ITAL 1001 Lecture : Italian Notes
Italian Preliminary Chapter 9/4/2013 12:10:00 AM
Phrases to Know
• Come va? – How’s it going? (informal)
• Come stai? - How’s it going? (not quite as informal)
• Come sta? – How are you doing? (formal)
• Bene – Good
• Male/ Non bene - Not good
• Malto Bene/ Benissimo - Very good
• Cosi, Cosi - So so
• Abbastanza bene- Alright/good enough
• Come si dice… – How do you say…
• Come si scrive…? – How do you spell….?
• Come si pronucia…? – How do you pronounce…?
• Cosa vuol dire? – What does that mean?
• Ripeta– Repeat
• Per favore- Please
• Capisco- I understand
• Non capisco- I don’t understand
• Una domanda, per favore- A question please
• Grazie- Thank you
• Tavolo – Table
• Finestra – Window
• Biblioteca – Library
• Bagno – Bathroom
• Terra – Floor
• Doppia – Double
• Libro – Book
• Università – College/ university
• Zaino – Book
• Luce – Light
• Penna – Pen
• Matita – Pencil
• Piacere- Pleasure/ Nice to meet you
• Edificio – Building
• Facoltà – Department
• Di dove sei? – Where are you from?
• Sono di ________– I am from _______.
• Anchio – Me too
• Come ti chiami? – What do you call yourself?
• Mi chiamo __________. – I call myself __________
• Quanti anni hai? – How many years do you have?
• Ho _______ anni – I have _______ years.
• Oggi è _______ – Today is _______.
• Domani è __________ – Tomorrow is ___________.
Rules about speaking Italian:
• Most consonants sound the same
• Exceptions:
o Before a, o, or u, c, g, and sc make a hard sound (c as in cat,
g as in go, sc as in scarf)
o Before e or i, the consonants c, g, and sc make a soft sound.
(c as in church, g as in gem, sc as in show)
o The combinations ch, gh, and sch have a hard sound (ch as in
cat, gh as in go, sch as in scheme)
• There are 21 letters in the Italian alphabet
o J, k, x, w, and y are not included
o Vowels (5 vowels; 7 sounds)
▪ A (father)
▪ Closed E (late)
▪ Open E (quest)
▪ I (marine)
▪ Closed O (cozy)
▪ Open O (cost)
▪ U (rude)
• A single “s” between two vowels gives a “zzz” sound
• The consonant “gl”
o Before a final i + vowel, the combination “gli” is pronounced
like the “ll” in “million.” (yee)
• The consonant “gn”
o The combination “gn” is pronounced like the “ny” in “canyon.”
• All Italian consonants besides q have a double consonants whose
pronunciation is different from that of the single consonant. E’s and
O’s are open before double consonants.
• Words with pt and ct in English will go to double t’s in Italian.
o September – Settembre
Cognates
-zione – tion
-ità – ity
-oso – ous
-ca – ce
-ismo – ism
-ssione – ssion
inflazione – inflation
universita – university
famoso – famous
apparenza – apperance
turismo – tourism
impressione – impression
Days of the Week
• lunedì
• martedì
• mercoledì
• giovedì
• venerdì
• sabato
• domenica
Months
• gennaio
• febbraio
• marzo
• aprile
• maggio
• giugno
• luglio
• agosto
• settembre
• ottobre
• novembre
