Italian Flashcards
What are the consonants?
[ts] senza - without
[dz] mezzo - half
[ʎ] figlio – son English: million [ˈmɪljən]
[ɲ] degno – worthy English: onion [ˈʌnjən]
[ɱ] (after nf and nv)
[ɾ] caro – dear (between two vowels)
What is the chart of italian vowels?
Look at picture
What are the three phonetic vowels?
a → [a]
i → [i]
u → [u]
The 2 unphonetic
e → [e] or [ɛ]
o → [o] or [ɔ]
What is the first rule of the stressed e or o?
Rule I
Stressed e or o are generally open – [ɛ] [ɔ]
gelida [ˈdʒɛlida] freezing mobile [ˈmɔbile] mobile
zefiro [ˈdzɛfiɾo] zephyr povero [ˈpɔveɾo] poor
tenebra [‘tɛnebra] obscurity demonio [deˈmɔnjo] devil
guerra [ˈgwɛrra] war opera [ˈɔpeɾa] activity
maestro [maˈɛstro] master memoria [meˈmɔɾja] memory
tragedia [traˈdʒɛdja] tragedy vittoria [vitˈtɔɾja] victory
Rule I: Stressed e or o are generally open, but…..
there are many exceptions with e - [e]
questo [ˈkwesto] this dei [ˈdei] of the
quello [ˈkwello] that tacea [ta’ʧea] being quiet
cenere [ˈtʃeneɾe] ash Cesare [ˈtʃezaɾe] Cesar
paese [paˈeze] country credere [ˈkredeɾe] believe
pentola [ˈpentola] pot vendere [ˈvendeɾe] sell
femmina [ˈfemmina] female tedesco [teˈdesko] German
mettere [ˈmetteɾe] put tregua [ˈtregwa] truce
Rule I: Stressed e or o are generally there are exceptions with…..
Rule I: Stressed e or o are generally open
there are many exceptions with o - [o]
rondine [ˈrondine] swallow rompere [ˈrompeɾe] break
giovane [ˈdʒovane] young ordine [ˈordine] order
compito [ˈkompito] polite sorgere [ˈsordʒeɾe] rise
giorno [ˈdʒorno] day Giorgio [ˈdʒordʒo] (George)
piombo [‘pjombo] lead trionfo [triˈoŋfo] triumph
fiore [ˈfjoɾe] flower maggiore [madˈdʒoɾe] greater
mostro [ˈmostro] monster conoscere [ko’noʃʃeɾe] know
Open or Closed e and o in Italian Lyric
Diction
Rule II
Unstressed e or o are generally …..
closed – [e] [o]
respiro [reˈspiɾo] breath fortuna [for’tuna] luck
verace [ve’ɾatʃe] genuine condannato [kondan’nato] convicted
benedetto [bene’detto] blessed Incoronare [iŋkoɾo’naɾe] crowning
estremo [e‘strɛmo] extreme sfolgorante [sfolgo’ɾante] dazzling
Rule II: Unstressed e or o are generally closed
but there is some leeway
Unstressed syllable e is usually a bit more open going
towards [ɛ] before nasals, laterals and trills [m, n, l, r] +
another consonants. It tends to become more a [ɛ] or it
can be pronounce [e]:
beltade [bɛl’tade] beauty gentile [dʒɛn’tile] kind
tempesta [tɛm’pɛsta] tempest versare [vɛr’saɾe] pour
entrare [ɛn’traɾe] enter mercé [mɛr’tʃe] mercy
What are all the consonants?
Written IPA
b [b] batti [‘batti] (you) beat
c [k] canta [‘kanta] (he/she) sings
c before e
or i
[tʃ] certo [‘tʃɛrto] certain
ch [k] chiama [‘kjama] (he/she) calls
d [d] diva [‘diva] diva
f [f] fato [‘fato] fate
g [g] gala [‘gala] gala
g before e
or i
[dʒ] giorno [‘dʒoɾno] day
gh [g] ghetta [‘getta] gaiter
gli [ʎ] foglia [‘fɔʎʎa] leaf
gn [ɲ] ogni [‘oɲɲi] every
gu [gw] guarda [‘gwarda] (he/she) looks out
h silent ho [ɔ] (I) have
j not used ―
k not used
What are the consonants?
s before a voiced
consonant
[z] smanie [‘zmanje] agitations
s before a voiced
consonant
[z] smanie [‘zmanje] agitations
s [s] vissi [‘vissi] (I) lived
r between two
vowels
[ɾ] gloria [‘glɔɾia] glory
r [r] terra [‘tɛrra] earth
qu [kw] qui [kwi] here
p [p] porto [‘pɔrto] port
n before f or v [ɱ] infelice
invocare
[iɱfe’liʧe]
[iɱvo’kare]
unhappy
invoke
n before c or g [ŋ] bianco
sangue
[‘bjaŋko]
[’saŋgwe]
white
blood
n [n] numero [‘numeɾo] number
m [m] mano [‘mano] hand
l [l] libertà [libɛr’ta] liberty
consonants
sc before e or i [ʃ] scena [‘ʃɛna] set
sc before a, o or u [sk] scolta [‘skolta] lookout
post
sch [sk] scherzo [‘skertso] joke
t [t] tanto [‘tanto] so much
z unvoiced [ts] zio [‘tsio] uncle
z voiced [dz] bronzo [‘brɔndzo] bronze
differences between pronounciation of italian and english
Italian versus English dental t, d, n
Italian t, d, n are dental (with tip of the tongue behind the upper front
teeth)
English t, d, n are alveolar (with tip of the tongue touching the
alveolar ridge)
raitor → traditore [tradi’toɾe], desire → desiderio [dezi’dɛɾjo]
ninety → novanta [no’vanta]
Italian versus English Stop Plosives (b, p, d, t, g, k)
Italian stop-plosives are « dry » consonants; articulated with minimum
air release – unaspirated
English stop-plosives are « wet » consonants; articulated by stopping
the air flow and then releasing the air – aspirated
beauty → bello [‘bɛllo] pure → pura [‘puɾa]
dance → danza [‘dantsa] timid → timido [‘timido]
guide → guida [‘gwida] content → contento [kon’tɛnto]
special cases of doubling??? there are 5 instances
- after a strong monosyllabic that ends by a vowel
a Roma [a ‘rroma], ché peccato [ke ppekˈkato]
è bene [ɛ ‘bbɛne], chi sa [ki ‘ssa], già mai [dʒa ‘mma:i] - after a polysyllabic that ends by an accented vowel
perchè signor [per’ke ssiɲ’ɲor], pietà di me [pje’ta ddi me]
così bene [ko’zi ‘bbɛne] - after the words: come, contra, dove, ove, qualche, sopra
and sovra
dove sono [‘dove ‘ssono], ove sia [ove ’ssi:a] - with unavoidable words
Dio, Dei, Dea, Dee and Maria
gran Dio [‘gran ‘ddi:o], Ave Maria [ave mma’ɾi:a]
