Pronouncing the Spanish C and Z

The letter c in Spanish has three sounds that are very different from each other—and one of those sounds, which is also the z sound, varies by region. Fortunately, the distinction as to which sound is used follows a rule similar to the one for determining the pronunciation of c in English. The Three Pronunciations of C The sound of the c depends on the letter that follows, according to these guidelines. When the c is followed by h, the two letters together form the ch sound, which is similar to the ch sound in English in words such as church and cheap. It is never pronounced like the ch in architecture (the Spanish equivalent is arquitectura). When the c is followed by any other consonant or by the vowel  o, or u, it has sound of the English k but is slightly less explosive. Note that the English c has approximately the same sound when followed by the same letters. Thus the Spanish word casa (house) is pronounced as CAH-sah, and clase (class) is pronounced as CLAH-seh. The third sound is the one that varies by region. For most Spanish speakers, including nearly all in Latin America, the c is pronounced as the English s when it comes before an e or i. The same is true in English. So cielo (sky) is pronounced as SYEH-loh for most Spanish speakers, and cena (dinner) is pronounced as SEH-nah. However, in most of Spain, especially outside the areas where Catalan is also spoken, the c before e or i is pronounced as the th in thin—but not the th in that. In most of Spain, then, cielo is pronounced as THYEH-low and cena as THEH-nah. To avoid confusion between the two th sounds, linguists sometimes represent the unvoiced th with ÃŽ ¸, the Greek letter theta. So the pronunciations of the two words might be represented as ÃŽ ¸YEH-loh and ÃŽ ¸EH-nah. Contrary to common belief, the third sound of c in Spain is not a lisp. It is simply the way the letter is pronounced. Pronouncing Z The third c sound represents the z sound as well. The z sound doesnt vary with the letters that follow. Note that the z sound doesnt have the buzz that it does in English. So while you may be tempted to prononce zumbar (to hum) as zoom-BAHR, its correct pronunciation is either soom-BAHR or thoom-BAHR, depending on whether youre in Spain or Latin America. In the Spanish word pizza (which also means pizza as it does in English), the double z is generally pronounced in imitation of Italian, giving the word a pronunciation similar to what it has in English. Spelling With C and Z With few exceptions, the z isnt followed by an e or i in Spanish. Instead, the letter c is used before those letters instead. Thus the Spanish equivalent of zero is cero, for zinc its cinc, and for zebra its cebra. Among the few exceptions are words of foreign origin such as zigzaguear (to zigzag) and zepelà ­n (zeppelin). When a noun or adjective ends in z and is made plural, the z changes to c. Thus the plural of the Spanish word faz (face) is faces, and the plural of pez (fish) is peces. More examples include: Una actriz feliz, dos actrices felices one happy actress, two happy actressesUna nariz, tres narices one nose, three nosesLa luz, las luces the light, the lightsEl juez voraz, los juezes voraces the greedy judge, the greedy judges The c and z can also change in conjugated verb forms. The z changes to c if it is followed by an e, so one of the forms of empezar (to begin) is empecà ©. Also, the c changes to qu when followed by an e or i, so the forms of tocar (to touch or play) include toquà © and toquemos. Some other examples of verb  conjugations affected by these spelling rules include: Comenzar, comencà ©, que comiences, que comiencen to begin, I began, that you begin, that they beginTrozar, trocà ©, que troces, que troccen to break, I break, that you break, that they breakCocer, que yo cueza. que cozamos to cook, that I cook, that we cook