Quick pronounciation questions

Question

The pronounciation of ser has always confused me. How does one say it? On SpanishDict, ser makes a distinctly different sound than when it is embedded in a word such as "servicio", "servilleta", "servir", "serrano", "serrar", and "serie"? Shouldn't ser make a "sir" sound as in Sir. James.

Also, how do I say biceps in Spanish? Some told me it is was bíceps? If so, why is there an accent on the "i"? Doesn't this break the accent rules?

Answer 1

Ser should always be pronounced ser and not sir, although I have heard some people say sirvilleta, but this just a matter of incorrect pronunciation.

If bíceps is written without tilde over the í, it is incorrectly spelled. The first sylable is stressed.

Thanks Julian! I have one question on bíceps. The way I learned accents was that if a word ends in n, s, or a vowel, the syllable that is stressed is the second to last. When a word follows this rule, no accent is required unless another word is spelled - Ramonaspiker, Jan 21, 2017

The same like mi and mí. - Ramonaspiker, Jan 21, 2017

Bi-ceps is two syllables. The accent is on the first, the word ends in "s". Why do we need an accent? - Ramonaspiker, Jan 21, 2017

Ramona, that´s a good question. I can only guess that it´s because the letter "P" ends the sylable with "S" considered additional in Spanish. The latin is "biceps" (no tilde). "MÏ" has a tilde when following a preposition, "mi" is possesive - 005faa61, Jan 21, 2017

Right mi and mí mean different things. Thanks anyways! I'love keep researching about bíceps and see if I can get an answer - Ramonaspiker, Jan 21, 2017