THE CONSONANTS
Italian has fewer consonants than English because the letters j, k, w, x, and y do not occur in native words but appear in some foreign and international loanwords. Given the fact that a larger number of English words are becoming part of Italian, the presence of these letters is more pervasive.
Use Quizlet to listen the pronunciation of the following words.
- B, D, F, L, M, N, O, P, T, V are pronounced as in English
- H is always silent. It is only used in writing to distinguish between words with the same sound but different meaning (hanno they have /anno year) and in loanwords (hotel, hamburger, hockey)
- Q is only used in combination with u followed by another vowel (quadro painting, questo this) and it is always pronounced like ‘qu’ in the English word question.
- R is undoubtedly the Italian sound that is the most difficult for the majority of English speakers (Roma Rome, amore love). It can be produced by vibrating the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, just behind the teeth. Even if the Italian R doesn’t really have a close English equivalent, it can be pronounced approximately like ‘rr’ in the word arrive
- S has two sounds: between vowels (rosa rose or pink, casa house) it sounds like ‘s’ in rose, otherwise (scuola school, sveglia alarm clock) like ‘s’ in sit. Learners of Italian should not be concerned about this because it is subject to regional variation and it makes little difference in everyday language
- Z has two sounds: it can be pronounced like ‘ts’ in the word bets (zio uncle, terzo third), or pronounced pronounced like ‘ds’ in the word beds (pranzo lunch, zero zero). Learners of Italian should not be concerned about this because it is subject to regional variation and it makes little difference in everyday language
|
THE C AND G SOUNDS
Italian is the easiest language to pronounce because the correspondence between letters and sounds is almost absolute. However, there are some exceptions. This is the case of C and G, two challenging letters to pronounce especially for English speakers.
| [Relax and enjoy How to Pronounce Letter C with Passione Italiana]
Use Quizlet to listen to the pronunciation of the following words.The letter C is pronounced like the English C in the word cat or K in the word key:
- before the vowels a, o, u: casa house, arco bow, cubo cube
- before consonants: cresta crest
- in the group ch (always followed by the vowel e or i ): cherubino cherub, chiesa church
The letter C is pronounced like the English CH in the word check:
- when occurs before e and i: centro center, circo circus
- in the groups C+ia, C+io, C+iu: ciao hi, cioccolata chocolate, ciuffo tuft
[Relax and enjoy How to Pronounce the Letter G and the Letters GL with Passione Italiana]
The letter G is pronounced like the English G in the word golf:
- before the vowels a, o, u: gatto cat, lago lake, gusto taste
- in the group gr: grasso fat
- in the group gh (always followed by the vowel e or i ): spaghetti, ghisa cast iron
The letter G is pronounced like the English G in the word gel or J in the word job:
- when occurs before e and i: gelato gelato, giraffa giraffe
- in the groups G+ia, G+io, G+iu: giacca jacket, giorno day, giusto right
The letter G is pronounced approximately like “NI” in the word onion (for those familiar with Spanish, the sound corresponds to the Spanish “ñ”):
- in the group gn: lavagna blackboard, sogno dream
The letter G is pronounced approximately like ‘ll’ in the word million (it is probably the most difficult sound to produce for a non-native speaker):
- in the group gli: figlio son, famiglia family
|
Activity Listen to the following sentences and repeat them. Then use Speech to Text to check if the computer recognizes your pronunciation.
1. Un corvo, affacciato a un balcone, guardava un ghiro che camminava contento
A crow, leaning on a balcony, was looking at a log walking happily
2. Guarda la barca sul lago. Ci sono oche, galline, e fagiani che giocano felici
Look at the boat on the lake. There are geese, hens, and pheasants playing happily
Activity |
DOUBLE CONSONANTS
Many Italian words have double consonants that can occur in any part of the word, but never in initial or final positions. These double consonants are pronounced much more forcefully than single ones, and they sound stronger than their English counterparts.
[Relax and enjoy
How to Pronounce the Double Consonants with
Italy Made Easy]
| Use Quizlet to listen to the pronunciation of the following words.
ragazzo sorella palla nonno gatto pacco bistecca anno espresso basso bello |
Previous >Pronunciation 2: The vowels
Next > Pronunciation 4: The stress
