Los sonidos za, ce, ci, zo, zu

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the sounds za, ce, ci, zo, zu.

This is the link:
http://www.archive.org/details/SonidosZaCeCiZoZu



Recording

The text used for this recording was created by Gregorio Meleán. Recorded by Gregorio Meleán on July 30th, 2011 as a resource for beginners of the Spanish language.

Los sonidos za, ce (ze), ci (zi), zo, zu. (The sounds za, ce (ze), ci (zi), zo, zu)

Zambullir (To dive, to plunge)
Él se quiere zambullir en la piscina. (He wants to plunge into the pool.)

(El) zapato ((The) shoe)
Esos zapatos son marrones. (Those shoes are brown.)

(Nueva) Zelanda ((New) Zealand)
Nueva Zelanda queda en Oceanía. (New Zealand is in Oceania.)

(La) zeta ((The) Z)
La zeta es la última letra del alfabeto. (Z is the last letter of the alphabet.)

Zigzagueando (Weaving, zigzagging)
Él conducía zigzagueando. (He was driving weaving.)

(El) zinc ((The) zinc)
El zinc es un elemento metálico. (Zinc is a metallic element.)

(La) zona ((The) zone)
La banana es una fruta de zona tropical. (The banana is a fruit of tropical zone.)

(El) zorro ((The) fox)
El zorro es un animal listo. (The fox is a smart animal.)

(El) zumbido (Buzzing)
En el panal se escucha el zumbido de las abejas. (In the honeycomb you can hear the buzzing of bees.)

Zurcir (to sew, to darn, to mend)
Hay que zurcir los ruedos del pantalón. (It is necessary to sew the hems of this trouser.)

Esta grabación fue realizada por Gregorio Meleán el 30 de julio de 2011.
End of recording.

There are not many words in Spanish starting with z and very few with ze or zi.
The reason for the latter is because of a rule that says you ought to change z with c when adding an e or i after z.

Examples (forming plural words):
pez (fish) > peces
lápiz (pencil) > lápices
feliz (happy) > felices
actriz (actress) > actrices
luz (light) > luces
maíz (corn) > maíces

So, the preferred way of writing zinc in Spanish is cinc though zinc is accepted.


Too easy for you? Then go to http://understandingspanish.blogspot.com

Los sonidos ca, ce, ci, co, cu, que, qui

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the sounds ca, ce, ci, co, cu, que, qui.

This is the link:
http://www.archive.org/details/SonidosCaCeCiCoCuQueQui



Los sonidos ca, ce, ci, co, cu, que, qui (The sounds ca, ce, ci, co, cu, que, qui)

La casa. (The house).
La casa tiene dos pisos. (The house has two floors).
La caja. (The box).
La caja es de cartón. (The box is made of cardboard).
La ceniza. (The ash).
La ceniza está caliente. (The ash is hot).
La cerca. (The fence).
La cerca es de madera. (The fence is made of wood).
El cielo. (The sky).
El cielo es azul. (The sky is blue).
La cita. (The appointment).
La cita es a la una de la tarde. (The appointment is at one o'clock in the afternoon).
El codo. (The elbow).
Me duele el codo. (My elbow hurts).
La comida. (The food).
La comida está sabrosa. (The food is tasty).
Cuba. (Cuba).
Cuba es una isla en el Mar Caribe. (Cuba is an island in the Caribbean Sea).
La cuna. (The crib).
La cuna es del bebé. (This is baby’s crib).
El queso. (The cheese).
Él come queso de cabra. (He eats goat cheese).
Quemado. (Burned). (Verb quemar).
El pan está quemado. (The bread is burned).
Quiere. (Wants). (Verb querer).
Ella quiere café. (She wants coffee).
Quita. (Removes). (Verb quitar).
Él quita las hojas secas. (He removes dry leaves).


In Latin America, people do not make a difference between the sounds sa, se, si, so, su and za, ce (ze), ci (zi), zo, zu. All of them are pronounced sa, se, si, so, su.
That causes that words with different meanings sound the same (though they should not).

Examples:
a) caza (hunting, chase), b) casa (house)
a) azar (random, chance, gambling), b) asar (to roast, to grill, to broil)
a) cima (top), b) sima (big pit, chasm, abyss as a vertical cavern). Also Sima (The lower layer of the planet Earth's outer crust)
a) cerrar (to close), b) serrar (also aserrar) (to saw)

Too easy for you? Then go to http://understandingspanish.blogspot.com