Community Web Version Now Available
reema2008
Phonetic rules

gn and gl

The Italian sounds represented by these spellings don't exist in English. Italian gn makes a sound approximately like the ny in the English word canyon, but not exactly. To come closer to the Italian sound, the tip of your tongue should touch the back of your bottom teeth.

Similarly, Italian gl makes a sound sort of like the sounds in the middle of the word "million", but not quite the same. To come closer to the correct Italian sound, the tip of the tongue should touch the back of the bottom teeth.

Jan 25, 2013 7:02 PM
11
0
Comments · 11

taken from

http://www.italianlanguageguide.com

January 25, 2013
  • z-Z: This consonant has two pronunciations(*):

Z is sometimes voiceless, like ts is bets, cats. Example:

    • Pizza  »  pizza.
    • Negozio  »  store.
    • Marzo  »  March.
    • Venezia  »  Venice.
    • Grazie  »  thank you.
    • Dizionario  »  dictionary.

Z is sometimes voiced, like ds in beds. Examples:

    • Zero  »  zero.
    • Zebra  »  zebra.
    • Pranzo  »  lunch.
    • Zelo  »  zeal.
    • Romanzo  »  novel.
    • Zanzara  »  mosquito.

(*) In either case, its sound differs more distinctly from s than it does in English.

January 25, 2013

S is sometimes (but always before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v) like the english s in easy, or the the English "z" in zoo. Examples:

    • Rosa  »  rose.
    • Casa  »  house.
    • Tesoro  »  treasure.
    • Frase  »  phrase.
    • Sbaglio  »  mistake.
    • Esercizio  »  exercise.
    • Svelto  »  quick.
    • Musica  »  music.
    • Sgridare  »  to scold.
    • Sbadato  »  careless.
January 25, 2013
  • s-S: This consonant has two pronunciations:

S is sometimes strong and hissing like the English "s" in house, set, strip. Example:

    • Soggiorno  »  living room.
    • Testa  »  head.
    • Stanza  »  room.
    • Festa  »  party; holiday.
    • Posta  »  mail.
    • Stufato  »  stew.
    • Pasta  »  pasta; dough; pastry.
    • Pista  »  track.
January 25, 2013
  • r-R: This sound is always "rolled", like a Scottish "r" in Edinburgh, or a Spanish "r" in señor.You don’t pronounce the Italian r with your tongue in the back, as you do the English r; rather, you can obtain this sound making the tip of the tongue vibrate almost against the hard palate, next to the back of the upper teeth. It never sounds as an English r, nor as a French r. Examples:
    • Ora  »  now.
    • Tenore  »  tenor.
    • Albergo  »  hotel.
    • Baritono  »  baritone.
    • Arte  »  art.
    • Orologio  »  watch.
    • Porta  »  door.
    • Sardina  »  sardine.
January 25, 2013
Show More
reema2008
Language Skills
Russian
Learning Language