Difference in Pronunciation

Question

I wanted to know if there is a difference in the pronunciation of the following -

i and í, e and é, a and á, o and ó.

It is really confusing when to use what. Please help.Thank you.

I've been using spoken Spanish extensively over the last year and cannot distinguish the difference. However I believe JulianChivi & HenriettaJones. - Jubilado, May 16, 2012

Welcome to the Q&A forum! - --Mariana--, May 31, 2012

Answer 1

Hmmm. They really only serve the purpose of letting you know which syllable to stress. el águila (AH-gui-la)

They are used with all of the interrogative words, so you know the difference between them and there indicative forms.

Well, my explaining may be faulty, haha... so here you go

use of written accents in Spanish

Answer 2

When there is a accent mark over a letter, you stress the pronunciation of it.

Answer 3

Even when the tidle is only to distinguish one word from another, ie: "se" or "sé" there is a slight difference in pronunciation.

"No sé" qué hacer." Here the vowel has a more diliberate and shorter sound.

"No se puede saber qué hacer." Here the vowel has a smoother sound and not quite as strong as the accented "é."

The same with "si" and "sí."

The accenting and non-accenting of "O" and "A" have simular stress patterns as the "I" and "E", although not as strong.

In "No se puede saber qué hacer." (It's impossible to know what to do?) is the accent required in "que", and why? - Jubilado, May 16, 2012

The accent there helps to differentiate "what" from "that." :) - joshhh317, May 31, 2012

Answer 4

yeah there is a large difference in Pronunciation

There is no difference! - afowen, May 15, 2012

Yes there is! - 0066cfd7, May 16, 2012

Answer 5

In Spanish, sometimes the tilde functions only to show which syllable is stressed. But it has another function. In Spanish, there are stong and weak vowels. The strong vowels are "a", "e", and "o". The weak vowels are "i" and "u". Generally, the rule in Spanish pronunciation is that when a strong vowel and a weak vowel are next to each other, only one syllable is pronounced. The two vowels are pronounced together as one syllable, and this is something that is called a "diphthong".

Now the tilde, in these cases, functions not only to indicate stress. It can function to break diphthongs apart, which actually changes the number of syllables in the word. Take the conjugated form of the verb "mandar" - "mandáis". "Mandáis" only has two syllables. Here, the tilde only functions to indicate that the 2nd syllable is stressed. Now let's consider "país", the Spanish word for country. Here, the tilde not only indicates stress, but makes the word have two syllables, thus destroying the diphthong.

In the word "periódico", there are only four syllables. Here, the tilde only shows stress, and reinforces the rule that the "ió" is a diphthong and is pronounced as one syllable with the most stress in the word. The word "río" had two syllables, and the tilde has indicated stress and has destroyed the diphthong.

Regarding Julian's point about there being a slight difference between "se" and "sé" in pronunciation, he may well be right, but the difference is slight, and he says that. But, I think the main reason the tilde is there in "sé" is to differentiate it from "se" in meaning. It's not there to help us pronounce the word differently. Is there a difference in the pronunciation of "esta" in these two sentences? Esta mujer estuvo enferma. Ésta estuvo enferma. I'm not a native speaker, but I am not sure that there is a difference. Again, the tilde primarily helps us to differentiate its meaning from esta.

Muy buena explicación Esteban. Como Julián muy acertadamente señaló, efectivamente hay una diferencia en la "pronunciación", pero el objetivo de la tilde no es ese. Muchos hispanohablantes ni nos percatamos de que usamos vocales "cortas" o "largas". - -cae-, May 31, 2012

Answer 6

To all who answered, thank you so much! ...Is there a video lesson on this topic so that the explanation is clearer?