Pronunciation

Italian pronunciation might pose some difficulties for the beginner. Yet it is very regular, and once the rules are understood it is easy to pronounce each word correctly. Here are a few basic pronunciation rules for Italian consonants.

Italian pronunciation might pose some difficulties for the beginner. Yet it is very regular, and once the rules are understood it is easy to pronounce each word correctly. Here are the approximate English equivalents for Italian vowels.

You love those melodious sounds at the opera, and listening to the voices of those Italian stars in foreign films is an aural thrill. These quick, step-by-step instructions will help you to sound like you were born in «il bel paese».

Want to sound like a member of the Soprano family? Fuhgeddaboutit! With these easy instructions, you could quickly be mistaken for il capo di tutti capi. Bada boom! Bada bing!

The Italian alphabet contains twenty-one letters. Five other letters are found in foreign words in Italian

Italian consonants have a standard pronunciation that usually doesn't vary. The Italian language also has double consonants, which are distinguished by length.

Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ermenegildo Zegna and more. Created in conjunction with your About SiteGuide to Fashion Cynthia Nellis.

The Italian phonetic alphabet is used to sound out the spelling of a word in Italian. By convention there are certain cities (or alternate terms) that are most commonly used to refer to each letter of the Italian alphabet.

Reference guide to Italian pronunciation with an overview of how to pronounce Italian consonants, vowels, and words. Listen to native Italians pronouncing Italian words and phrases and learn which syllables to stress.

Essential Italian phrases for visitors to Italy with audio. Includes translation in English.

The Italian alphabet has five vowel letters: a, e, i, o, and u.

Hear a new word every day spoken in Italian by a native speaker and a phrase using the word in an example. Includes translation in English.

"Quanti anni hai?"--How old are you? sounds like an innocent question posed by someone just learning the Italian language. But it can be a real conversation stopper, leading to guffaws, laughter, and embarrassment, when mispronounced. An In the Spotlight article from your Italian Language SiteGuide.

See it, hear it, and say it in Italian. WAV files of each letter of the Italian alphabet.

Appunti di dizione, respirazione, educazione della voce e tecniche di lettura.

Italian tongue twisters! If you can pronounce these without error, you are a true maestro.

An explanation of syntactic doubling, the phenomenon typical of Italian pronunciation in which the initial consonant sound of certain words are doubled.