Spanish from Southern Methodist Univ....

Lesson: Spanish Pronunciation

¡Hola! To start learning the Spanish language, it's important to understand its alphabet.

To become more familiar with this concept and how letters are pronounced, you can study the flashcards attached to this topic.

Important note: These are some Spanish letter pronunciations that differ from the English language:

CH pronounced like the "ch" in "chat": chicle (CHIH-kleh), gum
G pronounced like the "g" in "greet": grabar (GRAH-bar), to record BUT ALSO a hard "h" sound gemelo (hheh-MEH-loh), twin
H is silent: hola (OH-lah), hello
I pronounced like the "ee" "spleen": listo (LIH-stoh), ready
J pronounced as a hard "h" sound: justo (HHOOS-toh), just
LL pronounced like the "y" in "yiipeee": lluvia (YOO-vee-ah), rain
Ñ pronounced like the "ni" in "funion": niño (NIH-nyoh), boy
R pronounced as a hard "r" almost like a "t" in "matter": rojo (ROH-hho), red
U pronounced like the "oo" in "shoot": tú (too), you
V pronounced as a mix between "b" and "v": venir (VEH-neer), to come
Y pronounced like the "y" in "yellow" with a little "j": yo (yoh), I
Z pronounced like the "s" in "smart" zapato (sah-PAH-toh), shoe

Helpful Links

Online Spanish Dictionary

Pronunciations - Spanish Alphabet - Memorize Now

Spanish (español, castellano) is a language originating in North-Central Spain which is spoken throughout Spain, most countries in the Americas, the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea.
It is an inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but without noun declension and simplified pronominal declension.
Spanish was the first of the Romance languages to have a grammar, written in 1492 by the Andalusian linguist Antonio de Nebrija.
The Real Academia Española (RAE) traditionally dictates the rules of the Spanish language.