Pronunciation Examples$ e- y) Z7 E) ]( H% K! ]2 x
VOWELS( a- q' W2 W- u8 e' ]# v; D
a-a as in father [a] abito (abito)
_' x6 Z4 `& C! U5 y& N: `: r e-ay as in pay but without the glide [e] eguale (egwale)
1 ]6 O" W- m m. X i-ee as in meet or before a vowel, like y in yes [j] impresa (impreza)
. P) D7 m x; R7 O" p/ I o-o as in go but without the glide [o] oca (oka)
9 i2 f g$ m& `+ m' B# u* ?7 i u-oo as in moon or before a vowel, like w in water [w] usare (uzare), uo" l2 d z( m2 P
vo (wovo)0 a* o' z, w0 W. \" Z
CONSONANTS
/ k+ ?! \; ~" ?' Q' N( F b-b as in bag bacca (bakka)
2 X, x0 K9 Y: T' ^ c-before a, o, or u like k in key [k] or before i without a vowel after it l
; O% {" h P |1 {8 w/ D. M" { ike ch in cheese and the i is not silent [t?i] or before i with a vowel afte
8 U2 J7 v! B) x9 b ?5 b r it like ch in cheese and the i is silent [t?] cabina (kabina), cinque (t?i
- N9 q# o m# v6 w0 H nkwe), ciuco (t?uko)
8 W9 X$ u j' ~4 k8 m. x ch-k as in key [k] chimico (kimiko)
- P* T2 G; B5 n& Q$ T6 b d-d as in dog [d] danno (danno)' j/ Q/ g. U9 j6 Y- W6 T
f-f as in fair [f] facchino (fakkino)
: J- _' j# a/ k) [4 \ g-before a, o, or u like g in go [g] or before i without a vowel after it li
3 [7 D R8 J( s2 a* Q. n- n2 g ke j in joke and the i is not silent [d?] or before i with a vowel after it
: S2 @6 U9 y6 J2 E8 [- @ like j in joke and the i is silent [d?] galera (galera), ginocchio (d?inokk, w7 A: B% d. }! {
jo), giallo (d?allo)
3 E/ n! Y; r1 c6 Q0 {$ E# A9 t gh-g as in go [g] ghianda (gjanda)9 r( U: D i0 V' k, E' k y
gli-like the Portuguese lh, the "official" Spanish ll, or the lli in million
) r6 v$ ~/ x, y% F( w+ C [?] chiglia (ki?a)0 Z" m0 \5 [2 s7 ?+ t
gn-like the Spanish ? or the ni in onion [?] Spagna (spa?a)
' t% L, W( O# y1 ]+ o1 U; n l-l as in log [l] lo (lo)9 ?/ s4 B6 x2 O# z& B: c
m-m as in money [m] madre (madre)
. f$ l2 ]* v' Q1 H2 x n-n as in no [n] nascere (na?ere)$ m0 o, M) x! F
p-p as in pay [p] pacco (pakko)
' @0 e0 C6 p2 S( X q-k as in key [k] quadro (kwadro)
4 y1 m$ N" R+ }6 K0 n$ j r-at the beginning of a word, it is a rolled r, like Spanish rr [r] or elsew
0 k) H, G7 C8 }1 l1 n! ^ here, like the Spanish r or t in city [r] ragno (ra?o), ora (ora)
, b% E& {7 \9 t4 U1 j" i! I rr-a rolled r, like Spanish rr [r] errore (erore)/ B8 P7 o; b* i9 A4 {
s-between vowels or before a voiced consonant at the beginning of a word, li
$ Y* {; p5 X3 R$ H9 S ke z in zip [z] or like s in sip rosa (roza), sbaglio (zba?o), sabbia (sabja)5 o1 m# ^+ T3 V, M4 F: q' T
sc-before a, o, or u like sk in ski [sk] or before i without a vowel after i
l7 }0 `$ m% J t like sh in ship, and the i is not silent [?] or before i with a vowel afte
f7 K6 V3 ^' v6 r r it like sh in ship. and the i is silent [?] scala (skala), scintilla (?int illa), sciocco (?okko)+ V4 M9 w- ?! m
ss-s as in sip essere (esere); Y3 E+ z% v5 \% B% X Q: d
t-t as in tea [t] tacere (tat?ere): g4 ^4 b/ e$ V" o- A4 e: m
v-v as in vampire [v] vacca (vakka)7 h8 Z8 g, [9 ~1 r) O0 n
z-at the beginning of a word, like ds as in beds [dz] or elsewhere, ts as in
- u) \# D9 l2 k6 A# f. N/ F, v2 W) R cats [ts] zero (dzero), azione (atsjone)
; ~6 n* \: }8 J Notes: The accented vowels (à, è, ì, ò, ù) indicate irregular stress. T1 w/ C. w' F" K' x* w) ?7 ]
he doubled consonants are pronounced twice (like pen-knife). |