Phonetics - Complete Guide for Spanish Speakers

🎯 Why This Matters

To be understood.

Learning Outcome

Clear diction, removing barriers.

🇪🇸 The Challenge

Spelling vs Sound. Spanish is a phonetic language (read as written). English is opaque (tough, though, through all sound different). Also, the 'TH' sound doesn't exist in Spanish.

🇲🇽🇨🇴🇦🇷 No TH in LatAm Spanish

Problem: Latin American Spanish never uses the TH sound

Watch out: Saying 'tink/ting' for think/thing, 'de/dis' for the/this

✅ Fix: Tongue BETWEEN teeth. Voiced TH (the) = vibration. Voiceless TH (think) = just air.

🧠 Mental Note: If you're not sticking your tongue out, it's probably wrong!

❌ 'tree tousand' → ✅ 'three thousand' (θriː ˈθaʊzənd)

🇪🇸 Close but different TH

Problem: Castilian has the 'z/c' sound similar to voiceless TH

Advantage: You can make the /θ/ sound! (like 'gracias' with ceceo)

Watch out: But voiced TH /ð/ (the, this) doesn't exist - you still need to learn it

✅ Fix: Use your 'z' sound for think/three. For the/this, add VOICE to that position.

✅ think = like 'zapato' with z sound. ⚠️ the = VOICED version (feel throat vibrate)

🧠 Visual Explanation (The Mental Fix)

The Spelling Mask

English spelling is a COSTUME that hides the true pronunciation: 🎭 THE MASK GAME: Same letters, different sounds: - ough: cough /kɒf/, though /ðoʊ/, through /θruː/, rough /rʌf/ Silent letters everywhere: - know, write, doubt, psychology THE TH CHALLENGE: 🦷 Voiced TH /ð/: this, that, the (vibrate throat) 🌬️ Voiceless TH /θ/: think, three, bath (just air) Spanish speakers often say: ❌ 'de' instead of 'the' ❌ 'tree' instead of 'three' Put tongue BETWEEN teeth!

Don't trust English spelling! Learn pronunciation separately. For TH, tongue between teeth - feel the vibration (or not).

🗣️ Pronunciation Guide

How Spanish speakers should pronounce this structure:

The TH technique

Spanish Habit: Using /t/, /d/, /s/ instead of TH

English Reality: TH requires tongue between teeth

Examples:

think → tongue out, no voice
this → tongue out, WITH voice
three ≠ tree
the ≠ de

Practice: Practice in mirror. Stick tongue out between teeth. For voiced TH, feel vibration in throat.

The schwa sound /ə/

Spanish Habit: Pronouncing all vowels clearly

English Reality: Unstressed vowels become schwa (uh)

Examples:

about → /əˈbaʊt/ (not ab-out)
today → /təˈdeɪ/ (not to-day)
banana → /bəˈnænə/ (buh-NAN-uh)

Practice: Reduce unstressed syllables to a quick 'uh' sound

📖 How It Works

Mirror work, shadowing, tongue twisters.

Learning Strategy

Teacher Recommendation: Teacher strongly recommended

Time Investment: 3 hours

🔑 Signal Words (Memory Anchors)

These words/phrases appear with this structure:

English	Spanish	Example
TH voiced /ð/	(no existe en español)	the, this, that, there, they
TH voiceless /θ/	(como la z de Castilla)	think, three, thing, thank
schwa /ə/	(sonido más común)	about /əˈbaʊt/, the /ðə/
silent letters	letras mudas	know, write, doubt, psychology

💬 Real Examples

Let's see this structure in action with correct vs incorrect usage:

Example 1: TH sounds

✅ CORRECT: "I think this is the thing."

🇪🇸 Translation: "Creo que esta es la cosa."

❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I tink dis is de ting."

Why wrong? TH requires tongue between teeth. 'Think' /θ/ and 'this' /ð/ are NOT 't' or 'd'!

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: T/D substitution is the #1 Spanish speaker error. Practice with a mirror!

Voiced TH (the, this, that) vs Voiceless TH (think, three, thing)

Example 2: Silent letters

✅ CORRECT: "I know I should write it in the document."

🇪🇸 Translation: "Sé que debería escribirlo en el documento."

❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I k-now I should w-rite it."

Why wrong? Silent letters: know /noʊ/, write /raɪt/, should /ʃʊd/

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: Spanish pronounces every letter. English doesn't! Don't say the K in 'know'.

Common silent letters: k (know), w (write), b (doubt), p (psychology), g (sign)

Example 3: Vowel variations

✅ CORRECT: "I read a book. I read it yesterday."

🇪🇸 Translation: "Leo un libro. Lo leí ayer."

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: Spanish vowels are consistent. English vowels change even with same spelling!

Live /lɪv/ vs live /laɪv/, lead /liːd/ vs lead /led/

✏️ Practice Exercises

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🚀 What to Study Next

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