Spelling question: any tips for "s" rather than "z"?
I find myself making constant mistakes when typing flashcard answers with words that have "s" or "z" in Spanish. There may be a pronunciation difference that I am not perceiving - my hearing is not perfect.
For instance, atravesar I sometimes type atravezar which of course is wrong, and comenzar I sometimes type as comensar - again wrong - and I carry the errors into the conjugated forms.
Is there a spelling rule that would help me remember?
Many thanks!
¡Muchas gracias!
3 Answers
If it's any comfort, Spanish speakers who use the "seseo" have exactly the same problem. Since they pronounce 's', 'c' (when followed by 'e'/'i') and 'z' exactly the same, there are no phonetic cues to the spelling. One must have sufficient exposure to correctly written Spanish that the spelling sticks in one's mind or resort to guessing. Of course, the problem is much worse in French and vastly worse in English.
Tip: move to Spain. There you will hear the z pronounced as a th so you will have no trouble distinguishing between z and s when spelling a word by sounding it out.
I don't think there is a distinction between the pronunciation of a z and an s in Latin America so you aren't "not hearing" the distinction between the two. The only way to know how the word is spelled is by using a dictionary or learning the correct spelling by rote. Sounding out the words won't help.
azucar (listening to the pronunciation it could just as well be "asucar".)
The spelling of words have a strong root in their parent languages so I don't think that they are likely to eventually drop one of the letters just because they sound the same.
Thanks for the answers. Some things just have to be memorized! And I agree about the reading - that is exactly how I became a proficient English speller. I read everything I could from my earliest years and spelling was never a problem.
