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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Italian |
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 |
- strong + strong = pronounce as two separate syllables.
- strong + weak = pronounce the weak one more quickly and with less stress than the strong one, unless the weak vowel is stressed, in which case pronounce it as a separate syllable.
- weak + weak = generally the second is stressed more strongly.