Learn about Italian accents
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| Laura: "Buongiorno!" |
| Marco: Marco here! Italian Pronunciation Series Lesson 6 - Accents! |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome to ItalianPod101.com, the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian! |
| Laura: I'm Laura, and thanks again for being here with us for this Pronunciation lesson. |
| Laura: In this lesson, you will learn where to put accents in Italian words. |
| Marco: This is very important because changing the position of an accent within a word is not allowed. |
| Laura: Oh yes, sometimes it even changes its meaning. |
| Marco: Please remember that Italian words can be divided into four groups, depending on which syllable you put the accent on. |
| Laura: "Bravo," Marco. Let's start with the largest group of words. Do you remember what it was called? |
| Marco: "Parole piane," "flat words." The accent falls on the penultimate syllable for these ones. |
| Laura: That is, the one next the last one in order of reading. Most Italian words are "piane." For example, "ca-VAL-lo," "horse." "Sal-TA-re," "to jump." "Fan-TI-no," "jockey." "VI-no," "wine." |
| Marco: Not a good combination if you want to jump obstacles. |
| Laura: "Parole piane" is an easy obstacle to jump anyway, since it's flat. |
| Marco: And remember that most Italian words fall into this group. |
| Laura: "Esatto." Exactly. "E-SAT-to." That's also a "parola piana." So let's move on to the second group, Marco. Remember the name? |
| Marco: I just remember it was a difficult word. I refuse to jump for now. |
| Laura: I'll jump for you then. "Parole sdrucciole," "slippery words." |
| Marco: Not so easy to jump slippery obstacles. |
| Laura: Not if you drink wine, you or the horse. Otherwise not difficult at all. Just put the accent on the third-to-last syllable. |
| Marco: For example? |
| Laura: "O-STA-co-lo." |
| Marco: "obstacle" |
| Laura: "CA-me-ra," "room." |
| Marco: The last one was a "sdrucciola." Oh, you made me say it. |
| Laura: Very well. Let's jump to the third group. "Parole tronche," meaning "chopped." This is quite easy. |
| Marco: “Parole tronche" are my favorite ones because they are so easy to recognize. |
| Laura: "Perché?" "Why?" There, we go, I just said a "parola tronca!" |
| Marco: Because these are the only words with their accent clearly marked in writing. |
| Laura: True. In Italian, we never mark accents, except for "parole tronche." |
| Marco: So how do I know where to put the accent in the other ones? |
| Laura: In the beginning, you will have to check in a good dictionary. Or ask your Italian friends or listen to Italian songs. After a while, it will become automatic. |
| Marco: So, back to our "parole tronche." Where's the accent? It's always marked in the same position, right? |
| Laura: "Sì!" Always at the end of the word. That is, the last syllable. "Caffè," meaning "coffee," "città," meaning "city," and "cincillà," meaning "chinchilla." |
| Marco: Easy. "FA-ci-le." Did I just say a "sdrucciola?" |
| Laura: Yes! Accent on the third-to-last syllable. Now that you got the hang of it, it's time to move on to the next group. |
| Marco: Not an easy one as far as I remember. |
| Laura: Words of the fourth group have the accent on the fourth-to-last syllable, and they're |
| called "parole bisdrucciole." |
| Marco: "Double slippery?" Doesn't sound good at all. I don't like slimy things. |
| Laura: The good news is that they're not so common, and they're usually verbs in the third person plural, present tense. |
| Marco: Some examples, Laura? |
| Laura: "SU-pe-ra-no," meaning "they overtake." "CA-pi-ta-no," meaning "they happen." |
| Marco: What was the last word again? |
| Laura: "CA-pi-ta-no." |
| Marco: You said it means "they happen," but I thought it meant "captain." |
| Laura: Well, no, that's "ca-pi-TA-no." This is a "piana." |
| Marco: Ah, yes. Remember we said that sometimes the position of the accent changes the meaning of a word? Here's an example. |
| Laura: So, "ca-pi-TA-no," "piana," means "captain." "CA-pi-ta-no," "bisdrucciola," means "they happen." |
| Marco: "Ca-pi-TA-no" and "CA-pi-ta-no." Same spelling, different accent, different meaning. Laura, do you have any other examples? |
| Laura: "PRIN-ci-pi" and "prin-CI-pi." Did you get that? |
| Marco: I think so. "Princes" and "principles." "PRIN-ci-pi" is a "sdrucciola," right? |
| Laura: Correct, and "prin-CI-pi" is a "piana." |
| Marco: So how would you say "princes have principles?" |
| Laura: I wouldn't say that, but there we go…"i PRIN-ci-pi hanno prin-CI-pi." |
| Marco: Any other examples? |
| Laura: "An-co-ra" and "an-CO-ra." |
| Marco: "Ancora," meaning "anchor," and "ancOra," meaning "again." |
| Laura: "Bravissimo." Now our "cavallo" has jumped all the "ostacoli." |
| Marco: Yes, and I am starting to feel exhausted. Maybe it's time for a "caffè." |
| Laura: Which is a "parola tronca," with a nice accent on the "-e." |
| Marco: Ah, yes, a chopped word. Is this why coffees are so short in Italy? |
| Laura: You definitely need a coffee. But let's recap first. |
| Marco: So, different words, different accents. "Parole piane," "sdrucciole," "tronche," and "bisdrucciole." |
| Laura: Let's see some examples of each group. Everyone, repeat after me. Marco, are you ready? |
| Marco: Yep. |
| Laura: "Pol-TRO-na" (silence). |
| Marco: "PolTROna." That's "armchair," "piana." |
| Laura: "Di-VA-no" (silence). |
| Marco: "DiVAno." "Couch," "piana." |
| Laura: Yes. "Fa-GIO-lo" (silence). |
| Marco: "FaGIOlo." "Piana" again. Meaning "bean," but also "beanbag." Are you trying to get me sleepy? |
| Laura: Just a bit of relaxation after all that obstacle jumping, just like in a yoga class. |
| Marco: Sounds good to me. Some "sdrucciole?" |
| Laura: Yes, repeat after me. "Te-LE-fo-no" (silence). |
| Marco: "TeLEfono." "Phone" or "I make a phone call." |
| Laura: "NU-me-ro" (silence). |
| Marco: "NUmero." "Number." Both "drucciole," with the accent on the third-to-last syllable. |
| Laura: Now for some "tronche." Repeat after me. "Li-ber-tà" (silence). |
| Marco: "Libertà." "freedom." |
| Laura: "Lunedì" (silence). |
| Marco: "Lunedì." "Monday." |
| Laura: Now a couple of "bisdrucciole," and then we wrap it up. |
| Marco: Don't forget you promised me a "caffè." |
| Laura: Marco, first listen and repeat…"ME-sco-la-no" (silence). |
| Marco: Accent on the fourth-to-last syllable. "MEscolano," "they mix." |
| Laura: "RE-ci-ta-no" (silence). |
| Marco: "REcitano." "They act." |
| Laura: "Bravo," Marco. That should do for today. So, time for that coffee? |
| Marco. Finally! One for me and one for my "cavallo," "please." |
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