Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Spanish Phonetics

Let's talk a little about phonetics. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition is:

1: the system of speech sounds of a language or group of languages 2 a: the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance b: the practical application of this science to language study

Some time last year, I ran across this web site Phonetics: The Sounds of Spoken Language. It brought back memories of my own phonetics class in college which was difficult but very interesting.

I have found this site to be very helpful, because it explains how to pronounce the various Spanish sounds in detail. For instance, for each vowel and consonant, you'll find an animated diagram, step-by-step descriptions and a video of the sound being used in context.

This site is mainly for students of foreign languages, but I think it's also good for those who are teaching the language either at home or as refresher for those who are classroom teachers.

No comments: