ITALIAN 101
Capitolo Preliminare
Tanto per cominciareto begin
Roma, Lazio
Percorso 1
PronunciaSicilia
Cosi si dice- Italian Alphabet
Phonetic language
21 letters
j,k,w,x,y- borrowed letters
Every letter is pronounced except for H (acca)
Alphabeta a a (father)b bic ci (chi) d di
e (aye) e (day)
f effeg gi
h accai i (machine) l elle
m emme
n enne o o(cold, soft)p pi
q cu r erre
s esset ti
u u (rule) v vu z zeta
j (ilunga) k (kappa) w(doppia vu) x (ics) y (i greca or ipsilon)
P.3- Le regioni italiane 1. Piemonte
2. Lombardia
3. Emilia-Romagna
4. Marche
5. Lazio
6. Abruzzo
7. Puglia
8. Sicilia
9. Sardegna
1 2 3
4
7
5 6
8 9
Le Vocali Five basic vowels- a,e,i,o,u
Vowels pronounced with short, clear-cut sounds
Vowels e,o have open/closed sounds
Sounds can change from region to region
Le Vocali ContinuedRepeata
a (father) data male stae (day) mese e sera(closed)
e (pet) bene neo sei (open)i (machine) libro grazie italiano
o (cold) nome come giorno (closed)
o (soft) buono notte nove (open)u (rule) uno tu lunedi
Le Consonanti
Constants are never pronounced with a puff of air (aspirated)
Only a few constants and some constant combinations need attention
Le consonanti -C&GC and G have a hard sound when proceeded by a,o,u. C=call G=go
Ex. Calendario come amico acuto
gatto agosto guida auguri
C and G have a soft sound when they proceed the vowels e and i. C=church, g=gentile
Ex. cena piacere ciao cinese
gennaio gelato giorno oggi
Le Consonanti- ch & gh
Ch and Gh have a hard sound and are pronounced like c=cat g=ghost
Ex. chi chiami Michelangelo cherubino
ghetto luoghi spaghetti ghirlanda
Le Consonanti- gli & gn
gli is pronounced almost like the English lli in million
Ex. Luglio foglio famiglia ciglio
gn is somewhat similar to the English ny in canyon
Ex. Cognome compagna lasgne spagnolo
Le Consonanti doppiedouble constants are pronounced more forcefully and the sound is longer.
camino/cammino casa/cassa
pena/penna bruto/brutto
pala/palla sono/sonno
speso/spesso tuta/tutta
L’accento tonicoMost italian words are stressed on the next-to-last syllable
Studentessa lavagna capito parlare studiare
If stress falls on the last vowel, there is usually an accent
città universittà nazionalità caffè tiramisù
Some are stressed on the 3rd syllable from the last or a few on the fourth- only a dictionary will clarify where it stresses
ripetere numero significa telefono
abitano telefonano diciamoglielo
Similar but Different Some one-syllable words have a written accent to distinguish them from words that are spelled/pronounced the same but have different meaning
e è
la là
se sè
da dà
li lì
si sì
(and)
(the)
(if)
(from)
(them)
(oneself)
(is)
(there)
(self)
(gives)
(there)
(yes)
accent accent
Lo sai Che?
Did You Know? Genoa, Italy
Lo sai che?- Italian LanguageRomance Language
Derives from Latin
Based on dialect spoken in Tuscany
Famous writers- Dante/Petrarch/Boccaccio
Spoken in Southern Switzerland, parts of Croatia, Parts of French Territories (Corsica, Savoy)
Different regions have different dialect
Lo sai che? Spelling in ItalianoUse the names of major cities to spell surname
a Anconab Bologna
c Caserta d Domodossolae Empoli
f Firenzeg Genova
h Hoteli Imolal Livorno
m Milano
n Napolio Otrantop Perguiaq Quadro r Romas Sienat Tornio
u Udine v Veneziaz Zara
j-jeans K-Kaiser W-Washington x-Xilofono Y-York
Lo sai che?- Italian peninsulaDivided into 20 regions- each with its own capital
Rome is the capital (capitale) of the nation
Two major islands- Sardinia and Sicily
Other smaller islands like Capri, Ischia, Elba, Eolie
Two independent city-states. The Vatican City and the Republic of San Marino
Lo sai che?- Five SeasThere are five seas that surround Italy
Mare Ligure
Mare Tirreno
Mare Mediterraneo
Mare Adriatico
Mare Ionio
Practica
Puglia
P.4 E adesso le città italiane
1. Asti-Piemonte
2. Arezzo-Toscana
3. Assisi-Umbria
4. L’Aquila-Abruzzo
5.Agrigento-Sicilia
6.Ostiano- Sardegna
7.Urbino-Marche
Locate cities as you repeat Name
8.Nuoro-Sardegna
9.Brindisi-Puglia
10. Siracusa-Sicilia
11. Reggio Calabria- Calabria
12. Trieste- Friuli Venezia Giulia
13. Cosenza- Calabria
14. Sassari- Sardegna
Percorso II
Useful ExpressionVerona
For Conversation Non Capisco
Non lo so
Che significa
Che voul dire
Come si dice
Come si pronuncia
Come si scrive
Ripeta, per favore
Ripeti, per favore
I don’t understand
I don’t know
What does... mean?
What does.... mean?
How do you say...?
How do you pronounce...?
How do you write...?
Please Repeat (polite)
Please Repeat (informal)
IN Classe Aprite il libro, per favore
Ascoltate
Bene! Benissimo
Capite?
Chiudete il libro.
Come?
Domandate
Indoviante...
open your books, please
Listen.
Good! Very Good!
Do you understand
Close your books
What
Ask
Guess
IN Classe continuedLeggete
Prendete un foglio di carta
Ripetete
Rispondete
Scrivete
Studiate
Trovate
Read
Get a piece of paper
Repeat
Answer
Write
Study
Find...
Practica
Puglia
P.10 Che cosa diresti tu?You didn’t hear the teacher.
You want to know how to say region.
You didn’t understand something your teacher said.
You don’t know the answer to something.
You want to know what mare means.
You want to know how to pronounce Alpi.
Ripeta, per favore
Come si dice Region?
Non capisco.
Non lo so.
Che significa mare?
Come si pronuncia Aples?
Attraverso
Venice
La Penisola Italiana
Facts Diverse Terrain
Traditions, customs, architecture, dialects, cuisine, and physical appearance range from region to region
Italy became a nation-state in 1861; the various states of the peninsula and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia were united under King Victor Emmanuel II (1870-final phase of unification took part)
Population- 60,000,000
Area- 301,230 sq km
Coastline- 7,600 km
Regions- 2o; Largest Region- Sicily; Smallest- Valle d’Aosta
Most populated- Lombardia