"gue" and "gui" are pronounced with a hard g.

"gua" and "guo" are pronounced with a gw sound.

I think most people know this instinctively because they usually pronounce both guerrilla and guava correctly.

Hi Marty,

Guernica is the spanish name, and Gernika is the basque name. You would be more likely to find the second name than the first one when looking for directions, tourist info ... (this time you are lucky because both names are similar, but there are some cases that even we are not sure about the place ...).

The only difference that I can think right now would be a sibilant sound with "z" ( Gasteiz, the name for Vitoria, it would be pronounced with a sibilant "s" at the end), or the "tx" and "tz", a bit similar to the spanish "ch".

And now, the pronunciation. The first post by Cigalechanta was right, both for the spanish and the basque name.

I think cmt explained quite well why there is an "u" between the "g" and the "e". G has a soft sound before "a", "o" and "u", but it is pronounced more strong before "e" and "i". When we want to pronounce it softly, we put an "u" in the middle.

There are certain words where you would pronounce the "u", but in these cases it is marked with a dieresis over the "u". Example : cigüeña, stork.

You might find people pronouncing words like "guapo" as "juapo" ( "j" in this case is a bit like the english "h", but stronger). But we are talking southern slang, and I wouldn't try it unless you know that you are pronouncing it wrong :))

John, you might like to have a look to this web : http://www.museopicassomalaga.org/ , the new Picasso Museum in Malaga, inaugurated a few months ago by the glamorous Infanta Elena ...

Rgds, Covadonga

I spent only a few days in New Orleans, but that was enough to tell me that it's pronounced N'awlins. By a lot of people, anyway, not including Fats Domino though.

There shouldn't be too much confusion about Spanish pronunciation because, like Italian, the spelling and pronuciation is an almost complete phonetic match. If you hear it correctly you should be able to spell it, and vice versa. I believe that in parts of South America there are a couple of differences from Castilian Spanish which lead to "llama" being pronounced as "zhama", and the soft "c" not being lisped, but can't speak from experience on that - maybe the Spanish speakers here can elaborate.

Bottom line, it seems to me, is that it's gair-nee-ka, but I don't know which syllable is stressed. Normally it's the penultimate, unless an accent indicates otherwise, but I guess that (as in Italian) there are exceptions.

Ok, I forgot, the accent. Gernika or Guernica is a flat word ( palabra llana ), and that means that the accent is located in the penultimate syllable.

If a word in spanish is not marked with an accent over the vocal where the accent is located, you can safely assume that it is a flat word (there are a few exceptions, specially regarding the words accentuated in the last syllable, but it would take way too long to explain it).

Covadonga

and if someone wants to know more about accents ...

http://academic.bowdoin.edu/courses/...x.shtml#vowels

Thanks, but if I need to say the word, I think I will just write on a piece of paper! I will study the museum map in my guide book and try to find it on my own. I guess the summation of this thread, and any other concerning pronunciations, should be "according to whom"! Being a life-long Southerner, I have certainly had my pronunciations "corrected" enough times by others.

I also grew up seeing the Guernica at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and this has been a thoroughly educational thread for me. What great information about art and language! Only 8:00 AM and I've already learned at least triple my allotment of new things for the day. I love Fodor's.

>>If you are going to the Prado to see it,<<

Actually, it's in the Reina Sofia, no?

amyb- when I was in Madrid in 2000, I think it was at the Prado...I also saw my favorite Velasquez. I don't think I made it to the Reina Sofia, but maybe I am misremembering.

On pronunication, how about the word for handsome? guapo is said "gwappo". But you're right, when I thought about it, I have hear it pronounced "gerrnicka".

There's a new thread from yesterday that seems to be reacting tomsome things said in this thread, so if anyone's interested....

"garnish"