HOW TO FORM SPANISH NETSPEAK

2. HOW TO FORM SPANISH NETSPEAK

3. 1. LETTER DISAPPEARANCE • The most commonly dropped letters are the initial “e” or “es” or the “d” found between vowels. • Examples: estoy → toy / toi, espera → pera, todo → too ojo, recién pintado

4. 2. LETTER REPLACEMENT • The most common letter replacements are the hard “c” and “q,” which become “k,” “y” is replaced with “i,” and “ch” becomes “x.” • Examples: quiero → kiero, quién → kien,

5. 3. SIGLAS – INITIALS • The first letter of each word in a well-known phrase or syllable in an often-used word is used instead of the whole word/syllable. • Examples: te quiero mucho → tqm / tkm, te amo mucho → tam, también → tb

6. 4. REBUS – LETTERS THAT “SAY” THEIR NAMES • Here there is a play on the fact that in addition to a sound (or two), each letter has a “name,” also seen in English with the letter b used to connote “be.” Once you know the names of the letter in Spanish, this one becomes fairly easy. • Examples: bebé → bb, eres → rs, encontrar → ncontrar,

7. 5. NUMBERS & SYMBOLS • This is similar to the rebus, where numbers are pronounced and mathematical functions are called by their names: x = por, + = mas, and – = menos. • Examples: saludos → salu2, besitos → bsit2, porque → xq, al menos → al-, demasiado → de+sia2

8. 6. U DOMINANCE • The combinations bu or gu lose their initial consonant, and leave you with a u sound, written as a w. • Examples: bueno → weno, buena → wena, guapo → wapo, guapa → wapa

9. 7. INCLUSIVITY • Spanish is a gendered language, where the male form of a word is used when both males and females are present. Some people will use the arroba (@ sign) to replace the final vowel, so it is both an “o” and an “a” to show inclusivity. • Examples: amigos/amigas → amig@s, todos/todas → tod@s