"Yeísmo" has been shared to the blog from the Spanish reading exercises section of the learning library where you can find a large selection of interactive texts to help you with your reading skills.
Spanish online reading and listening practice – level C1
Today’s reader is about letters!
You may be surprised to learn that the number of letters in the Spanish alphabet has changed over my lifetime. Growing up, in addition to the letters found in the English alphabet, there were three extra letters: “ch” and “ll” and “ñ”. I’m sure you would be shocked if español ever got rid of “ñ”, so don’t worry it’s still a letter! But in 1994 the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española agreed that both “ch” and “ll” would lose their status as letters in their own right.
Another interesting letter, is “y”. It’s called “i griega” in European Spanish (and by extension, “i” is sometimes referred to as “i latina”). In Latin America this letter is called “ye”.
Watch this video to understand more about the unique way Argentinos and Uruguayos pronounce the letters “y” and “ll”.
This reading and listening exercise can help you practise idiomatic expressions. It is associated with the following studylists:
In the text you will also see the word lingüistico. If you want to learn more about the letter ü with a dierisis see Spanish diéresis.
Exercise: Yeísmo
Watch and listen to the video, then read the transcript. Click any phrase for the translation and links to related grammar lessons which you can add to your Kwiziq notebook to practise later.
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Author info
Shui is Kwiziq's COO and Head of Languages. She is an experienced technical writer, translator and project manager. Shui grew up bilingual English-Spanish in the UK, completing her studies in London, Madrid and Paris where she now lives. She speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian. Her love of languages and technical knowledge make her a perfect fit for Kwiziq.