Spanish is spoken by # in most parts of South America, Spain and by many inhabitants in the USA.

Phonology

Grammar

Orthography

The Spanish alphabet is similar to that of any other Romance language. It contains the following letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z.

The letters 'k' and 'w' are rarely used (mostly reserved for foreign words) but still there.

The following digraph are also used: ch (as in English beach), ll (normally like Spanish y: between the English 'y' and 'j', although the pronunciation differs greatly from dialect to dialect), and rr (roll your tongue)

The letters 'b' and 'v' have the same sound (/b/); the English 'v' sound does not exist in almost all dialects.

The letter 'c' is pronounced /k/ except in front of 'e' and 'i', when it is pronounced like a Spanish 'z'. The 'z' can be pronounced either like the English 'th' in think (in most of the Iberian Peninsula) or like /s/. The letters 's' and 'z' are never pronounced /z/, always /s/.

Similarly, the letter 'g' is pronounced /g/ except in front of 'e' and 'i', when it is pronounced like the Spanish 'j': /x/ or /h/ depending on the dialect.

The 'h' is never pronounced, except in some foreign words.

The letter 'ñ' is pronounced similarly to 'ny' in "canyon", or as in "jalapeño".

The vowels do not have different sounds, besides accents. The letter 'a' is always /a/ (a cross between the 'a' in "father" and the 'a' in "cat"). O is always as in "no", but shorter. I is always pronounced as "ee." E as pronounced like the "a" in the English "fame", but shorter and without the dipthong. U is pronounced like the English digraph "oo."

Common Obstacles and Pitfalls for Learners

False Friends (Falsos Amigos)

False Friends are words that are similar in both languages but have different meanings. Some meaning may be the same but there are other different meanings.

asistir-To participate.

Me gustaria asistir en la reunion. I want to participate in the meeting.

Resources

There is an FSI-course for Spanish.