Learn about a group of new Spanish consonants
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| Hi everyone. | |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Spanish Pronunciation Guide. | |
| In this lesson, you'll learn 4 Spanish consonant sounds. | |
| β, ɣ, ʎ, ɲ | |
| These consonant sounds do not appear in English, so they'll likely be new to you. | |
| Be sure to practice them because these are unique sounds which learners often get wrong! | |
| Are you ready? | |
| Then let's get started! | |
| The first consonant is... | |
| β | |
| lava (lava) | |
| bebé (baby) | |
| verbo (verb) | |
| "(voiced bilabial fricative) This consonant sounds like a combination between a V and a B sound. | |
| Try to think of it has producing a regular V sound, but instead of using your upper teeth, try to use your upper lip. | |
| The upper lip should lightly contact the bottom lip as to still allow air to pass through it. | |
| It sounds like a buzzing noise. Listen to the example." | |
| β, β (slowly) | |
| β, β (slowly) | |
| The next consonant is... | |
| ɣ | |
| signo (sign) | |
| amigo (friend) | |
| goma (eraser) | |
| "(voiced velar fricative) This consonant sounds like a continuous G-sound. | |
| One trick to pronounce this sound, is to pretend that you're saying a G, but instead of making full contact and releasing the air in a single burst, try to lightly contact the back part of your mouth with the back part of your tongue, and then allow air to seep through the small opening. It should almost sound as if you were gargling." | |
| ɣ, ɣ (slowly) | |
| ɣ, ɣ (slowly) | |
| The next consonant is... | |
| ʎ | |
| llave (key) | |
| pollo (chicken) | |
| llanta (tire) | |
| "(palatal lateral approximant) You can sometimes produce this sound by saying the English word 'million'. Try it! | |
| (pause) | |
| It sounds a bit like your saying an L and a Y at the same time. | |
| Try to think of it as pronouncing a regular English L, but instead of using the tip of your tongue, try to use the blade or the middle part of your tongue." | |
| ʎ, ʎ (slowly) | |
| ʎ, ʎ (slowly) | |
| The final consonant for this lesson is... | |
| ɲ | |
| ñandú (rhea) | |
| niño (boy) | |
| año (year) | |
| "(alveolo-palatal/palatal nasal) Raise your tongue so that the middle or blade of the tongue touches the roof of your mouth. | |
| It kind of sounds like a combination between the n and y sounds in the English word 'canyon'. | |
| Here's a great tip. Try to think of it as pronouncing a regular English N sound, but instead of using the tip of your tongue, try to use the blade, the part behind it. | |
| Let's take a closer look!" | |
| ɲ, ɲ (slowly) | |
| ɲ, ɲ (slowly) | |
| Well done! You just learned another 4 Spanish consonants. | |
| β, ɣ, ʎ, ɲ | |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn 5 new consonant sounds. These sounds don't appear in English, so they'll be trickier than the last lot. | |
| How difficult were they to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. | |
| See you in the next Ultimate Spanish Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
13 Comments
HideDo you know any Spanish word with one of these consonants?
Hola JINN,
Thank you for your question.
The β sound is both -b and -v.
For -g + -j. you just have to memorize the ones that sound alike.
Ejemplos: agente, girasol, gente
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Hi,
In regards to sound β, may I know if the result should be heard like -b or -v? Since the video and the vocabulary audio below do not quite match, I am a bit confused.
Also, I find it hard to distinguish sound ɣ + sound ʎ with -g + -j. Any tips to get a hang of it?
Hola Milagro,
Thank you for sharing! :wink:
We're to know we're helping you to learn you mom's language.
Please let us know if you have any question.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Mum had been trying to teach me since i was a kid but i never really got it. I only got it when she did gestures to what she is saying. But this is great! Its helping me so much! Im Mexican so feel like i should finely learn my mother's language. Thx for this! ; )
Hola Craig,
Thank you for your comment.
The use of teeth and lips is for the "v" pronunciation and both lip together for "b" pronunciation.
Let's practice.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Hi,
For the first sound the v + b, it says don't use your teeth and lips together, but lightly touch your lips together, though it the video it looks as if she's using her teeth and lips
Hola Gwen,
Excelente! :sunglasses::thumbsup:
Please enjoy the lessons, and let me know if you have any question.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Awesome....ready to learn more!
Hola Kim,
Thank you for your comment.
Well we need to practice more. It's ok, once you get use to it you won't think how its being pronounce.
Sigamos practicando.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
I guess I didn't learn English sounds that well, because some were hard.