Are you interested in learning a new language? In the following we would like to give you during your internships Spain or in Costa Rica a Spanish crash course. It is good to learn some Spanish for your hotel placements. This little blog entry is supposed to give you an insight into the basics of this beautiful language and hopefully will help you to learn Spanish.

If you are planing to realise an internship Spain you have to learn Spanish. Of course you cannot learn a language over night but you should at least learn some phrases. It makes a huge difference if you approach people in their native language even if you just say “Hola” much better than immediately approach them in English. In general Spaniards love it if they see (or hear 😉) that you put some effort in learning their language.

Also if you want to do your internships in Spain you will realise that not a lot of Spanish people speak good English. To learn Spanish can become handy in many countries not just if you are doing an internship in Spain. Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world (over 400 million native speakers!!!). Spanish is the majority language in 21 sovereign states and few dependent territories with lots of different dialects and some different words. But if you learn Spanish you will be understood and you will understand the different dialects as well (sometimes it will be harder but never impossible).

If you learn Spanish the right pronounciation is key or you will have trouble being understood proberly. Luckily Spanish is pretty easy when it comes to pronounciation and reading. You pronounce every word the way you read it. There are only a few exceptions but once you have learned those rules you can already read Spanish! After each letter we will give you example words and recommend you to listen to those words online (for example on Youtube) to get the right understanding of the sounds. In the following we will explain the letters you have to learn the others are basically prounonced as they are read.

C – The “C” is a bit tricky. First of all you have two different pronounciations depending which vocals will follow the “C”. Is the “C” followed by an “A”, “O” or “U” it is pronounced like a “K”. If the “C” is followed by an “E” or “I” it is pronounced either like an “S” (like in son) or (in some parts of Spain) like a “TH” (like in think). It depends where you want to use your Spanish you might want to adapt but you will be understood no matter if you pronounce it like “S” or “TH”.

Example: carne, gracias

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G – The “G” has the same like the “C” it depends on the vocals that follow on how you will have to pronounce it. If it is followed by an “E” or “I” it is pronounced like a guttural “CH” (this sound does not exist in English the only exception would be the proper pronounciation of “Loch Ness”, for German speakers it is a lot easier it is the same sound as in “Buch”). If it´s followed by an “A”, “O” or “U” it is pronounced like a “G” (like in get) à also note the “gue” and “gui” in the explanation of the “U” below.

Example: gente, garganta

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á, é, í, ó, ú – If you see the accent over a vocal it means you have to stress this vocal in your pronounciation.

H – The “H” in Spanish is always silent.

Example: hola

U – The “U” is pronounced like “OO” in food. The “U” is silent when it comes after a “G” and is followed by an “E” or “I” (gue, gui) (but in this case the “G” is pronounced like a “G”). There are Spanish words where the “U” is pronounced after the “G” in order to make it notable those words are written with a “Ü”.

Example: urgente, guitarra, pingüino

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V – In some Spanish dialects the “V” is pronounved like a “B” but it´s up to you if you want to pronounce the “V” like a “B” or “V” either way you will be understood.

Example: ver

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W – The “W” doesn´t really exists in Spanish only for loanwords so the pronounciation will differ.

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Y – The “Y” is pronounced differently depending where it is. If it is at the end of a syllable, it is pronounced like the English “Y” in say. If it stands at the beginning of a syllable, it is pronounced like “Y” mixed together with various amounts of “D”.

Example: y, estoy, ayudar

J – The “J” might sound harsh to some ears. It is pronounced like a “CHR” again this sound does not exist in English the only exception would be the proper pronounciation of “Loch Ness”, for German speakers it is a lot easier it is the same sound as in “Buch”.

Example: jamón

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LL – The double L is pronounced like the “Y” in yes.

Example: llamar

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Ñ – The “N” with the wiggly line on top is pronounced like “ny” in canyon.

Example: Español

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Q – This letter is always pronounced like “K” in key and is always followed by a silent “U”.

Example: aquel

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R – The “R” at the beginning of a word is rolled in Spanish and might be tricky for many learners. Just practice this sound and try to roll it as good as you can. Is this letter in the middle of a word you have to quickly touch the upper palate with the tip of your tongue. It is hard to explain you are better of listening to an example.

Example: real, querer

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X – The “X” is pronounced as in English “KS”. There are some exception for example “México” is pronounced “Mejico” (with the Spanish “J”).

Example: extranjero, México

You gotta learn to crawl before you can walk. After you have learned how to actually read the words we want to introduce you to some phrases to help you to learn Spanish. Especially when you undertake your internships Spain or in Costa Rica you have to learn some phrases to make your start easier. (In some countries you will see the double exclamation or qestion mark ¡Hola! / ¿Cómo estás? In the following we will write the phrases with the single exclamation or question mark but again it is up to you which variant you choose to learn and use 😉)