{"id":12104,"date":"2016-07-18T21:17:48","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T19:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=12104"},"modified":"2016-07-18T21:17:48","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T19:17:48","slug":"using-accented-vowels-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/using-accented-vowels-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Accented Vowels In Italian"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent visit to England I needed to write a few messages in Italian on an English keyboard, and quickly became aware that my accented vowels were missing!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

On my Italian keyboard, apart from the standard a, e, i, o and u, I also have \u00e0<\/b>, \u00e8<\/b>, \u00e9<\/b>, \u00ec<\/b>, \u00f2<\/b> and \u00f9<\/b>.
\nAs you can see, I have two different accented e\u2019s: \u00e8<\/b> and \u00e9<\/b>. When the accent slopes backwards (\u00e8<\/b>) it is called grave<\/strong>, and when it slopes forward (\u00e9<\/b>) it is called acuto<\/strong>. The grave is always used when \u00e0<\/b>, \u00ec<\/b>, \u00f2<\/b>, and \u00f9<\/b> are the final letter in a word.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

… guarda l\u00e0, un\u2019aquila! Photo CC by Tony Hisgett<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

In most cases, omitting the accent isn\u2019t a disaster. For example, if you write perche<\/b> instead of perch\u00e9<\/b> it will still be perfectly comprehensible. But writing e<\/b> (and) instead of \u00e8<\/b> (it is) can result in confusion.
\nHere\u2019s a list of some common words in which the accent is obligatory. Where appropriate I have given the non accented version of the word to clarify the difference:<\/p>\n

cos\u00ec<\/b> (adverb: like this\/in this way) vs<\/em> cosi<\/b> (noun: things, more commonly used in the feminine form: la cosa\/le cose<\/b><\/em>)
\nper accendere il forno devi fare cos\u00ec<\/span><\/b> (you have to light the oven like this<\/span>)
\ncosa sono questi cosi<\/span>?<\/b> (what are these things<\/span>?)<\/p>\n

citt\u00e0<\/b> (town\/city) N.B. many words which end with ‘ty’<\/em> in English, such as university, charity etc. usually end with the accented \u00e0<\/b> in Italian: universit\u00e0<\/b>, carit\u00e0<\/b> etc.
\nFirenze \u00e8 una bellissima citt\u00e0<\/span><\/b> (Florence is a beautiful city<\/span>)<\/p>\n

ci\u00f2<\/b> (this\/that\/what)
\nci\u00f2<\/span> vuol dire che devo riscrivere l\u2019articolo<\/b> (this<\/span> means that I\u2019ll have to rewrite the article)<\/p>\n

\u00e8<\/b> (verb: is) vs<\/em> e<\/b> (conjunction: and)
\nquesto \u00e8<\/span> uno dei miei libri preferiti<\/b> (this is<\/span> one of my favourite books)
\nDante Alighieri e<\/span> Francesco Petrarca sono i padri della lingua italiana <\/b>(Dante Alighieri and<\/span> Francesco Petrarca are the fathers of the Italian language)<\/p>\n

gi\u00e0<\/b> (already\/yet)
\nsiamo gi\u00e0<\/span> arrivati? <\/b>(are we there yet<\/span>?)<\/p>\n

gi\u00f9<\/b> (down)
\nper scendere gi\u00f9<\/span> al fiume devi seguire questo sentiero<\/b> (to get down<\/span> to the river you have to follow this footpath)<\/p>\n

l\u00e0<\/b> (adverb: there) vs<\/em> la<\/b> (definite article, feminine singular: the; or direct object pronoun, feminine singular: her, it)
\nguarda l\u00e0<\/span>, un\u2019aquila!<\/b> (look over there<\/span>, an eagle)
\ndov\u2019\u00e8 l<\/span>\u2019aquila? Non la<\/span> vedo!<\/b> (where\u2019s the eagle? I can\u2019t see it<\/span>)<\/p>\n

l\u00ec<\/b> (adverb: there) vs<\/em> li<\/b> (direct object pronoun, masculine plural: them)
\ni tuoi occhiali sono l\u00ec<\/span> sul tavolo <\/b>(your glasses are there<\/span> on the table)
\nme li<\/span> passi per piacere?<\/b> (can you pass them<\/span> to me please?)<\/p>\n

n\u00e9 \u2026 n\u00e9 <\/b>(conjunction: neither \u2026 nor) vs<\/em> ne<\/b> (pronoun: of it\/of them)
\nlei \u00e8 vegetariana, quindi non mangia n\u00e9<\/span> carne n\u00e9<\/span> pesce <\/b>(she\u2019s vegetarians, so she eats neither<\/span> meat nor<\/span> fish)
\nle banane ci sono? S\u00ec, ce ne<\/span> sono tre<\/b> (are there any bananas? Yes, there are three of them<\/span>)<\/p>\n

per\u00f2<\/b> (conjuction: but) vs<\/em> pero<\/b> (noun, masculine singular: pear tree)
\nmi piace la frutta, per\u00f2<\/span> solo quando \u00e8 ben matura<\/b> (I like fruit, but<\/span> only when it\u2019s really ripe)
\nl\u2019anno scorso abbiamo piantato un pero<\/span> in giardino<\/b> (last year we planted a pear<\/span> tree in the garden)<\/p>\n

perci\u00f2<\/b> (therefore)
\nsono impegnato, perci\u00f2 domani non posso venire<\/b> (I\u2019m busy, therefore I can\u2019t come tomorrow)<\/p>\n

perch\u00e9<\/b> (why\/because)
\nperch\u00e9<\/span> devi comprare una macchina nuova?<\/b> (why<\/span> do you have to buy a new car?)
\nperch\u00e9<\/span> l\u2019altra \u00e8 troppo vecchia<\/b> (because<\/span> the other one is too old)<\/p>\n

pi\u00f9<\/b> (more)
\nsono sfinito, non ce la faccio pi\u00f9<\/span>!<\/b> (I\u2019m worn out, I can\u2019t go on any more<\/span>!)<\/p>\n

pu\u00f2<\/b> (he\/she\/it can)
\nmi pu\u00f2<\/span> aiutare per favore? <\/b>(can you<\/span> help me please?)<\/p>\n

s\u00e9<\/b> (reflexive pronoun: himself\/herself\/itself) vs<\/em> se<\/b> (conjuction: if)
\nl\u2019ha fatto per s\u00e9<\/span><\/b> (he did it for himself<\/span>)
\nse<\/span> non ti piace basta dirmelo!<\/b> (if<\/span> you don\u2019t like it just tell me!)<\/p>\n

s\u00ec<\/b> (adverb: yes) vs<\/em> si<\/b> (personal pronoun: one\/himself\/herself\/itself)
\nvuoi un bicchiere d\u2019acqua? S\u00ec<\/span> grazie<\/b> (do you want a glass of water? Yes<\/span> please)
\nSi<\/span> prega di lavarsi<\/span> le mani, grazie<\/b> (Please wash your hands, thank you. literally: one<\/span> prays to wash one’s<\/span> hands, thank you<\/em>)<\/p>\n

You may also find the following articles useful: Parole e Accenti<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tip: If you\u2019re using an English keyboard without accented vowels, you can \u2018cheat\u2019 by using the apostrophe (\u2018), e.g. perche\u2019<\/b> instead of perch\u00e9<\/b>, citta\u2019<\/b> instead of citt\u00e0<\/b>, and so on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

On a recent visit to England I needed to write a few messages in Italian on an English keyboard, and quickly became aware that my accented vowels were missing! On my Italian keyboard, apart from the standard a, e, i, o and u, I also have \u00e0, \u00e8, \u00e9, \u00ec, \u00f2 and \u00f9. As you…<\/p>\n

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