Exceptions to the Rule by Ronald Glenn Wrigley
One letter equals one sound. That's the general rule in Italian, but there are some rebellious letter combinations.
Diphthongs
Let's take the name Maria as an example. In this word, the i is stressed. The one-letter, one-sound rule needs to be qualified by saying that when one of the two vowels of a two-vowel combination is stressed — as in Maria, leone, or trattoria — we must articulate both vowel sounds. However, there is an exception to this rule in the form of diphthongs. A dipthong is a combination of two vowels that produce a single vowel sound. In Italian, diphthongs occur when an unstressed i or u is either preceded by or followed by a, e, or o.
Table 2-27
Pronunciation Exercise: Diphthongs
Italian |
English |
lei |
she |
più |
more |
hai |
you have |
vorrei |
I would like |
autobus |
bus |
tabaccaio |
tabacconist |
Foreign Letters</h2>
<p>There are five foreign letters that are used in words borrowed from other languages.</p>
<p><B>Table 2-28</B></p>
<div class="npmo">
<img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/learning-italian/9781605500928_0044_003.jpg" format="JPG">
</div>
<h2>Accent/Stress</h2>
<p>Most words in Italian are pronounced with the stress falling on the next-to-last syllable.</p>
<p>am<B>i</B>co mangi<B>a</B>re cartol<B>i</B>na vol<B>e</B>re</p>
<p>There is also a group of words that are pronounced with the stress falling in the last syllable. All of these words have a written accent.</p>
<p></p>
<p><B>Table 2-29</B></p>
<p><B>Accented Vowel</B></p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<h2>
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Italian</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>English</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>università</B></p></td>
<td><p>university</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>perché</B></p></td>
<td><p>why/because</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>venerdù</B></p></td>
<td><p>Friday</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>virtù</B></p></td>
<td><p>virtue</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<p>Many words are pronounced with the stress on the third-to-last or fourth-to-last syllable. There is no rule governing the placement of the stress in these cases. As you develop an ear for the language you will learn which pronunciation sounds better.</p>
<p></p>
<p><B>Table 2-30</B></p>
<p><B>Which Syllable?</B></p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<tgroup cols="2">
<colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/>
<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><B>Italian</B></p></td>
<td><p><B>English</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>facile</B></p></td>
<td><p>easy</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>portabile</B></p></td>
<td><p>portable</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>aspettano</B></p></td>
<td><p>they wait</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>mangiare</B></p></td>
<td><p>to eat</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><B>accademia</B></p></td>
<td><p>academy</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<title>Italian Dictionaries</h2>
<p>There are hundreds of English-Italian Dictionaries on the market. With so many to choose from, it's tough to know which will suit your needs. There are several very good online dictionaries. The Italian publisher Garzanti has an excellent online resource at <B><uri>www.garzantilinguistica.it</uri></B>. It requires registration, but you can access the dictionaries for free.</p>
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