22. Double The Consonant! (Culture Shot) Learn Italian with Podcasts at LearnItalianPod

22. Double The Consonant! (Culture Shot)

October 7th, 2007

PDF Transcript - Dialogue - Expansion - Glossary - Quiz

Double The Consonant! - Raddoppia La Consonante!

In this episode we’ll talk about something that’s very specific to the Italian language, that is, the pronunciation of double consonants. We’ll see how to avoid some funny mistakes people can do if they don’t pay attention to it. And, to make it “stick”, we’re going to use rhymes and a little bit of poetry, like Jane’s elementary teacher, ms. Piotta, used to do. Thanks, ms. Piotta, your rhymes are still useful after all these years!

Culture Shot - Episode Nr. 22

Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (right-click, save as)

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Culture Shot. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to "22. Double The Consonant! (Culture Shot)"

Rosemarie Says:

October 7th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

Hi. Just wanted to tell you the subtitle in this episode is also “Arrivederci, Luciano”–not about double consonants or Ms. Piotta!

LearnItalianPod.com Says:

October 7th, 2007 at 8:35 pm

Rosemarie - thanks for pointing that out. It’s now OK. Grazie!

Giacomo Says:

October 10th, 2007 at 9:19 am

One of the best episodes ever. This one was really very helpful: thank you Jane and Massimo!

Umberto Says:

October 17th, 2007 at 7:06 am

Ah, double consonants. My most embarassing moment in Italian class came when we were going around the room telling each other where we lived.

I was trying to say that I live in a small house: una “casetta.” Unfortunately, it came out “cassetta.” I really don’t live in a box!! ;>

Rosina Says:

October 20th, 2007 at 7:37 am

I have just returned from Italy and visited Tirano in Lombardia. I heard about the townspeople of Baruffini who used to smuggle coffee and cigarettes over the Swiss border into Italy. These people, men and women, risked their lives to improve the lifestyles of their families. I thought this might be a topic for Culture Shot.

Mike McCoy Says:

November 30th, 2007 at 2:39 pm

In Italian, “CC” before an “i” or “e” is pronounced like “ch” in english, right? Are there any exceptions when “CC” in Italian is pronounced as a “K”??

LearnItalianPod.com Says:

December 1st, 2007 at 8:36 pm

Mike, as a general rule, “CC” is pronunced as a “K” before “a”, “o”, “u”, “hi”, “he” and as the English “CH” before “i” and “e”.

Examples:
“secca” - dry (female adj.) as “K”
“secco” - dry (male adj.) as “K”
“specchi” - mirrors as “K”
“secche” - dry (female plural adj) as “K”

“frecce” - arrows as “CH”
“fantocci” - puppets as “CH”

Chris Aleccia Says:

February 9th, 2008 at 11:32 am

My last name (Aleccia) is Sicilian in origin and some people have told me the ‘cc’ in my last name should be pronounced the ‘k’ sound.

While on my recent trip to Sicily and Italy it was consistently pronounced with a ‘ch’ sound.

Can anyone help make this clear?

LearnItalianPod.com Says:

February 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

The correct way to pronounce “Aleccia” in Italian is with “ch” sound. In order for the name to be pronounced with the “k” sound, it would have to be “Alecchia”.

Steve Aleccia Says:

February 16th, 2008 at 8:40 pm

Hi Chris,

We have teh same last name and I have been going through this for 42 years. I pronounce it like the the girls first name.

Ciao

TAKE THE VIDEO TOUR

TESTIMONIALS

• What Our Listeners Are Saying
• What The Media Is Saying

PRACTICE ITALIAN "THE ESPRESSO WAY"

The Turbo-Charged way of practicing Italian has finally arrived!

Get Yours Now!

VOTE FOR US!

Review and vote our podcast on iTunes. [Click the button below to visit the LearnItalianPod iTunes Homepage. Once there click "Write a Review"]

Vote for us at Podcast Alley. [Click the button below to vote]

LearnItalianPod