4 Reasons It Can Be Hard to Learn Spanish Pronunciation



1. The silent H. Who hasn't wanted to pronounce the H that is silent in all dialects of the Spanish language? Nearly all of us have said "hah-bla Espaniol" when we should've said "ah-bla Espaniol" at least once.

But that's not to say that the sound is absent. Oh no. Just to make it harder to learn Spanish pronunciation , they've given us:

2. The J that sounds like an H. Just to mess with your head. Really. Somehow this one is a little easier most of the time. Maybe it's because everybody's favorite hot peppers just don't sound right when you call them "jalla-penios."

3. That crazy double-L. Most of us who've taken any kind of course on the language have been taught that it's supposed to sound more or less like a Y. But did you know that this isn't always true?

Depending on what country or what region of the country you are in, you may have to learn Spanish pronunciation in a different way for the double-L. In some places, it does sound like the Y in "yellow" that we've been taught.

But in other places, it may sound like the J in "jumping-beans" or the "ly" sound in "sillier." Just keep in mind that it never, ever sounds like the L in "lakefront," "lightbulb," or "pre-frontal lobotomy."

4. The rolling double-R. All of the above problems are pretty simple to fix, once you can make yourself remember the rules for them (which in itself is often no easy task). But with the double-R sound, you really have to practice!

The sound you have to make when you say words like burro and ferrocarril can't be adequately explained in print. That's why if you want to learn Spanish pronunciation, you're best off with a teacher--or better yet, an audio course that you can carry anywhere!