Los sonidos ña, ñe, ñi, ño, ñu

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the sounds ña, ñe, ñi, ño, ñu.

This is the link:
http://archive.org/details/LosSonidosaeiougnagnegnignognu



Recording

The text used for this recording was created by Gregorio Meleán. Recorded by Gregorio Meleán on November 6th, 2012 as a resource for beginners of the Spanish language.

Los sonidos ña, ñe, ñi, ño, ñu. (The sounds ña, ñe, ñi, ño, ñu.)

(la) mañana (morning)
Todos estaban presentes en la mañana. (Everybody was present in the morning.)

añadir (to add)
No hay que añadir tanta sal a la comida. (Should not add so much salt to your food.)

añejo (aged)
En esta hacienda producen ron añejo. (In this estate aged rum is produced.)

(el) muñeco (dummy)
El ventrílocuo tiene un nuevo muñeco. (The ventriloquist has a new dummy.)

(el) añil (indigo)
El añil es un color azul oscuro. (Indigo is a dark blue color.)

dañino (harmful)
Fumar es dañino para la salud. (Smoking is harmful to health.)

(el) moño (bun [hair])
Ella se hizo un moño para ir a una boda. (She made a bun to go to a wedding.)

(el) año (year)
Un año tiene 52 semanas. (One year has 52 weeks.)

(el) otoño (autumn)
En otoño caen las hojas de los árboles. (In autumn leaves fall from trees.)

(el) pañuelo (handkerchief)
Pon el pañuelo en tu bolsillo. (Put the handkerchief in your pocket.)

(el) buñuelo (fritter)
Juana colocó los buñuelos en la sartén. (Juana placed the fritters in the pan.)

Esta grabación fue realizada por Gregorio Meleán el 06 de noviembre de 2012.
End of recording.

En la antigüedad la letra ñ se escribía en reemplazo de la doble n, pero el sonido fue cambiando acercándose al sonido de la combinación francesa ‘gn’ como en la palabra ‘mignon’. Así, de la palabra en latín ‘anno’ se llegó a ‘año’.

In ancient times the ñ was written to replace the double n, but the sound was changing, approaching the sound of the French combination 'gn' as in the word 'mignon'. Thus, from the Latin word 'anno' it came to 'año'.

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

Cada día un poco de práctica (Every day a little practice):
Facebook group
"Spanish Language Learners" http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=85922882863

Do you need an online Spanish tutor? Then, visit http://the-spanish-teacher.blogspot.com/

Los sonidos suaves ra, re, ri, ro, ru

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the soft sounds ra, re, ri, ro, ru.

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



Recording

The text used for this recording was created by Gregorio Meleán. Recorded by Gregorio Meleán on November 12nd, 2011 as a resource for beginners of the Spanish language.

Los sonidos suaves ra, re, ri, ro, ru. (The soft sounds ra, re, ri, ro, ru.)

(el) arado (plow)
El agricultor tiene un nuevo arado. (The farmer has a new plow.)

(la) terapia (therapy)
El paciente asiste a la terapia una vez a la semana. (The patient attends therapy once a week.)

(la) pirámide (pyramid)
Los turistas visitan la pirámide. (Tourists visit the pyramid.)

(la) hora (time)
Ya es la hora de abrir las puertas. (It's time to open the doors.)

(la) cura (cure)
Él trabaja en una cura para esta enfermedad. (He works on a cure for this disease.)

(la) arena (sand)
A esta hora la arena está muy caliente. (At this time the sand is too hot.)

merecer (to deserve)
El joven merece otra oportunidad. (The young man deserves another chance.)

Directo (direct)
Este es un vuelo directo sin escalas. (This is a non-stop direct flight.)

demoremos (we delay; demorar = to delay)
Mientras más demoremos peor será. (The more we delay the worse.)

curemos (we cure; curar = to cure)
Cuando nos curemos de este mal hábito, progresaremos más rápido. (When we cure ourselves of this bad habit, we will progress faster.)

(la) harina (flour)
Hay que comprar más harina para hacer más pan. (We have to buy more flour to make more bread.)

(la) feria (fair)
La feria comienza este sábado. (The fair kicks off this Saturday.)

tiritar (to shiver)
Como no tenía abrigo, el hombre tiritaba de frío. (Since he had no coat, the man was shivering with cold.)

(la) orilla (shore)
El bote pudo llegar a la orilla. (The boat could reach the shore.)

purificar (to purify)
Este es el nuevo filtro para purificar el agua. (This is the new filter to purify water.)

(el) aroma (aroma)
El aroma del café llegó a todos los rincones. (The aroma of coffee reached all corners.)

pero (but)
Juan no puede en la mañana, pero puede por la tarde. (John cannot in the morning, but he can in the afternoon.)

Miro (I look; mirar = to look)
Miro por la ventana las gotas caer. (I look out the window at the falling drops.)

(el) coro (choir)
El coro cantará esta noche en el teatro. (The choir will sing tonight at the theater.)

duro (hard)
Este queso está muy duro. (This cheese is very hard.)

Aruba (Aruba)
Aruba es una isla en el Caribe. (Aruba is an island in the Caribbean.)

Perú (Peru)
Cusco es una ciudad en Perú. (Cuzco is a city in Peru.)

(la) cirugía (surgery)
La sala de cirugía está en el piso de arriba. (The operating room is upstairs.)

(el) cloruro (chloride)
La sal común está compuesta por cloruro de sodio. (Common salt is composed of sodium chloride.)

Yuruaní (Yuruani)
El río Yuruaní está en la Gran Sabana, en Venezuela. (The Yuruani river is in the Gran Sabana, Venezuela.)

Esta grabación fue realizada por Gregorio Meleán el 12 de noviembre de 2011.
End of recording.

Este sonido se produce en dos condiciones: a) Cuando la letra r está entre dos vocales. b) Cuando la r está en medio de sílabas como: bra, cra, dra, fra, gra, pra, tra.

This sound occurs in two conditions: a) When the letter r is between two vowels. b) When r is in the middle of syllables as: bra, cra, dra, fra, gra, pra, tra.

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

Cada día un poco de práctica (Every day a little practice):
Facebook group
"Spanish Language Learners" http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=85922882863

Do you need an online Spanish tutor? Then, visit http://gmelean.bravehost.com/spanish_tutor.html

Los sonidos fuertes ra, re, ri, ro, ru

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the strong sounds ra, re, ri, ro, ru.

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



Recording

The text used for this recording was created by Gregorio Meleán. Recorded by Gregorio Meleán on September 22nd, 2011 as a resource for beginners of the Spanish language.

Los sonidos ra, re, ri, ro, ru. (The sounds ra, re, ri, ro, ru.)

(la) rama (branch)
Ese árbol tiene ramas grandes. (This tree has large branches.)

Arrancar (to start)
El motor no pudo arrancar porque hacía mucho frío. (The engine could not start because it was very cold.)

(la) honra (honor)
Él tiene en mucha honra pertenecer a esa organización. (He takes great honor to belong to that organization.)

Reparar (to repair)
El mecánico reparó el auto. (The mechanic repaired the car.)

Arreglar (to tidy up)
El niño va a arreglar su cuarto. (The child is going to tidy up his room.)

(el) enredo (mess)
La feria estuvo mal organizada. Todo era un enredo. (The fair was poorly organized. Everything was a mess.)

Rimar (to rhyme)
Algunos versos no riman. (Some verses do not rhyme.)

Aterrizar (to land)
El avión tuvo que aterrizar de emergencia. (The plane had to make an emergency landing.)

Enrique (Henry)
El rey Enrique VIII tuvo varias esposas. (King Henry VIII had many wives.)

(la) roca (rock)
Una gran roca cayó en la carretera. (A large rock fell on the road.)

(el) perro (dog)
Esa señora tiene tres perros. (That lady has three dogs.)

Enrollar (to wind)
Hay que enrollar la cuerda que los niños desataron. (It is necessary to wind the string that the children untied.)

(el) rumor (rumor)
Hay un rumor de que el jefe se va. (There is a rumor that the boss leaves.)

(la) arruga (wrinkle)
Esa camisa tiene arrugas. (That shirt is wrinkled.)

Enrumbar (to set off / to direct / to conduct)
Después de haber conocido a esa chica parece que Antonio comienza a enrumbar su vida. (After having known this girl it seems Antonio begins to set off his life.)

Esta grabación fue realizada por Gregorio Meleán el 22 de septiembre de 2011.
End of recording.

Como se puede ver, este sonido se produce en tres condiciones: a) Cuando la letra r está al comienzo de una palabra. Ejemplo: ropa b) Si la letra r está entre dos vocales debe escribirse doble r: rr. Ejemplo: arroz c) Si la letra r está entre consonante y vocal y al comienzo de una sílaba. Por tanto se excluye cuando la r está en medio de sílabas como: bra, cra, dra, fra, gra, pra, tra. Ejemplo: enriquecer.

As you can see, this sound is produced under three conditions: a) When the letter r is the beginning of a word. Example: ropa (clothes) b) If the letter r is between two vowels it must be written double-r: rr. Example: arroz (rice) c) If the letter r is between consonant and vowel and the beginning of a syllable. Therefore it is excluded when r is in the middle of syllables as: bra, cra, dra, fra, gra, pra, tra. Example: enriquecer (to enrich).

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

Cada día un poco de práctica (Every day a little practice):
Facebook group
"Spanish Language Learners" http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=85922882863

Do you need an online Spanish tutor? Then, visit http://gmelean.bravehost.com/spanish_tutor.html

Los sonidos sa, se, si, so, su.

I uploaded the Spanish recording about the sounds sa, se, si, so, su.

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



Recording

The text used for this recording was created by Gregorio Meleán. Recorded by Gregorio Meleán on August 27th, 2011 as a resource for beginners of the Spanish language.

Los sonidos sa, se, si, so, su. (The sounds sa, se, si, so, su.)

sácalo - sacar (to take out)
Si se secó, sácalo de ahí y colócalo en la busaca. (If it dried up, take it out of there and put it in the saddlebag.)

(la) salud (health)
Tiene una salud de hierro y un corazón de oro. (He has an iron health and a gold heart).

(la) semilla (seed)
La mitad de las semillas no germinó. (Half of the seeds did not germinate.)

serrano (mountain, adj.)
Compré ayer tres kilos de jamón serrano y ya se lo comieron. (I bought three kilos of Serrano ham (mountain ham) yesterday and they already ate it.)

(el) siete (seven)
El número siete está entre el seis y el ocho. (Number seven is between six and eight.)

(el) siglo (century)
Un siglo tiene cien años. (A century is a hundred years.)

(el) sobre (envelope)
María puso la carta en el sobre. (Mary put the letter in the envelope.)

(el) sótano (basement)
El sótano se inundó de agua. (The basement was flooded with water.)

sudando - sudar (to sweat)
Él empezó a trabajar en el jardín hace cinco minutos y ya está sudando. (He began working in the garden five minutes ago and is already sweating.)

(la) suerte (luck)
Pedro juega a la lotería todas las semanas pero nunca tiene suerte. (Peter plays the lottery every week but he is never lucky.)

Esta grabación fue realizada por Gregorio Meleán el 27 de agosto de 2011.

End of recording.


La palabra "busaca" es una palabra antigua ya en desuso en muchas partes, pero todavía usada en el Caribe. (The word "busaca" is an old word no longer in use in many places, but still used in the Caribbean.)


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

Cada día un poco de práctica (Every day a little practice):
Facebook group
"Spanish Language Learners" http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=85922882863

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