How To Pronounce Italian Consonants

How To Pronounce Italian Consonants

Here's How:

1. The consonants B, F, M, N, and V are pronounced as in English.
2. C before a, o, u and before consonants has a sound similar to the English k; before e and i a sound similar to the English ch as in church.
3. D is somewhat more explosive than in English, with the tongue near the tip of the upper teeth but with no aspiration.
4. G before a, o, and u and before consonants has a sound like the g in good; before e and i like the g in general.
5. Gli is like ll in million, and Gn is like the ny in canyon.
6. H is silent.
7. L is as in English, but sharper and more forward in the mouth.
8. P is as in English, but without the aspiration that sometimes accompanies this sound in English.
9. Qu is always pronounced like the English qu in quest.
10. R is different from the English r; it is pronounced with one flip of the tongue against the gums of the upper teeth. This is the trilled r.
11. Initial S before vowels and unvoiced consonants (c, f, p, q, s, t) is pronounced like the s in sun.
12. S before voiced consonants (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v) is pronounced like the s in rose.
13. T is approximately the same as in English, but no escaping of breath accompanies it in Italian.
14. Z can be voiced, like ds in beds, or voiceless, like ts in bets.

Tips:

1. All Italian consonants have a corresponding double consonant, whose pronunciation is similar to, yet distinct from that of the single consonant. Failure to make this distinction will result in miscommunication.
2. Italian is known as a musical language because every sound is pronounced clearly and precisely but remains soft rather than hard. Although syllables and words are linked together, they never lose their fundamental sound value.
3. Italian is a phonetic language, which means that it is spoken the way it is written. Italian and English share the Latin alphabet, but the sounds represented by the letters often differ considerably in the two languages.

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