The Spanish alphabet

 A dictionary of Spanish history and culture

a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - jk - l - m - nñ - o - p - q - r - s - t - uv - wxyz

alphabet (abecedario or abecé) According to the Real Academia Española, the following letters make up the Spanish alphabet:

a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z

Unlike English, Spanish letters are spelt. Thus:

a, be, ce

However, not all authorities agree on which letters make up the alphabet. Some lists do not include W (referred to as uve doble or doble ve) and K, which are used chiefly for words of foreign origin. K is also used in informal forms such as graffiti, comics and Anarchist political writings. This “punki” K probably owes more to Basque radicalism than a borrowing from English (Basque uses K extensively). More importantly, the Academy also has ruled that while CH and LL are considered letters, for alphabetization purposes only they should not be treated as such. Until recently dictionaries would list all the words beginning with C followed by those beginning with CH (Chico would come after Cuneta).

Note also that the letters B and V have exactly the same pronunciation (officially that is – in Valencia and parts of South America they are distinguished). Accented letters (e.g á or ü are not treated as separate letters).

Perhaps the most widely acclaimed living writer of Spanish, the Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez (http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/) caused a storm in the 1990’s when he proposed that the silent H be scrapped so hostia would become ostia – something commonly seen in illiterate writings.

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