APPENDIX

Italian Alphabet
ALFABETO ITALIANO


The Italian alphabet consists of 21 letters:

A [a] pronounced like a in father M [emme] pronounced like m in meter

B [b] pronounced like b in banana N [enne] pronounced like n in need
C [ci] pronounced like ch of cheese O [o] pronounced like o in cost
D [di] pronounced like d in doll P [pi] pronounced like p in person
E [e] pronounced like e in elephant Q [qu] pronounced like q in quarter
F [effe] pronounced like f in feather R [erre] pronounced like r in rock
G [gi] pronounced like g in gender S [esse] pronounced like s in sell
H [acca] always silent in Italian T [ti] pronounced like t in time
I [i] pronounced like ee in deep U [u] pronounced like u in bush
L [elle] pronounced like l in lemon V [vi] pronounced like v in vault
Z [zeta] pronounced like z in Zen

Letters not in the Italian alphabet but retained in foreign words currently used in
Italian:

J [i lunga]
K [kappa]
Y [ipsilon]
X [ics]
W [doppia vu]

The Pronunciation of C

hard c soft c
as in the word color as in the word cheese
ca [cantina (cellar)] cia [ciascuno (each one)]
co [colore (color)] cio [ciotola (bowl)]
cu [custode (guardian)] ciu [ciuffo (tuft)]
chi [chiesa (church)] ci [cinema (cinema)]
che [schema (scheme)] ce [celeste (light blue)]

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Notice that the letter q always has a hard sound (as in the word color) and is
always followed by u: quaderno (notebook).


The Pronunciation of G

hard G soft G
as in the word gold as in the word gender
ga [garanzia (guarantee)] gia [giardino (garden)]
go [godere (to enjoy)] gio [giovane (young)]
gu [gusto (gusto)] giu [giusto (right)]
ghi [ghianda (acorn)] gi [giro (tour, round)]
ghe [ghetto (ghetto)] ge [gelato (ice cream)]


Accents

In general the phonetic accent falls on the next to last syllable. For example, in the
word matita, the accent falls on the i.
In some words the phonetic accent falls on the last vowel. In this case the vowel is
written with an accent.
The accent can be written as a grave or as an acute accent, interchangeably:

perci = perci (therefore)
perch = perch (why, because)

The sound gn

gn is pronounced as ny in the English word canyon.
Pronounce the words: bagno (bath), spegnere (to turn off), giugno (June).


The sound gl

gl is pronounced like ll in the English word million.
Pronounce the words: figlio (son), luglio (July), giglio (lily).

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Double consonants

Some words have double consonants. They are pronounced by slightly prolonging
the sound of the consonant.
Pronounce the words:
mamma (Mom), nonna (grandmother), carro (cart), cadde (he/she fell), palla (ball)

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