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