Italian Pronunciation Guide |
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Vowels
Italian vowels are always pronounced very clearly. When
vowels are grouped together in a word, they are always pronounced separately.
Written as
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Example
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a
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mamma, papà
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e (open)
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bello, ecco
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e (closed)
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sera, mela
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i
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insetto, insola
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o (open)
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nostro, otto
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o (closed)
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note, amore,
giorno
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u
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lunedí, urgente
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Consonants
Most consonants are pronounced as in English. Note the
following:
Written as
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Example
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c + a/o/u or + consonant
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casa, come, credere
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c + e/i
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cena, ciao
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gatto, gola |
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g + e/i
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gelato, gioco
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gli
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tagliatelle, figlio
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gn
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signore, ingegnere
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| h |
hanno, habitat |
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ch
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che
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gh
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Inghilterra
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r
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grazie, cameriere
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sc + e/i
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pesce, sciare
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z
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stazione, grazie
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z at beginning of words
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zucchero, zero
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Where a consonant is doubled, the sound is held for twice as long, e.g. Anna,
pubblico, notte
Stress
Italian words are usually stressed on the penultimate syllable:
casa, marito, intelligente
The stress can also fall on the antepenultimate syllable:
pubblico
or on the last syllable, this is indicated by an accent:
caffè, felicità s
Alphabet
Note that letters, J, K, W, and Y are imported letters and not really part
of the Italian alphabet. However, as they are used in foreign words, here are
all 26 letters in short groups.
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ABC
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DEF
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GHI
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JKL
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MNO
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PQR
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STU
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VW
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XYZ
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