/ |
| N n | ene | /n/ |
| Ñ ñ | eñe | /ɲ/ |
| O o | o | /o/ |
| P p | pe | /p/ |
| Q q | cu | /k/ |
| R r | erre | /ɾ/ |
| S s | ese | /s/ |
| T t | te | /t/ |
| U u | u | /u/ |
| V v | uve | /b/ |
| W w | uve doble | /w/ |
| X x | equis | /x/ |
| Y y | ye / i griega | /j/, /ʝ/, /i/ |
| Z z | zeta | /θ/ in Castilian Spanish /s/ otherwise |
Digraphs#
Spanish uses the following digraphs:
| Digraph | Phoneme | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| <ch> | /t͡ʃ/ | |
| <rr> | /r/ | |
| <ll> | /ʝ/ | |
| <qu> | /k/ | In fact, <q> only ever appears as part of this digraph. |
Diacritics#
The acute accent is
Phonology#
Vowels#
Spanish has the following vowel phonemes:
| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | /i/ | /u/ | |
| Mid | /e/ | /o/ | |
| Open | /a/ |
Info: Nasalization
Vowels become nasalized when they appear between two nasal consonants or before a syllable-final nasal:
Example
mano /mano/ [ˈmã.no]
antes /antes/ [ˈãn̪.t̪es]
Consonants#
Spanish has the following consonant phonemes:
| Manner | Place of Articulation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||
| Fricative | f | θ | s | ʝ | x | |
| Affricate | t͡ʃ | |||||
| Tap | ɾ | |||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral | l | ʎ | ||||
Info: /b/, /d/, /g/
The phonemes /b/, /d/, /g/ are realized as the voiced stops [b], [d̪] (dental), [g] only after a pause or a nasal consonant. For /d/ specifically, it is also the voiced stop [d̪] after /l/.
Example: Voiced Stops
un burro /un buro/ [um 'bu.ro]
caldo /kaldo/ ['kal.d̪o]
tengo /tengo/ ['teŋ.go]
In all other contexts, /b/, /d/, /g/ are realized as the approximants [β̞], [ð̞], [ɣ̞].
Example: Voiced Approximants
la boca /la boka/ [la 'β̞o.ka]
nada /nada/ ['na.ð̞a]
lago /lago/ ['la.ɣ̞o]
Info: /p/, /t/, /k/
The phonemes /p/, /t/, /k/ are never aspirated and /t/ is dental.
Example: /p/, /t/, /k/
pan /pan/ [pan]
tu /tu/ [t̪u]
Info: /n/
The phoneme /n/ undergoes place assimilation depending on what follows it:
- It is realized as [m] (bilabial) before /p/, /b/, /m/: un beso [um be.so].
- It is realized as [ɱ] (labiodental) before /f/: enfermo [ẽɱ.feɾ.mo].
- It is realized as [n̪] (dental) before /t/ and /d/: antes ['ˈãn̪.t̪es].
- It is realized as [n] (alveolar) before vowels, pauses and /s/, /l/, /r/: nada ['na.ð̞a].
- It is realized as [ɲ] (palatal) before /t͡ʃ/, /ʝ/, /ʎ/: un chico [uɲ 't͡ʃi.ko], cónyuge [ˈkõɲ.ɟ͡ʝu.xe].
- It is realized as [ŋ] (velar) before /k/, /g/, /x/: tengo ['teŋ.go], banco [ˈbãŋ.ko].
Info: /s/
The usual realization of /s/ is just [s]. In Northern and Central Spain, it tends to be more retracted: [s̺].
It is realized as [z] before voiced consonants.
Example: /s/ as [z]
mismo [ˈmiz.mo]
desde [ˈd̪ez.ð̞e]
It may be realized as [h] or be dropped completely ([∅]) at syllable-final positions in non-Castilian varieties.
Example: /s/ as [h] or [∅]
esto [ˈes.t̪o], [ˈeh.t̪o], [ˈe.t̪o]
más [mas], [mah], [ma]
Info: /f/
The realization of /f/ is the labiodental [f]. Some Andean and Central American dialects may realize /f/ as the bilabial [ɸ].
Info: /x/
The realization of /x/ is one of the following:
Info: /θ/ ("Distinción")
The phoneme /θ/ exists only in Castilian Spanish. It is used for "c" when followed by "i" or "e" and also for "z". It is realized as [ð] before voiced consonants and as [θ] otherwise.
Example
caza ['ka.θa]
juzgar [xuðˈɣ̞aɾ]
Info: /l/
The phoneme /θ/ is assimilated based on the following consonant:
- It is realized as [l̪] (dental) before /t/ and /d/: [ˈal̪.t̪o].
- It is realized as [l] otherwise.
Info: /ʝ/
The phoneme /ʝ/ may be realized as the affricate [ɟʝ] after a pause, nasal or lateral. Otherwise, it is realized as the approximant [ʝ˕].
Stress#
Spanish has a stress system which obeys the following rules:
- Pollysyllabic words ending in a vowel are stressed on the penult.
- Pollysyllabic words ending in "n" or "s" are stressed on the penult.
- Pollysyllabic words ending in a consonant other than "n" or "s" are stressed on the ultima.
In all words which do not obey the above rules, the stressed syllable is marked with an acute accent.