Practice more diphthongs
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| This is the ia /ia/ sound, this is the ie /ie/ sound, this is the io /io/ sound, this is the ua /ua/ sound, this is the ue /ue/ sound, and this is the uo /uo/ sound. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Horacio, and this is Spanish Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| The first is ia /ia/. This is the ia /ia/ sound in piano "piano," viaje "trip," diana "bullseye," and other words. |
| Ie /ie/ is the ie /ie/ sound in tierra "earth," miedo "fear," hielo "ice," and other words. |
| Io /io/ is the io /io/ sound in canción "song," violeta "violet," avión "plane," and other words. |
| Ua /ua/ is the ua /ua/ sound in cuadro "painting," yegua "mare," cuando "when," and other words. |
| Ue /ue/ is the ue /ue/ sound in bueno "good," luego "later,," huevo "egg," and other words. |
| Ue /ue/ is rare in Spanish, found in words like continuo "continuous," inocuo "harmless, innocuous," cuota,"budget” inicuo "evil," and other words. |
| These sounds are diphthongs made up of a weak vowel followed by a strong vowel. They are pronounced within one syllable, while English often breaks similar combinations into two syllables. |
| To make the ia /ia/ sound: start with the tongue high and close to the roof of the mouth for the /i/ sound, similar to the ee in "see." Then, glide smoothly into the /a/ sound by lowering the tongue and opening the mouth wider, as you would for the a in "father." In English, there are no direct diphthongs exactly like /ia/. English would typically break this into two syllables, like in "media," but in Spanish, the transition is faster and remains within one syllable. |
| ia |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia |
| ia |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia |
| To make the ie /ie/ sound: start with the tongue high and close to the roof of the mouth for the /i/ sound, like the ee in "see." Then, glide into the /e/ sound by slightly lowering the tongue, similar to the e in "bed," while keeping the mouth more relaxed. The Spanish /ie/ sounds like the combination of ee in "see" followed by the e in "bed." The /i/ glides smoothly into /e/ without forming two separate syllables. |
| ie |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie |
| ie |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ie |
| To make the io /io/ sound: begin with the tongue high and close to the roof of the mouth for the /i/ sound, similar to the ee in "see." Then, glide smoothly into the /o/ sound by lowering the tongue and rounding the lips, as in the o in "go." Both vowels are blended smoothly into one syllable. |
| io |
| [3 sec pause] |
| io (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| io |
| io |
| [3 sec pause] |
| io (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| io |
| To make the ua /ua/ sound: start with the tongue positioned high and the lips rounded for the /u/ sound, like the oo in "boot." Then, glide into the /a/ sound by lowering the tongue and opening the mouth wider, similar to the a in "father." The transition from /u/ to /a/ is smooth, without breaking into separate syllables. |
| ua |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ua (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ua |
| ua |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ua (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ua |
| To make the ue /ue/ sound: begin with the lips rounded and the tongue high for the /u/ sound, similar to the oo in "boot." Then, glide into the /e/ sound by slightly lowering the tongue and relaxing the lips, as in the e in "bet." The lips start rounded for /u/ and relax as you move to /e/. |
| ue |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ue (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ue |
| ue |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ue (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ue |
| To make the uo /uo/ sound: start with the tongue high and the lips rounded for the /u/ sound, like the oo in "boot." Then, glide into the /o/ sound by slightly lowering the tongue and keeping the lips rounded, as in the o in "go." The transition is fluid and seamless, blending both vowels into a single syllable. |
| uo |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uo (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uo |
| uo |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uo (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| uo |
| Spanish diphthongs such as /ia/, /ie/, /io/, /ua/, /ue/, and /uo/ are pronounced within one syllable, while English often breaks similar combinations into two syllables. |
| Listen carefully and repeat after me. |
| ia, ie, io, ua, ue, uo |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia, ie, io, ua, ue, uo (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ia, ie, io, ua, ue, uo |
| Try to pronounce Spanish diphthongs in a shorter and more even way. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| piano/pino |
| "piano"/"tree" |
| (space for repetition) |
| piano/pino |
| "piano"/"tree" |
| miedo/mido |
| "fear"/"I measure" |
| (space for repetition) |
| miedo/mido |
| "fear"/"I measure" |
| dio/di |
| "he gave"/"say" |
| (space for repetition) |
| dio/di |
| "he gave"/"say" |
| fuego/fugo |
| "fire"/"I flee, rare" |
| (space for repetition) |
| fuego/fugo |
| "fire"/"I flee, rare" |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| Asia/asa |
| "Asia"/"handle" |
| (1) |
| Asia/asa |
| "Asia"/"handle" |
| (1) |
| Let's try another. |
| hielo/hilo |
| "ice"/"thread" |
| (1) |
| hielo/hilo |
| "ice"/"thread" |
| (1) |
| Let's try another. |
| Tokio/toco |
| "Tokyo"/"I touch" |
| (1) |
| Tokio/toco |
| "Tokyo"/"I touch" |
| (1) |
| hueso/uso |
| "bone"/"I use" |
| (1) |
| hueso/uso |
| "bone"/"I use" |
| (1) |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| Este piano está hecho de madera de pino. |
| "This piano is made of pine wood." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| piano, pino |
| En Asia, las tazas normalmente no tienen asa. |
| "In Asia, cups usually do not have handles." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Asia, asa |
| Ahora que mido dos metros, ya no tengo miedo. |
| "Now that I'm six feet tall, I'm no longer afraid." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| mido, miedo |
| Un litro de miel cuesta mil pesos. |
| "A liter of honey costs a thousand pesos." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| miel, mil |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| (pause) |
| Di la verdad: ¿cuánto dinero te dio tu mamá? |
| "Tell the truth: how much money did your mom give you?" |
| (3 sec pause) |
| di, dio |
| En la orquesta uso un instrumento hecho de hueso. |
| "In the orchestra, I use an instrument made of bone." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| uso, hueso |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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