'g' within word, not at beginning

[mhn237 0]

When 'g' is in the middle of a word e.g. Delegacion, is it pronounced as hard 'g' or 'h'??

Thanks.

[More Liana 941]

It depends.

'G' followed by a, o, or u is always a hard sound, like the 'g' in gato, gobernador, gusto, or delegación--whether it is at the beginning or in the middle of a word. Place makes no difference.

'G' followed by e or i is always like a slightly guttural 'h', no matter where it is placed in the word. Giro, gimnasio, ingeniero, all the slightly guttural 'h' sound.

It's the vowel that follows the 'g' that makes the difference, not the placement of the 'g' in the word.

[mhn237 0]

Ah, not as simple as I thought, but now I get it!

Gracias, well explained and easily understood, as usual.

[More Liana 941]

Un placer.

[bdlngton 368]

It depends.

'G' followed by a, o, or u is always a hard sound, like the 'g' in gato, gobernador, gusto, or delegación--whether it is at the beginning or in the middle of a word. Place makes no difference.

'G' followed by e or i is always like a slightly guttural 'h', no matter where it is placed in the word. Giro, gimnasio, ingeniero, all the slightly guttural 'h' sound.

It's the vowel that follows the 'g' that makes the difference, not the placement of the 'g' in the word.

To go a little further:

To make a "g" hard before an "e" or "i" add a silent 'u" between them: guerra, entregué, guitarra, guiso

To make that "u" pronounced, to form a diphthong with the "e" or "i" you put a diéresis over the "u." A diéresis is two little dots over the "u"--you might know it as the umlaut in German: güero, vergüenza, This give a "gw" sound.

A "g" followed by a combination of "ua" or "uo" make the hard sound and the vowels form a diphthong giving a "gwa" or "guo" and no diéresis is needed as the "g" always makes the hard sound before a "u." : agua, guava

agua

[More Liana 941]

To go a little further:

To make a "g" hard before an "e" or "i" add a silent 'u" between them: guerra, entregué, guitarra, guiso

To make that "u" pronounced, to form a diphthong with the "e" or "i" you put a diéresis over the "u." A diéresis is two little dots over the "u"--you might know it as the umlaut in German: güero, vergüenza, This give a "gw" sound.

A "g" followed by a combination of "ua" or "uo" make the hard sound and the vowels form a diphthong giving a "gwa" or "guo" and no diéresis is needed as the "g" always makes the hard sound before a "u." : agua, guava

agua

In Mexico, the 'diéresis' is colloquially known as the cremita.