Learn all about the seven Italian vowels
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| Laura: "Buongiorno a tutti!" "Hello, everyone!" |
| Marco: Marco here! Italian Pronunciation Series Lesson 2 - Italian Vowels |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome to the Pronunciation Series at ItalianPod101.com, where we study modern Italian in a fun, educational format! |
| Laura: So, brush up on the Italian that you started learning long ago, or start learning today. |
| Marco: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Today, our focus will be the pronunciation of Italian vowels. |
| Laura: "-a," "-e," "-i," "-o," and "-u." |
| Marco: Sounds very Italian. |
| Laura: The sound of style. |
| Marco: Absolutely. |
| Laura: Now, some vowels are difficult to pronounce. |
| Marco: Okay, let's have all of you guys out there master your Italian vowels. |
| Laura: We will help you pronounce sounds properly in Italian. |
| Marco: Yes, because a single vowel can modify the meaning of a word. |
| Laura: For example, “"pasta”" and “"pesto.”" |
| Marco: I hope you guys heard the difference. |
| Laura: One word has the vowel "-a" and the other the sound "-e." |
| Marco: Now the first word means...well, "pasta," and the second refers to a "pasta sauce." |
| Laura: Completely different words. Even if they get on very well together! |
| Marco: Oh yes. Like the yummy "pasta al pesto" I cooked the other day. |
| Marco: Now, today we will not work on ALL the sounds in Italian. Only vowels. Tricky and less tricky ones. |
| Laura: Oh, by the way! In this lesson, we are going to refer to sounds as vowels. So whenever we say "vowel," think "sound," don't think "letter." |
| Marco: Now let's go. |
| Laura: “"Andiamo!”" First of all, pronouncing Italian is only hard if you refuse to open your mouth. |
| Marco: Yes, this is something you might want to keep in mind. |
| Laura: It really makes it easier for you if you make your mouth work. |
| Marco: Don't hesitate to open your mouth. |
| Laura: Like this…[AAAAAAAAAAAAAA]. |
| Marco: Now you might be in the line at the bakery or driving your convertible right now. But we don't care. Repeat after Laura… |
| Laura: [AAAAAA], [EEEEEEE] (open), [EEEEEEE] (closed), [IIIIIIII], [OOOOOO] (open), [OOOOO] (closed), [UUUUUU]. These should be easy to pronounce. And now that your mouth is stretched... |
| Marco: By the way, how many vowels are there in Italian? |
| Laura: Seven. Now, most of them are easily accessible to pretty much everyone. |
| Marco: Today, we will look at each of them separately. |
| Laura: Yes. |
| Marco: Are there a lot of similarities between English and Italian vowels? |
| Laura: Well, in English, there's no difference between open and closed vowels. In Italian [EEEE] (open) is open and [EEEE] (closed) is closed, for example. Can you tell the difference? |
| Marco: The last one sounds like a combination of "-a" and "-o" to me. |
| Laura: For example, the “"-e”" in “"pesto”" is closed, and in “"presto,”" meaning |
| "quick," it is “"open.”" “"Testa,”" as in "head," and “"rete,”" as in "net." |
| Marco: I could detect a slight difference, in fact. |
| Laura: [OOOOO] (open). Was that closed or open, can you tell? |
| Marco: Open? |
| Laura: Right. As in "porta," meaning "door." How about this…"solo," meaning "lonely." |
| Marco: Closed? |
| Laura: Yep. Can you tell the difference, or are you just guessing? |
| Marco: It's difficult to hear the difference at first when you are not familiar with the language yet, but it will be easier and easier as it goes. |
| Laura: Any tips to master those sounds, since you've studied them at some point, Marco? |
| Marco: Yes. A little mouth gymnastics will do it. |
| Laura: Okay, get ready out there! |
| Marco: First, keep your mouth open and say [EEEEEEE] (open) with your lips stretched just as if you were smiling. |
| Laura: Now your tongue should be close to your palate, and say [EEEEE] (closed). |
| Marco: [EEEEEEE] (closed). |
| Laura: Now try the same with the "-o." First, your mouth should be shaped like a circle. Keep your tongue near the bottom of your mouth, and go! |
| Marco: [OOOOOOOOO] (open). |
| Laura: Excellent! Isn't that fun? How do you make the closed "-o?" |
| Marco: Just make the mouth circle smaller, and go [OOOOO] (closed). Now let's try out some words. |
| Laura: Okay, everyone, I'm going to say a series of words, and I will leave a silence between each word. |
| Marco: Now your job is to repeat each word after Laura. |
| Laura: Ready? Go! “"Testa”" (silence) |
| Marco: Which is "head." |
| Laura: “"Sera”" (silence) |
| Marco: which is "evening." |
| Laura: “"Nove”" (silence) |
| Marco: Which is "nine." |
| Laura: And “"ponte”" (silence) |
| Marco: Which is "bridge." Okay. Now shall we try the easy ones? "-a," "-i," "-u." |
| Laura: Mouth open, everyone, for the "-a." And, with me, [AAAAAAAAA]. |
| Marco: [AAAAA]... |
| Laura: Now repeat again after me. “"Pasta”" (silence). |
| Marco: “"Pasta.”" One of the most popular Italian words abroad. |
| Laura: Absolutely. Let's move on to the "-i." [IIII]... |
| Marco: [IIII]… |
| Laura: Here's another rather popular word with this vowel. Repeat after me…“"Italia”" (silence) |
| Marco: “"Italia.”" Two "-i" and two "-a" in this word. |
| Laura: Well spotted! Now let's see our last vowel for today. [UUU]. |
| Marco: [UUUU]. |
| Laura: Okay. Again, you all, repeat after me, I'll leave a silence after each word. Let's go. “"Lupo”" (silence) |
| Marco: Which is "wolf." Which also goes...[UUUUUUU]... |
| Laura: That was a really good impression of a wolf. Sounded quite Italian. |
| Marco: That was in fact a “"ululato.”" |
| Laura: “"Ululato”" is a "howl." Well done, Marco. This vowel-packed word is certainly not for beginners. |
| Marco: Now, what happens if there are one or more vowels in a row? How do we pronounce those? |
| Laura: Don't worry about those yet. We'll have a closer look at diphthongs in one of the next lessons. But here's one you can start to practice your vowels with…“"buona notte.”" |
| Marco: That means "good night." Sounds good to me. We'll have enough to practice for today anyway. |
| Laura: Yes, by the end of this lesson, you will have in your bank seven vowels to practice. |
| Marco: Okay, but to wrap up with our vowels of the day, we will just recap all the sounds we saw today. Laura? |
| Laura: Okay. Here you go..."-a," "-e" (open), "-e" (closed), "-i," "-o" (open), "-o" (closed), and "-u"... |
| Marco: "-a." |
| Laura: As in “"bara,”" meaning "coffin." |
| Marco: You're getting scary. |
| Laura: You started with the wolf thing. Now, open "-e." “"Bello.”" |
| Marco: Meaning "beautiful." Now it's getting less scary. |
| Laura: Closed "-e." “"Strega.”" |
| Marco: "Witch?" What's with the creature thing today? |
| Laura: Must be all the horror movies I watched last night while you were probably eating your "pasta al pesto." |
| Marco: Oh no... |
| Laura: Open "-o." “"Gobbo.”" |
| Marco: A "hunchback?" Was that in your horror movie? |
| Laura: It's actually good luck if you touch a hunchback's back in Italy. “"La gobba del gobbo.”" Both open. |
| Marco: It may be a bit rude to ask if you met one in the street... |
| Laura: Oh, dDefinitely. Now, closed "-o." “"Pozzo.”" |
| Marco: Meaning a "water well" There we go again. |
| Laura: "-u." “"Puzza.”" |
| Marco: "Stench?" We started nicely with "pasta al pesto" and look where we are now. |
| Laura: I thought you loved horror movies. Especially the Italian ones. |
| Marco: Oh, I love Dario Argento. I get scared and go [AAAAA]...[IIIII]...[OOOO] all the time. |
| Laura: Here's a good tip…watch a good old spaghetti horror movie and practice your vowels out loud. |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
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