{"id":52,"date":"2008-12-08T14:44:28","date_gmt":"2008-12-08T18:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=52"},"modified":"2008-12-08T14:44:28","modified_gmt":"2008-12-08T18:44:28","slug":"la-pronuncia-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/la-pronuncia-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"La Pronuncia, part two."},"content":{"rendered":"

In part one of this blog we looked at the vowels, a e i o u <\/strong>and the consonants c<\/strong>, g <\/strong>and h<\/strong>. Now I want to continue with some combined letter sounds, and double consonants but firstly I\u2019d just like to clarify that all examples of English words given as a guide to correct Italian pronunciation are to be read with a standard English pronunciation<\/span> as it is not possible to take into account regional variations in accent. Furthermore, as I wrote in reply to a comment on \u2018La Pronuncia, part one\u2019, there is no real substitute for listening to Italian being spoken by a native speaker, so please take every opportunity to do so<\/em>. Learning to listen is a very important language acquisition skill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So lets have a look at the combined letter sounds:<\/span><\/p>\n

gn<\/span><\/strong> the letters gn are pronounced rather like ni<\/em> in the English word Oni<\/span>on<\/span>: e.g. giugn<\/em>o<\/strong>, bagn<\/em>o<\/strong>, bisogn<\/em>a<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

gli<\/span><\/strong> sounds similar to lli<\/em> in the English word milli<\/span>on<\/span>: e.g. mogli<\/em>e<\/strong>, figli<\/em>o<\/strong>, bottigli<\/em>a<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ci<\/span><\/strong> and gi<\/strong> have already been covered in part one of this blog<\/span><\/p>\n

sc<\/span><\/strong> before an i<\/strong> or an e<\/strong> sounds like sh<\/em> in sh<\/span>eep: e.g. sc<\/em>i<\/strong>, usc<\/em>ita<\/strong>, sc<\/em>elta<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

in front of a<\/strong>, o<\/strong>, u<\/strong>, or h<\/strong> however they sound like sk<\/em> in sk<\/span>in: e.g. scarpa<\/strong>, scuola<\/strong>, scopa<\/strong>, scherzo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the double consonants:<\/span><\/p>\n

Double consonants in Italian are more deliberately pronounced than single consonants. The vowel that comes before the double consonant is usually shortened. birr<\/em>a<\/strong>, bell<\/em>o<\/strong>, mamm<\/em>a<\/strong>, ann<\/em>o<\/strong>, facc<\/em>ia <\/strong>and occ<\/em>hi<\/strong> are just a few examples. As a simple rule of thumb you can say that the double consonant takes twice as long to pronounce, although this is not always easy as in the following examples: mapp<\/em>a<\/strong>, capp<\/em>ello<\/strong>, sabb<\/em>ia <\/strong>and gatt<\/em>o<\/strong>. In these cases it is necessary to insert a slight hesitation or pause between the vowel and the double consonant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two more letters, which I\u2019d like to explain.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first is z<\/strong> which in Italian has two variations both different from the English z.<\/span><\/p>\n

The z <\/strong>as in the Italian words z<\/span>ebra<\/strong>, z<\/span>io <\/strong>and z<\/span>appa <\/strong>sounds like a combination of the English letters d<\/em> and z<\/em> = dz<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The z <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>in words containing \u2013zione<\/strong>, such as stazione <\/strong>and colazione<\/strong>, and most words with double z<\/strong> e.g. pazzo<\/strong> or tazza<\/strong> have a softer sound, rather like a combination of the English letters t<\/em> and z<\/em> =tz<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last but by no means least is that tricky little r<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

r<\/span><\/strong> in Italian is quite difficult for English speakers although the Scots find it easier. The Italian r<\/strong> is rolled or \u2018trilled\u2019 by letting your tongue flutter at the front of your mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So I\u2019ll end by rolling my Italian r<\/strong>\u2019s with the words gr<\/span>azie e arr<\/span>iveder<\/span>ci<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In part one of this blog we looked at the vowels, a e i o u and the consonants c, g and h. Now I want to continue with some combined letter sounds, and double consonants but firstly I\u2019d just like to clarify that all examples of English words given as a guide to correct…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[744],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-italian-pronunciation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t