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The Spanish Speaker's Pronunciation Survival Kit

Master the 10 English sounds that don't exist in Spanish

Why Spanish Speakers Struggle with English Pronunciation

Spanish has only 5 vowel sounds. English has 12+ vowels. Spanish doesn't reduce vowels in unstressed syllables. English does (the schwa). These fundamental differences create predictable pronunciation challenges.

10 Sounds That Don't Exist in Spanish

These are the sounds you MUST master for clear English

#1
/ð/ - Voiced TH

The sound in "this", "that", "mother". Spanish speakers often substitute /d/.

Examples:

this/ðɪs/
that/ðæt/
mother/ˈmʌðər/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish has no dental fricative. Your tongue must go BETWEEN your teeth.

#2
/θ/ - Voiceless TH

The sound in "think", "thought", "birthday". Often replaced with /t/ or /s/.

Examples:

think/θɪŋk/
thought/θɔːt/
birthday/ˈbɜrθdeɪ/

Why it's difficult:

Same tongue position as /ð/, but without vocal cord vibration.

#3
/v/ - V Sound

The sound in "very", "have", "love". Spanish speakers use /b/ instead.

Examples:

very/ˈveri/
have/hæv/
boat vs vote/boʊt/ vs /voʊt/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish doesn't distinguish /b/ and /v/. Your top teeth must touch your bottom lip.

#4
/ɪ/ - Short I

The sound in "sit", "bit", "ship". Confused with long /iː/ ("seat", "beat", "sheep").

Examples:

sit vs seat/sɪt/ vs /siːt/
ship vs sheep/ʃɪp/ vs /ʃiːp/
bit vs beat/bɪt/ vs /biːt/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish only has /i/ (like English /iː/). English /ɪ/ is shorter and more relaxed.

#5
/æ/ - Short A

The sound in "cat", "hat", "bad". Doesn't exist in Spanish.

Examples:

cat/kæt/
hat/hæt/
bad/bæd/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish /a/ is different. Open your mouth wider and spread your lips slightly.

#6
/ə/ - Schwa

The unstressed sound in "about", "sofa", "banana". The most common English vowel.

Examples:

about/əˈbaʊt/
sofa/ˈsoʊfə/
banana/bəˈnænə/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish doesn't reduce unstressed vowels. English does, creating the "uh" sound.

#7
/ʌ/ - Short U

The sound in "cup", "but", "love". Different from Spanish /a/.

Examples:

cup/kʌp/
but/bʌt/
love/lʌv/

Why it's difficult:

Similar to Spanish /a/ but more central and relaxed. Not stressed like /ʌ/.

#8
/ɜr/ - ER Sound

The r-colored vowel in "bird", "her", "work". Very challenging for Spanish speakers.

Examples:

bird/bɜrd/
her/hɜr/
work/wɜrk/

Why it's difficult:

Requires tongue curling while producing a vowel. Spanish /r/ is completely different.

#9
/ʒ/ - ZH Sound

The sound in "measure", "pleasure", "vision". Rare in Spanish.

Examples:

measure/ˈmeʒər/
pleasure/ˈpleʒər/
vision/ˈvɪʒən/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish has no voiced postalveolar fricative. Like /ʃ/ (sh) but voiced.

#10
/h/ - H Sound

The sound in "house", "hat", "hello". Spanish H is always silent.

Examples:

house/haʊs/
hat/hæt/
hello/həˈloʊ/

Why it's difficult:

Spanish H is silent (hola = /ola/). English H requires airflow without vocal cords.

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