Unit 1 Spelling words & names

Vocabulary: Alphabet & Cognates

This section will introduce you to Spanish pronunciation to give you the opportunity to practice the basic sounds of Spanish, you will learn the alphabet and how to ask someone to spell a word or a name. Let's start with the five vowel sounds. They are pronounced like this:

A -- E – I – O -- U

Now here are the vowels one at a time and some words for practice. Listen and repeat each word after me.

A – Panamá

E – Excelente

I – India

O – No

U – Uno

There are words that include a combination of two or more vowels. Each vowel has to be pronounced individually. Listen and repeat the following examples:

California

San Diego

Now the consonants most of which are pronounced as in English. There are some exceptions as follows:

G is pronounced like the English "g" as in go, repeat the Spanish word: González

G is also pronounced like H when followed by E or I, repeat this word: Argentina

H is silent, as in the word “Habana”, try it: Habana

J is also pronounced like H, for example in the word “jalapeño”, try it , jalapeno

LL is pronounced as "y", as in the word “tortilla”, repeat, tortilla

Ñ is a unique letter in Spanish and is pronounced as "ny" as in the word “niño”, try it, niño

QUI is the sound you find in words like “tequila”, repeat, tequila

R should be rolled like this, rrrrrr as in the word: “Rosa”, repeat Rosa

V is pronounced "beh" as in “Venezuela”, repeat Venezuela

X is pronounced like “h”, as in “México”, repeat México

There’s an extra letter in Spanish, which is the combination of the letters C and H together and it’s called “cheh”. There are many words that include this letter. Repeat with me:

chalupa

chile

chihuahua

chocolate

chorizo.

Sometimes you will see words with an accent on a particular vowel. This means that the emphasis should be on that syllable. For example the following last names have an accent on the letter "o". Listen and repeat.

López

Gómez

Excelente ! Your pronunciation is Excelente !

 

Now let's learn the alphabet so you can start spelling words and names.

 

Since B and V, have almost an identical sound in Spanish a consensus among Spanish speaking people to differentiate these letters when spelling a word, is by calling “B” beh gran-deh (which literally means big B) and “V” is called veh cheeh-kah (which means small v). This is only to spell words and has nothing to do with upper or lower case.

You will hear the alphabet in groups of 3 letters. To make it simple, we will not include the double letters: LL and CH. Please repeat after me, when you hear the tone.

If you want someone to spell a word or a name, say:

How do you write? Cómo se escribe?

How do you write "Lopez"? Cómo se escribe "López"?

Now we will spell Lopez. Listen and Repeat

L éh-leh

O oh

P peh

E ee

Z séh-tah

Muy bien ! Excelente ! Su alfabeto es perfecto !

Let's spell one more last name:Chávez. Listen and Repeat:

How do you write "Chávez' Cómo se escribe "Chávez"?

C seh

H ah-cheh

A ah

V veh che-kah

E eh

Z seh-tah

Vocabulary: Cognates

You already know many words that are almost identical in English and Spanish. They are called cognates, that is, words that are identical or very similar in both languages and mean the same thing. Many Law Enforcement words are cognates. Let's practice with some of them. Listen and Repeat the Spanish Words.

Accident   Accidente

Criminal    Criminal

Detective   Detective

Legal        Legal

Illegal        Ilegal

Federal     Federal

Now I will say the previous words in Spanish and you will say them in English, Ready?

Accidente

Criminal

Detective

Legal

Ilegal

Federal

Mini-Grammar: Verb To Write

The question you just learned : Cómo se escribe? literally means how do you write it. But try not to translate word by word and use the question if you want someone to spell a word for you. Como se escribe? Is related to the verb : to write = escribir

Cultural Info: Last names ending in S

Have you noticed that many hispanic last names end in "z"? For example: Chávez, Rodríguez, González, Gómez. This is because of the Spanish influence. However, sometimes these last names are written with an "s" instead of a "z", and the reason is that these last names have a Portuguese origin. Therefore people with last names ending in "s", might not speak Spanish.

Check point

1. Can you say the vowels in Spanish? AEIOU

2. Can you figure out the missing letter in the alphabet? AB_ DE_ GH_ JK_ MN_ OP_ RS_ UV_ XY_

3. If you want someone to spell a word, what would you say? Cómo se escribe?

4. Can you spell the following last names in Spanish?

López, Pérez, Gómez

Muy bien Oficial ! Excelente ! Su Español es perfecto !!

Learning Tip:

Next time you are driving, try saying aloud in Spanish, license plates of vehicles you see on the street.

You can also try to spell your first and last name in Spanish.

And now, take a break ! Tómese un descanso !

Su Español es excelente !

This is the end of Unit 1

Please complete exercises 1,2,3 and 4

 

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