Monday, March 16, 2020
Behind Cisneross Mind and Experience Professor Ramos Blog
Behind Cisneross Mind and Experience Photo Credit: https://www.sandracisneros.com/events Sandra Cisneros is widely known in American literature for the poems, stories, and novels she writes. Those stories reflect on the themes of love, religion, feminism, family, hardships, and the livelihood of the characters she creates and introduces in her stories. Actually, the themes Sandra Cisneros implements in her literary works of art not just reflected upon just that. The specific themes that are reflected upon are her life growing up with a hollow family; the hardships she faced as the only daughter in her family and as a Latina in the outside world; her deep experience in searching for the passion and wisdom that inspired her to wrote; her experiences as a teacher; the many authors and artists that inspired her to write her novels and stories; and the many literary works, such as The House on Mango Street, that have received critical acclaims for her work. Sandra Cisneros is the embodiment of telenovelas in her literary works because of the hardships she had dealt with in h er family, at school, and throughout her livelihood. One of the factors that became an inspiration for Sandra Cisnerosââ¬â¢s literary work was from the experience she had with her family. Cisneros tries to get along with the family especially with the hardships she had faced within the family regarding her relationship with her parents; Cisneros being the only daughter and living with six brothers; and moving back and forth from one place to another. One of the factors regarding family, was Cisnerosââ¬â¢s relationship with her parents. On her motherââ¬â¢s side, it seemed like the connection between her and her mother was good. Everyday, Cisneroââ¬â¢s mother would tell her ââ¬Å"good luckâ⬠, but in a form of a malapropism by saying ââ¬Å"Good lucky!â⬠(Gonzlez 3). Moreover, the relationship between Cisneros and her father was nothing but ââ¬Å"a complicated relationshipâ⬠(Gonzlez 3). But regardless of the roughness in the family bond between her and her father, Cisneros still loves him no matter what happ ens. Another contributing part to Cisnerosââ¬â¢s literary theme of family was the fact that her family has not been open to her. In an interview with Cisneros, she stated, ââ¬Å" Most times, family are the least reluctant to tell me anything, and thatââ¬â¢s why I have to invent so much when it comes to familyââ¬â¢s storiesâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisnerosâ⬠1). Evidently, her statement to what inspired the family theme in her stories is because of the fact that she stays close to family even if they donââ¬â¢t tell her much things about their lives. This is further stated in that same interview when she said, ââ¬Å"But maybe itââ¬â¢s just my family that doesnââ¬â¢t talk about their inner life to me. Especially after I became a writerâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisnerosâ⬠1). Regarding to Cisnerosââ¬â¢s travels between Chicago and Mexico, it was a stretch for her since ââ¬Å"she would move between Mexico City and Chicagoâ⬠(Mathias 1). That being said, her sense of having a permanent home is lost when it came to her being the only daughter; ââ¬Å"not having sisters or friendsâ⬠(Mathias 1) because of her travels; and her family not being open enough to even engage in a conversation. Another theme that is implemented in Cisnerosââ¬â¢s livelihood and in her stories is the sense of having a permanent home without any problems. The theme of home has been one of the central themes in her literary works ââ¬Å"usually in the form of clever aphorismsâ⬠(Gonzlez 2). In one of her literary works, The Little House, she wrote that the house in that work of literature was ââ¬Å"permanent and stableâ⬠(Mathias 1) house because ââ¬Å"it was one house for one familyâ⬠(Mathias 1). From that metaphor of a stable house, she considered as ââ¬Å"her dream houseâ⬠(Mathias 1) because of the integrity of her family relating to how stable her dream house is. That theme also applied to her ââ¬Å"as a metaphor to other developments in her lifeâ⬠(Gonzlez 2). In other words, the events and other experiences the Cisneros had gone through were developing as the foundation for her idea of home. Simply put, she is the home. Looking at the idea of what her dr eam house should look like and the experiences she had gone through, it was as if the foundation of her house was firm, but a little bit critical. As mentioned earlier, the fact that she was the only daughter and that she did not have much friends due to her family travels got her into ââ¬Å"reading and burying herself in booksâ⬠(Mathias 1). From that point on, her interests in reading got her into writing poetry and later becoming a literary magazine editor in high school (Mathias 1). From being the poet and high school magazine editor she is, her passion for reading and writing later grew during her college years. After that, she became a teacher educating students that dropped out of high school in Chicago neighborhoods. From her experience as a teacher, two things had happened: she learned and understood ââ¬Å"the problems of young Latinasâ⬠(Mathias 1) and that she didnââ¬â¢t want to be a teacher because she didnââ¬â¢t have enough confidence and that the teac hing job took up her writing time (Gonzlez 3). But from that teaching experiences, it brought Cisneros to a point where she understood herself and improved her skills in writing after growing out of the holes of where she had a ââ¬Å"lack of knowledgeâ⬠(Gonzlez 3) and ââ¬Å"immaturity at the time of her writingâ⬠(Gonzlez 3). Furthermore, Cisneros better understood the concepts of the love, family, feminism, religion, and the many that she implemented in her stories. As mentioned earlier, Cisnerosââ¬â¢s family does not tell her much which leads to the point where she comes up with characters for her stories. Those characters are actually people she ââ¬Å"has encountered in her lifetimeâ⬠(Mathias 1). The stories she writes focus on the topic she had a better understanding of which are the ones that she considers as important: feminism, love, oppression, and religion (Mathias 1). On the theme of feminism, she has that theme deeply rooted in her literary works because of the fact that she had been the only daughter living with six brothers. Moreover, she got a better sense of it when she heard about the many problems the Latinas had in her classes during her years of teaching. In an Interview with Cisneros, she made two important notes on how much hardships women go through. She pointed out that women face hardships ââ¬Å"because the world is so patriarchalâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisneros 1) and that women are ââ¬Å"contro lled by the Church, State, and consumerismâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisneros 2). Cisneros further stated in the same interview that women werenââ¬â¢t ââ¬Å"allowed information about their own bodies, control of their fertility, church and state dictating choices that belong to women themselvesâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisnerosâ⬠2). From her words, Cisneros states that women are restrained by society to what they can only see, hear, and understand. Everything else is off their limits and cannot be absorbed for their knowledge. That being said, Cisneros later pointed out that these excessive limitations among women are what drove its constituents to two pathways: one where women ââ¬Å"equate ââ¬ËGirls Gone Wildââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ to liberationâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisnerosâ⬠2) and another path where women ââ¬Å"donââ¬â¢t but the Paris Hilton modelâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisnerosâ⬠2). Cisneros brings up tho se two sides because she came across women who donââ¬â¢t have the full idea of feminism and women who are intelligent and independent beings. Another notable theme that is also focused on Cisnerosââ¬â¢s literature is the theme of love and hardships between a man and woman. A definitive example of this theme is ââ¬Å"Woman Hollering Creekâ⬠talks about the story of a loving relationship that turned abusive between a man, Juan Pedro, and a woman, Cleà ³filas. As the relationship is strained between the two due to their responsibility for their child and the manââ¬â¢s acts of abuse on the woman, Cleà ³filas dealt with her husbandââ¬â¢s abuse by seeing it as a joyful act that can be happily cried over. She thought of this abusiveness as a good thing because she thought that ââ¬Å"to suffer for love is goodâ⬠(Cisneros 45). In a sense, Cleà ³filas is like a sponge absorbing the pain coming from her husbandââ¬â¢s wrongdoing. Another pointer in this relationship was when Cleà ³filas was slapped around by Juan Pedro many times. Her response to that physical abuse was that ââ¬Å"she didnââ¬â¢t fight back, she didnââ¬â¢t break into tears, she didnââ¬â¢t run away as she imagined she might when she saw such things in the telenovelasâ⬠(Cisneros 47). From this story, Cisneros correlated ââ¬Å"Woman Hollering Creekâ⬠to the hardships some women face in relationships and to the time she mentioned that women face times where theyââ¬â¢re restricted by society and the patriarchy. Photo Credit: https://news.avclub.com/weekend-box-office-dont-cry-for-me-la-llorona-1834220769 From the hardships and many experiences Sandra Cisneros had dealt with throughout her life, she was able to come up with themes based on her experiences with her family, education, and knowledge, she is acclaimed as one of the top American literature figures and writers in this country. These stories varied from themes relating to family, feminism, love, and hardships. Out of the work she had done and praise Cisneros had received, it came to a point where her literary works are taught in schools and colleges across the United States. From Cisneros, she sees this as a form of showing her experiences to readers who take in what she had gone through by reading stories about characters that define the themes that Cisneros writes into her literary works of art. Annotated Bibliography Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Vintage Books, 2002. The literary works of Sandra Cisneros defines the themes of feminism, the patriarchyââ¬â¢s control over women, her culture, family, love, home, and much more through the stories she had written. She conveys stories, such as ââ¬Å"Woman Hollering Creekâ⬠, as a way of inspiring her readers of her thoughts about feminism and how women are affected in relationships and in the outside world. ââ¬Å"Woman Hollering Creekâ⬠is mentioned in this analysis to talk about the the topic of hardships that women face in abuse relationships. Sandra Cisneros is a renowned author for literary works like ââ¬Å"The House on Mango Streetâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Woman Hollering Creekâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Elevenâ⬠, and many other literary works. Gonzlez, Rigoberto. ââ¬Å"Sandra Cisneros Opens up about Her Life in A House of My Own.â⬠Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2015, www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-1004- sandra-cisneros-20151004-story.html. The article talks about the experiences Sandra Cisneros had gone through which was the inspiration that led her to coming with literary works of art. She goes into detail by talking about her life with family; acting as a teacher for high school dropouts; becoming a writer with a clear understanding of what it means to have a stable life; and the hardships she and many women go through in society. This article will be used to discuss Cisnerosââ¬â¢s family life, her years as a bookworm in school and a writer in college; and how she better understood herself. Rigoberto Gonzlez is a writer and critic for the Los Angeles Times. He is also an English professor at the State University of New Jersey. Mathias, Kelly. ââ¬Å"Sandra Cisneros.â⬠Sandra Cisneros, web.mit.edu/21f.714/ www/hispanos/ cisneros.html. This summary of Sandra Cisneros sums up her metaphor of an ideal of home relating to her livelihood; her life as a child dealing with her familyââ¬â¢s constant travels; and the inspiration behind her literary works, such as ââ¬Å"The House on Mango Streetâ⬠. From this, Cisneros has received many praises and acclaims for her works because of how much her books share an inspiration to many readers. This summary is used to discuss Cisnerosââ¬â¢s childhood and the hardships she had faced. Kelly Mathias was a student at the University of Minnesota. She wrote this paper as part of her coursework for one the English courses she took during her college years there. ââ¬Å"Interview with Sandra Cisneros.â⬠Chicago Public Library, www.chipublib.org/interview-with- sandra-cisneros/. With the release of ââ¬Å"The House on Mango Streetâ⬠, Cisneros answered some questions during an interview regarding her life as the only daughter in the family going through life and her understanding of what women go through as society tightens their grip on them. Cisneros also discusses how she better understands the themes involved in her literary works. This interview is used in this literary analysis to further the integrity of the notions of the themes Cisneros brought up in her literature. The Chicago Public Library contains excerpts and biographies regarding various authors of literary works which are also seen at the start or end of the same piece of literature.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Performing arts business management marketing in Asia Essay
Performing arts business management marketing in Asia - Essay Example In the light of these changes, it is interesting to explore how the performing arts manage to survive and continue to provide an offering that has meaning to the customers. The current paper studied the organizational, structural and marketing aspects of orchestra organizations in the United States and Taiwan. A comparative analysis on the case studies developed for six orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, The Chicago Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra in the US and National Symphony Orchestra and The National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan was undertaken. The findings revealed important difference in the ownership and marketing of the orchestras in the United States and in Taiwan. It was also found that the level of audience development in the United States was high as compared to that of Taiwan, where orchestra performances and other performing arts were not considered as an attractive option to popular music and sports. The paper provided use ful insights, like the need to provide more flexibility to the operational and functional aspects of orchestra, the need to involve people with musical and marketing backgrounds in the management and administrative functions instead of putting bureaucrats at the helm, and the need to focus on the market and customer preferences as opposed to forging ahead with a pre-pared program agenda. Performing arts include music, dance, theater and other forms of life arts that are staged in front of an audience.1 These arts provide not only entertainment to the audience, but at times act as settings for social interactions or as promoting cultural education.2 In some cases, it has been found that people relate their self-identity and self-esteem with the type of performing arts that they patronize.3 There is a wide range of experiences that the audience may drive from the Performing Arts. These may include, in addition to the creating a social experience for those who
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Using evolutionary psychology to develop your own prediction about Essay
Using evolutionary psychology to develop your own prediction about communication - Essay Example He believed that laughter could be a sign of genetic fitness that attracts the opposite sex. What is not yet fully known is why men, in particular, are attracted to womenââ¬â¢s laughter. The question is: Why can laughter make a woman attractive to men? The false alarm theory and sexual selection theory can be both used to explain why womenââ¬â¢s laughter attract men. The false alarm theory states that people laugh to show that any possible anomaly or threat in the environment is not present (i.e. the initially thought of as an anomaly is a false alarm) (Ramachandran, 1998, p.352). It explains that laughter assures others that harm is not present in the environment, which also partially explains why laughter is done more when people are around than when alone (Provine, 1996). In connection to laughter, false alarm theory suggests that women laugh to signal that they are not in danger. They laugh when they are with men because they want to make sure that resources are saved by not sending an incorrect alarm signal. The second theory is sexual selection theory that states that laughter is attractive because it is a sign of fitness. My hypothesis is that women laugh to signal that they are not in harmââ¬â¢s way. This means that laughter reduces risks or perceptions of harm to men. At the same time, women laugh to show that they can take care of their children well because laughter is related to genetic fitness (Bressler & Balshine, 2006). Men are attracted to women who laugh because of lower threats in the environment and perception of womenââ¬â¢s genetic fitness. My prediction is that men like women who laugh because the latterââ¬â¢s laughter signal lack of danger and ability to protect their offspring. Womenââ¬â¢s ability to expel noise through laughter, is an indicator that they are good sexual mates because they are good mothers. In other words, when women laugh, they look sexier because laughter is connected to their ability to take care of their offspring
Friday, January 31, 2020
Human Resource Management in Practice. Explanation of human`s skills Assignment
Human Resource Management in Practice. Explanation of human`s skills - Assignment Example Business competencies involve understanding the needs of the business and proposing logical solution to the issues. It also involves business knowledge, efficiency in planning and execution as well as promotion of strategic thought process. In addition to this a development of practitioners also implies that interpersonal traits like the ability to generate confidence and trust, ability to influence the stakeholders, enhancing workforce diversity and proper networking between the stakeholders. Finally a practitioner must also display personal skills including adaptability and the ability to handle disputes and conflicts emerging in the activities among the individuals as well as grooming of the personality and development of individuals. Finally, sound technical skills and domain knowledge along with excellent intellectual abilities is a key towards developing the best practitioners so as to ensure organizational excellence (Erasmus, Loedolf & Hammann, 2010, p.27). The seminar and th e analysis of the topic helped in understanding the importance of time management and interpersonal skills that must be acquired for being an excellent practitioner. The importance of proper planning and execution was also understood as it is largely an essential trait towards development of the career as a practitioner. Communications and meeting skills Leadership is one of the most essential aspects for a successful organization. A successful business leader must essentially have excellent communication abilities as well as empathy in his/her behaviour. A leader must be able to effectively communicate in a manner so that the messages are effectively communicated and clearly understood by the employees and other individuals. A charismatic approach and a good persuasive power is one of the key aspects of communications that must be present in a good leader leading a business (Cohn & Moran, 2011, pp.1-3). Certain other aspects of good communication and meeting skills also include an ability to use effective language that induces individuals to listen actively to the communication. In a meeting the communication skills of the manager must be such that tends to capture the attention of the audience. Use of poor language should be avoided at all costs as it is totally unethical and improper to hurt any personââ¬â¢s sentiments. It is also necessary for a manager to have good ability to provide concrete feedbacks; in this context effective leaders also do not devote their entire time in a meeting speaking and relaying his/her own views and thoughts. An effective leader or a good manager always tries to be accommodative and also listens to what is being said and spoken from the other end. Patience is one key aspect that must be followed by a leader in a course of a formal meeting or interaction. These traits along with a proper vision and time management are the key drivers that can help generate effective business leaders (Bacal, 2004, p.140-146). The seminar hel ped in the learning process by helping analyse the importance communication in an effective leader. Real life role plays also gave a practical understanding of the aspect. The exercise
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Internet Marketing :: BTEC Business Management Marketing GCSE
Internet Marketing Being a writer isnââ¬â¢t a complicated task, but being a messageful writer requires lot of experience and inner self-presentation. James Baldwin was a very great writer. He expresses his inner feeling into his writing, which makes him true writer. When ever he wrote something always contain some kind of message. Most of his writing about African American culture where he raised. His writing tells the story of pain. He painted cruel history of black community into his writing. His writing contains lot of pain and anger, which could only describe by his writing. He was a one of the leader who speeches his nation by his writing. After reading his piece of art, which was presented via short stories and many books, I have come to perceive James Baldwin as a legendary writer. Through his short stories, Baldwin expresses the truth about his life. It seems that most of Baldwin's life was spent during times of extreme racism and he was strongly discriminated against due to his racial and ethnic background. Some of his stories were written in the middle of 19th century, a time when American citizens were distinguished by their color. It was a time when black and white people had their own separate worlds in which they were living. It was very hard to break the narrow-minded ways of many racist people. In other words, there was a self-created border between both races. In his stories, "Previous Condition" and "Sonny's Blues," Baldwin has developed characters to fight against racism in attempts to live their lives as they please. In "Previous Condition," the character named Peter, had a very difficult life. For example, throughout his childhood, Peter was often called a "Niger" by white children. At that time, Peter was too young to understand the meaning of that word. After understanding what people meant when they called him "Niger," he began to hate his life. Peter no longer wanted to live in the neighborhood in which he belonged to. Peter wanted to change his entire lifestyle. He didn't want to just "struggle and survive." Peter didn't want to be average, he wanted to succeed. Finally, in pursuit of his dreams, Peter decided to sneak out of his neighborhood with the help of a white friend. This turned out to be an awful mistake that Peter would regret for as long as he lived.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
The fashion industry should not feel obligated
The fashion industry should not feel obligated to use plus sized models in their campaigns. Do you agree? BY sashays The fashion industry should not feel obligated to use plus sized models in their Women these days are constantly bombarded with advertisements and campaigns telling them what they should wear, what they should eat and how they should portray themselves. It has become a race to try and achieve a size zero look because women feel as if it has become the new norm. That is why, I believe the fashion industry should be obliged to use plus size model. A plus size model is a model who is a US size 8 or above.Even though these models are described in the ââ¬Å"plusâ⬠category, making them appear to be an outcast, what is ironic is that the majority of women will fit into this category. Therefore, I agree that fashion industry should be obligated to use plus size models. There are three reasons why: firstly, to stop increasing the social pressure on first world women to h ave the ideal body image; secondly; prevent psychological effect on women in trying to maintain an ideal body image; thirdly, the potential increase in business. To begin with, the expectation for women to mirror the body image of a model has come omnipresent.You find them in fashion magazines, TV shows, fitness programs and even Barbie Dolls. Women, especially teenagers look at these icons as role models and have been manipulated by society into thinking they must look a certain way and weight a certain amount to fit in. It is the fashion industries to blame for this, because by using impossibly thin models in almost every campaign it is putting pressure on women to look perfect. However, women cannot attain these perfect bodies because not only have the images been altered but are unnatural and simply unachievable.Due to this, women now days are lacking confidence as they feel self-conscious about their body. In a recent survey done by the National Institute on Media and the Famil y in Washington, it was found that 40% of girls from ages 9-10 are dissatisfied with their weight. This suggests that the distressing and impairing body image concern seems to be becoming more prevalent at a younger and younger age. Furthermore, according to CDC, 20% of the teenage girls' suicide cases in USA are due to bullying about someone's weight. This clearly highlights the negative effect y Just using skinny models is having.The society has become superficial as it measures beauty in size. It is crucial that fashion industries are forced to use plus size model in order to change society's view of beauty. It is not right to put pressure on women to distort their healthy bodies too feel accepted. In addition, not having plus sized models in campaigns causes women to suffer from harmful effects as they try to replicate images of a zero size model. In a recent survey, it was found there are up to seventy million individuals worldwide who have an eating disorder, and of hem 90% ar e women between the ages of twelve and twenty-five (US Mental Health Administration).Some women have become so desperate to lose weight that they turned to starvation developing bulimia and anorexia. However, it is not the skinny models to blame for this, because they also suffer from these conditions. Even models feel pressurized to stay skinny and many models starve for days before a runway until they can barely keep their eyes open. Kristin Clement, former Vogue editor revealed that some models had turned to dangerous methods such as eating tissue. Yes, tissues. Models eat this dehydrated, bleached paper in order to become ââ¬Å"Paris thinâ⬠.If this is not stopped it will not be long until all women struggling with weight loss will try this to. Have we become this inhuman that being skinny is more important than life? Hence, I believe it is vital for fashion industries to use plus size models to promote more healthy living and prevent unnecessary deaths. Finally, by using p lus sized models there would be an increase in business. The average plus size model ranges from size 8-14, they are not fat, they are healthy. A study done Warwick Business found that adverts and campaigns which predominantly feature skinny models are more likely to discourage sales.H have currently begun using plus size models for their swim suit campaigns. CEO Karl ââ¬â John Person said he feels ââ¬Å"irresponsible with the type of female body image being portrayedâ⬠and now is committed to market and encourage diverse body types. This has begun to influence many more women to feel confident about their body. According to the Business Insider, those who are labeled as plus size account for 67% of the apparel arching population, bringing in retail revenue of nearly $16 billion Just in US every year.This indicates clothes for plus sizes have become very important in the market. Furthermore, many stores have begun using plus size mannequins. By displaying larger mannequins , not only do women see how the clothes would fit their shape but they would also feel more confident due to the increase in publication of the plus size within the fashion industry. Hence are likely to purchase more. Therefore, I believe there fashion industries should use plus size models because here are many positive outcomes.However, some people may argue that many people are naturally really thin, but only 5% (SCUD) of the women have the skinny model body, the majority of the other 95% will resort to unhealthy living conditions. You may also argue that it's a models Job to look extremely skinny, however would you let your daughters risk their well-being for a moment of fame? Does that really make it okay? Even though plus size models have made a massive stride in obtaining respect in a business that demands skinny; resulting in more full figured women to race the high fashion magazine covers and to walk the main stream fashion shows.The portrayal that thinner is better is stil l deeply engraved in society. This is putting pressure on women to be someone they are not and resulting in harsh life threatening disease such as anorexia. There are countless advantages on having plus size models in the industries from benefits in business to benefits in well-being. Therefore, we need to do something to change the craving for the unrealistic body image. Plus size models do not promote obesity, they reflect reality.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Pronouncing the Difficult Consonants of Spanish
While many of the Spanish consonants have sounds that are similar to those in English, many are distinctly different and have become the bane of many a Spanish student. Persons learning Spanish who see a familiar letter are tempted to give it the pronunciation they already knowââ¬âbut more often than not that wont get it exactly right. Even though Spanish is highly phonetic, some letters have more than one pronunciation, and still others are simply different than what might be expected. Consonants With More Than One Sound C, at least in most of Latin America, is pronounced like the c in cereal when it comes before an e or an i, and like the c in car when it is other positions. Examples: complacer, hacer, à ¡cido, carro, acabar, crimen. Note: Although you will be understood if you use the Latin American pronunciation, in parts of Spain the c sounds like the th in thin when it comes before an e or i. Learn more details in the lesson on pronouncing the C. D generally is pronounced somewhat like the d in diet, although often the tongue touches the bottom of the teeth instead of the top. But when d comes between vowels, it has a much softer sound, kind of like the th in that. Examples: derecho, helado, diablo. See our lesson on pronouncing theà D for more details. G is pronounced much like the English g in go, although softer, except when it precedes an i or e. In those cases, it is pronounced like the Spanish j. Examples: gordo, gritar, gigante, mà ¡gico. See the lesson on pronouncing theà G. N usually has the sound of the n in nice. If it is followed by a b, v, f or p, it has the sound of m in empathy. Examples: no, en, en vez de, andar. Learn more in our lesson on theà N. X varies in sound, depending on the origin of the word. It is often pronounced like the x in example or exit, but it also may be pronounced like the s or the Spanish j. In words of Mayan origin it can even have the English sh sound. Examples: à ©xito, experiencia, Mà ©xico, Xela. See also our explanation of the Spanishà X. Consonants That Markedly Differ from English B and V are pronounced exactly the same. In fact, one of the few spelling problems that many Spanish speakers have is with these two letters, because they dont distinguish them at all from their sound. Generally, the b and v are pronounced like the b in beach. When either of the letters is between two vowels, the sound is formed kind of like the English v, except that the sound is made by touching the lips together instead of the upper teeth and lower lip. See our lesson on pronouncing the B and V for more details and a brief audio lesson. H is always silent. Examples: hermano, hacer, deshacer. See also the lesson on the silent H. J (and the g when before an e or i) can be difficult, as its sound, that of the German ch, is absent in English except for a few foreign words where it is sometimes retained, as in the final sound of loch or the initial sound of Channukah. The sound is sometimes described as a heavily aspirated h, made by expelling air between the back of the tongue and the soft palate. If you cant pronounce it well, youll be understood by using the h sound of house, but its worthwhile to work on the correct pronunciation. Examples: garaje, juego, jardà n. See the lesson on pronouncing the J. L is always pronounced like the first l in little, never like the second one. Examples: los, helado, pastel. See the lesson on pronouncing the L. LL (once considered a separate letter) is usually pronounced like the y in yellow. There are some regional variations, however. In parts of Spain it has the sound of the ll in million, and in parts of Argentina it has the zh sound of azure. Examples: llama, calle, Hermosillo. See the lesson on pronouncing the LL. Ãâ is pronounced like the ny in canyon. Examples: à ±oà ±o, caà ±Ã ³n, campaà ±a. See the lesson on pronouncing the Ãâ. R and RR are formed by a flap of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, or a trill. See the R and RR how to guides for these letters. Z generally sounds like the s in simple. In Spain it is often pronounced like the th in thin. Examples: zeta, zorro, vez. See our lesson on pronouncing the C and Z.
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