3.6 The “U”: The Other Silent Letter
Learning Objectives
In this chapter you will:
- Learn the combinations of letters in which the letter “u” is silent.
- Understand when the “u” is not silent in those combinations.
- Hear and practice these sounds.
There are only two silent letters in Spanish. In the last chapter, we presented the letter “h.” Here we present the other silent letter, the “u.” The letter “u” is silent only in certain contexts: gue (as in get), gui (as in Maggie), que (as in Kevin), and qui (as in key). The sounds of the combinations “gue” and “gui” are represented by /g/ and its variant [ɣ]. “Que” and “qui” are represented by /k/. Remember that these sounds are different from their English counterparts. To review these sounds, please see chapters 3.2 and 3.1 respectively.
ATTENTION: In “ga,” “gue,” “gui,” “go,” and “gu” the sound of the “g” is soft as in the English word “gap.” However, in “ge” and “gi” the “g” sounds like a harsh English “h.” This is the same sound as the “j” in all cases: “ja,” “je,” “ji,” “jo,” and “ju.”
Please listen to these words and repeat after the speaker.
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- Gue: guerra / guerrero / Guelatao / Águeda / maguey / burguesía / albergue / hoguera
- Gui: águila / guiño / aguinaldo / guijarro / Magui / guitarra / guisante / anguila / seguidor
- Ge/Je: gente / gemela / agencia / gerente / genuino / gentilicio / ajedrez / mensaje
- Gi / Ji: giro / agitación / gigante / ágil / ají / Jimeno / jirafa / jinete / jilguero
- Que: querubín / qué / aquelarre / queso / peque / banquero / blanqueo / piquete / plaqueta
- Qui: Quito / aquí / aquilatar / quimera / máquina / marroquí / sequía / monarquía / esquí
The “u” is not silent in “gue” and “gui” when an umlaut is used. “Güe” sounds like “gwe” in English and “güi” like “gwee.”
Please listen to these words and repeat after the speaker.
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1. Güe: agüero / cigüeña / desagüe / halagüeño / nicaragüense / güero / ambigüedad / pedigüeño
2. Güi: argüir / bilingüismo / pingüino / contigüidad / exigüidad / güiro / Güicho / agüita
Self Analysis Activity
• El águila pedigüeña buscaba agüita agitadamente durante la sequía en los desagües de Quito.
• Águeda coquetea haciendo guiños a los aguerridos guerrerenses, la gente de Guerrero.
• Enrique, el banquero nicaragüense, toca el güiro y le gustan los aquelarres marroquíes.
• La monarquía de Magui es realmente halagüeña porque da libertad a las cigüeñas para tocar la guitarra.
• Al pingüino güero y a la jirafa Jimena les gusta argüir de forma bilingüe para evitar la ambigüedad.
• Aquí los jefes de Guelatao aquilatan la exigüidad de su aguinaldo.
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