[emk8t]

When I was a kid I learned the spanish alphabet without "k" and "w", as they were just letters borrowed from foreign words. And now I have heard conflicting info regarding the letters "ll" "ch" and "rr", are they still considered letters? Or are they considered 2 letters, similar to english, such as "c" and "h" instead of "ch" being a single letter. Anyone know what the "official" spanish alphabet is? What are they teaching to kids in schools in spanish speaking countries?

Thanks!

[RickJ]

I don't speak Spanish, but I did find this here (at the bottom):

"Traditionally, in the Spanish alphabet, ch, ll, rr and ñ are individual letters. In most dictionaries Ch follows C so that copia [copy] and cuchillo [knife] come before chaleco [vest]. The same follows for L and LL, n and ñ. This also happens with r and rr when they occur in the middle of words (as noted above, rr is spelled r when it begins a word.) In 1995 the Spanish alphabet was revised to eliminate most of the compound letters. Therefore, the Spanish alphabet has all the letters of the English alphabet except for the additional ñ. However, most dictionaries still adhere to the traditional letters. Many Latin American countries have not decided to follow Spain's lead in this matter. Also, these traditional letters are used when spelling aloud. Therefore it is important to know the original standard Spanish alphabet."

Hope that helps!

[emk8t]

Thanks RickJ. I see. I seems like a "work in progress" to change the spanish alphabet and abolish some letters. Seems akin to the US changing over to the metric system. (20 years ago, in elementary school, I was told it was going to happen anyday... )

So, maybe CH, LL, RR are letters... and maybe they aren't.

I wonder what they are teaching kids in Spanish schools?

[RickJ]

From the article, it looks like Spain is teaching one way and the rest of the world another way.

[shizukamelodi]

There is the normal english alfabet adding ll,Ñ

[Maricruz]

I am not sure where you learned the spanish alphabet but I learned it in Mexico City from the tender age of 4 and K and W were part of our routine drilling. I agree with Ricks response.
One thing though... historically the Real Academia de la Lengua in Spain has been the authority on what is proper spanish or not. And the funny thing is that even the members of the academy are having a hard time adopting some new terms like software, but they are becoming standard. There are 29 letters in the spanish language..

[statesgirl]

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

ñ is the only extra letter in the alphabet. My boyfriend's first language is Spanish and he was teaching me the Spanish alphabet that way.

[fallen2grace]

A B C Ch E F G H I J K L Ll M N (Other N) O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Spanish orthography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Goldenwolf]

The 'other N' is actually the letter 'ñ'. Its pronounced 'en-i-e' and its used a lot of times in spanish like in: año(year), niño(boy), niña(girl), baño(bathroom), leña(wood), etc

[Teresa J]

It is now Sept. 2009, if I might join in the conversation. My son who is a Junior in high school was told by his Spanish teacher that the Spanish alphabet had changed. So your replies do give me some light into this matter (I googled the question, and stumbled upon your discussion). I was reluctant to believe it, so I guess it's possible. I was finding it hard to believe, since she also taught him, that in order to ask "What is your telephone number?", you simply say "Cual is tu telephono" that's just like saying "What is your telephone", I find it rather odd and lazy. If we are to say it's understood, couldn't we just as simply also understand that they may be asking what type of phone we have such as cell phone, or house phone

[Goldenwolf]

It is not that we are 'lazy' per se, just that we like to save time when saying things...
Jokes aside, we say 'Cual es tu telefono (what is your phone)' because there are different 'levels' of spanish. The level in which the mentioned phrase is used is called the 'Colloquial level' meaning that it is like the standard way of saying things. A more appropriate 'Cual es tu numero telefonico' would be used in the 'Formal level'

[Kalis]

I find it appalling that a language can be changed... even minor changes.. without taking into consideration what the world is speaking. What each country is speaking.

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.. are all part of what I have learned.

even spain is having issues with these changes! Spanish is a beautiful language. I wonder how the rest of the world would react if their own languages were changed.

here in the states, you see all kinds of changes. The metric system is not universal here but we are becoming accustomed to doing the math. :)
the one thing we all have to watch out for is the laziness that develops in languages. More like the slang or the shortcuts in asking or saying things.