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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.

Italian
By Dick Oakes


A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v,
Z z


Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia. It is spoken by over 60 million people.

Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.


A, a   - a as in father
E, e   - e as in let; e as in grey
I, i   - i as in machine
O, o   - o as in gone; o as in hope
U, u   - oo as in foot; w as in walk
 
C, c   - ch as in child before e or i; c as in cat
G, g   - g as in gymnastic before e or i; g as in go
H, h   - h is always silent
R, r   - slightly rolled
S, s   - s as in nose between vowels; s as in sit
Z, z   - ts as in spits; ds as in pads
 
OTHER SOUNDS:
 
Ch, ch   - c as in cat
Gh, gh   - g as in go
Gl, gl   - lli as in million
Gn, gn   - ni as in onion
Sc, sc   - sh as in shell before e or i; sk as in skip
Zz, zz   - ts as in spits; ds as in pads
 
VOWEL GROUPINGS:
 
a, e, o   - strong vowels
i, u   - weak vowels