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E open [ ] eh or closed [ ] ay
O- open [ ] oh or closed [ ] aw
U- often [ ] oo
Virt [virtu]
Furtiva [furtiva]
Fiume [fjume]
The letters qu are always pronounced [kw]
Questa [kwesta]
Quello [kwel:lo]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
GLIDES, DIPHTHONGS, AND TRIPHTHONGS
Most triphthongs in Italian consist of a glide and two pure vowels, in that order.
Miei [mji]
Quei [kwei]
Some triphthongs consist of a pure vowel, a glide, and another pure vowel in that
order.
Buio [bujo]
Gaio [gajo]
Gioia [dja]
Least common is the Italian triphthong that consists of two glides and one pure
vowel.
Quiete [kwjte]
Languiate [lagwjate]
SAMPLE TEXTS: (hint: the only open E is in the word sei, the only closed O is
in the first O in the word monio)
E questi fiori Testimonio or sei tu
[ ] [ ]
Consonants
Bocca [bok:ka]
Macchia [mak:kja]
Braccia [brat:ta]
Addio [ad:dio]
Afanno [af:fan:no]
Segga [sg:ga] gg is [g:g] when followed by a, o, u or a consonant
Peggio [pd:do] gg is [d:d] when followed by e or i
Mille [mil:le]
Giammai [dam:mai]
Donna [dn:na]
Troppo [trp:po]
Terra [tr:ra] sustained and strongly rolled
Passa [pas:sa] always unvoiced
Diletto [dilt:to]
Avvampi [av:vampi]
Nozze [nt:tse] unvoiced zz is [t:ts]
Mezzo [md:dzo] voiced zz is [d:dz]
C, G, SC- are pronounced [k], [g], and [sk] (hard) when followed by a, o, u
Caro [karo]
Vaghe [vage]
Fresca [freska]
S- is voiced [dz] when it occurs before a voiced consonant in the same word or
when it is intervocalic.
Sbaglio [zba:o] before a voiced consonant
Rosa [rza] intervocalic