Spanish Learning Tips from Rosetta Stone
About the Spanish language
More than 400 million people speak Spanish. It is the official language of Spain, Mexico and most South and Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Spanish pronunciation varies between South American countries and Spain.
Spanish Learning Tips
- The Spanish language uses regular and predictable spelling and pronunciation.
- Nouns have two genders; masculine and feminine.
- Verb forms, rather than subjects, are often used in Spanish to identify who is speaking and who is being spoken about.
- There are two Spanish verbs for ‘to be.’ One type is used to describe characteristics that are more permanent, and one for characteristics that are more temporary.
- Stress marks on certain words are used to indicate stress. We'll help you learn how these marks affect pronunciation.
- These accents can help you distinguish between two seemingly identical words, e.g. esta and está.
- There are two additional letters in the Spanish alphabet. The letter 'ñ' is pronounced differently to 'n'. Similarly, the letter 'll' is also pronounced differently than two single 'l’s'.
- There are formal and informal ways to address people in Spanish. The language form used depends on the age of the speaker and their relationship to the person being addressed.
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