Summary:
To learn Spanish then you need to learn the Spanish alphabet. Although it's not dramatically different from the English alphabet, there are still some real differences. You also will have to learn how to properly pronounce these letter before you are ready to really get to the nitty gritty of the language. When you visit Spain you'll be so happy you know a few words! Rules and punctuation in the Spanish alphabet are different from the English one, as well. There is a combi...
To learn Spanish then you need to learn the Spanish alphabet. Although it's not dramatically different from the English alphabet, there are still some real differences. You also will have to learn how to properly pronounce these letter before you are ready to really get to the nitty gritty of the language. When you visit Spain you'll be so happy you know a few words!
Rules and punctuation in the Spanish alphabet are different from the English one, as well. There is a combination of Latin and Arabic that can be seen in Spanish. If you are familiar with either of these languages or any other Romance language such as French, Portuguese, or Italian than you will have an easier time learning Spanish.
Here are a few differences in the Spanish alphabet:
Spanish uses vowels that have accents, although not all have accents.
The vowels with accents are pronounced slightly differently than those without accents.
You can use the letter n either with or without a tilde.
The n with a tilde is a different letter than the without a tilde.
Ll and ch are also separate letters in the Spanish language.
If you are an English speaker than the pronunciation will be different, but not impossible for you. For instance you can pronounce the letter C like a K or an S just like you do in English. These similarities should help you in your studies.
There are other letters that also mimic the sounds you find in English. For instance in Spanish the letter j sounds like an English h. The letter v in Spanish also sounds like the letter b in English. You can hear the English letter S when you say a Spanish letter Z. If you pronounce a rolled r in Spanish this is also a sound that you can hear in English.
In Spanish accents on the vowels are very important because they help to tell the difference between words. The stress is used to mark the words and when you are first learning the language it is important to practice these accents.
You put the stress on the last syllable of a word when you are writing. If the word ends in a consonant then the stress is on the last syllable. There are also exceptions to the rules of this. Sometimes like in other languages the rules are changed and we have to adapt to them.
When you learn the basic rules and exceptions as you learn the language you will have a better grasp of the language as you progress. So in this matter if a word as a stress with an accent on a vowel, then it does not have the automatic default on the consonant.
If you really want to master the Spanish language than understanding the how to properly pronounce every letter of the alphabet is vital to your success. You will be one step closer to fluency if you master the language letter by letter. You can go online for more handy help in becoming fluent in Spanish. There are many websites that offer audio help to master pronunciation.