Some Italian pronunciation
Unlike English, Italian is an entirely phonetic language,
except in the case of ‘h’, which is never pronounced, but serves the purpose of
changing the pronunciation of ‘c’ and ‘g’. For further elucidation, please turn
over. Non vale un’acca (not worth an
‘h’) signifies utter worthlessness.
Hard C
a cane (dog)
pronounced as ‘k’ in Kit-Kat
e che? (what?)
i chilo (kilo)
o Como
u cuccu (cuckoo)
Soft C
pronounced as ‘ch’ in chin
a ciao (hello/goodbye)
e cena supper
i Cina China
o bacio kiss
u prosciutto ham
Hard G
pronounced as ‘g’ in good
a gatto (cat)
e ghetto
i Ghiberti
o Gorgonzola
u guffo (owl)
Soft G
pronounced as ‘g’ in gin
a Giappone (Japan)
e Genova
i Gina (Lollobrigida)
o Giotto
u giubileo (jubilee)
You will see from these lists that ‘c’ and ‘g’ are hard when followed immediately by ‘a’, ‘o’ and ‘u’, and soft when followed by ‘i’ and ‘e’; however an ‘h’ in the spelling indicates hard ‘c’ and ‘g’ (Chianti, Ghirlandaio). [In English we sometimes do the opposite and use an ‘h’ to soften a ‘c’, as in cap/chap, cat/chat, etc.] On the other hand, ‘i’ works to soften the ‘c’ or ‘g’ in front of ‘a’, ‘o’ and ‘u’.
Remember ‘h’ always hardens; ‘i’ softens. Test yourself with
some familiar and unfamiliar words and names:
Soft
bicicletta
buongiorno
cin cin
cinema
Cinzano
gelato
gennaio (January)
Germania
giallo (yellow)
giardino
Lecce
Perugia
Hard
Catania
cherubino
chiaroscuro
chiesa (church)
Chiusi
Cuba
gambero (prawn)
ghiotto (greedy)
gondola
gorilla
Lucca
Spaghetti
Both
Ascolo Piceno
caccia (hunting)
cappuccino
Ceccoslovacchia
ceramica
Chioggia
cinghiale (boar)
cioccolato
Civitavecchia
Dolce e Gabbana
Giacometti Lago Maggiore