Pronunciation: Letter Combinations (C, G, S)

Question 1

How would you pronounce the C in a C + e or i combination? Such as in accento, cena, città, or bacio.

Answer 1

“ch” like Cheese

ah-‘chen-toh (accent), ‘chen-nah (dinner), chee-‘tah (city), and ‘bah-choh (kiss)

Question 2

How would you pronounce the C in a C + a, h, o, u combination? Such as casa, caro, cubo, or Chianti.

Answer 2

“k” like Camp

‘kah-zah (house), ‘kah-roh (dear), ‘koo-boh (Cube), and kee-‘ahn-tee

Question 3

How would you pronounce the G in a G + e or i combination? Such as gelato, giovane, giacca, viaggio.

Answer 3

“j” like Gianni

jeh-‘lah-toh, ‘joh-vah-neh (young), ‘jahk-kah (jacket), vee-‘ahj-joh (voyage)

Question 4

How would you pronounce the G in a G + n Combination? Such as lavagna, signore, legno, gnocchi.

Answer 4

“ny” like onion

lah-‘vah-nyah (Blackboard), see-‘nyoh-reh, ‘lehn-yoh (wood), ‘nyohk-kee

Question 5

How would you pronounce the G in a G + a, h, o, u combination? Such as gamba, ghetto, prego, gufo.

Answer 5

“g” like Gabrielle

‘Gahm-bah (leg), ‘ghet-toh, ‘preh-goh, ‘goo-foh (owl)

Question 6

When would you emphasize the S in italian?

Answer 6

When you see a double s “ss” in words like passera (‘Pahs-seh-rah; sparrow), cassa (‘kahs-sah; cashier), and sasso (‘sahs-soh; stone, rock)

Question 7

How would you pronounce the S in a sc + a, h, o, u combination? Such as sconto, scusa, scandalo, pesca.

Answer 7

“sk” like skin

‘skohn-toh (discount), ‘skoo-zah (excuse), ‘skahn-dah-loh (scandal), ‘pess-kah (peach)

Question 8

How would you pronounce the s in a sc + e, i combination? Such as pesce, scena, sciroppo, and sci.

Answer 8

“sh” like sheet

‘peh-sheh (fish), ‘sheh-nah (scene), she-‘rohp-poh (syrup), shee (skiing)

Question 9

What sound does am s make when it’s after a vowel within a word? Such as in peso, Luisa, frase, and casa.

Answer 9

Its more like a z sound

‘peh-zoh (weight), loo-‘ee-zah, ‘frah-zeh (phrase), ‘kah-zah (house/home)