Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Laura: "Buongiorno!" "Sono Laura."
Marco: Marco here! Italian Pronunciation Series Lesson 1–the Italian Alphabet.
Marco: Hello, and welcome to ItalianPod101.com, the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian!
Laura: I'm Laura, and thanks for being here with us for this Pronunciation lesson.
Marco: What is our focus today, Laura?
Laura: Today we will talk about the Italian alphabet.
Marco: It will be like learning notes for composing music.
Laura: Yes, Italian is such a melodic language, don't you think?
Marco: Absolutely. That's why I'm studying it.
Laura: Today, we will speak standard Italian.
Marco: that's originally from Tuscany, right?
Laura: Yes, of course, it changed a bit from the Middle Ages, but it's essentially the same.
Marco: The first time I was in Italy, I noticed that no one spoke the same way as my language teacher.
Laura: In Italy, there are many different dialects and regional accents. But standard Italian is, of course, the standard.
Marco: So that's what I would hear on TV, right?
Laura: Correct. If you stick to standard Italian, you won't have any problems in communicating. You will also get different accents quite soon.
Marco: As long as I manage to order food, I'm happy!
Laura: Marco, do you remember how many letters there are in the Italian alphabet?
Marco: Twenty-one or twenty-six...I always forget about that.
Laura: Well, both answers would be correct. In the Italian alphabet there are twenty-one letters for words of Italian origin, plus another five that we use for loanwords.
Marco: A loanword?
Laura: Yes, words of foreign origin. For example, "yogurt" or "yoga" are both written with a “ipsilon” that is "-Y."
Marco: That sounds like a very healthy start.
Laura: We need some positive energy to go through the alphabet in one lesson. So we have twenty-six letters that we call graphemes, but overall we have thirty sounds that we call phonemes.
Marco: Some letters can have two or more different ways of pronunciation. It depends on where they are positioned in a word.
Laura: That sounds complicated, but it will be a lot easier once we get a go at it. So, let's start to see our Italian letters one by one.
Marco: Wow, it feels like my first day in school.
Laura: Good, so let's start with the first twenty-one…"-a," "-b," "-c," "-d"
Marco: "-e," "-f," "-g," "-h," "-i"
Laura: "-l," "-m," "-n," "-o," "-p," "-q"
Marco: "-r," "-s," "-t," "-u," "-v," "-z."
Laura: That sounded really nice, don't you think?
Marco: Yes, and if you repeat this like a mantra every day, you'll get the hang of it soon.
Laura: Repeat it while doing your morning yoga exercises.
Marco: Or while eating your morning yogurt.
Laura: Maybe speaking while eating is not such a good idea.
Marco: You're right, but this is just my first day in school, so please excuse my poor manners.
Laura: So it's time to get to work on our alphabet…"-a," "-b," "-c," "-d."
Marco: Can we see some words with these letters?
Laura: Of course.
Marco: Let's start with "-a."
Laura: "-a," [aaaaa], "albero."
Marco: "Albero" means "tree." "-b."
Laura: "-b," [bbbb], "barba."
Marco: "Barba" means "beard." Now "-c."
Laura: "-c," [ccccc], "casa," or [chhh], "ciao."
Marco: "Casa" means "home." "Ciao" means "hello" or "goodbye." One letter, two very different sounds.
Laura: Yes, a [cccc] and [ccchhh], depending on which letter follows after our "-c." We will learn that, don't worry.
Marco: Okay. Now "-d."
Laura: "-d," [dddd], "dito."
Marco: "Dito" means "finger."
Laura: By the way, "un dito" is a very useful measuring tool in Italy. "Un dito di vino," meaning "a finger of wine." Do you know what that means?
Marco: Well, if the finger is vertical, it means you are going to drink a lot of wine. If it's horizontal, you are going to drink just a little.
Laura: Don’'t worry, it's horizontal. But back to our alphabet now. "-e," "-f," "-g," "-h," "-i."
Marco: "-e," "-f," "-g," "-h," "-i." Any word with "-e," "-e" in English?
Laura: "-e," [eeeee], "elefante."
Marco: "Elefante" means "elephant." Now "-f."
Laura: "-f," [ffffffff], "fuoco."
Marco: [fffffff]...sounds like an angry cat. "Fuoco," That's "fire." "-g."
Laura: "-g," [gggggg], "gatto." Or [gggggggii], "giocare."
Marco: "Gatto" means "cat." "Giocare" means "to play." Again, the same letter, two different sounds.
Laura: That’'s right, "-c" and "-g" behave in the same way, changing their pronunciation depending on the letter that follows.
Marco: Okay. Now, any words with "acca" that is "-h"?
Laura: "Hotel."
Marco: Wait, I didn't hear any "-h" here. I heard just an "-o."
Laura: True, that's because it's a silent "-h." We call it “acca muta." Literally, "mute -h."
Marco: Oh, so the "acca" is never pronounced.
Laura: That’'s right. There's no sound for "acca." Sometimes it modifies the way words are pronounced, but we'll have a look at it in another lesson, so don't worry about that just now.
Marco: Got it. So, any word for "-i," that is "-i?"
Laura: "-i," [iiiiiii], "ieri."
Marco: "Ieri" means "yesterday."
Laura: And now on with the alphabet…"-l," "-m," "-n," "-o," "-p," "-q."
Marco: A word with "-l," please.
Laura: "Elle," [lllllll], "letto."
Marco: A "letto" is a "bed." "-m."
Laura: "-,m," [mmmmmmm], "matto."
Marco: "Matto" means "crazy." "-n."
Laura: "-n," [nnnnn], "notte."
Marco: "Notte," "night." "-o."
Laura: "-oO," [ooooo], "opera."
Marco: "Opera," of course. Very melodic indeed. "-p."
Laura: "-p," [ppppp], "pasta."
Marco: "Opera" and "pasta." Now you're getting a bit too obvious. "-q"
Laura: "-q," [qqqqqq], "quadro."
Marco: "Quadro" means "painting." That sounds like the "-c" for "casa" we saw just before, doesn't it? [kkkk].
Laura: "Casa," "quadro"...[kkkk]. Yes, now we get the same sound, but a different letter. We will learn when to use which another time. Just remember the sound [kkkkk] is sometimes written with a "-c" and sometimes with a "-q."
Marco: So now we have to see "-r," "-s," "-t," "-u," "-v," "-z."
Laura: Right. "erre"...[rrrrrrrr].
Marco: I just love the Italian [rrrr] sound!
Laura: As in "ratto
Marco: "Ratto," meaning "rat?" Couldn't you pick a nicer word for a nice-sounding letter? Anyway...
Laura: "Esse," [sssssss]..."sasso."
Marco: "Sasso" means "stone." Three "-s" here. "-t."
Laura: "-t," [ttttttt], "tetto."
Marco: "Tetto" means "roof." Again three "-t" nice one. "-u."
Laura: "-u," [uuuuu], "ufo."
Marco: "Ufo" is a "U.F.O." Now, "-v."
Laura: "-v," [vvvv], "vino."
Marco: "Wine," what else. Now the last one, "-z."
Laura: "Zeta," [zzzzz], "zanzara."
Marco. "A mosquito," of course. [Zzzzzz]...
Laura: Sounds just like you're getting sleepy. We still have to see the five extra letters. Remember them?
Marco: Here we go…"-j" is "i lunga," "-k" is "cappa," "-w" is "doppia vu," "-x" is "ics," "-y" is "ipsylon."
Laura: There are not so many words with those ones in Italian.
Marco: How do we pronounce them?
Laura: So, "i lunga" is sometimes like a normal Italian "-i" and sometimes like the English "-j." For example, "jacopo" or "jazz."
Marco: "Jacopo" and "jazz." Same "-j," different pronunciation.
Laura: The "kappa" is pronounced like the English "-k." No difference. Like the Italian "-c" of "casa" and "-q" of "quadro."
Marco: [kkkkkk]…crystal clear.
Laura: The "-w" or "doppia vu" is pronounced sometimes like a normal single "-v." Same as in the "-j" case. For example, "Walter," an Italian name of German origin, or "whiskey."
Marco: "Un dito di whiskey, per favore."
Laura: Not before we finish our alphabet.
Marco: We still have the "ics" and the "ipsilon."
Laura: Yes. So the "ics" sounds pretty much like the English "-x," [xxxxx]...for example, "xilofono."
Marco: Meaning a "xylophone." It was in my Italian book also.
Laura: That’'s because words starting with "-x" are very rare.
Marco: What about the "-y?"
Laura: That's an easy one. Same pronunciation as the Italian vowel "-i." [iiiiii].
Marco: Ah, I remember. "Yoga," "yogurt."

Comments

Hide