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Italian Pronunciation & Intonation

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jfas100
Newbie
United Kingdom
Joined 3333 days ago

1 posts - 1 votes
Studies: Italian

 
 Message 1 of 3
15 October 2015 at 12:10am | IP Logged 
I'm trying to improve my Italian pronunciation and intonation. I understand that many people don't see pronunciation as important, but I'm asking these questions because I'm interested in the topic.

1 - Are there any good resources for foreigners trying to improve their Italian pronunciation? I've managed to get a couple of books on Italian diction intended for opera singers, and whilst this is a good start, I feel that something more specific to foreign language learners might be more useful. I don't mind something written in Italian, but a specialised linguistics text might be too much for me.

2 - Does anyone have any advice for intonation improvement? I've heard, anecdotally, that whilst some foreigners can develop good pronunciation of individual sounds and words, their intonation and their linking of words can be poor. I've found in Lepschy & Lepschy's 'The Italian Language Today' a short 2-3 page section on intonation, but it'd be good to learn more about this in more detail.

3 - What are the common pitfalls (for native English speakers) that I should concentrate on? For one, I struggle with the 'gli' sound. I find it easier to pronounce within a word (voglio, aglio, portafoglio), but on it's own (i.e. as an article; gli animali), for some reason, I struggle - any tips?

4 - Are there any specific techniques that people have used to improve their pronunciation and intonation?

Thanks for your time.

Edited by jfas100 on 15 October 2015 at 2:17am

1 person has voted this message useful



Speakeasy
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4053 days ago

507 posts - 1098 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 2 of 3
15 October 2015 at 2:18am | IP Logged 
Hello, jfas:

Welcome to the forum! With a view to helping other Forum Members advise you, I suggest that you elaborate on the materials you have been using to learn Italian and that you provide an estimate of the CEFR Level that you have achieved to date.

As to your question, some people seem to have a natural ability for imitating native speakers' pronunciation and intonation. Others, like me, despite having learned to speak a foreign language quite fluently, struggle for years without ever achieving near-native pronunciation and intonation and, despite their fluency, are immediately identified as foreigners. I wish that I could offer a solution to your problem, but I simply do not have one.

As you are a new member here, without wishing to display undue disloyalty to the How-To-Learn-Any-Language (HTLAL) Forum, I recommend that you also register with the "new" HTLAL and post your question there as well, along with the additional information as to the materials you've been using and your estimated CEFR Level. While the current HTLAL contains a wealth of information, many of the "more active" members have opened accounts on the "new" HTLAL, where much of the discussion now takes place. As far as I understand, there is a three day delay on the new website between the time of registration and the permission to post comments. Here is the LINK: New HTLAL.

Edited by Speakeasy on 15 October 2015 at 2:33am

1 person has voted this message useful



Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6598 days ago

9753 posts - 15779 votes 
4 sounds
Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

 
 Message 3 of 3
21 October 2015 at 6:36pm | IP Logged 
Speakeasy wrote:
As far as I understand, there is a three day delay on the new website between the time of registration and the permission to post comments. Here is the LINK: New HTLAL.

No. (let the mods know if this happened to you or anyone you know) You can start posting immediately, but you can't edit your profile until you've made three posts, to prevent spamming. There's no time limit, ie it's fine to make those posts within your first 10 min on the forum.


1 person has voted this message useful



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