Spanish Pronunciation

The Spanish alphabet is fairly similar to our own (English, or depending on where you're from, American).

The ll in Spanish is always pronounced like the English y in yes. Thus, the Spanish word ella (she, her) is pronounced like eh-ya.

The ñ is the same sound as the ny pair in the word canyon. Thus, señor is pronounced like sen-yor.

The Spanish h is always silent. Thus, hola is pronounced ola (as in cola without the c).

a, e, i, o, u
The Spanish vowels each have only one sound, regardless of what letters they precede or follow, or accent marks on the vowel. The a is always pronounced as in the English word car. The e has the sound of the e in bed. The Spanish i is the same as the English long e or ee as in see. The o is always pronounced as the o in the word cold. The Spanish u has the sound of the English oo as in too or the English ue as in blue.

r
As opposed to the English r, which is formed in the back of the mouth with the back of the tongue, the Spanish r is formed using the tip of the tongue on the upper palate, behind the front teeth, more like the English d.