Pronunciation is a big issue when acquiring a new language. To be good at it, we need to know how to separate a word into syllables. That will be the topic of this post. A syllable is, according to Wordreference, \u201ca unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, and forming all or part of a word.\u201d<\/p>\n
The basic rule of word division at the end of a line in Spanish is that the divided word in a new line begins with one consonant unit or a strong vowel. Let\u00b4s take a look at some examples to apply this rule and its exceptions properly:<\/p>\n
– A consonant goes with the following vowel. We should have in mind that in spanish the combinations \u201cch\u201d \u201cll\u201d and \u201crr\u201d are considered as one single consonant<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n a-bu-so\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ce-rra-do\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0lla-no\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 co-che<\/p>\n <\/p>\n – A syllable doesn\u00b4t usually start with more than a consonant unit, (that is, a single consonant and a vowel, ) but when the second one is L or R, the syllable breaks before them:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n a-tr\u00e1s\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 blan-co\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in-gl\u00e9s\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 flo-ri-do<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Obviously, every rule has some exceptions, so the combinations “rl,” “sl,” “tl,” “sr,” and “nr\u201d will be separated as follows:<\/p>\n Is-la\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 per-la\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 at-las<\/p>\n <\/p>\n – Dipthongs ant tripthongs are not divided<\/strong>. A dipthong is a combination of a strong vowel (a, e, o) and a weak one (i and u) if the weak ones are not stressed. The two vowels are pronounced together in one syllable, giving each one its own sound, and they are not separated when a word is divided into syllables.<\/p>\n Ai-re\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 deu-da<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A tripthong is a combination of a stressed strong vowel between two weak vowels. It is considered a single syllable. The four combinations are iai, iei, uai (uay), uei (uey).<\/p>\n Buey\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 miau\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 pa-ra-guay<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But if the weak vowel of a diphthong or triphthong is accented, or the first vowel when both are weak, they will be considered as two different syllables.<\/p>\n d\u00ed-a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0le-\u00ed-do<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Only a few more things before we leave it for next day: try to avoid single letters standing on their own at the beginning of a line, and do not break prefixes to fit them into the rules we have been talking about.<\/p>\n Des-or-den (not de-sor-den<\/em>)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0sub-ur-ba-no (not su-bur-ba-no<\/em>)<\/p>\n I hope you find it useful for your next Spanish paper. And if you feel confident enough,<\/p>\n try what we have learned with this poem by Garcilaso de la Vega. See you soon!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cual suele el ruise\u00f1or con triste canto<\/em><\/p>\n quejarse, entre las ramas escondido,<\/em><\/p>\n del duro labrador que cautamente<\/em><\/p>\n le despoj\u00f3 su caro y dulce nido<\/em><\/p>\n de los tiernos hijuelos entretanto<\/em><\/p>\n que del amado ramo estaba ausente,<\/em><\/p>\n y aquel dolor que siente<\/em><\/p>\n con diferencia tanta<\/em><\/p>\n por la dulce garganta<\/em><\/p>\n despide que a su canto el aire suena,<\/em><\/p>\n y la callada noche no refrena<\/em><\/p>\n su lamentable oficio y sus querellas,<\/em><\/p>\n trayendo de su pena<\/em><\/p>\n el cielo por testigo y las estrellas.<\/em><\/p>\n (\u00c9gloga primera, de Garcilaso de la Vega)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pronunciation is a big issue when acquiring a new language. To be good at it, we need to know how to separate a word into syllables. That will be the topic of this post. A syllable is, according to Wordreference, \u201ca unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, and forming…<\/p>\n