Information
about holidays in Italy: flights and transport, best places
to visit, learning the language, Italian food and wine, Italian
culture
We
love Italy: holidays in Italy, travelling in Italy, skiing
in Italy, Italian people, Italian food, Italian wine,
Italian language, Italian culture, Italian music, Italian
beaches, Italian sunshine…
You will enjoy your
trip to Italy much more if you have some knowledge
of the language. Although most Italians can speak
English, to a greater or lesser degree, it is
still more polite - and a lot more fun - if you
can talk to the people in their own language.
Italians can sometimes be a bit snobby about tourists
and if you can show that you speak some Italian,
they will be more inclined to take you seriously.
As foreign languages
go, Italian is one of the easiest for native English-speakers
to learn. There are a few conceptual leaps to
be made, such as everything having a gender, but,
in general terms, once you have grasped some basic
ideas and rules, you will be able to say a lot
in Italian in a relatively short time.
If you are keen
to get started on learning Italian, you have everything
you need right here. Below is an introduction
to the sounds and spelling of Italian, so you
can learn how to read and speak Italian in the
correct way. Everything else you need to know
is contained in an e-book called Italiano
per Principianti (Italian
for Beginners), which you can download instantly
from this site. It is an absolute snip at £7.50.
Click on the link to read more about it.
If you live in or
near Manchester, you could attend this school
for lessons. Having lessons is a quicker and easier
way to learn a language than doing it by yourself
but, if your circumstances prevent you from getting
a live teacher, this e-book will teach you a great
deal. Even if you do take some lessons later,
Italiano
per Principianti will always be an excellent
back-up and reference book.
Italian pronunciation
The great
thing is, once you have learnt the rules on this
page, you will be able to pronounce every Italian
word - it is much easier than English! The example
words and phrases are spoken for you by a native
Italian. Click on the links to hear the audio.
is pronounced
as in the English word
Italian example
Listen
a
a
car
casa
(house)
e
e
pen
inglese
(English)
i
ee
meet
vino (wine)
o
o
not
spesso
(often)
u
oo
soon
uno
(one)
ca
ka
cat
cane (dog)
ce
che
chess
centro
(centre)
ci
chee
cheese
cinque
(five)
co
ko
cot
come
(how/like)
cu
ku
cool
cucina
(kitchen)
che
ke
Kent
che
(what)
chi
kee
key
chi (who)
cia
cha
chat
ciabatta
(slipper)
cio
cho
chocolate
cioccolato
(chocolate)
ciu
choo
choose
acciuga
(anchovy)
ga
gha
gap
gatto
(cat)
ge
je
gentleman
gelato
(ice cream)
gi
ji
jeep
pagina
(page)
go
go
got
gonna
(skirt)
gu
goo
ghoul
gusto
(taste)
ghe
ghe
get
spaghetti
ghi
ghee
geezer
laghi (lakes)
gia
ja
jam
giardino
(garden)
gio
jo
John
giorno
(day)
giu
ju
juniper
giusto
(right, correct)
sca
ska
scam
scarpa
(shoe)
sce
she
shed
scendere
(to go down)
sci
shee
sheep
capisci
(you understand)
sco
sko
Scotland
sconto
(discount)
scu
sku
school
scusa
(excuse)
sche
ske
sceptic
schermo
(screen)
schi
skee
ski
schiuma
(foam)
scia
sha
shambles
lasciare
(to leave, let)
scio
sho
shop
sciopero
(strike)
sciu
shoo
shoe
asciugamano
(towel)
qu
qu
quiet
questo
(this)
gn
nya
new
bagno
(bathroom)
gl
lya
failure
meglio
(better)
z
dz/ts
pads, bits
prezzo
(price) zucchero
(sugar)
Note:
There are very few exceptions to the rule that
gl is pronunced
lya. However, one exception is a word you will
probably need to use a lot: inglese.
Here, as you will have heard (second word in the
list above), the gl
is pronounced as it would be in English. Essentially,
there are no exceptions to any of the other rules
(only the odd word of foreign origin may be pronounced
unexpectedly).
Here are some other pronunciation
points:
Where there is an accent
on the word, this shows where you put the emphasis.
città
lunedì
When there is a double
letter, you pronounce
both letters.
mamma
secco
sonno
zuppa
bello
parcheggio
sette
freddo
lusso
nebbia
Notice how the doubling of the letter
affects the sound
of the vowel preceding it. The single letter
gives a longer vowel and the double letter a shorter
one.
pane
- panna
bene
- penne
fino
- fisso
dono
- donna
muto
- muffa
It is very important that you
pronounce a double letter in the correct way because,
if you don't, you risk saying a completely different
word.
For example: anno
means year, while ano
means anus!
The
letter h has no sound of its own; it is
used merely for spelling conventions. It has two
functions: one is to distinguish between two words
that sound the same but have different meanings.
a
(at/to) - ha
(he/she/it has)
o
(or) - ho
(I have)
anno
(year) - hanno
(they have)
The main function of h, however,
is to make potentially 'soft' sounds 'hard'.
ci - chi
Practise saying these words
and sentences and then click to check if you sound
authentic!
sciogliere
conoscere
pesce
sciocchezze
chiacchierare
orologio
giacca
maglia
uscire
cercare
ufficio
faccio
fine
spazio
cugino
veloce
sogno
traghetto
giornale
qualche
piscina
moglie
spiaggia
giugno
macchina
luglio
quando
vorrei
chiesa
bisogno
oggi
scoglio
Mi chiamo
Daniela.
Gli sportelli sono
tutti chiusi.
C'è una farmacia
qui vicino?
Vogliamo fare un giro
a piedi.
Dobbiamo svegliarci
presto la mattina.
You
now know how to pronounce practically every word
in the Italian language! Unlike English, Italian
sticks to its rules and, once you know them, you
can be confident that you are saying every word
correctly.
Dictionaries
Although you
can follow Italiano
per Principianti without a dictionary,
it is certainly much better to have one.
Here are a couple of good ones:
Italian
Dictionary (Collins GEM)
An
excellent mini-dictionary, handy for carrying
around on your travels.
