RULES ON PRONUNCIATION

RULE I.--Every letter is pronounced. There are no mute letters as b in
"lamb" or n in "autumn."

EXCEPTIONS--H is not sounded as already explained in the alphabet. U
is not sounded in the following syllables: que, qui, gue and gui, as
Quedar (to remain), Quinta (villa), Guerra (war), Águila (eagle), unless
the u in gue and gui has the diaeresis, as Argüir (to argue),
Vergüenza (shame).

RULE II.--No consonant is doubled except C and N. C is found doubled
in words like Acceder (to accede) when one C is hard--k and the
other soft--th.

N is found doubled in words having the prefix in, as Innoble
(ignoble), Innavegable (unnavigable). Also in Perenne (perennial) and a
very few more words.

Ll and Rr are treated as single letters.

RULE III.--The stress of the voice falls on the last syllable but one
in all words ending in a vowel or S or N; otherwise it falls on the
last syllable, as Una factura (an invoice), Facturas (invoices), Hermano
(brother), Cartas (letters), Ellos tienen (they have), Azul (blue),
Abril (April), Labor (labour), Feliz (happy).

In diphthongs and triphthongs the stress is not on i or u, but falls
on a, e or o, as Reina (queen), Gracia (grace), Igual (equal),
Cielo (heaven).

When the diphthong is formed by i and u the last one bears the
stress, as Un viudo (a widower), La ciudad (the city), Luisa (Louise).

The numerous exceptions to the above rule are all marked by the written
accent (´), as Facturó (he invoiced), Escribirá (he will write), Háblame
(speak to me), Inglés (English), Alemán (German), Útil (useful), Jóvenes
(young men).

The stress of the voice should fall distinctly on the proper syllable
according to the above rule, and the attention of the student must be
earnestly called to this very important point.

A word in the plural maintains the stress on the same syllable as in its
singular, as El océano (the ocean), Océanos (oceans), Cálculo
(calculation), Cálculos (calculations), Inglés (Englishman), Ingleses
(Englishmen); except Carácter (character), Caracteres (characters),
Régimen (regime or rule), Regímenes (regimes or rules)--the latter
hardly ever used in the plural.