Spanish 101
Please Note: This page is still under construction. I know there are some things that don't work correctly, but I'm making slow progress towards having it done. Thanks for your patience.
We have recently seen an influx of people of Hispanic descent into our community. Many of these people have little or no understanding of our language. The ability to speak or understand some basic Spanish words and phrases may insure your safety as you handle calls involving them. With that in mind, I have developed this page. I am not an expert in the Spanish language and it has been a long time since high school. So if you find errors on (or if you'd like to help write) this page please let me know.
Some Basic Spanish Language Rules:
Vowels: In English, vowels have many different possible sounds. The letter "e" could be pronounced like in every, each, mein, etc. In Spanish, each vowel has only one pronunciation:
"a" is pronounced like the a in taco.
"e" is pronounced like a long "a", like the "ai" combination in train.
"i" is pronounced like a long "e", like the "ea" combination in meat.
"o" is pronounced like a long "o", like the "o" in ocean.
"u" is pronounced like a flat "u", like the "oo" combination in poodle.
"y" is pronounced just like the Spanish "i"..
The second syllable from the end of a word is accented unless a vowel has the accent mark over it (like "á"), in which case that syllable is accented instead.
Consonants: There are just a few things to remember about consonants in Spanish:
- When you see two "l"'s together ("ll") it is pronouced like the English "y" in canyon. Thus llama is pronounced yama.
- When you see an "n" with a squiggely line over it "ñ" (its called a tilda ), it is pronounced like the "ny" combination in the English word canyon.
- When you see an "h", it is silent.
- A Spanish "j" is pronounced like an English "h".
- A Spanish "g" is pronounced like an English "h".
Some Spanish Words and Phrases:
Click on the Spanish word to hear it pronounced.
| English | Spanish | English | Spanish | |
| hello | hola | goodbye | adiós | |
| sir | señor | Miss | Señorita | |
| Mrs. | Señora | where | dónde | |
| how | cómo | who | quién | |
| what | qué | why | por qué | |
| and | y | stop | alto | |
| car | coche | hands | manos | |
| money | dinero | drugs | narcótico |
Phrases:
When I'm done with this section you will be able to click on the Spanish phrases to hear them pronounced.
| Where are you hurt?.................................................................... Adonde está usted doler ? |
| Who hit you?............................................................................................ Quién golpe usted? |
| Did he have a gun?.................................................................................. Él tiene un pistola? |
| Hands up!......................................................................................................... Manos arriba! |
| Drop the weapon!................................................................................. Puesto la arma abajo! |
MORE TO COME.....