How to Speak (Sort of) Like an Italian

Some readers have said that they wish they could correctly pronounce the names of some of the people in Bianca’s Vineyard.  I’m not fluent in Italian by any means, but it’s amazing how helpful it is to at least know how to look at a word and know how to say it properly.  So, here’s some Italian for Idiots 101 tips.  (Our Italian friends and family may scoff at the method I use — ciao, Carlo! — but I developed it for Americans!)

• CH (before an I or an E ) in Italian is always pronounced as “K” – as in KAY
• On the other hand, a plain “C” before an I or an E sounds like CH, as in Cheap
• GN sounds like nyeh
• R’s have a slight roll to them – not guttural, not nasally, and not as rolling as a Spanish “R”
• “H” is silent
• “GH” is hard g sound (as in game) with h being silent.

The verbs in Italian are simple and almost always pronounced.  They are rarely silent:

A sounds like “ah”

E sounds like a long “A”

I sounds like a long “E”

O sounds like a long “O”

U sounds “soft” – like “ew”

In general, the accent is on the second to the last syllable word.  A double consonant indicates an emphasis on that syllable.  Italians would say you lengthen the sound of the double consonate.  Therefore:

Chiesa (church) is pronounced kee-AY-sah

Ciao — chow

Cinqe (five) is pronounced cheen-qway

Che (that) is prounounced kay

Pizza is pronounced peeZ-Zah

Humberto is pronounced ewm-bare-toh

Bologne is pronounced Boh-loh-nyay

So, for characters and places in Bianca’s Vineyard, the pronunciations would be:

Egisto:  A-gees-toh

Armida:  Ar-mee-dah

Violenza:  Vee-oh-layn-zah

Silverio:  Seel-vare-ee-o

Bertozzi:  Bare-tohZ-Zee

Sigali:  See-gah-lee

Barghini:  Bahr-gee-nee

Forte dei Marmi:  Fortay-day-Mahr-mee

Querceta:  Care-chay-tah

Pietrasanta:  Pee-eh-trah-sahn-tah

Diverti!