Italian All-in-One For Dummies (9 page)

Some consonants don't really exist in Italian except in some foreign words that have entered the language.

j:
It sounds like the
j
in
jam
and exists mostly in foreign words such as
jogging, jet,
and
jeans.

k:
You find it in words like
okay, ketchup,
and
killer.

w:
You find it in some foreign words (for the most part English words), like
whiskey, windsurf,
and
wow.

x:
As with
j, k,
and
w, x
doesn't really exist in Italian, with the difference that “
x
words” derive mostly from Greek. Examples include
xenofobia
(kseh-noh-foh-
bee
-ah) (
xenophobia
) and
xilofono
(ksee-
loh
-foh-noh) (
xylophone
).

y:
The letter
y
normally appears only in foreign words, like
yogurt, hobby,
and
yacht.

The consonants in the following sections are pronounced differently than they are in English.

The consonant “c”

The Italian
c
has two sounds, depending on which letter follows it:

Hard c:
When
c
is followed by
a, o, u,
or any consonant, you pronounce it as in the English word
cat,
indicated by the pronunciation (k). Examples include
casa
(
kah
-sah) (
house
),
colpa
(
kohl
-pah) (
guilt; fault
), and
cuore
(
kwoh
-reh) (
heart
).

To get the (k) sound before
e
and
i,
you must put an
h
between the
c
and the
e
or
i
. Examples include
che
(keh) (
what
),
chiesa
(
kyeh
-zah) (
church
), and
chiave
(
kyah
-veh) (
key
).

Soft c:
When
c
is followed by
e
or
i,
you pronounce it as you do the first and last sounds in the English word
church;
therefore, the pronunciation is (ch). Examples include
cena
(
cheh
-nah) (
dinner
),
cibo
(
chee
-boh) (
food
), and
certo
(
chehr
-toh) (
certainly
).

To get the (ch) sound before
a, o,
or
u,
you have to insert an
i.
This
i,
however, serves only to create the (ch) sound; you don't pronounce it. Examples include
ciao
(chou) (
hello; goodbye
),
cioccolata
(chok-koh-
lah
-tah) (
chocolate
), and
ciuccio
(
chooh
-choh) (
baby's pacifier
).

This pronunciation scheme sounds terribly complicated, but in the end, it's not that difficult. Here it is in another way, which you can take as a little memory support:

ce
ra,
ci
bo,
ce
leste,
ci
nesei,
ce
nere = (ch)

Mi
che
le,
chio
do,
chia
ve,
che
,
che
rubino = (k)

The consonant “g”

The Italian
g
behaves the same as the
c,
so it's presented here the same way:

Hard g:
When
g
is followed by
a, o, u,
or any consonant, you pronounce it as you pronounce the
g
in the English word
good,
and the pronunciation looks like (g). Examples include
gamba
(
gahm
-bah) (
leg
),
gomma
(
gohm
-mah) (
rubber
), and
guerra
(
gweh
-rah) (
war
).

To get the (g) sound before
e
or
i,
you must put an
h
between the letter
g
and the
e
or
i.
Examples include
spaghetti
(spah-
geht
-tee) (
spaghetti
),
ghiaccio
(
gyahch
-choh) (
ice
), and
ghirlanda
(geer-
lahn
-dah) (
wreath
).

Soft g:
When
g
is followed by
e
or
i,
you pronounce it as you do the first sound in the English word
job;
therefore, the pronunciation is (j). Examples include
gentile
(jehn-
tee
-leh) (
kind
),
giorno
(
johr
-noh) (
day
), and
gelosia
(jeh-loh-
zee
-ah) (
jealousy
).