C2 · 50 words
Phonetics and phonology in Spanish
Articulation, phonemes, syllable structure and intonation — the description of what really happens when people speak.
El ataque silábico is the onset of a syllable, and el ataque is a word that English breaks up according to what is being attacked. An army mounts an attack and so does a critic: that much is shared. But un ataque al corazón is a heart attack while un ataque de tos is a fit of coughing and un ataque de risa a fit of giggles — English keeps « fit » for the things the body does to itself. And in a syllable, or in a piece of music, the Spanish word is what English calls the onset and the attack respectively. One noun for the charge, the seizure, the fit and the beginning.
The words
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Phrase (41)
la fonética articulatoriathe phonetics of how a sound is made in the mouthPhraseC2
La fonética articulatoria describe cómo se produce el sonido.Articulatory phonetics describes how the sound is produced.
la fonética acústicathe phonetics of the wave a sound leaves behindPhraseC2
La fonética acústica mide la onda, no la boca.Acoustic phonetics measures the wave, not the mouth.
la distribución complementariathe sharing out that keeps two such variants apartPhraseC2
La distribución complementaria impide que aparezcan en el mismo sitio.Complementary distribution stops them appearing in the same place.
el par mínimothe pair of words that differ in one sound and prove it a phonemePhraseC2
El par mínimo demuestra que dos sonidos son fonemas.A minimal pair proves that two sounds are phonemes.
el rasgo distintivothe single property that holds two phonemes apartPhraseC2
El rasgo distintivo separa dos fonemas por una sola propiedad.A distinctive feature separates two phonemes by a single property.
el punto de articulaciónthe place in the mouth where the closure or the narrowing is madePhraseC2
El punto de articulación de la eñe es palatal.The place of articulation of the letter ñ is palatal.
el modo de articulaciónthe manner in which that articulation lets the air throughPhraseC2
El modo de articulación distingue oclusiva de fricativa.The manner of articulation tells a stop from a fricative.
la consonante oclusivathe consonant that stops the air altogetherPhraseC2
La consonante oclusiva corta el aire por completo.A stop consonant cuts the air off completely.
la consonante fricativathe consonant that lets the air through with frictionPhraseC2
La consonante fricativa deja pasar el aire con roce.A fricative consonant lets the air through with friction.
la consonante aproximantethe consonant that narrows without frictionPhraseC2
La consonante aproximante casi no roza.An approximant consonant barely rubs at all.
la consonante nasalthe consonant that sends the air through the nosePhraseC2
La consonante nasal deja bajar el velo del paladar.A nasal consonant lets the soft palate come down.
la vibrante múltiplethe rolled consonant, several taps of the tongue tipPhraseC2
La vibrante múltiple exige varios contactos.The trill demands several contacts.
la vibrante simplethe tapped consonant, one touch of the tongue tipPhraseC2
La vibrante simple toca una sola vez.The tap touches only once.
la sonoridad de la consonantethe voicing of a consonant, whether the vocal folds are runningPhraseC2
La sonoridad de la consonante depende de la vibración glotal.The voicing of a consonant depends on vibration at the glottis.
la aspiración de la esethe softening of the s to a breath at the end of a syllablePhraseC2
La aspiración de la ese es general en media hispanofonía.Aspiration of the s is general across half the Spanish-speaking world.
el triángulo vocálicothe triangle the five Spanish vowels stand at the corners ofPhraseC2
El triángulo vocálico del español tiene cinco vértices estables.The Spanish vowel triangle has five steady corners.
la vocal abiertathe vowel made with the jaw well downPhraseC2
La vocal abierta baja mucho la mandíbula.An open vowel brings the jaw well down.
el diptongo crecientethe diphthong that starts on the weaker vowelPhraseC2
El diptongo creciente pone la semiconsonante delante.A rising diphthong puts the semi-consonant first.
el enlace entre palabrasthe running of one word into the nextPhraseC2
El enlace entre palabras une el final de una con el principio de la otra.Linking between words joins the end of one to the start of the next.
la estructura silábicathe shape of the syllable, what may stand before and after the vowelPhraseC2
La estructura silábica preferida del español es consonante más vocal.The syllable shape Spanish prefers is consonant plus vowel.
el ataque silábicothe onset of the syllable, the part before the vowelPhraseC2
El ataque silábico admite dos consonantes como mucho.The syllable onset allows two consonants at most.
la coda silábicathe coda of the syllable, the part after the vowelPhraseC2
La coda silábica tiende a debilitarse.The syllable coda tends to weaken.
el acento prosódicothe stress inside the word, which can tell three spellings apartPhraseC2
El acento prosódico distingue tres palabras iguales.Word stress tells three identical spellings apart.
la palabra agudathe word stressed on its last syllablePhraseC2
La palabra aguda lleva el acento en la última sílaba.A word stressed at the end carries the stress on its last syllable.
la palabra esdrújulathe word stressed three syllables from the endPhraseC2
La palabra esdrújula siempre lleva tilde.A word stressed three from the end always carries the written accent.
el ritmo silábicothe rhythm that gives every syllable about the same lengthPhraseC2
El ritmo silábico da a cada sílaba una duración parecida.Syllable rhythm gives every syllable a similar length.
la isocronía acentualthe rhythm that squeezes the syllables between the stressesPhraseC2
La isocronía acentual comprime las sílabas entre acentos.Stress isochrony compresses the syllables between stresses.
el grupo fónicothe stretch of speech from one pause to the nextPhraseC2
El grupo fónico va de pausa a pausa.The breath group runs from pause to pause.
la curva melódicathe tune of that stretch, which tells a question from a statementPhraseC2
La curva melódica distingue pregunta de afirmación.The melodic curve tells a question from a statement.
la entonación circunflejathe tune that rises and falls inside one syllablePhraseC2
La entonación circunfleja sube y baja dentro de la misma sílaba.Circumflex intonation rises and falls inside the same syllable.
el tonema finalthe last move of the tune, which decides the whole sentencePhraseC2
El tonema final decide el sentido de toda la frase.The final tune decides the sense of the whole sentence.
el foco prosódicothe prosodic marking of what is new in the sentencePhraseC2
El foco prosódico señala la información nueva.Prosodic focus marks the new information.
la pausa significativathe pause that changes who the sentence is aimed atPhraseC2
La pausa significativa cambia a quién se dirige la frase.A meaningful pause changes who the sentence is addressed to.
la velocidad de elocuciónthe speed of delivery, which varies more than the accent doesPhraseC2
La velocidad de elocución varía más que el acento.Speed of delivery varies more than the accent does.
la reducción en habla rápidathe swallowing of whole syllables when speech runs fastPhraseC2
La reducción en habla rápida elimina sílabas enteras.Reduction in fast speech removes whole syllables.
la asimilación consonánticathe pulling of one consonant towards the one after itPhraseC2
La asimilación consonántica acerca la nasal a lo que viene detrás.Consonant assimilation pulls the nasal towards what follows.
el alfabeto fonético internacionalthe alphabet with one written sign for each soundPhraseC2
El alfabeto fonético internacional escribe un signo por sonido.The international phonetic alphabet writes one sign per sound.
la transcripción anchathe transcription that notes only the phonemes, between slashesPhraseC2
La transcripción ancha anota fonemas entre barras.Broad transcription notes phonemes between slashes.
la transcripción estrechathe transcription that notes the fine detail, in square bracketsPhraseC2
La transcripción estrecha anota detalles entre corchetes.Narrow transcription notes detail in square brackets.
el formante vocálicothe band of energy by which a vowel can be identified on paperPhraseC2
El formante vocálico identifica la vocal sin oírla.The vowel formant identifies the vowel without hearing it.
la interferencia fónicathe leaking of one sound system into anotherPhraseC2
La interferencia fónica se nota antes en el ritmo que en los sonidos.Phonic interference shows in the rhythm before it shows in the sounds.
Noun (f) (3)
la fonologíathe study of the sounds that make a difference in one languageNoun (f)C2
La fonología solo cuenta lo que distingue palabras.Phonology counts only what tells words apart.
la espirantizaciónthe softening of b, d and g between vowelsNoun (f)C2
La espirantización ablanda la oclusiva entre vocales.Spirantisation softens the stop between vowels.
la silabificaciónthe cutting of running speech into syllablesNoun (f)C2
La silabificación cruza los límites de palabra al hablar.Syllabification crosses word boundaries in speech.
Noun (m) (6)
el fonemathe abstract sound unit, which is not a soundNoun (m)C2
El fonema es una unidad abstracta, no un sonido.A phoneme is an abstract unit, not a sound.
el alófonothe sound unit as actually pronounced in one settingNoun (m)C2
El alófono cambia según el entorno.An allophone changes with its surroundings.
el ceceothe southern habit of saying the th-sound where the standard has an sNoun (m)C2
El ceceo hace lo contrario que el seseo.The ceceo does the opposite of the seseo.
el lleísmothe keeping apart of ll and y, which most speakers have lostNoun (m)C2
El lleísmo conserva la distinción que el yeísmo perdió.The lleismo keeps the distinction that the yeismo lost.
el hiatothe two vowels that refuse to share a syllableNoun (m)C2
El hiato separa dos vocales en sílabas distintas.A hiatus separates two vowels into different syllables.
el espectrogramathe picture that makes the energy of a sound visibleNoun (m)C2
El espectrograma hace visible el formante.The spectrogram makes the formant visible.
This list belongs to Language and expression — 22 lists and 1102 words that can also be practised as a whole.
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