Intro to Italian Diction
There are 21 letters in the Italian alphabet!
How many letters are in the English alphabet?
Italian is missing: ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Vowels: 7 total IPA sounds
A[ ] ah brighter than American ah
E open [ ] eh or closed [ ] ay
I [ ] ee when final in a word, when followed by a consonant, and when after
a vowel in the same word:
Prendi [prndi] (final in a word)
Morire [morire] (followed by a consonant)
Sei [si] (after a vowel in the same word)
I - sometimes silent! When after c, g, sc and followed by a vowel:
Cielo [tlo]
Giovanni [dovanni]
Also silent in the letter combonation gli as [] (called an elya)
Meglio [m:o]
Voglia [v:a]
O- open [ ] oh or closed [ ] aw
U- often [ ] oo
Virt [virtu]
Furtiva [furtiva]
Fiume [fjume]
The letters qu are always pronounced [kw]
Questa [kwesta]
Quello [kwel:lo]
SAMPLE TEXTS: (hint: all Es are closed!)
Vaga luna Ed inspiri Agli elementi
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GLIDES, DIPHTHONGS, AND TRIPHTHONGS
A diphthong is two consecutive vowel sounds in one syllable.
The following are some examples of short words pronounced as diphthongs:
Io [io]
Mio [mio]
Tuo [tuo]
Sua [sua]
Dia [dia]
Pie [pie]
A vowel glide is a nonsyllabic semivowel produced in rapid transition. The two
vowel glides in Italian are:
[j] - The sound begins very briefly in the [i] position
o Fiori [fjori]
o Pieta [pjeta]
[w] The sound begins very briefly in the [u] position
o Qua [kwa]
o Sangue [sagwe]
Most triphthongs in Italian consist of a glide and two pure vowels, in that order.
Miei [mji]
Quei [kwei]
Some triphthongs consist of a pure vowel, a glide, and another pure vowel in that
order.
Buio [bujo]
Gaio [gajo]
Gioia [dja]
Least common is the Italian triphthong that consists of two glides and one pure
vowel.
Quiete [kwjte]
Languiate [lagwjate]
SAMPLE TEXTS: (hint: the only open E is in the word sei, the only closed O is
in the first O in the word monio)
E questi fiori Testimonio or sei tu
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Consonants
Double consonants in Italian should take noticeably longer to pronounce than
single consonants. Hold the position in your mouth when the consonant is
formed and then release. Another part in pronouncing a double consonant is
taking less time on the preceding vowel.
Bocca [bok:ka]
Macchia [mak:kja]
Braccia [brat:ta]
Addio [ad:dio]
Afanno [af:fan:no]
Segga [sg:ga] gg is [g:g] when followed by a, o, u or a consonant
Peggio [pd:do] gg is [d:d] when followed by e or i
Mille [mil:le]
Giammai [dam:mai]
Donna [dn:na]
Troppo [trp:po]
Terra [tr:ra] sustained and strongly rolled
Passa [pas:sa] always unvoiced
Diletto [dilt:to]
Avvampi [av:vampi]
Nozze [nt:tse] unvoiced zz is [t:ts]
Mezzo [md:dzo] voiced zz is [d:dz]
Pronounced as they are in English B F M V
The 4 dental consonants: D N T L
Dental articulation is when the tip of the tongue articulates the back of the
upper front teeth.
Dica [dika]
Nodo [ndo]
Lei [li]
Tuo [tuo]
The 3 not aspirate consonants: [p, t, k]
You should not feel a strong puf of air when you say it.
H- is always silent!
C, G, SC- are pronounced [k], [g], and [sk] (hard) when followed by a, o, u
Caro [karo]
Vaghe [vage]
Fresca [freska]
C, G, SC- are pronounced [t] , [d] , [] (soft) when followed by e, i
Cello [tl:lo]
Gelo [dlo]
Scena [na]
GN- is always pronounced []
Ogni [o: i]
Agnello [a: l:lo]
N- is pronounced [] when followed by [g] or [k]
Ingrato [igrato]
R- is either rolled or flipped. An American r-sound is never appropriate
S- is voiced [dz] when it occurs before a voiced consonant in the same word or
when it is intervocalic.
Sbaglio [zba:o] before a voiced consonant
Rosa [rza] intervocalic
S is otherwise unvoiced [s]
Stelo [stlo]
Z- is more frequently pronounced unvoiced [ts]
Zio [tsio]
Canzone [kantsone]
Z- is less frequently pronounced voiced [dz]
Zimarra [dzimar:ra]
Pranzo [prandzo]
SAMPLE TEXTS: (hint: all Es are closed and all Os are open!)
Dille pur che giorno e sera conto lore del dolor
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