Pronunciation part 1

A Guide to Italian Pronunciation

Italian spelling is highly phonetic; this is, letters and combinations of letters almost always represent the same sounds, as contrasted with English, where a single letter or combination of letters may represent three, four, or more sounds. For the student of Italian the phonetic character of Italian spelling means that he/she need merely familiarise him/herself with the basic sounds which the spellings stand for. From there he/she can proceed to pronounce almost any Italian word correctly.

Italian Vowels ( Vocali Italiane )

Vowels in Italian are pronounced fully and distinctly, and are never slurred.(Italian and Spanish vowels have virtually the same sound)

Italian spelling Phonetic spelling or symbol(English)

a ah e eh i ee o oh u oo

Let's put the Italian vowels with some of the Italian consonants. For example the Italian consonant "m" which corresponce to the sound of English "m."

ma me mi mo mu would be in Italian with English phonectics: mah meh mee moh moo So when you look at Italian ma me mo mu say: mah meh mee moh moo

Italian "n" would be nah neh nee noh noo so look at Italian na ne ni no nu and say: nah neh nee noh noo (like English "n." After awhile you will not need to think of or see the English phonectic pronunciation spelling.

The following Italian consonants have the same sound as in English:(as m and n do)

ba be bi bo bu -  bah beh bee boh boo

da de di do du - dah deh dee doh doo -  As in English but with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth.(Like Spanish "d.")

fa fe fi fo fu -     fah feh fee foh foo

la le li lo lu -       lah leh lee loh loo

pa pe pi po pu -   pah peh pee poh poo

sa se si so su -   sah seh see soh soo

ta te ti to tu -      tah teh tee toh too -   As in English but with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth.(Like Spanish "t.")

va ve vi vo vu -    vah veh vee voh voo

(By the way knowing how to correctly pronounce the Italian consonants "d" and "t" can greatly help you lose your English accent when speaking Italian.)

By David Tice