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Learn about Italian vowels
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Hi everyone. |
Welcome to The Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide. |
In this lesson, you'll learn all 7 Italian vowel sounds. |
a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u |
With these sounds, you can pronounce any vowel that could possibly appear in Italian! |
Some vowels may be hard for you to distinguish, especially for English speakers, so make sure you listen carefully! |
Are you ready? |
Then let's get started! |
The first vowel is... |
a |
sarà (it will be) |
casa (house) |
alto (tall, high) |
It's identical to the A sound in the word 'father', except that it's held for a little longer. Open your mouth wide and let the air pour out. |
a, a (slowly) |
a, a (slowly) |
The next vowel is... |
ɛ |
bene (good) |
cioè (i.e., that is) |
elica (propeller) |
It's identical to the E sound in the word 'red'. This is an 'open' sound, so be sure to widen your mouth. |
ɛ, ɛ (slowly) |
ɛ, ɛ (slowly) |
The next vowel is... |
e |
vero (true) |
inglese (English) |
stelle (stars) |
It's very similar to the E sound in the word 'neigh'. Drop your jaw just a tiny tiny bit, until you hear a slight change in sound, but be careful not to widen your mouth too much. This will prevent you from carrying over the I sound and will allow you to properly pronounce this sound. |
e, e (slowly) |
e, e (slowly) |
The next vowel is... |
i |
imposta (tax) |
colibrì (hummingbird) |
bile (bile) |
It's identical to the double E sound in the word 'see'. |
i, i (slowly) |
i, i (slowly) |
The next vowel is... |
ɔ |
parola (word) |
posso (I can) |
otto (eight) |
It's identical to the OU sound in the word 'ought'. This is an 'open' sound, so be sure to widen your mouth. |
ɔ, ɔ (slowly) |
ɔ, ɔ (slowly) |
The next vowel is... |
o |
ombra (shade) |
come (as, like) |
foro (hole) |
This is like the previous sound, except your tongue is positioned a little bit higher. |
It's quite similar to the O sound in the word 'owe'. |
Just make sure not to widen your mouth too much. You only want to carry over the W sound slightly. |
Listen to [the native speaker]. |
o, o (slowly) |
o, o (slowly) |
And the last vowel is... |
u |
tutto (all) |
tuo (your) |
ultimo (last) |
It's identical to the double OO sound in the word 'boot'. |
u, u (slowly) |
u, u (slowly) |
Well done! You just learned all 7 vowel sounds in Italian! |
a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u |
With these sounds, you can properly pronounce any vowel that could possibly appear in the Italian language! Isn't that great? |
Well, that's all for vowels. |
In the next lesson, you'll start learning consonant sounds. |
Which vowel sound was the most difficult for you to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. |
See you in the next Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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