You cannot hear where one word ends
Mi hermano is two words on paper, but spoken it is one stretch of sound: the i of mi and the e of hermano share a syllable. That is called sinalefa. It is ordinary Spanish pronunciation, not fast speech.
Three links to listen for
La escuela está cerrada.
The school is closed.
la escuela sounds like laes-cue-la
Mi hermano vive aquí.
My brother lives here.
mi hermano sounds like mjer-ma-no
¿Qué hora es?
What time is it?
Three words, two links, no pause.
Two English habits to leave behind
English links words too (go on comes out as go-won), but two habits get in the way. Before an emphasised vowel it may insert a hard attack, a brief closure in the throat, IPA ʔ (an ʔAPPLE!). And it weakens unstressed vowels to a schwa ə (the escape). Spanish does neither: the voice runs straight through and every vowel keeps its full quality.
Wrongly separated, correctly linked
la ʔescuela
how it sounds with an English hard attack
la escuela
the school, no pause
lə amiga
how it sounds with an English schwa
la amiga
the friend, full a
When the same vowel meets itself
When two identical vowels collide, only one survives: la amiga sounds like lamiga, va a hablar like vablar. The vowel does not get longer. English keeps both (the end, saw all); Spanish merges them. The spelling stays as it is: you still write la amiga and va a hablar.
Merged vowels in whole sentences
La amiga de Ana está aquí.
Ana's friend is here.
la amiga sounds like lamiga, está aquí like estaquí
Va a hablar con el jefe.
He is going to speak to the boss.
va a ha- gives a single a sound
Mi hijo estudia en Sevilla.
My son studies in Seville.
mi hijo sounds like mijo, because the h is silent
Different vowels share a syllable
When different vowels meet, both stay audible but share one syllable. An unstressed i or u becomes a glide: i turns into j, u into w. When two open vowels (a, e, o) meet, both stay full and simply move in together.
Which one gives way
| Collision | Example | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| i + open | mi hermano | mjer-ma-no | my brother |
| u + open | su amigo | swa-mi-go | his friend |
| open + open | la escuela | laes-cue-la | the school |
Glides and open vowels in sentences
Mi hermana llega el sábado.
My sister arrives on Saturday.
Su amigo trabaja aquí.
His friend works here.
La escuela abre a las ocho.
The school opens at eight.
When words are not linked
At a genuine pause, for example after a comma, the chain of sound ends. There is no link.
Pause or no pause
Si quieres, entra.
Come in if you want.
a pause after the comma: quieres | entra
Quiero entrar ahora.
I want to go in now.
no pause, so linked: quiero_entrar
