Understanding Spanish

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There are different dialects, sub dialects and methods of pronunciation within the Spanish language which depend on which region in Spain or Latin America the language is spoken. This article is based on standard Spanish (often known as Castilian) and should at least be understood by most Spanish speaking patients. In standard Spanish the letter c is pronounced ‘th’ before the letters ‘i’ or ‘e’ (giving the language a slight lisp) where as in Latin American Spanish (and some parts of Spain) it is spoken like an ‘s’ as in the word ‘same’. The letter h is always silent, for example in the word for hello ‘hola’ which is pronounced ‘oh-la’. The letter ‘j’ however is pronounced like the English letter ‘h’.