Learn about the top five Italian mistakes to avoid
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the top 5 Italian pronunciation mistakes to avoid. |
| These are common mistakes that Italian learners tend to make. So pay close attention and make sure that you don't make these same mistakes too. |
| Are you ready? Then let's get started! |
| NOT ENUNCIATING THE VOWELS ENOUGH |
| Number 1: Not enunciating the vowels enough |
| Italian pronunciation is based on syllables where vowel sounds are predominant. |
| Many students of Italian do not enunciate the vowel sounds enough, which makes their pronunciation sound unnatural. |
| To correct this, you should try to open your mouth and let the air pour out, pronouncing each and every syllable clearly. |
| Pay attention to the way native Italian speakers enunciate the vowel sound in each syllable and try to imitate them. |
| Listen to the example. |
| "Roma (Rome) |
| (pause) |
| barone (baron) |
| (pause) |
| buongiorno (good day) |
| SHORTENING DOUBLE CONSONANTS |
| Number 2: Shortening double consonant sounds. |
| This is a common mistake because many students aren't aware that double consonants are actually pronounced for a longer duration in Italian than they are in English. |
| To solve this problem, try to lengthen the sound a little bit longer than you would in English. |
| In the following examples, pay attention to the duration that the double consonant sound is held and try to imitate it for yourself. |
| "motto (motto) |
| (pause) |
| valle (valley) |
| (pause) |
| spesso (often) |
| CAN'T PRONOUNCE ROLLED R'S |
| Number 3: Can't pronounce rolled R's. |
| r |
| This is arguably the most difficult sound for Italian learners to pronounce correctly. |
| It's quite a complex sound and in fact, it's one of the last sounds that Italian children learn how to pronounce. |
| The only way to solve this problem is to keep listening to native Italian speakers and practicing it yourself -- or practicing with us! |
| Listen to the following examples. |
| tre (three), parco (park), radio (radio), frigorifero (refrigerator) |
| We'll learn more about this sound in lesson 7. |
| MISPRONOUNCING GL |
| Number 4: Mispronouncing the G and L sounds together |
| This is another sound that's difficult for Italian learners to pronounce. |
| gl |
| It's a peculiar sound because it sounds somewhat like an English L but not exactly. The problem arises when speakers begin substituting the regular L for this sound. |
| Listen to [native speaker] and pay attention to the way it's pronounced in the following words. |
| maglia(mesh), meglio (better), aglio (garlic) |
| Don't worry if you don't get it straight away because we'll breakdown this sound in lesson 6. |
| MISPRONOUNCING CI |
| Number 5: Mispronouncing the C and I sounds together |
| ci |
| This sound is identical to the 'ch' in 'church'. The only difference though, is that it's stressed *even more* in Italian than it is in English. |
| Listen to the example. |
| cucina (kitchen), Lucia (Lucy) |
| Notice how the 'ch' sound is more stressed in Italian than it is in English? Be mindful about pronouncing the 'ch' sound when speaking in Italian. |
| Now you know the top 5 Italian pronunciation mistakes to avoid. |
| Try to be careful so that you don't commit these same mistakes. Still feel a bit worried? Over the rest of this series we'll cover all of these topics in depth. |
| In the next lesson, we'll start learning vowel sounds in Italian. |
| Which of these five mistakes is the hardest to avoid? Have you learned any tricks to deal with them? Let us know in the comments. |
| Stick with us and you'll overcome these quickly! |
| See you in the next Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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