Italian Pronunciation, Video 2: Italian's Vowels

This is the second of a 4-part series on Italian pronunciation. The goal is to get familiar with the sounds of Italian and the IPA symbols. You'll then be able to learn them faster, either through your own studies or through my pronunciation trainers. More links below:
Flashcard Designs for Teaching Yourself Pronunciation: blog.fluent-fo...
My Pronunciation Trainers: fluent-forever...
Anki Language Learning: ankilanguagelea...
More Anki Decks, including Italian Pronunciation: speakada.com
Reddit's Anki Language Learning Community: / ankilanguagelearning
A super detailed discussion of the IPA: • Pronunciation Tutorial...

[@anonomous8649]

As a singer struggling in my Diction for Singers course, thank you so much!! I’m feeling so much more comfortable with going to class tomorrow!

[@FluentForeverApp]

We are happy to hear you found the videos helpful!

[@michelleerin5664]

Thanks for those super-helpful tongue images.

[@MaiteSa]

These videos are awesome! Just want to point out that people from Veneto compared to people from Sicily (and all the accents in between) might pronounce some of these differently, changing between the ɛ and e, and the o and ɔ. I’m from Verona, and I don’t say “trɛno” like you put it, but “treno”. Love the videos!

[@FluentForeverApp]

Hi Maite! Thanks so much for your reply. We greatly appreciate your feedback and your helping us out. :) We're so happy that you're enjoying the videos!!!

[@wherezthebeef]

Outstanding! I find tongue placement instructions far less helpful in teaching, personally, then simply using , as you do, phonetics and giving multiple, clear examples of each sound.

[@ramzy-6566]

Great vid for Italian Pronunciation.

[@FluentForeverApp]

Thank you! :)

[@Prostopyotr]

Interestingly enough, there are some parts of California which do differentiate the two o’s. I live in one of those very odd places, and it took learning a language to find that out. I’m not too sure why, but where I live it’s the way people speak. It’s not rural, either.

[@luisakop5631]

You're right about almost everything, but the closed "e" should really be closer to "i" as in "liver". Because otherwise you are talking with a North-Italian accent and that is not neccessarily the "best" or "only" Italian. In Rome for instance, nobody will pronounce "freno" the way you are pronouncing it here.

[@FluentForeverApp]

Thank you for sharing!

[@aidabach]

Grazie mille!!

[@FluentForeverApp]

You're welcome 🙂

[@Isabela_I]

Grazie, amico! ❤❤

[@docholl93]

Awesome vids! Just pay attention, free vowels in one-syllable words are short, "sì" is actually /si/, "su" is actually /su/. Also, your "o" in "oca" sounds a little too open, your /o/ in "forno" sounded like /ɔ/ while Italian /o/ is somewhat closer to a short version of General Australian for "more" /mo:/.

[@Emile.gorgonZola]

sei italiano/a??

[@reezlaw]

You still pronounce freno with a somewhat open E

[@Emile.gorgonZola]

reezlaw
It's technically a semi-open vowel after all

[@MFuria-os7ln]

@@Emile.gorgonZola I must agree with reezlaw: impossible to find a video with the CORRECT pronunciation of E and O chiusa and aperta. Even mother tongue speakers who enunciate in the videos come fron Italian areas where the difference is not clear

[@compulsiverambler1352]

@@MFuria-os7ln Here you go, you can play the audio samples on the right of the pages:
U (similar to closed O): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_back_rounded_vowel
Closed O: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel
Open O: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_back_rounded_vowel
Closed E: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel
Open E: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel

[@flaviospadavecchia5126]

Sì ≠ si

[@Emile.gorgonZola]

Flavio Spadavecchia 💩💩💩

[@andradamaria5876]

What is the difference between e chiuso and e aperto? Without those accents

[@jasonzy425]

the key thing is how to tell the two versions of "e" and "o" without written accents. Are there any general rules concerning this difference?

[@brainman67]

***** but unstressed and stressed shoudn't really matter because it varies by region?

[@brainman67]

***** ok

[@flaviospadavecchia5126]

I can confirm that even Italians struggle if they want to lose their regional accent because only people in Florence will have the "correct" way of saying those vowels because it's their dialect that at the time became "Standard Italian".

[@brainman67]

Flavio Spadavecchia true

[@ThePassingVoid]

If a consonant is in front of the vowel like "don-na" the vowel is normally open, this rule is common in mainly languages

[@stefanolanza8018]

Frɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛɛno! (03:07)

[@Verbalaesthet]

It's a bit hard to tell both E vowels apart but other than that it was a piece of cake.

[@FluentForeverApp]

With practice and time, you will figure it out!

[@aidabach]

abbracci!

[@keytolearningitalian]

Un presuntuoso tuttologo

[@BrewPots123]

Grazie mille!

[@FluentForeverApp]

You're welcome! :)