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Learn about Spanish metaplasm
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Hi everyone! Welcome to The Ultimate Spanish Pronunciation Guide. |
In this lesson, you'll learn about metaplasms. |
In Spanish, words are connected together when the final syllable of a word is identical or very similar to the beginning syllable of the following word. |
You can kind of think of it as making two or more words into one big word. |
This linking of words is what gives Spanish its alluring fluidity. |
There are two types of connections you can make in Spanish - between vowels, and between identical consonants. |
First, let's deal with connecting words that end and begin with vowel sounds. |
quiere (want) |
entrar (to enter / to come in) |
Ella quiere entrar. (She wants to come in.) |
decía (tell/say) |
a (to) |
ambos (both) |
Martín se lo decía~a~ambos empleados. (Martin was saying it to both employees.) |
As you can see, identical vowels will connect with each other. |
When they connect, they combine to become one syllable and the vowel sound is prolonged accordingly. |
Martín se lo decía~a~ambos empleados. (Martin was saying it to both employees.) |
How about this one? |
va |
a |
hacer |
va a hacer (will do / going to do) |
All three words are linked in this phrase, because remember, the H is silent in Spanish. |
Let's look at a few other examples showing Unidentical vowels connecting with each other. |
me (I) |
inclino (bend) |
me inclino (I bend down.) |
como (to eat) |
una (one) |
como una (I eat one.) |
As you can see, the nature of linking words together between vowels is both rhythmic and fluid. |
volvió (to return) |
a (to) |
Europa (Europe) |
Silvana volvió~a~Europa. (Silvana returned to Europe.) |
Now that we've looked at connecting words together between vowels, let's take a look at connecting consonants together. |
dicen (say) |
nada (nothing) |
dicen nada (They don't say anything.) |
As you can clearly see, consonants can also be combined in Spanish. |
How about this one? |
Es fácil leer revistas simplonas. (It is easy to read simple magazines.) |
Unlike vowels, however, consonants can only link if the sound is completely identical. |
That's why the S and F are not connected in this example. |
Listen to Alex again. |
Es fácil leer revistas simplonas. |
That's all for linking words together in Spanish. |
In this lesson, you learnt how to speak fluidly by connecting words together in Spanish. |
In the next lesson, you'll learn about accent reduction. |
Can you think of another metaplasm example? Share it with us in the comments. |
See you in the next Ultimate Spanish Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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