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Grammar Lesson 77:

Italian vowels: le vocali

In Italian, vowels (“vocali” –-> sing. “vocale”) are always pronounced clearly, never drawn out as it happens in English.

There is no distinction between long vowels and short vowels, but E and O can have either an open or a closed sound depending on the region where the speaker comes from.

How to pronounce vowels:

A —> like in “father”

E —> like in “ray” = close sound

—> like in “send” = open sound

I —> like the English Y (like in “rainy”)

O —> like in “row” = close sound

—> like in “dog” = open sound

U —> like in “boot”

In Italian many words contain many vowels, but the word that has the highest number of them is for sure “aiuola”, which translates as “flower bed”. A real challenge for foreigners!

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