58 



THE POPULAE EDUCATOR. 



LESSONS IN ITALIAN. II. 



II. PKONUNCIATION OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. 



I .NOW proceed to explain Italian pronunciation in a method of 

 recent adoption by some ingenious teachers of Italy, by which 

 all the combinations of the vowels and consonants, and conse- 

 quently all the ingredients and component parts of the language, 

 will pass under the eye of the reader. Let him learn from the 

 very beginning of his labours to pronounce each syllable of the 

 following words and tables, and he will soon acquire a correct 

 method of pronunciation. No word or combination of words 

 can offer any difficulty to him, because he will have mastered the 

 component parts of all words in these tables. 



The Italian language has five vowels, representing seven 

 sounds : 



I. a, invariably sounded like the English interjection ah. 



II. i, invariably sounded like ee in see. 



III. u, invariably sounded like oo in too. 



IV. 1. e, invariably sounded like ay in say, but with a slight 



opening of the mouth only, and with an elevated and 

 clear tone. It is called, on that account, the close 

 sound of the vowel. 



2. e, invariably sounded something like e in let, set, and 

 the first e in every, but with a wide opening of the 

 mouth, and with a deep sound. It is called, on that 

 account, the open sound of the vowel. 



V. 1. o, invariably sounded with a medium sound between o 



and oo, which has no equivalent in the English lan- 

 guage, but which may be easily caught by the ear 

 from hearing an educated Roman or Tuscan speak. 

 Perhaps an approximation is the o in bone, hole, and 

 note, but with a slight opening of the mouth only, 

 and with an elevated and clear tone. It is called, on 

 that account, the close sound of the vowel. 

 2. o, invariably sounded something like o in lord and 

 orange, but with a wide opening of the mouth, and 

 with a deep sound. It is called, on that account, the 

 open sound of the vowel. 



The first sound of e and the first of o occur in the majority of 

 syllables, and may be called the ruling sounds of those two 

 vowels. No distinguishing sign is used in Italian to mark the 

 two e's or two o's. Englishmen must have some mark to indi- 

 cate when c and o are to be sounded with their second or open 

 sounds. I shall, in these cases, place on e and o this sign *, as 

 for example, 3, 6. 



The pronunciation of what, for the sake of distinction, I shall 

 denominate the circumflexed sounds of e and o is not uniform 

 throughout Italy; but as tlie pronunciation of Rome and 

 Florence is the standard, all departures from it may be reckoned 

 by our students as provincialisms, which ought to be carefully 

 avoided. 



The Italian consonants, seventeen in number, are divided into 

 mutes and semi- vowels. Mutes are those that require a vowel 

 after them to render them pronounceable. Semi-vowels are 

 those which require a vowel before them to make them pro- 

 nounceable. 



Let me first enumerate the mutes, and show by tables their 

 combinations with vowels in Italian words. There are ten 

 mutes : 



I. Z>, named in the alphabet, bee. 



II. c, named in the alphabet chee, and sounded like, ch in 



church before the vowels e and i. Before all other 

 vowels it is sounded like k in English. 



III. d, named in the alphabet dee. 



IV. g, named in the alphabet jee, and sounded like g in 



ginger before the vowels e and i only. Before all 

 other vowels it is sounded like g in gang, go, and gull. 

 V. j, named in the alphabet i (ee) lungo or jota (i conso- 

 nante), and sound 1 like y in yes only at the com- 

 mencement of a word or syllable and before a vowel. 

 At the termination of a word it is no longer a conso- 

 nant, but must be sounded like a prolonged or 

 lengthened ee. 



VI. p, named in the alphabet pee. 



VII. g, named in the alphabet fcoo. It is an auxiliary better, 



only used before u with the sound of k. 

 VIII. t, named in the alphabet tee. 



IX. v, named in the alphabet vee (u consonante). 

 X. z, named in the alphabet tsaita, sounded like tz in 

 Switzerland, or like dz in adze. These sounds vary 

 in different parts of Italy. After I, n, and r, it is 

 generally pronounced like tz in Switzerland. The 

 same sharp sound occurs in words derived from 

 Latin, and ending in zia, zio, zione, etc. 



I shall mark each word in the following pronouncing tables, and 

 indeed each word given as an example or illustration, with an 

 accent, which, being merely arbitrary, used for the occasion to 

 facilitate the progress of the English learner, and not used in 

 Italian printing, I denominate the accent of tone. In every 

 Italian word composed of more than one syllable, there is always 

 one syllable on which, when we pronounce it, the voice ought to 

 pause with a marked elevation of tone. This prolongation and 

 elevation of the voice on the syllable is similar to the transition 

 of the voice from one tone to another in music, in order to 

 descend to the level of the original tone from which the voice 

 was raised. The accent of tone exists more or less in every lan- 

 guage, but it is more or less sensibly marked in one language 

 than another, and it is strongly so in Italian ; and on the marked 

 use of this accent in a great measure depends the harmony of 

 the language. I shall mark this accent by the acute sign ( ' ), 

 from right to left. It is true that this sign is sometimes printed 

 in Italian words, but in a very few instances only, which I shall 

 have occasion to point out hereafter. The grave accent ( * ), from 

 left to right, is used much more frequently (the rules for its use 

 will be given hereafter), and for this reason I prefer using, in 

 order to avoid confusion, the acute accent as the arbitrary mark 

 or sign of the accent of tone. Two-thirds of the Italian words 

 have an accent of tone regulated by principles clear and in- 

 variable ; which it would be inexpedient to lay down now, as 

 they would not at this stage of our progress be thoroughly 

 understood, but which I shall take occasion to point out in con- 

 venient places as I proceed. 



One remark more with respect to the vowels e and o. I have 

 called the first sound of e as ay in say, and the first sound of o 

 (the medium sound between o and oo, which cannot be adequately 

 marked by an English equivalent) the ruling sounds of those 

 vowels. The reason is this : they are heard in all syllables with- 

 out distinction, whether they have the accent of tone or not ; 

 while the second sound of e (pronounced with a wider opening of 

 the mouth and a deeper sound, and something like e in let and 

 ever) and the second sound of o (also pronounced with a wider 

 opening of the mouth and a deeper sound, and something like o in 

 orange and lord), can only be heard in accented syllables, of which 

 there can be in each word only one. The former sounds, there- 

 fore, are much more frequent than the latter; because un- 

 accented syllables are more numerous than those accented. 



With regard to the e in unaccented syllables having an Eng- 

 lish equivalent in ai or ay, I shall have no difficulty in marking 

 the pronunciation ; but with regard to o in unaccented syllables, 

 as there is no equivalent, I should be obliged to use the acute 

 accent, and thus confuse the reader, who would perhaps be 

 unable to determine which was the accent of tone in a word and 

 which the accent marking the peculiar sound of o. I beg it 

 therefore to be understood once for all, that where I shall have 

 occasion to use an o in unaccented syllables without any sign 

 above it, the vowel must invariably have the first sound of o as 

 above explained. I follow the authority not only of the edu- 

 cated classes of Florence and Rome, but also that of Celso 

 Cittadini and the best theoretical writers on Italian pronuncia- 

 tion. 



FIRST PRONOUNCING TABLE, 



showing the combination of vowels with mute consonants in 

 natural order. 



Kalian. Pronounced. 



Bado biih-do 



Bevo bai-vo 



Bict b^e-tchai 



English. 

 I take care. 

 I drink. 

 Beatrice, a woman's name. 



The reader must not forget my previous observation that c 

 before e and i is sounded like ch in the English word church. 



Boce (for wee) bo-tchai Voice, word. 



The acute accent over o marks not only the accent of tone, 

 but also the first sound of o as stated before. 

 Buco boo-ko Hole. 



Ebano e-bah-no Ebony. 



