Italian Orthography
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Italian orthography (writing) uses a variant of the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
consisting of 21 letters to write the
Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 8 ...
. This article focuses on the writing of Standard Italian, based historically on the Florentine dialect. Italian orthography is very regular and has an almost one-to-one correspondence between letters or sequences of letters and sounds or sequences of sounds, that is, it is almost a
phonemic orthography A phonemic orthography is an orthography (system for writing a language) in which the graphemes (written symbols) correspond to the phonemes (significant spoken sounds) of the language. Natural languages rarely have perfectly phonemic orthographi ...
. The main exceptions are that stress placement and vowel quality (for and ) are not notated, and may be voiced or not, and may represent vowels or semivowels, and a silent is used in a very few cases other than the digraphs and used for the hard and sounds before and .


Alphabet

The base alphabet consists of 21 letters: five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and 16 consonants. The letters J, K, W, X and Y are not part of the proper alphabet, and appear only in loanwords (e.g. 'jeans', 'weekend'), foreign names, and in a handful of native words—such as the names '' Jesolo'', '' Bettino Craxi'', and '' Walter'', which all derive from regional languages. In addition,
grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
and acute accents may modify vowel letters;
circumflex The circumflex () is a diacritic in the Latin and Greek scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from la, circumflexus "bent around"a ...
accent is much rarer and is found only in older texts. Consonants written double represent true geminates and are pronounced as such: ''anno'' 'year', pronounced (cf. English ''ten nails''). The short–long length contrast is phonemic, e.g. ''ritto'' 'upright' vs. ''rito'' 'rite, ritual', ''carro'' 'cart, wagon' vs. ''caro'' 'dear, expensive'.


Vowels

The Italian alphabet has five
vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...
letters, . Of those, only represents one
sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...
value, while all others have two. In addition, and indicate a different pronunciation of a preceding or (see below). In stressed syllables, represents both
open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (Y ...
and close . Similarly, represents both open and close (see
Italian phonology The phonology of Italian describes the sound system—the phonology and phonetics—of Standard Italian and its geographical variants. Consonants Notes: * Between two vowels, or between a vowel and an approximant () or a liquid (), c ...
for further details on those sounds). There is typically no orthographic distinction between the open and close sounds represented, though accent marks are used in certain instances (see
below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) * Soil * Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) * Less than *Temperatures below freezing * Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fr ...
). There are some
minimal pair In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, spoken or signed, that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate ...
s, called heteronyms, where the same spelling is used for distinct words with distinct vowel sounds. In unstressed syllables, only the close variants occur. In addition to representing the respective vowels and , and also typically represent the
semivowel In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel, glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary, rather than as the nucleus of a syllable. Examples of semivowels in English are the ...
s and , respectively, when unstressed and occurring before another vowel. Many exceptions exist (e.g. , , , , , , , , , , , ). An may indicate that a preceding or is 'soft' ().


C and G

The letters and represent the plosives and before and before the vowels , , . They represent the affricates and respectively when they precede a front vowel ( or ). The letter can also function within digraphs (two letters representing one sound) and to indicate "soft" (affricate) or before another vowel. In these instances, the vowel following the digraph is stressed, and represents no vowel sound: ''ciò'' (), ''giù'' (). An item such as ''CIA'' ' CIA', pronounced with stressed, contains no digraph. For words of more than one syllable, stress position must be known in order to distinguish between digraph or containing no actual phonological vowel and sequences of affricate and stressed . For example, the words ''camicia'' "shirt" and ''farmacia'' "pharmacy" share the spelling , but contrast in that only the first is stressed in ''camicia'', thus represents with no sound (likewise, ''grigio'' ends in and the names ''Gianni'' and ''Gianna'' contain only two actual vowels: , ). In ''farmacia'' is stressed, so that is not a digraph, but represents two of the three constituents of . When the "hard" (plosive) pronunciation or occurs before a front vowel or , digraphs and are used, so that represents or and represents or . The same principle applies to : and represent or and or . In the evolution from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
to Italian, the postalveolar affricates and were contextual variants of the
velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (known also as the velum). Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive ...
s and . They eventually came to be full
phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...
s, and orthographic adjustments were introduced to distinguish them. The phonemicity of the affricates can be demonstrated with
minimal pair In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, spoken or signed, that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate ...
s: The trigraphs and are used to indicate
geminate In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
and , respectively, when they occur before or ; e.g. 'eyes', 'to dress up'. joins with to form a digraph representing palatal before , and with to represent with any vowel following. Between vowels these are pronounced phonetically long, as in ''aglio'' 'garlic', ''ogni'' 'each'. By way of exception, before represents in some words derived from Greek, such as 'wisteria', and in a few adaptations from other languages such as ''
glissando In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a glide from one pitch to another (). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In some contexts, it is distinguished from the ...
'' lisˈsando partially italianised from French ''glissant''. before vowels other than represents straightforward . The digraph is used before and to represent ; before other vowels, is used for . Otherwise, represents , the of which follows the normal orthographic rules explained above. Intervocalic , , and are always
geminated In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct fr ...
and no orthographic distinction is made to indicate this.


C and Q

Normally is represented by , but it is represented by in some words, such as , , , , and . These words all contain a sequence derived from an original which was subsequently diphthongised. The sequence is always spelled (e.g. ), with exceptions being spelled in the words , its derivation , and and , two alternative forms of or .


S and Z

and are ambiguous to voicing. represents a dental sibilant consonant, either or . However, these two phonemes are in
complementary distribution In linguistics, complementary distribution, as distinct from contrastive distribution and free variation, is the relationship between two different elements of the same kind in which one element is found in one set of environments and the other e ...
everywhere except between two vowels in the same word and, even with such words, there are very few
minimal pair In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, spoken or signed, that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate ...
s. * The
voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies v ...
occurs: ** At the start of a word before a vowel (e.g. ) or a voiceless consonant (e.g. ) ** After any consonant (e.g. ) ** Before a voiceless consonant (e.g. ) ** At the start of the second part of a compound word (e.g. , , , , , ). These words are formed by adding a prefix to a word beginning with * The
voiced Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced. The term, however, is used to refe ...
occurs before voiced consonants (e.g. ). * It can be either voiceless or voiced ( or ) between vowels; in standard Tuscany-based pronunciation some words are pronounced with between vowels (e.g. , , , , , , , , ); in Northern Italy (and also increasingly in Tuscany) between vowels is always pronounced with whereas in Southern Italy between vowels is always pronounced . always represents voiceless : , , , etc. represents a dental affricate consonant; either ( ) or ( ), depending on context, though there are few minimal pairs. * It is normally voiceless : ** At the start of a word in which the second syllable starts with a voiceless consonant ( , , ) *** Exceptions (because they are of Greek origin): , , , , , ** When followed by an which is followed, in turn, by another vowel (e.g. , , ) *** Exceptions: , all words derived from words obeying other rules (e.g. , which is derived from ) ** After the letter (e.g. ) *** Exceptions: and ** In the suffixes ''-anza'', ''-enza'' and ''-onzolo'' (e.g. , , ) * It is normally voiced : ** At the start of a word in which the second syllable starts with a voiced consonant or (or ) itself (e.g. , ) *** Exceptions: , ** At the start of a word when followed by two vowels (e.g. ) *** Exceptions: and its derived terms (see above) ** If it is single (not doubled) and between two single vowels (e.g. ) *** Exceptions: (from the German pronunciation of ) Between vowels and/or semivowels ( and ), is pronounced as if doubled ( or , e.g. , ). Generally, intervocalic ''z'' is written doubled, but it is written single in most words where it precedes followed by any vowel and in some learned words. may represent either a voiceless alveolar affricate or its voiced counterpart : voiceless in e.g. , , , , voiced in , , , , , . Most words are consistently pronounced with or throughout Italy in the standard language (e.g. 'magpie', 'mug'), but a few words, such as 'effervesce, sting', exist in both voiced and voiceless forms, differing by register or by geographic area, while others have different meanings depending on whether they are pronounced in voiced or voiceless form (e.g. : (race, breed) or (ray, skate)). The verbal ending ''-izzare'' from Greek -ίζειν is always pronounced (e.g. ), maintained in both inflected forms and derivations: 'I organise', 'organisation'. Like above, however, not all verbs ending in -''izzare'' continue suffixed Greek -ίζειν), having instead -''izz''- as part of the
verb stem In linguistics, a word stem is a part of a word responsible for its lexical meaning. The term is used with slightly different meanings depending on the morphology of the language in question. In Athabaskan linguistics, for example, a verb stem ...
. , for example, of Latin origin reconstructed as *INDIRECTIARE, has /tts/ in all forms containing the root ''indirizz''-.


Silent H

In addition to being used to indicate a hard or before front vowels (see above), is used to distinguish , , , ( present indicative of , 'to have') from ('or'), ('to the', m. pl.), ('to'), ('year'); since is always silent, there is no difference in the pronunciation of such words. The letter is also used in some interjections, where it always comes immediately after the first vowel in the word (e.g. , , , ), as well as in some loanwords (e.g. ). In
filler words In linguistics, a filler, filled pause, hesitation marker or planner is a sound or word that participants in a conversation use to signal that they are pausing to think but are not finished speaking.Juan, Stephen (2010).Why do we say 'um', 'er', ...
and both ⟨h⟩ and the preceding vowel are silent.


J, K, W, X and Y

The letters J (''I lunga'' 'long I'), K (''cappa''), W (''V doppia'' or ''doppia V'' 'double V'), X (''ics'') and Y (''ipsilon'' or ''I greca'' 'Greek I') are used only in loanwords, proper names and archaisms, with few exceptions. In modern standard Italian spelling, the letter is used only in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
words, proper nouns (such as Jesi, Letojanni, Juventus etc.) and words borrowed from foreign languages. Until the 19th century, was used instead of in
diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
s, as a replacement for final ''-ii'', and in vowel groups (as in '' Savoja''); this rule was quite strict in official writing. is also used to render in dialectal spelling, e.g. Romanesco dialect ''ajo'' ("garlic"; cf. Italian ''aglio'' ). The letter is not in the standard alphabet and exists only in unassimilated loanwords, although it is often used informally among young people as a replacement for , paralleling the use of in English (for example, ''ke'' instead of ''che''). Also is only used in loanwords, mainly of Germanic origin. A capital ''W'' is used as an abbreviation of ''viva'' or ''evviva'' ("long live"). In Italian, represents either , as in ''extra'', ''uxorio'', ''xilofono'', or , as ''exoterico'', when it is preceded by and followed by a vowel. In several related languages, notably
Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
, it represents the voiced sibilant . It is also used, mainly amongst the young people, as a short written form for ''per'', meaning "for" (for example ''x sempre'', meaning "forever"): this is because in Italian the multiplication sign (similar to ) is called ''per''. However, is found only in
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...
s, as it is not part of the standard Italian alphabet; in most words with , this letter may be replaced with 's' or 'ss' (with different pronunciation: ''xilofono/silofono'', ''taxi/tassì'') or, rarely, by 'cs' (with the same pronunciation: ''claxon/ clacson'').


Diacritics

The acute accent (´) may be used on and to represent close-mid vowels when they are stressed in a position other than the default second-to-last syllable. This use of accents is generally mandatory only to indicate stress on a word-final vowel; elsewhere, accents are generally found only in dictionaries. Since final is hardly ever close-mid, is very rarely encountered in written Italian (e.g. 'subway', from the original French pronunciation of with a final-stressed ). The grave accent (`) is found on , , , , . It may be used on and when they represent
open-mid vowel An open-mid vowel (also mid-open vowel, low-mid vowel, mid-low vowel or half-open vowel) is any in a class of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned one third ...
s. The accents may also be used to differentiate
minimal pair In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, spoken or signed, that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate ...
s within Italian (for example 'peach' vs. 'fishing'), but in practice this is limited to didactic texts. In the case of final and , both possibilities are encountered. By far the most common option is the grave accent, and , though this may be due to the rarity of the acute accent to represent stress; the alternative of employing the acute, and , is in practice limited to erudite texts, but can be justified as both vowels are high (as in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...
). However, since there are no corresponding low (or lax) vowels to contrast with in Italian, both choices are equally acceptable. The circumflex accent (^) can be used to mark the contraction of two unstressed vowels /ii/ ending a word, normally pronounced so that the plural of 'study, office' may be written , or . The form with circumflex is found mainly in older texts, though it may still appear in contexts where ambiguity might arise from
homograph A homograph (from the el, ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and γράφω, ''gráphō'', "write") is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. However, some dictionaries insist that the words must also ...
y. For example, it can be used to differentiate words like ('genes', plural of ) and ('geniuses', plural of ). In general, current usage usually prefers a single instead of a double or an with circumflex. Monosyllabic words generally lack an accent (e.g. , ). The accent is written, however, if there is an or a preceding another vowel (, ). This applies even if the is "silent", i.e. part of the digraphs or representing /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ (, ). It does not apply, however, if the word begins with (, ). Many monosyllabic words are spelled with an accent in order to avoid ambiguity with other words (e.g. , versus , ). This is known as ''accento distintivo'' and also occurs in other Romance languages (e.g. the Spanish ''tilde diacrítica'').


Sample text

"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la diritta via era smarrita." Lines 1–3 of Canto 1 of the Inferno, Part 1 of the ''
Divina Commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...
'' by
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...
, a highly influential poem. Translation (Longfellow): "Midway upon the journey of our life \ I found myself in a dark wood \ for the straight way was lost."


See also

*
Gian Giorgio Trissino Gian Giorgio Trissino (8 July 1478 – 8 December 1550), also called Giovan Giorgio Trissino and self-styled as Giovan Giωrgio Trissino, was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat, grammarian, linguist, and philosopher. ...
, humanist who proposed an orthography in 1524. Some of his proposals were taken. * Claudio Tolomei, humanist who proposed an orthography in 1525,


Notes


References

*


External links

* Danesi, Marcel (1996)
''Italian the Easy way''
{{Language orthographies Italian language Indo-European Latin-script orthographies