A few further notes on the Spanish pronunciation:

• Diphthongs: diphthongs are the combination of weak (i, u) and strong (a, e, o) vowels, or weak vowels only. Examples: cuidado, tenéis, miedo. In stressed diphtongs (tenéis, miedo – both stressed on the "e"), the non-stressed vowel or vowels become shorter, especially the weak vowels. In "cuidado", stressed on the "a", both the "u" and the "i" have their normal length.
• Y + consonant  at the beginning of a sentence and after a comma sounds stronger that between syllables. Examples: yo, como yo.
• V: in very few places (for example in Valencia, Spain) and in some songs, people may pronounce the "v" slightly like an English "v".
• B, C, D, K, P, T: unlike in English, these letters do not come with a puff of air. Compare: perdón – pardon.
• Y + vowel: in the Buenos Aires region the "y + vowel" cluster sounds like the "sh" in the English word "ship".

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This free Spanish pronunciation guide has been written by Maria Fernandez, an experienced native Spanish teacher, creator of Spanish language learning publications like Learn Spanish At Your Own Pace - book + 2 cds, Spanish for Kids - interactive multimedia lessons, Spanish for Beginners cd-rom, Spanish Podcasts for Beginners, and more.