Learning tips on pronouncing Italian
Disclaimer – I confess that I do use and teach some generalizations and even sound exaggerations but if you follow this path you will find it will lead you to a good pronunciation of the Italian Language. Also, as with most if not all information presented on this website there are “exceptions to the rule”. We will deal with these as we come across them in our studies.We have now added an "Pronunciation Example" to go with each rule. Simply click on the word that is the pronunciation example to hear what it sounds like.
Italian vowels
For the time being, when speaking Italian, always pronounce the vowels in the following manner:|
Vowel A E I O U |
Sounds Like Ah Ay Ee Oh Oo |
Pronunciation Example as in ha as in e as in i as in dopo as in blu |
Italian Diphthongs
|
Example I before for example ù U before for example o |
Sounds Like Y as in yet W as in wet |
Pronunciation Example as in piu as in uomo |
Italian Consonants
|
Consonant C (followed by I or E) G (followed by I or E) Ch Gh Sch Sc (followed by I or E) Gn Gli |
Sounds Like Ch as in chip J as in jello K as in key G as in get Sc as in scatter Sh as in shelter N as in onion L as in million |
Pronunciation Example as in cibo as in genitori as in chiesa as in ghiaccio as in scherzo as in scendere as in ogni as in famiglia |
Italian Syllabication and Double Consonants
You will find more often than not that syllables in Italian are divided as follows:Sono (So_no) Sette (Set_te) Perche (Per_che)
When you see double consonants, pronounce both as follows:
Otto (sounds like Oht-toh)
* Although greatly simplified I learned this information from the Book “Ciao!” by Carla Federici and Carla Larese Riga, Copyright 1986 – Capitolo Preliminare (Pages 2-4) and from the Drive Time Italian Audio Course, Copyright 2005
