FTCE Spanish K-12 flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Syllable-timed rhythm

Spanish gives each syllable roughly equal duration, producing even rhythm. English is stress-timed, with reduced unstressed syllables. This difference explains why Spanish sounds rapid to English speakers and why learners must avoid over-reducing vowels.

Tap versus trill

The single r between vowels is a tap [ɾ], as in 'pero'. The rr and word-initial r are a trill [r], as in 'perro'. These are separate phonemes; swapping them changes meaning.

Voiced stop allophones

Between vowels and after /l/ or /ɾ/, /b d g/ become fricatives [β ð ɣ]. Examples: 'nada' → [ˈnaða], 'la boca' → [la ˈβoka], 'amigo' → [aˈmiɣo].

Pro-drop parameter

Spanish omits subject pronouns because verb endings encode person and number. Overt pronouns appear for contrast or emphasis, as in 'Yo lo hice' (I did it, not someone else).

Subjunctive triggers

The subjunctive follows expressions of doubt, emotion, impersonal opinion, negation of fact, and future-referring time conjunctions. Examples: 'Dudo que venga', 'Es importante que estudies', 'Cuando llegue'.

Preterite versus imperfect

Preterite marks bounded, completed events; imperfect marks background, habitual, or ongoing states. 'Ayer leí el libro' (finished) contrasts with 'Leía cuando sonó el teléfono' (background interrupted).

Gender of -ma nouns

Many nouns ending in -ma from Greek are masculine despite the -a ending: 'el problema', 'el tema', 'el sistema', 'el programa'. Exceptions include 'la forma' and 'la norma'.

Formal register cues

'Usted', conditional forms, and passive 'se' signal formal speech. 'Tú', diminutives, and exclamations signal informal or affectionate register. Register choice affects vocabulary and verb forms.

Discourse markers

Markers organize speech: 'por un lado / por otro lado' (contrast), 'sin embargo' (concession), 'en resumen' (conclusion), 'es decir' (reformulation). They reveal the speaker's argument structure.

False friends

Cognates with different meanings: 'embarazada' means pregnant, not embarrassed; 'éxito' means success, not exit; 'actual' means current; 'largo' means long. Context overrides surface resemblance.

Syllable-final /s/ weakening

Caribbean and coastal varieties aspirate or drop syllable-final /s': 'los amigos' → 'loh amigo'. This marks regional identity and can affect plural recognition in listening tasks.

Morphological inference

Prefixes (re-, des-, pre-) and suffixes (-ción, -dad, -mente) reveal word meaning without a dictionary. 'Desafortunadamente' decomposes into des- + fortuna + -ada + -mente.

Main idea location

In monologues, the main idea is often restated in the first or final sentence. Supporting details answer who, what, when, where. Distinguish the two before selecting an answer.

Intonation and attitude

Rising final intonation in statements can signal doubt or continuation. Modal verbs ('deberías', 'podrías', 'tienes que', 'quizás') reveal advice, politeness, obligation, or hedging.

Scanning strategy

Read the question keyword first, then locate it in the passage. The correct answer is usually a paraphrase of the surrounding sentence, not a verbatim repetition.

Accent placement rules

Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the penultimate syllable unless marked. Words ending in other consonants are stressed on the last syllable unless marked.

Cohesive devices

Use connectives to link ideas: 'aunque', 'mientras que', 'debido a', 'por consiguiente', 'no obstante'. They raise the writing from sentence-level to discourse-level competence.

Impersonal 'se'

'Se observa que...' and 'se puede concluir que...' avoid naming an agent and suit formal writing. They are common in academic and journalistic Spanish.

Inverted punctuation

Spanish requires opening question and exclamation marks: ¿...? and ¡...!. Dialogue in Spanish texts uses em dashes (-) rather than quotation marks for each speaker's turn.

Presentational structure

Introduce a thesis, develop two or three supporting points with transitions ('en primer lugar', 'además', 'por último'), and close with a summary. Structure supports coherence scoring.

Accent marks for meaning

Written accents distinguish homographs: 'el/él', 'si/sí', 'tu/tú', 'aun/aún'. Modern RAE style writes 'solo' unaccented except where ambiguity requires the mark.

Advanced verb structures

Sustain advanced register with subjunctive noun clauses ('Es importante que...'), conditionals ('si tuviera...'), and relative clauses ('el libro que leí'). These demonstrate syntactic range.

Co-official languages of Spain

Catalan (Catalonia, Balearics), Valencian (Valencian Community), Galician (Galicia), and Basque/Euskera (Basque Country, Navarre) are co-official with Spanish in their regions.

Latin American independence

Bolívar led northern South America; San Martín led Argentina, Chile, and Peru; Hidalgo and Morelos led Mexico; O'Higgins led Chile. These movements spanned 1810–1825.

Literary periods

Siglo de Oro (Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón), Modernismo (Rubén Darío, Martí), and the Boom (García Márquez, Vargas Llosa, Cortázar, Fuentes) are core periods.

Regional music and dance

Flamenco belongs to Andalusia; tango to Argentina and Uruguay; mariachi to Mexico; salsa to the Caribbean; gaita to Galicia. Each is tied to specific regional identity.

Indigenous languages

Quechua (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador), Guaraní (Paraguay, co-official), Nahuatl (Mexico), and Aymara (Bolivia, Peru) are major indigenous languages with large speaker populations.

ACTFL proficiency levels

ACTFL describes proficiency as Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior, each subdivided into Low, Mid, and High. These levels guide assessment and instructional planning.

Five C's standards

The World-Readiness Standards organize language learning around Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. They frame curriculum and assessment design.

Spanish-speaking countries

Twenty-one countries have Spanish as official or dominant language, plus Puerto Rico as a US territory. Equatorial Guinea is the only African country with Spanish as an official language.

Products, practices, perspectives

Cultural comparison addresses products (altars), practices (vigils), and perspectives (beliefs about death). This triad structures the Día de los Muertos example and other cultural prompts.