Phonetics and Phonology of the Spanish Language

Posted on Oct 5, 2024 in Electronics

Phonetic Speech

Phonetic speech refers to the sounds produced by each individual in each specific act of a broadcast.

Phonetics of the Standard

Phonetics of the Standard encompasses the phonic traits that are common to the vast majority of speakers of a language. There are phonic features that depend on context, called allophones. The phonemes that accompany a particular phoneme will influence its pronunciation.

Phonemes

Phonemes are the ideal model of meaningless minimum sound units. They are the materialization of sounds in speech.

Graphy/Letters

Letters form the alphabet of a language, and phonics play a role in writing. There are more letters than phonemes. Spelling mistakes are mostly due to these mismatches between letters and phonemes.

Oppositions and Neutralization

Oppositions

Relevant features derive from oppositions. To establish oppositions, the procedure of switching is used. By changing the phonemes, we change the meaning, indicating that the phonemes oppose each other.

Neutralization

Sometimes, two phonic features that oppose each other in the system (i.e., have differing meanings) may cease to function as an opposition. This is called neutralization, and the result is called an archiphoneme, represented in uppercase (e.g., /ABTO/). The archiphoneme consists of all relevant features of the two phonemes of a neutralized opposition.

Dephonologization

Dephonologization is the disappearance of a phoneme in a geographic or social community of speakers due to the failure of opposition. (Example: Many speakers do not distinguish between “chicken”/”bench” or “fence”/”go”).

Phonological Contrast

Phonology also addresses relationships between different phonemes in a language. Not all combinations of phonemes are possible. Combinatorial properties between phonemes constitute what is known as phonological contrast (possible combinations).

Syllables

A syllable is a phonetic unit of the speech chain that is meaningless. It has the following features:

  1. It consists either of a single sound or a group of sounds. (e.g., a-gua)
  2. It consists of a core called a nucleus, which is always a Spanish vowel. Consonant sounds may also appear before and after the nucleus. These consonant sounds are called syllabic margins. (e.g., o-t-a)

Vowels and Unstressed Vowels

Tonic Vowel

The nucleus of a Spanish syllable is always a vowel, characterized by maximum intensity (articulatory energy), maximum loudness, aperture, muscle tension, and visibility. When the syllable nucleus has a greater degree of intensity within a word or phonic group and has the highest clarity of articulation, it is called the tonic vowel. It carries the greatest strength of voice. (e.g., ha-bi-to)

Unstressed Vowel

Unstressed vowels are syllabic nuclei within a word that have a lesser degree of intensity and less clear articulation. They do not bear the strongest voice.

Open Syllables and Closed Syllables

Open syllables end in a vowel (e.g., pa-ta).
Closed syllables end in one or more consonants (e.g., trans-for-mar).

The letter “h” is not pronounced in Spanish and therefore does not affect syllable count. (e.g., hé-ro-e).

Where the letters “cc” appear adjacent, each belongs to a different syllable. (e.g., ac-ción).

The letter “x” represents two phonemes: /k/ or /g/ + /s/. Therefore, the first syllable of a word with “x” will be closed if it comes before a consonant. When “x” is between vowels, the phonemes belong to different syllables.
x = k + s / g + s
(e.g., examen: ek-sa-men / eg-sa-men; extranjero: eks-tran-je-ro / egs-tran-je-ro)

Diphthong

A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one syllable. (e.g., vein-te; rau-do)
Diphthongs may consist of:

  • A low vowel (a, e, o) + a high vowel (i, u) or vice versa. In this case, the syllable nucleus is the low vowel. There are two types of diphthongs in this group:
    • Falling diphthongs: consist of an open vowel followed by a closed vowel. They are so-called because the articulators move from an open to a closed position. (e.g., cau-sa; pei-ne; boi-na, voy)
    • Rising diphthongs: are formed by a closed vowel followed by an open vowel. They are so-called because the articulators move from a closed to an open position. (e.g., cien-to, dia)
  • Two high vowels (i, u). The syllable nucleus is always the second vowel, which may carry a tilde.

Triphthong

A triphthong is the union of three vowels in one syllable. (e.g., a-ve-ri-guáis)
In triphthongs, the syllable nucleus is always the middle vowel. When a triphthong has a tilde, it necessarily falls on the syllable nucleus. (e.g., a-cu-ciáis)

Hiatus

A hiatus is formed by two adjacent vowels belonging to different syllables. In pronunciation, the two vowels are separated into two slightly different voice impulses. (e.g., ti-a, ca-o-ba)
There are several kinds of hiatus:

  1. Hiatus formed with two low vowels (a, e, o). (e.g., te-be-o, ca-o-ba)
  2. Hiatus formed with a high vowel (i, u) + a low vowel (a, e, o). (e.g., tri-o; pu-a; pi-e)
  3. Hiatus formed with a low vowel (a, e, o) + a high vowel (i, u). (e.g., ra-ul; re-íd)
  4. Hiatus formed by two high vowels (i, u). (e.g., ti-i-ta, hu-id; diur-no)

The “h” does not affect hiatus since this concept, like diphthongs and triphthongs, is a phonetic (pronunciation) phenomenon and not a graphic one.

Syllable Division Guidelines

To divide Spanish words into syllables, the following guidelines should be taken into account:

  1. A consonant between two vowels forms a syllable with the second vowel. (e.g., ca-se-ta)
  2. The sounds /p/, /b/, /f/, /g/, /k/ followed by a liquid consonant (/l/, /r/) form an inseparable group. (e.g., pri-mi-cia, a-bri-go, blan-do, a-fli-gir)
  3. The sounds /t/, /d/ followed by /r/ also form an inseparable group. (e.g., a-trás; pa-dre). But when followed by /l/, normal speech separates the consonant sounds into two different syllables. (e.g., at-las, at-le-ta). However, in some regions, the sequence may be treated as a single syllable. (e.g., a-tlas, a-tle-ta).
  4. If two consonants appear together in groups other than those mentioned above, each consonant belongs to a different syllable. (e.g., con-so-nan-te, lec-ción).
  5. If the initial group is two consonants, they belong to the same syllable. (e.g., psi-co-lo-gí-a, gno-mo).
  6. If three consonants appear together and the last one is a liquid (/l/, /r/), the first consonant forms a syllable separate from the other two. (e.g., com-pro-bar, ham-bre).
  7. If there are three consonants and the last one is not a liquid, the first two consonants are grouped into a syllable separate from the last consonant. In the latter case, it is always one of the following groups:
    • ns + consonant (e.g., ins-pec-ción)
    • bs + consonant (e.g., abs-tra-er)
    • ks + consonant (e.g., éks-ta-sis)
    • ds + consonant (e.g., ads-cri-to)
    • rs + consonant (e.g., pers-pec-ti-va)
  8. Other three-consonant groups without a liquid may appear in foreign words. (e.g., hams-ter).
  9. Words formed from three-consonant syllables occur in foreign words. (e.g., gangs-ter)
  10. The vowels of hiatuses belong to different syllables, and the vowels of diphthongs belong to the same syllable. (e.g., au-re-o, he-ro-e, pio-jo, sa-lió)