Master the pronunciation of fricatives and their allophones
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Foca boca |
| Casa cada |
| Do they sound the same to you? No worries! |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Horacio, and this is Spanish Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| In Lesson 9, we've learned about f and s. |
| And in lesson 10, we've looked at β and ð. |
| Do you remember the key difference between the two groups of sounds? |
| The difference lies in their manner of articulation and the position of the tongue and lips as you pronounce them. |
| F and s are voiceless, meaning they are produced without vocal cord vibration. |
| β and ð are voiced, meaning they are produced with vocal cord vibration. |
| To make the f sound, you use both your bottom lip and your top teeth. β, on the other hand, is made with both your lips. |
| When you say s, your tongue gets close to the bony ridge behind your upper teeth. But for ð, you have to put your tongue against your teeth. |
| We'll go through some examples to make it clearer. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| foca/boca |
| "seal"/"mouth" |
| (space for repetition) |
| foca/boca |
| "seal"/"mouth" |
| casa/cada |
| "house"/"each" |
| (space for repetition) |
| casa/cada |
| "house"/"each" |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| fe/ve |
| "faith"/"he/she sees" |
| (1) |
| fe/ve |
| "faith"/"he/she sees" |
| (1) |
| Let's try another. |
| suelo/duelo |
| "floor"/"duel" |
| (1) |
| suelo/duelo |
| "floor"/"duel" |
| (1) |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| El entrenador le da a la foca pescado con la boca. |
| "The trainer feeds the seal fish using his mouth." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| foca, boca |
| Fe es creer en lo que no se ve. |
| "Faith is believing in what is not seen." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| fe, ve |
| Los arqueólogos encontraron un cofre lleno de monedas de cobre. |
| "The archaeologists found a chest filled with copper coins." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| cofre, cobre |
| Read the following sentences out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| (pause) |
| ¡Camarero, traiga el vino más fino que tenga! |
| "Waiter, bring here the finest wine you have!" |
| (3 sec pause) |
| vino, fino |
| El ejército blanco atacó al ejercito rojo por el flanco izquierdo. |
| "The white army attacked the red army in the left flank." |
| blanco, flanco |
| (3 sec pause) |
| El duelo terminó con ambos combatientes tendidos en el suelo. |
| "The duel ended up with both fighters lying on the ground." |
| duelo, suelo |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
| Here's a special resource just for you… |
| 30+ Spanish PDF Cheat Sheets… |
| …That will improve your Spanish twice as fast — yours FREE. |
| Just click the link in the comments section. |
Comments
Hide