4.

- comparison between Spanish and English

4.1 Phonemic and spelling differences between Spanish and English

The biggest difference between English and Spanish is that Spanish has only five voice sounds
while English has more than 14, according to regional dialects.

Other differences between Spanish and English are listed below:

 The consonants v, ll, h, j, r, rr, z, and x have very different pronunciations in the two
languages. The consonant ñ does not exist in English; instead, the sound she
represents is written with two letters, ny.
 Some combinations are pronounced differently. For example, in Spanish the u is not
pronounced when it appears in combination with q; therefore, students are probably
not sure how to pronounce words like queen, quiet or quick in English.
 In Spanish, scripts are used instead of quotes as a dialogue mark: "Come here," he
said. –ven aquí- le dijo

4.1.1 Spanish does not have the following combinations (listed by category)

 Verbal contractions: don't, isn't, weren't, etc.

 Plurals ending without a vowel: –ps, –ts
 Certain vowel diagraphs: ou, ow, eigh, aw, oo
 Certain consonant diagraphs: sh, th, wh, ph, kn, wr
 Fusions of consonants with s: sl, sm, sts, scr, spr, str, sk
 Diagraphs and fusions in the final position: There are no fusions or diagraphs in
Spanish in the final position, which can particularly hinder Spanish-speaking students
Learning this pattern when they learn to read in English.
 English suffixes and prefixes (un–, over–, under–, –ly, –ness, –ful, –est) are different
from their Spanish counterparts and can cause problems for native Spanish speakers
as well as the particle end of participles –ed, especially when pronounced as a single
syllable (/ d / o / t /)

4.1.2 Differences in the structures of the questions and sentences between both languages.

Question marks Adjectives-nouns

 Do you want to go to the movies  white horse

tonight?  (Spanish speakers will often use
 (Probably Spanish speakers omit the adjective after the noun.)
do.)

4.1.3 English is considered a Germanic language, while Spanish is a Romance language.

England was once populated by tribes of pagans who came from the coasts of northern
Europe, and who had their languages.

But later, the French invaded, and for them, English has many words that come, albeit
indirectly, from Latin.

These words resemble Spanish, but the old Germanic words do not.
4.1.4 English is not read phonetically.

there are silent consonants, vowels that do not sound as they should, homophones that do not
seem homophones, etc. That is why listening is so important to the student.

4.1.5 Verbs in English do not conjugate much.

The most irregular verb we have is the verb to be: am, is, are, was, were, being and been for a
total of eight forms (including the infinitive). A regular verb like work has works, worked and
working - only four forms in total.

Verbs in Spanish, on the other hand, are much more complicated.

4.1.6 In English, auxiliary verbs are more important.

English uses auxiliary verbs to make denials, to mark questions, to indicate the future, etc.
These three phrases are present, past and future - we know from the auxiliary verb (do, did
and will) that changes from one to another: Do you drink tea? Did you drink tea? Will you drink
tea?

Very few exceptions, nouns in English are neither male nor female. Dog, cat, house, door,
floor, table, chair, bed – all neutral words. Of course, we have words like woman, girl, actress
and waitress that refer to women, but objects, places and ideas themselves have no gender.

4.1.7 In English, the adjective goes before the noun and not after.

"A small dog" becomes a small dog. "A big house" is a big house. In addition, the adjective is
always singular and neutral. (As I mentioned, we don't have masculine or feminine in nouns.)

We also have no problem with putting 4 or 5 adjectives to a single noun - something I see
difficult in Spanish. But in English we can have a big beautiful old country house. Or, a new
expensive fast red sports car.

4.1.8 In English, each sentence needs a subject.

In Spanish the verb is conjugated and the person understands, but in English (as we have so
few conjugations) the subject has to appear.

For example: I ate it. You ate it. I have it. The verb ate is the past simple of eat

What changes from one sentence to another is the subject

4.1.9  English usually has much shorter words.

We have a lot of words that have only one syllable and few that have three or more.

The longest words are usually Latin, which are more like Spanish: station, national, official,
congregation, ridiculous, etc.

4.1.10 Verb tenses are used differently in English.

It is a very long topic to address here, but you cannot directly translate a Spanish verb tense to
an English tense - many times the literal translation is not very good.
4.2 English language contrast between the United States and England

4.2.1 Differences between British and American English

History

The British actually introduced the language to the Americas when they reached these lands by
sea between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling had not yet been standardised.
It took the writing of the first dictionaries to set in stone how these words appeared. In the UK,
the dictionary was compiled by London-based scholars. Meanwhile, in the United States, the
lexicographer was a man named Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words were
spelled to make the American version different from the British as a way of showing cultural
independence from its mother country.

In terms of speech, the differences between American and British English actually took place
after the first settlers arrived in America. These groups of people spoke using what was called
rhotic speech, where the ‘r’ sounds of words are pronounced. Meanwhile, the higher classes in
the UK wanted to distinguish the way they spoke from the common masses by softening their
pronunciation of the ‘r’ sounds. Since the elite even back then were considered the standard
for being fashionable, other people began to copy their speech, until it eventually became the
common way of speaking in the south of England

4.2.2 Spelling differences

British and American English have some spelling differences. 

British English American English

-oe-/-ae- (e.g. anaemia, diarrhoea, encyclopaedia)
-t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, leapt)
-ence (e.g. defence, offence, licence)
-ell- (e.g. cancelled, jeweller, marvellous)
-ise (e.g. appetiser, familiarise, organise)
-l- (e.g. enrol, fulfil, skilful)
-ogue (e.g. analogue, monologue, catalogue)
-ou (e.g. colour, behaviour, mould)
-re (e.g. metre, fibre, centre)
-y- (e.g. tyre)
-e- (e.g. anemia, diarrhea, encyclopedia)
-ed (e.g. burned, dreamed, leaped)
-ense (defense, offense, license)
-el- (e.g. canceled, jeweler, marvelous)
-ize (e.g. appetizer, familiarize, organize)
-ll- (e.g. enroll, fulfill, skillfull)
-og (e.g. analog, monolog, catalog)
*Note that American English also recognizes
words spelled with –ogue
-o (e.g. color, behavior, mold)
-er (e.g. meter, fiber, center)
-i- (e.g. tire)

4.2.3 Vocabulary differences

The Americans and the British also have some words that differ from each other.

British English American English bonnet (the front of hood

trousers pants the car)
flat apartment boot (the back of the trunk
 car) trainers sneakers
lorry truck fizzy drink soda
university college postbox mailbox
holiday vacation biscuit cookie
jumper sweater chemist drugstore
crisps chips shop store
chips French fries football soccer

4.2.4 Grammar differences

Aside from spelling and vocabulary, there are certain grammar differences between British and
American English. For instance, in American English, collective nouns are considered singular
(e.g. The band is playing). In contrast, collective nouns can be either singular or plural in British
English, although the plural form is most often used (e.g. The band are playing).

 The British are also more likely to use formal speech, such as ‘shall’, whereas
Americans favour the more informal ‘will’ or ‘should’.   
 Americans, however, continue to use ‘gotten’ as the past participle of ‘get’, which the
British have long since dropped in favour of ‘got’.
 ‘Needn’t’, which is commonly used in British English, is rarely, if at all used in American
English. In its place is ‘don’t need to’.
 In British English, ‘at’ is the preposition in relation to time and place. However, in
American English, ‘on’ is used instead of the former and ‘in’ for the latter.

And so is with many other American English and British English differences, for example:

#1  British Vs American Words For Clothing

#2  British Vs American Words For Food

 #6 British Vs American Words For Car Parts

#3  British Vs American Spelling

#7  British Vs American Words For Sweets

#4  British Vs American Words For

Vegetables

#8  British Vs American Words For Housing

#5  British Vs American Words For Housing

5. The international phonetic alphabet of the english language

The IPA is important because it allows everyone, not just linguists, to learn the pronunciation
of an utterance- no matter what language is used.

The International Phonetic Alphabet is the premier descriptive instrument of linguistics, which
is fundamentally a scientific discipline that seeks to describe the variegated structures,
distribution, and social application of a given discourse

5.1 Phonetic alphabet - examples of sounds

Short Vowels IPA Word examples

IPA Word examples
Symbo
l v
e Went, intend, send, letter.
æ Cat, hand, nap, flat, have.
ʌ Fun, love, money, one, London,
come.
ʊ Put, look, should, cook, book, look.
ɒ Rob, top, watch, squat, sausage.
ə Alive, again, mother.
Long Vowels
Symbo
l
f Full, Friday, fish, knife.
Vest, village, view, cave.
θ Thought, think, Bath. 
ð  There, those, brothers,
others.
z Zoo, crazy, lazy, zigzag,
nose.
ʃ Shirt, rush, shop, cash.
ʒ Television, delusion, casual
h High, help, hello.
Consonants Sounds: Plosives

IPA Word examples IPA Symbol Word examples

Symbol p Pin, cap, purpose, pause.
i: Need, beat, team. b Bag, bubble, build, robe.
ɜ: Nurse, heard, third, turn. t Time, train, tow, late.
ɔ: Talk, law, bored, yawn, jaw. d Door, day, drive, down, feed.
u: Few, boot, lose, gloomy, fruit, k Cash, quick, cricket, sock.
chew. g Girl, green, grass, flag.
ɑ:  Fast, car, hard, bath. Consonants Sounds: Affricates
Diphthong Vowels
IPA Symbol Word examples
IPA Word examples ʈʃ Choose, cheese, church,
Symbol watch.
ɪə Near, ear, clear, tear, beer, dʒ Joy, juggle, juice, stage.
fear Consonants Sounds: Nasals
eə Hair, there, care, stairs, pear
IPA Symbol Word examples
eɪ Face, space, rain , case, eight
m Room, mother, mad, more.
ɔɪ Joy, employ, toy, coil, oyster.
n Now, nobody, knew, turn.
aɪ My, sight, pride, kind, flight
ŋ King, thing, song, swimming.
əʊ No, don’t, stones, alone, hole
Consonants Sounds: Approximants
aʊ Mouth, house, brown, cow,
out
Consonants Sounds: Fricatives
IPA Symbol Word examples
r Road, roses, river, ring, ride.
 j Yellow, usual, tune, yesterday,
yard.
w Wall, walk, wine, world.
l and ɫ Law, lots, leap, long, pill, cold,
chill, melt.
6 Graphic organizar

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/six-difference-between-britsh-and-american-
english/3063743.html

https://www.britishcouncilfoundation.id/en/english/articles/british-and-american-english

https://www.boredpanda.com/british-american-english-differences-language/?
utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

https://www.londonschool.com/blog/phon
etic-alphabet/

https://longmanhomeusa.com/blog/how the-international-phonetic-alphabet-can-help-us-
teach-pronunciation/