PRONUNCIATION TIPS

PRONUNCIATION TIP 01:

One of the main differences between English and Spanish is the pronunciation of
vowels. Whereas Spanish has five vowels, English has twelve vowel sounds and all of
them are different from the Spanish ones. In this section, we will look at the main
differences between:
Spanish:

and

English:

English anddiffer both in quality and duration.is similar to the Spanish

[but is much longer than the Spanish sound (for example, sheep). In phonetic
transcription the two dots () indicate a long sound. , on the other hand, is shorter
and its quality is between the Spanish [and [(for example, ship).
A common mistake for Spanish speakers is to pronounce sheep and ship with the same
vowel quality ([). This may cause misunderstandings with English speakers since it is
not clear whether the sentence Ive got a sh[p means Ive got a sheep or Ive got
a ship. Therefore it is important for Spanish speakers both to perceive and produce the
two vowel qualities.
Ive got a sheep

Ive got a ship

Look at the following pairs of words and listen to the pronunciation of only one of
them. You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the word that is produced.
Example:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

cheap

chip

beat
bit
peak
pick
read
rid
sheep
ship
peel
pill
lead
lid
cheap
chip
feel
fill

Common spellings
i
trip
y
hymn
e
reflect

ee
ea
ie
i
e

meet
read
piece
machine
theme

PRONUNCIATION TIP 02:

Spanish:

English:

As and English anddiffer both in quality and duration.is

similar to the Spanish [but is much longer than the Spanish sound (for example,
pool). , on the other hand, is shorter and its quality is between the Spanish [and
[(for example, pull).
A common mistake for Spanish speakers is to pronounce pool and pull with the same
vowel quality ([). This may cause misunderstandings with English speakers since it is
not clear whether the sentence This is a p[ll means This is a pool or This is a
pull. Therefore it is important for Spanish speakers both to perceive and produce the
two vowel qualities.
This is a pool

This is a pull

Listen to the pronunciation of the following words and decide whether they are
produced with or . Circle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation
twice.
Example:

cook

1.

look

2.

book

3.

food

4.

foot

5.

should

6.

full

7.

put

8.

tool

Common spellings
oo goose
ue blue
o
two

oo
u

good
put

PRONUNCIATION TIP 03:

Listen to the following words from the previous conversation. They all contain an o
sound. However, the quality of the o sound is different in one of the words. Can you
decide which one?
tour

morning

holiday

your

sure

Let us now look at the differences between Spanish [andEnglish

English anddiffer both in quality and duration.is similar to the Spanish

[but is much longer than the Spanish sound, as indicated by the two dots () (for
example, tour, morning). , on the other hand, is shorter and its quality is more open
than issimilar to the Catalan pronunciation of the o in Jordi (for example,
holiday, lot).
Listen to the pronunciation of the following words and decide whether they are
produced with orCircle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation
twice.
Example:

more

1.

call

2.

port

3.

lot

4.

fog

5.

fault

6.

almost

7.

thought

8.

pot

9.

horse

10.

tour

Common spellings
or north
a
all
ou tour
au fraud
aw law

o
a

lot
wash

NOTE: In American English, the sound does not exist. Words such as lot, fog or pot
are produced with(as in car). Thus, these words sound: lot, fog, pot.
Listen to the following words and decide whether they are produced with an American
English (AE) or a British English (BE) pronunciation. Circle the right answer. You will
hear each pronunciation twice.
Example:

AE :

lot
AE :

1. not

AE :

2. odd

BE:
BE:

3. pot

AE :

BE:

4. cod

AE :

BE:

AE :

5. lot

BE:

BE:

PRONUNCIATION TIP 04:

Spanish:

English:

English has three vowels with an a-type of quality, which are different from the
Spanish [English as in car; as in cat; as in must.

is a long and back vowel. In order to produce this vowel, imagine that

you are yawning or gargling ().

The quality of is between Spanish [and Say a long Spanish

[and in the middle try to change it to [without moving the position of the
articulators.
is the shortest a-type vowel. It is similar to the exclamation ah,
when it is said in a short and sharp way (as in: Ah! What a shame!)
The wrong usage of these vowels may cause misunderstandings in English since words
such as barn (), ban (), and bun () might be confused.
You will now listen to the pronunciation of one of the following words barn, ban and
bun. For each pronunciation, circle the word that is produced. You will hear each
pronunciation twice.
Example:

barn

ban

1.
2.

barn
barn

ban
ban

bun
bun

bun

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

barn
barn
barn
barn
barn
barn

ban
ban
ban
ban
ban
ban

bun
bun
bun
bun
bun
bun

Listen to the pronunciation of the following words and decide whether they are
produced with or Circle the right answer. You will hear each
pronunciation twice.
Example:

sad

1.

package

2.

bar

3.

sand

4.

sun

5.

jetlag

6.

love

7.

cut

8.

fun

9.

madam

10.

farm

bad

u
o

Common spellings
a
father
ar car

cut
love

PRONUNCIATION TIP 05:

Spanish:

English:

English anddiffer both in quality and duration.is similar to the Spanish

[but is a bit more open than the Spanish sound, (for example, bed). , on the
other hand, is similar in quality to English butis much longer than and mainly
occurs in stressed syllable (for example, sir).
Listen to the pronunciation of the following words and decide whether they are
produced with orCircle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation
twice.

Example:

fresh

net

3.

nerd

4.

nerve

5.

refer

6.

reflect

7.

third

8.

curd

9.

bed

10.

bird

1.

error

2.

Common spellings
e
let
ai said

ir
ur
er

sir
fur
verdant

PRONUNCIATION TIP 06: (in unstressed syllables)

The most frequent vowel in English is This vowel does not exist in Spanish. is
a neutral vowel which only appears in unstressed syllables. It is produced with a narrow
opening of the mouth but without changes in the other articulators. English is
similar to the Catalan vowel at the end of hola.
English occurs in some unstressed syllables of lexical words (verbs, nouns,
adjectives and adverbs).
Examples (the underlined syllables are those that contain the ):
centre
cathedral
dangerous
supply
umbrella


Listen to the following expressions and underline the syllables that are produced with
You will hear each pronunciation twice.
Example:

general accountant
1. flight connections center
2. underground economy

3. reservations department
4. letter of complaint
5. accommodation office
6. assistant manager
7. travel agents
8. business traveller
PRONUNCIATION TIP 07: (in weak forms)
Some English auxiliary verbs, prepositions, pronouns, articles and conjunctions can be
pronounced in two ways: 1) a strong form and 2) a weak form.
The strong form is produced when these words are said in isolation or when
they are emphasized. In strong forms any English vowel can be used except for the .
The weak form, on the other hand, appears when these words are said in
connected speech. Weak forms are more frequently produced than strong forms and
they tend to have a .
Spanish students of English must learn how to pronounce weak forms since they are
crucial for intelligibility.
Examples:

Strong
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

was
are
have
can
of
from
for
at
her
us
the
a
and
but

Weak

Example of weak forms in connected speech (weak forms are underlined):

The boy and the girl are going to the cinema

Notice that if strong forms were used instead of the weak ones, the outcome would be a
very odd and uncommon pronunciation.

The boy and the girl are going to the cinema

:

As mentioned before, the most common contexts for strong forms to appear are in
emphatic situations.
Example:

The boy AND the girl are going to the cinema

Listen to the following expressions and decide whether the underlined words are
produced in their weak or strong forms. Circle the right answer. You will hear each
pronunciation twice.
Example:

bed and breakfast

weak

1. cup of tea

weak

strong

2. you can pay here

weak

strong

3. shes from Canada

weak

strong

4. salt and pepper

weak

strong

5. they are disappointed

weak

strong

6. the managers upset

weak

strong

7. Tell us the truth

weak

strong

8. The hotels burning

weak

strong

strong

PRONUNCIATION TIP 08: []

One of the most common mistakes for Spanish students of English is the pronunciation
of the [] sound, which is produced in several English words such as hello, how, high,
hotel and hot. The sound [] does not exist in Spanish and hence Spanish students of
English produce the previous words with [], which is the sound that begins the Spanish
word jardn. Thus, Spanish students of English tend to say * hello, *how,* high, *hotel
and *hot.
Make sure that when you pronounce these words, you use the [] sound, which is
similar to the expulsion of air through the mouth in a strong breathing: hello, how, high,
hotel, hot.
Listen now to the pronunciation of English words beginning with the [] sound. In
some cases the speaker produces the right sound, but in other cases she produces the

wrong sound (as the Spanish [] in jardn). For each word identify whether the
pronunciation is right or not. You will hear each pronunciation twice.
Example:

hi

right

wrong

he

right

wrong

right
right
right
right
right
right
right
right

wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong

1. hotel
2. hire
3. happy
4. handkerchief
5. harbor
6. Hilton
7. house
8. hundred

You will listen the phrase Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel four times. For each
pronunciation, indicate which h-sounds are wrongly produced by circling them.
Example:

Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel

1. Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel

2. Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel
3. Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel
4. Hi, welcome to the Hilton Hotel

PRONUNCIATION TIP 09: Aspiration

One of the main differences between English and Spanish pronunciation is the
production of words beginning with andsounds. In English these sounds
are produced with aspiration, that is, a quality (like a short expulsion of breath) that
follows the sounds. Aspiration does not occur in Spanish.
Example:

pack

tour

call

Aspiration in English occurs in stressed syllables which start with or. Thus,
it is obligatory to aspirate the first syllable of paper because it is stressed but not the
second one.
Spanish students of English must practice and produce aspiration, otherwise they will
sound as foreign and inappropriate as English students of Spanish when they aspirate
Spanish words, as in *palo, *torre, *come.

Listen now to the pronunciation of English words beginning with an aspirated

or. In some cases the speaker produces the right sound (with aspiration),
but in other cases she produces the wrong sound (without aspiration). For each word
identify whether the pronunciation is right (with aspiration) or wrong (without
aspiration). You will hear each pronunciation twice.
Example:

1. park
2. car
3. time
4. tube
5. pull
6. call
7. two
8. kind
9. pain
10. take

pie

right

wrong

tall

right

wrong

right
right
right
right
right
right
right
right
right
right

wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong
wrong

and are not aspirated in unstressed syllables or when they are preceded by
an Thus, the in pain is aspirated but the one is Spain is not.
Read the following phrases and underline the and sounds that you think
should be aspirated. Then listen to them and check your answers.
package tour
take your time
accommodation type
standard contract
petty cash

passport control
tourist marketing
call the police
starred hotel
standby tickets

PRONUNCIATION TIP 10: [] []

[] is the sound produced at the beginning of the words check and children. It is the
same sound as the Spanish sound at the beginning of chocolate. [] is the sound that
begins the words ship and sugar. It is common in some Spanish accents, such as the
Andalusian accent. For example, in the word, salchichn: sal[] i[] n.
Common spellings
ch chocolate
tch match
tu nature

sh
s
ti
ch

shine
sure
station
brochure

Look at the following pairs of words and listen to the pronunciation of only one of
them. You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the word that is produced.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

[]
shop
sheep
ship
shin
mash
cash

[]
chop
cheap
chip
chin
match
catch

PRONUNCIATION TIP 11:

Both and are produced with the tip of the tongue between the teeth. However,

is voiceless and is voiced. English is the same as the Spanish sound at the
beginning of the word zapato (i.e. ). The most common spelling for English
is th. Examples of words containing this sound in English are:

think

theme

theatre
author
path

English is similar to the Spanish pronunciation of d between vowels, as in the

word cada ([]). As for , the most common spelling for English is th.

Listen to the following words which contain a th spelling. Indicate whether they are
produced with or Circle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation
twice.
Example:

other

2. smooth

3. fourth

4. loathe

5. breath

7. mother

8. them

1. teeth

6. breathing

The sound is mostly used for determinants and pronouns: the, this, these, that,
those, they, them, their, there, etc. A common mistake for Spanish speakers is to
produce these words with rather than .
Listen to the following pronunciation of some English determinants and pronouns.
Indicate whether they are produced with the correct sound () or the wrong one
(). Circle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation twice.
correct:

wrong:

Example:

they

1. this

correct:

wrong:

2. those

correct:

3. them

correct:

wrong:

4. theirs

correct:

wrong:

correct:

wrong:

5. that
6. these

correct:

wrong:
wrong:

PRONUNCIATION TIP 12: [] []

[] is the sound produced at the beginning of the words John and George. This sound
is not part of the standard Spanish pronunciation, although sometimes it is produced at
the beginning of the word yo. [] is found in the middle of the word vision. It is also
found in a lot of French words, such as gendarme or rouge. In Spanish it can be found
in some accents, such as the Argentinian accent, as in the word calla.
Common spellings
[] j
James
g
age
gde judge
di soldier

pleasure
ge rouge
g
gigolo

In English [] is very frequently used across words as a result of an assimilation

between two sounds, namely, [] and [] as in the expressions did you or would you.
Thus those expressions can be pronounced in two differents ways as illustrated below.

1. Less frequent
2. Very frequent

Did you
[ ]
[]

Would you
[ ]
[]

Listen to a few questions which start either with did you or would you. Indicate whether
the pronunciation in each case is [] and [] or [].You will hear each pronunciation
twice. Circle the right answer.

Example:

Did you like it, sir?

1. Would you like some?

2. Did you visit the National Gallery?
3. Did you book the tickets?
4. Would you like a cup of tea?
5. Did you sign the contract?
6. Would you go abroad?

[] + []

[]

[] + []
[] + []
[] + []
[] + []
[] + []
[] + []

[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]

Note that the pronunciation of [] in such expressions is more frequent than [] + [].
Make sure that you know how to produce [] in such cases.

PRONUNCIATION TIP 13: [] []

Whereas in Spanish the spelling b and v are both produced as [], English speakers
distinguish between [] for b as in bat and [] for v as in vat. It is thus very
important for Spanish speakers to make sure that they produce [] when necessary,
otherwise they may be subject to misunderstandings.
Listen and repeat the following words:
very

vacancy

vacation

value

view

visit

Look at the following pairs of words and listen to the pronunciation of only one of
them. You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the word that is produced.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

[]
bet
best
by
bolt
bow

[]
vet
vest
vie
volt
vow

PRONUNCIATION TIP 14: Nasals

English has three nasal sounds
[]
as in night

[]
as in mother
[]
as in ring
(this sound is similar to the Spanish n in the
word increible)

Common spellings
[]
m milk
mm hammer

[]

n
nn
kn
gn

new
funny
know
sign

[]*

ng
n

sing
thanks

*[] is always followed by g or k in the spelling. The [k] is always pronounced (ex:
thanks []), whereas the [g] sometimes is pronounced (ex: [) and
sometimes is not (ex: ringing [).
Listen and repeat the following words. Make sure that you know how to produce [.
singing

long

rang

bank

tongue

clinging

Look at the following pairs of words and listen to the pronunciation of only one of
them. You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the word that is produced.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

sing
rung
tongue
ling
rang

sin
run
tun
Lynn
ran

PRONUNCIATION TIP 15: [] []

[] is the sound produced at the beginning of the word sign and sip. It is similar to the
Spanish sound in sola. [] is produced at the beginning of zero and zip. In Spanish it
may occur across words as the first s in los nios.
Common spellings
s
sister
c
cider

z
s
zz

zero
rose
buzz

Look at the following pairs of words and listen to the pronunciation of only one of
them. You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the word that is produced.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

[]
seal
sap
Sue
bus
sing

[]
zeal
zap
zoo
buzz
zing

Note that the plural ending -s sometimes is pronounced [] and sometimes []

depending on the preceding sound. If the word ends with a voiceless (sordo) consonant,

then [] is produced. If it ends with a voiced (sonoro) consonant or a vowel, then [] is

used.
Example:

cat[]

pen[]

brochures[]

Listen to the following words in plural. Decide whether they end with [] or []. You
will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the sound you hear.
Example:

planes

1. hotels
2. tourists
3. trips
4. journeys
5. managers
6. agents
7. beds
8. forks

[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]

[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]

PRONUNCIATION TIP 16: + consonant

A lot of English words start with a combination of two consonants which consist of an
and another consonant, such as (Spain), (station),(sky),
(smile),(snore), etc. Since in Spanish there are no words which start with
an + consonant cluster, it is difficult for Spanish speakers to produce the former
words and the option adopted is to produce these clusters preceded by the vowel
(Example: *or *. These pronunciations sound very
foreigner and we should try to avoid them.
Listen to the following words which start with an + consonant cluster. Indicate
whether they are produced with the right pronunciation ( + consonant) or not
( + consonant). Circle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation twice.
Example:

smart

right: + C

wrong: + C

right: + C

2. space

right: + C

wrong: + C

3. sky

right: + C

4. Spain

right: + C

wrong: + C

5. strike

right: + C

wrong: + C

1. strange

wrong: + C
wrong: + C

6. stool

right: + C

wrong: + C

PRONUNCIATION TIP 17: The intonation of apologies

We will now study two of the most common intonation patterns for an apology in
English. The first pattern has a nuance of assertiveness and emphasis. It is produced
with a fall in pitch on the last content word. The second pattern is used to express
sympathy to the other person. It is produced with a fall in pitch followed by a rise on the
last content word.
Examples:

Pattern 1 (assertiveness)

Pattern 2 (sympathy)

Im sorry!

Im sorry!

If the apology is followed by a vocative (such as sir or madam, etc.), the intonation
trace remains low and level in pattern 1 and keeps rising in pattern 2.
Pattern 1 (assertiveness)

Pattern 2 (sympathy)

Im sorry, sir!

Im sorry, sir!

Listen to the following apologies and decide whether they express assertiveness or
sympathy. Circle the right answer. You will hear each pronunciation twice.
1. My apologies, sir!
assertiveness
2. Im awfully sorry, Mr. Page!
assertiveness
3. Oh! Im so sorry, madam!
assertiveness
4. I really apologise for it, sir!
assertiveness
5. Sorry for causing so much trouble!
assertiveness
6. My most sincere apologies, Mrs. Brown! assertiveness

sympathy
sympathy
sympathy
sympathy
sympathy
sympathy

PRONUNCIATION TIP 18: Intonation when expressing gratitude

In Spanish, the functions of expressing gratitude and replying tend to have a rather fixed
formula:
-(Muchas) gracias.
-De nada.
In English, on the other hand, the reply has several varieties:
-Thank you (very much)
-You are welcome / -Not at all / -Pleasure / -By all means

Another very common way of replying to thank you is saying thank you again but
with a different intonation. Listen to the following intonation patterns of thank you.
The first one is the normal intonation, which involves a high pitch on the word thank
followed by a low pitch in you. The second one is used as a reply to a previous thank
you. In that case, thank has a low pitch and you has a high pitch.
(1)

-Thank you

(equivalent to the Spanish gracias)

-Thank you

(equivalent to the Spanish a ti or gracias a ti)

(2)

Listen to the following short dialogue which illustrates the two intonations of thank
you.
B. Good morning, sir. May I help you?
C. Two return tickets to Canterbury, please.
A. Here you are, sir.
B. Thank you.
A. Thank you, sir.
Listen to the following pronunciations of the expression thank you. Indicate whether
they correspond to the thanking expression (gracias) or the reply (a ti or gracias a
ti). You will hear each pronunciation twice. Circle the right answer.
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

gracias
gracias
gracias
gracias
gracias
gracias

gracias

a ti
a ti
a ti
a ti
a ti
a ti
a ti

PRONUNCIATION TIP 19: Intonation of requests 1 (yes-no questions)

Yes-no questions are those questions that prompt a reply which involves either a
yes or a no. For example, Would you like some beer? Yes, please/No, thanks. Yesno questions contrast with wh-questions which are those questions that prompt an
open answer and that usually start with a wh-pronoun. For example, What would you
like, sir? A lager, please.
In this section, we will concentrate on the intonation of yes-no questions (see Unit 17
for the intonation of wh-questions). The intonation of yes-no questions can vary

depending on the meaning the speaker wishes to convey. However, here we will look at
two of the most common intonation patterns for yes-no questions. The first pattern
involves a routine and a monotonous intonation which is frequent for those people that
repeat the same question several times, such as a receptionist answering the phone. The
second pattern shows more involvement and interest.
1. Routine and monotonous request
This intonation pattern starts with a mid-pitch on the first word which is maintained till
the last lexical word where a fall in pitch is produced. Whenever there is a vocative
(such as sir, madam, Mr. X, etc.) the pitch remains low and level.
Ex:

May I help you?

Would you like some beer, sir?

2. Involved and interested request

This intonation pattern starts with a high pitch on the first word which is maintained till
the last lexical word where a fall in pitch is produced followed by a rise. Whenever
there is a vocative (such as sir, madam, Mr. X, etc.) the pitch keeps rising.
Ex:

May I help you?

Would you like some beer, sir?

Listen to the following requests produced with the two intonation patterns. Decide
whether the speaker produced them with the first pattern (routine) or the second one
(interest). Each sentence will be repeated twice. Circle the right answer.
Ex:

Are you all right?

routine

interest

1. Can I have the bill, please?

routine

interest

2. Would you like a glass of wine, madam?

routine

interest

3. Would you like me to open the window for you, sir?

routine

interest

4. May I have your name, please?

routine

interest

5. Can I have your address, please?

routine

interest

6. Shall I bring the menu for you?

routine

interest

7. Could you pass me the salt, please?

routine

interest

8. Can you wake me up at 7:30, please?

routine

interest

PRONUNCIATION TIP 20: Intonation of requests 2 (wh-questions)

Similar to yes-no questions the intonation of wh-questions can vary depending on
the meaning the speaker wishes to convey. However, one of the most common
intonation patterns for such question types involves a high pitch on the first word which
is maintained till the last lexical word where there is a fall in pitch. Whenever there is a
vocative (such as sir, madam, Mr. X, etc.) the pitch remains low and level after
the fall. This intonation pattern is used to express involvement and kindness.
Example:

Where would you like to go, madam?

A similar pattern but with a narrow pitch range, that is, starting with a mid-pitch and
ending with a low fall is used in more detached and serious questions.

Example:
Where would you like to go, madam?

Listen to the following wh-questions produced with the two intonation patterns. Decide
whether the speaker produced them with the first pattern (involvement) or the second
one (detachment). Each sentence will be produced twice. Circle the right answer.
Ex:

How are you?

involvement

1. What are the main duties of a hotel manager?

2. What would you like to drink, sir?
3. When would you like to stay?
4. What kind of room would you like?
5. When are you leaving?
6. Why are you so late?
7. How many rooms will you book?
8. How much does it cost?

detachment
involvement
involvement
involvement
involvement
involvement
involvement
involvement
involvement

detachment
detachment
detachment
detachment
detachment
detachment
detachment
detachment