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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone.
Welcome to The Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide.
In this lesson, you'll learn 3 Italian consonant sounds.
dz, ʎ, ɲ
These consonant sounds do not appear in English, so they'll likely be new to you.
Be sure to practice them because these are unique sounds of Italian which learners often get wrong!
Are you ready?
Then let's get started!
The first consonant is...
dz
mezzo (means, way)
zero (zero)
Let's break down this consonant.
"(voiced alveolar sibilant affricate) This consonant sound is like a combination of a D and a Z sound.
It starts off as a d sound, but ends with a z sound.
Here's a great tip. You can produce this sound by saying the word 'dads'.
So one useful trick is to bounce off of the ending when trying to pronounce this consonant sound."
dz, dz (slowly)
dz, dz (slowly)
The next consonant is...
ʎ
maglia (mesh)
figlio (son)
Let's break down this consonant.
"(palatal lateral approximant) You can sometimes produce this sound by saying the English word 'million'. Try it!
(pause)
Try to think of it as pronouncing a regular English L, but instead of using the tip of your tongue, try to use the blade or the middle part of your tongue."
ʎ, ʎ (slowly)
ʎ, ʎ (slowly)
The final consonant for this lesson is...
ɲ
gnocco (gnocchi, a type of pasta)
bagno (bathroom)
Let's break down this consonant.
"(alveolo-palatal nasal) Raise your tongue so that the middle or blade of the tongue touches the roof of your mouth.
It kind of sounds like a combination between the n and y sounds in the English word canyon.
Here's a great tip. Try to think of it as pronouncing a regular English N, but instead of using the tip of your tongue, try to use the blade or the middle part of your tongue.
Let's take a closer look!"
ɲ, ɲ (slowly)
ɲ, ɲ (slowly)
Well done! You just learned 3 new Italian consonants.
dz, ʎ, ɲ
"These consonant sounds do not appear in English, so be sure to practice them!
In the next lesson, you'll learn 2 more Italian consonants that are unique to English speakers."
How difficult were they to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts.
See you in the next Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide lesson!

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