Lesson 1-La Pronuncia (Pronunciation) L Alfabeto: (the alphabet) A (ah) B (bee) C (chee) D (dee) E (ay) F (effay) G (gee) H (ahkuh) I (ee) L (ellay) M (emmay) N (ennay) O (oh) P (pee) Q (koo) R (erray) S (essay) T (tee) U (oo) V (voo/vee) Z (zaytuh) *the letters j, k, w, x, y are not included in the Italian alphabet. Le vocali: (the vowels) A (ah) E (ay) or (eh) I (ee) O (oh) U (oo) Combinare le lettere: (combining letters) C when followed by e or i. sounds like ch as in the word church C when followed by a, o, u or h. sounds like k as in the word key G when followed by e or i. sounds like J as in the word jelly G when followed by a, o, u, or h sounds like g as in the word gum Sc when followed by e or i sounds like the sh in the word shower Sc when followed by a, o, u or h sounds like the sk in the word scuba S when beginning a word usually has a soft s sound as in the word salad S in the middle of a word usually has a hard z sound as in the word zoo -there are exceptions however! ( sgarbato insalata) Z when beginning a word has a dz sound Z in the middle of a word has a ts sound Gn sounds like the ny in the word canyon Gl sounds like the double ll in million
When the letter h begins a word, it is silent. -The Italian word ho is pronounced oh In Ps, the p is not silent The ia combination has two different sounds. One is a blended sound like ya and the other is individually enunciated. -Contrast the following words: spiaggia (blended) / farmacia (enunciated) The io combination also has two different sounds. One is a blended yo sound, and the other is individually enunciated. -Contrast the following words: gioco (blended) / radiologo (enunciated) Other vowel combinations: ae: ah-ay iu: ee-ooh ai: ay-ee ao: ah-oh au: ah-ooh ei: ay-ee Consonanti doppi: (double consonants) Rest slightly longer on the consonant sound when they are doubled -Contrast the following pairs of words: sette/sete sonno/sono palle/pale Accenti: (accents) There are few written accents in Italian, and they will usually fall on the last vowel. The 2 types are called: 1) accento grave: è (the vowel is pronounced with an open sound) 2) accento acuto: é (pronounced with a closed sound)
The unwritten Italian accent usually falls on the second to last syllable of a word. There are many exceptions that you will learn as you become more familiar with the language. Read the following sentence where the accents are all placed on the 2 nd to last syllable: La ragazza canadese mangia gli spaghetti e beve il fragolino. The tr combination has a trill which takes practice to develop. Practice (multiple times a day!) the following Italian tongue twister: Trentatré Trentini entrarono a Trento, tutti e trentatré, trotterellando Le parole simili: (similar words) There are many cognates in Italian with the English language. Look at the following chart to help you figure out how to say many (not all!) Italian words: English: Italian -tion: -ion, -zione: -ione -ous: -oso -t: -te -able : -abile -ence : -enza -ism : -ismo English : Italian -ty : -tà -ce: -za -ible: -ibile -ist: -ista -ance: -anza -r: -re * word combos. ct/-pt in Eng. = -tt- in Ital., j in Eng. = g in Ital., x in Eng.= s in Ital. Eg. information: informazione; different: differente; favor: favore Le definizioni: (definitions) La lettera C (the letter C) ciao: hi cena: dinner chi: who perché: why/because comodo: comfortable bicicletta: bicycle casa: house calcolatrice: calculator
La lettera G (the letter G) laghi: lakes giro: tour/round gonna: skirt gala: festivity gelato: ice cream ghiaccio: ice gusto: taste/flavor *The word genuo was misspelled in the video. The correct word is ingenuo meaning naive. La combinazione Sc (the combination Sc ) sciare: to ski scemo: fool schiena: back scuola: school scimmia: monkey schema: scheme scolastica: scholastic sciopero: strike La lettera S (the letter S ) sorella: sister cosa: what santo: saint Pisa: the city, Pisa messo: put insalata: salad casa: house La lettera Z (the letter Z ) Venezia: the city, Venice zona: zone/area pizza: pizza zaino: backpack Zurigo: the city, Zurich pezzo: piece Le combinazioni Gn, Gl, Ps (the combinations Gn, Gl, Ps ) gnocchi: potato dumplings psicologo: psychologist figlio: son campagna: country glielo: it to him psicosi: psychosis Gli accenti (accents) città: city perché: why/because tassì: taxi università: university ventitré: twenty-three La combinazione ia (the combination ia) camicia: shirt lascia: leave grigia: grey giacca: jacket spiaggia: beach farmacia: pharmacy gelateria: ice cream shop biologia: biology astronomia: astronomy bugia: lie dialogo: dialogue
La combinazione io (the combination io) calcio: soccer cioccolato: chocolate cioè: that is giovane: young gioco: I play universitario: academic odio: I hate zio: uncle radiologo: radiologist proprio: own io: I Le combinazioni delle vocali (vowel combinations) aeroporto: airport asciugamano: towel zaino: backpack Paola: girls name autunno: Fall sei: the number 6/ you are ciao: hi aiuole: flower beds Come si dice? (how do you say?) 1. Centro is pronounced like center or chair? 2. Chiama is pronounced like cola or church? 3. Goloso is pronounced like gem or gum? 4. Gentile is pronounced like go or juice? 5. The sc in mescolare is pronounced like shame or skin? 6. The sc in sciarpa is pronounced like she or scooter? 7. Which s in sorriso is pronounced like a z? 8. The gn in montagna sounds like the word canyon or bigness? 9. The English word station, in Italian is: 10. The English word incredible in Italian is: