Most learners would agree that, overall, Italian is a fairly easy language to pronounce. It doesn’t have as many sounds as other languages (yes, English, I’m looking at you), nor as many complex consonant clusters. Still, there are some words that can still be a challenge for English speakers, even after years of learning and speaking English every day. Here are some of the trickiest words that have confused me so far!
1. Airplane
airplane This is a problem for English speakers because we are not used to pronouncing so many vowels clearly in a single word.It’s tempting to drop the vowel (“air-eo”), or change the second vowel e enter a I sound.pronounce airplane Correctly, you need to give importance to each vowel.
2. Vulnerabilities
Whenever I try to pronounce this particular word, it always comes out garbled.I’m not sure if it’s the length of the words or the combination of the words Urn This leads to this question, but for whatever reason it makes me strongly inclined to avoid saying it!
3. Costruire (Construction/Construction)
I mentioned in the introduction that Italian doesn’t have many consonant clusters, but the ones it does have can be hard for you to pronounce, e.g. ster exist put up.I blame it on that annoying guy rolled up r!
4. Dehydration
When I pronounce this word, I tend to mix up the syllables of–and–Deira, or omit one of them. Please tell me I’m not alone!
5. Role
The letter “r” is already difficult for English speakers to pronounce, but it becomes even more difficult when it is followed by two rounded vowels.
6. Ninfee (water lily)
on the surface, water lily (This is plural lotus) may not seem too challenging, but for English speakers it is difficult to avoid pronouncing the double E as a diphthong /eɪ/ (as in the single letter “hoops” or “bAthis”).
7. Saetta (Lightning)
I tend to pronounce the “e” in this particular word as An open “e” instead of a closed “e”. This seems like a small mistake, but my husband always points it out!
8. brain (brain)
I’m certainly not the only one who often replaces the R in this word with an L, am I? (If I thought about it beforehand, the results would usually be worse!)
9. Leggerglielo (read to him/her)
read to him Not a single word but a combination of words Light (read) + this (give him/her) + Luo (it). Personally, I find this combination almost impossible to pronounce without making an “r” or “gli” sound. And you?
10. Euro
When I encounter this word, my natural tendency is to pronounce it in English, which sounds like “yur-oh.” In Italian, however, it is necessary to emphasize each vowel individually and remember that it consists of three syllables, not two.
Are there any Italian words that you have difficulty pronouncing? Share it with us in the comments below!
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Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.
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