CORSO DI LINGUA ITALIANA- 01 19 Ottobre 2010

A. La Pronuncia dell’Italiano The Italian Language Pronunciation

a) Alfabeto (Alphabet)

There are 21 alphabets in Italian Language:

Small letter Capital Letter Pronunciation

a A a
b B bi
c C ci
d D di
e E e
f F effe
g G gi
h H acca
i I i
l L elle
m M emme
n N enne
o O o
p P pi
q Q qu
NOTES
r R erre
s S esse
t T ti There are FIVE English alphabets

u U u excluded from Italian Language. They

v V vu are found in only in few foreign

z Z zeta words:

S.L. C.L. Pronunciation

j J i lunga
k K cappa
x X ics
y Y ipsilon
w W doppia vu

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 b) Vocali (Vowels)

Italian vowels (le vocali) are short, clear–cut, and are never drawn out. The "glide"
with which English vowels frequently end should be avoided. It should be noted that a,
i, u, are always pronounced the same way; e and o, on the other hand, have an open
and a closed sound that may vary from one part of Italy to the other.

Italian English

casa house

antipasto appetizer

sala hall

pasta pasta; dough; pastry

e chiusa: is sometimes like e in the English word “they” (without the final i glide).

Italian English

seta silk

sera night

meno less

vedo see

e aperta: like e in the English word “met”.

Italian English

lento slow

bene well

festa party; holiday

presto soon

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i

Italian English

libri books

bimbi children

violini violins

pini pines

o chiusa

Italian English

nome name

sole sun

colore colour

odore odour

o aperta

Italian English

oro gold

cosa thing

rosa rose

opera opera

u.

Italian English

luna moon

uno one

lungo long

uso use

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 c) Consonanti Consonants
B、P
B P
bomba Pompa
babbo Pappo
Bere Pere
balla Palla
basso Passo
basta Pasta
bollo Pollo

C、G c before a, o, and u is like the English k.

c before e or i is like the English sound ch in “chest”.
g before a, o, and u is as in the English word go.
g before e or i is like the g in gem.

C G C G
Casa Gatto Cena Gente
Crudo grazie Cibo Gelo
Con Gola Cima Gita
cura Gufo Cielo Giorno
Callo Gallo
cotta gotta
chiesa ghiro

D、T

D T
quando Quanto
Mando Manto
desto Testo
dare Tare
addenti Attenti
madida matita

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 F、V
F V
fave Vesto
Favore Verona
felice Vaniglia

H is the silent consonant. It occurs only in the following three circumstances.

1. influence the pronunciation of “c” and “g”
baci, spicci, getto, giro
bachi, spicchi, ghetto, ghiro
2. to pronounce silently.
ho, hai, ha, hanno
3. to use in the
ahi! Ahimè! Oh! Eh! Ehi!

L、R Note: The “R” in Italian should always be trilled.

L R
Calo Caro
Balla Barra
alia Aria
Try the following words with “L” and “R”
parola, rurale, corolla, Mirella, frullare, Lorenzo, colore, volare, morale, merla, Carlo.

S Pronounce the Strong S when the following circumstances meet:

1. When the “s” is with double consonants.
Spesso, rosso, successo.
2. When the “s” is followed by any vowel.
Sole, Salame, Sila, Sala, Sopra
3. When the “s” is before c, f, p, q, t.
scarpa, spedire, squadra, studente
4. When the “s” is with after any consonants.
falso, orso, penso, corso

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 Pronounce the soft S when the following circumstances meet:
5. in between two vowels.
rosa, vaso, base, esame, riso, casa
6. suffix like “-ismo”, or “-esimo”, or “-sione”.
Buddismo, Islamismo, socialismo, Cristianesimo, divisione, confusione,
televisione
7. When the “s” is before l, m, n, r/b, d, g, v.
slavo, smania, snaturato, sregolato, sbaglio, sdentato, svanito

Q is always pronounced like the English “qu” in “quest”.

Q
Questo
Quinto
Quarto
Qualità

Z the STRONG Z : zio, pazienza, lezione, grazie, pizza, pazzo

The soft Z: zona, zebra, zanzara, mezzo

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