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Italian

Wikis > WikiAccent > Non-Native Pronunciations of English > Italian

Below are listed some of the common issues facing native Italian speakers.  We have divided these issues into Sound (Phonemes), Prosody (Rhythm, Tempo, Stress, and Intonation), and Other Stuff (Other Stuff). 

Sound:

  • Italian speakers may not aspirate the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, k/ in word-initial positions
  • Substitute /t/ for /θ/ and /d/ for /ð/
  • Fail to pronounce word-initial /h/
  • /r/ may be pronounced as a trill
  • Substitute /ʒ/ for /ʃ/ or /ʤ/
  • May pronounce /s/ as /z/ before /m/, /l/, /n/, in initial consonant clusters
  • Tense vs. lax  vowels: /i/ vs /ɪ/, /eɪ/ vs. /ɛ/, /u/ vs. /ʊ/
  • Confuse these three /æ/ vs. /ʌ/ vs. /a/

        Prosody:

  • Italian does not have a reduced word version /ə/.  This affects the rhythm of the Italian speaker’s English as function words and unstressed syllables may not be reduced

Other Stuff:

  • Add a final vowel to English words that end with consonants