how is "e" pronounced?

Question

¡Buenos días ustedes! (Am i right, is it Good morning to all of you?) anyways my question is, how is "e" pronounced in spanish? I cant play any video or audio here on my pc so i cant view the lessons, because im just here in the office, it is restricted here. Can someone help me please, is it eh or eyh? And can you please give me some examples.

Answer 1

Felix said:

It's sorta of pronounced either way depending on how stressed the syllable is. Technically it is supposed to be like "-ay" in "say",

That's incorrect...the "e" never should sound like the English "ay" in "say" because that sound is too long. The "e" in Spanish is shorter...more clipped. Moreover, vowels have only one sound in Spanish...the sounds do not vary.

I swear my friend (De España) pronounces "te" as "tay" - Felixlynx, Sep 15, 2011

Yes that is true. That is why i am confused on how to say it, i saw some videos in youtube and read some books, some says eh which is short and some says like eyh. - MEALazarte, Sep 15, 2011

Answer 2

Here's an excellent article on pronouncing the Spanish e

In addition to the obvious instructions, it also states:

"The simple vowel e can be rendered anywhere across a range of tongue heights, from roughly mid-low (or mid-open), resembling what you hear as 'por-KEH,' to mid-high (or mid-closed), resembling what you hear as 'por-KAY.' The key feature of the simple vowel e is that it is pronounced somewhere within that range of tongue height and that the tongue does not change height or shape during the course of pronouncing the vowel. Standard Spanish does not distinguish between words based on how open or closed the vowel e happens to be pronounced. You may hear a more open pronunciation more often in closed syllables (syllables that end in a consonant), and you may hear a more closed pronunciation more often in open syllables (syllables that end in a vowel)."

Gracias pesta - MEALazarte, Sep 16, 2011

Answer 3

Close to the English "wet."

Welcome to the forum.

P.s. The word is "anyway" and not "anyways."

Even though that may be grammatically correct, most everyone here says "anyways" - Felixlynx, Sep 15, 2011

thank you --Mariana--, anyway is the correct, anyways is informal or others believe that is not even a true word because its not a noun so it cannot be pluralized. Im just used to it but still thank you so much - MEALazarte, Sep 15, 2011

Answer 4

the pronunciation of "De" is one of my vices and I get scolded for mispronouncing the "e" in it . The best I can offer is the flat "e" in desperado. and it remains consistent wherever it is in a word .

Answer 5

It's sorta of pronounced either way depending on how stressed the syllable is. Technically it is supposed to be like "-ay" in "say", but (to me anyway) most of the time it sounds like the "eh" in "bed". Try a hybridization of the two, or better yet, find some to say it for you.