Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a | |
Notes:
- In Italian there is no phonemic distinction between long and short vowels. However, vowels in stressed open syllables are long (except when word-final).
- While Italian contrasts close-mid (/e o/) and open-mid (/ɛ ɔ/) vowels in stressed syllables, this distinction is neutralised in unstressed position, where only the close-mid vowels occur. The distinction is neutralised as well in many regional dialects, where the four vowels make only two phonemes. In many Southern dialects only open-mid vowels appear; similarly, some Northern dialect only present a close-mid realisation of the two phonemes.
- Unstressed /u/ as the last phoneme of a word is rare. Major exceptions are onomatopoeic terms (babau); loanwords (guru); and place or family names of Sardinian origin (Gennargentu, Porcu). Words in the last category are not strictly Italian words, however.
- When the last phoneme of a word is an unstressed vowel and the first phoneme of the following word is any vowel, the former vowel tends to become non-syllabic. This phenomenon is called synalepha and should be taken in account when counting syllables e.g. in poetry.
- In addition to monophthongs, Italian has diphthongs, but they're not phonemic. The grammatical tradition has classified them as falling diphthongs and rising diphthongs; however, since rising diphthongs are composed of one semiconsonantal sound or and one vowel sound, they're not technically diphthongs and this has led to criticism from phoneticians like Luciano Canepari.
Read more about this topic: Italian Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“Playing “bop” is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
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“These equal syllables alone require,
Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
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