The World of Spanish Phonetics Quiz

Answer: e-lin-vier-no

Spanish prefers open syllables, and so tries to end syllables in vowels. The sounds [i] and [e] together form a diphthong, and thus are pronounced as one sound.

Answer: [v]

/V/ is pronounced either as [b] or as a "fricativa bilabial sonora," which English does not have. It is written phonetically as a b with a line through it or as [ß].

Answer: [z]

[z] is voiced--when you pronounce it, your voice box vibrates. In Spanish, it is said to be "sonora." The other three sounds do not utilize the voice box, and are called "sorda."

Answer: sp

If two consonants begin with a syllable, the first one must be [p], [b], [t], [d], [f], [k] or [g]. The second must be a liquid: [r] or [l]. Thus, "sp" is not a possible attack in Spanish. The [s] ends one syllable and the [p] begins the next.

Answer: five

[a], [e], [i], [o], and [u]. A great advantage of learning Spanish is that every vowel is consistent--a written /a/ is always pronounced [a]. By contrast, English has twelve vowels, which are not consistent in their pronunciation. For example, /o/ may be pronounced, among other sounds, as [a], as in "October," [I] as in "women," or [u] as in "move."

Answer: True

English has a stress-timed rhythm, meaning that stressed syllables get much more time in pronunciation than unaccented syllables. Spanish spends the same amount of time pronouncing unstressed syllables as stressed ones.

Answer: oclusiva dental sorda

The [t] in English is alveolar instead of dental. A "fricativa alveolar sonora" is [z] and a "fricativa bilabial sonora" is [ß].

Answer: grúa

You get an "hiato" when two vocalic elements are part of different syllables even though they're next to each other. "Ley" is an example of a "diptongo," or diphthong, in which two vowels combine to form one sound.

Answer: elevation of the tongue, horizontal displacement of the tongue, lip position

The [a] is thus classified as "baja, central, neutra." Mode, point, and sonority, or "modo, punto, sonoridad," are the three parameters for consonants.

Answer: esdrújulo

In "acentos agudos" the stress falls on the final syllable. "Grave" and "llano" are the same type of accent--stress falls on the penultimate syllable. For the "acento esdrújulo" the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable.