As you all (hopefully) know they speak Spanish here in Mexico, meaning that I must speak Spanish here in Mexico. I’d like to give everyone a taste of what I’m learning here and share some of the more interesting language miscommunications I’ve come across. In words of Brian Hogan[1] ‘There’s really nothing like language learning to build humility into the Man of God.’ This is ridiculously true.
First, everything in Spanish is said exactly how it’s spelled. You just have to know what letters make what sound. There is no ‘Hooked on Phonics’ in Spanish. So your crash course into pronunciation:
There is no “H”. It exists, but you do not pronounce it. Seriously, I’m not sure why it exists.
However, “J” sounds like an ‘H’. For the first two weeks I spelled ‘jefe’ (boss) as ‘hefe’ because that’s the way you say it, if you’re saying it in English. In Spanish, ‘Hefe’ (pronounced ‘efe’) is the letter ‘F’. Confused yet? It gets better.
“Ñ” which most people refer to as ‘That weird ‘n’ with the thingy on top’ is an ‘Enya’. It’s pronounced like you say the Irish singer Enya’s name.
Both “V”and “B” make the same sound (B, like baby). There is no way to tell which to use when spelling. Most people just guess if they don’t know. Like the sign in the cafeteria asking you to use ‘Antivacterial’ soap.
A “P” sounds a lot like a “B”. So let’s just take count, there are now 3 letters in Spanish that sound like a “B”. In truth it’s a little different, but for my level it’s pretty much the same. ‘Papas’ (potatoes) sounds like ‘Babas’.
