5 Italian Sounds English Speakers Struggle to Pronounce Correctly

Here are eight beloved Italian foods that are commonly mispronounced by English speakers. Why not see if you can pronounce them correctly!

The letter R

The rolled or trilled Italian R consists of a series of vibrations of varying lengths.

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S + voiced consonant

When the letter S is followed by any one of the following voiced consonants in Italian – B, D, G, L, R, M, N, V – it transforms from an [s] into a [z].

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The letter Z

The letter Z can sound like the ts in “bits” or the ds in “heads“.

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Open vs Closed E & O

It can be hard for non-native speakers to know when to use the open E/O or the closed E/O.

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Double consonants

A double consonant is pronounced with a longer sound than a single consonant.

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