Escucha la explicación de las letras g y j mientras lees.


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In Spanish, the letter g followed by e or i and the letter j followed by any vowel both have the same sound. This sound, represented as /x/, is similar to the English h. The pronunciation of this sound varies, depending on the region or country of origin of the speaker. Note the difference in the pronunciation of the following words by speakers from Spain and the Caribbean.

España: Jorge jueves general álgebra
el Caribe: Jorge jueves general álgebra
When the letter g is followed by the vowels a, o, or u, or by the combination ue or ui, its pronunciation is somewhat similar to the pronunciation of the English letter g. This is sometimes referred to as the hard g. However, just as you’ve seen with the letters b and d in Spanish, there are two pronunciations of the hard g, depending on its position in the word or phrase.

At the beginning of a phrase, after a pause, or after the letter n, the Spanish hard g is pronounced as a stop. That is, no air is allowed to escape over the back of the tongue when it is pronounced. This sound, equivalent to the letter g in the English word get, is represented as [g]. Listen to the pronunciation of the following words.

tengo gusto gastar dengue Guillermo
In all other positions, the Spanish hard g followed by a, o, or u—not e and i—is an approximant, and can be represented as [?]. It has a slightly softer sound than the stop [g], and is produced by allowing some air to escape when it is pronounced. There is no exact equivalent for this variant in English. Listen to the pronunciation of the following words.

agua laguna diálogo legal igual
A. Repeticiones
Listening activity
PASO 2. Ahora, escribe la palabra que oyes.