Although there is no strict rule, in most Italian words the accent or stress falls on the penultimate syllable. But for this rule there are too many exceptions. In Italian, only vowels have accents.

Though arguably for Spanish may be a tad easier. Italian has far more irregular verbs to memorise, and the symbols you see on Spanish words actually tell you how a word is pronounced, whereas Italian pronunciation can be more of a guessing game.

You can expect to need between 24 and 36 weeks of lessons to get that far. So, that’s six to eight months to learn Italian from zero to working-in-an-office level. If you have the time and the motivation.

10 Tips for Becoming Fluent in the Italian Language

1. Fluency.
2. Don’t stress about grammar. (Non stressarti per la grammatica.)
3. Play the role. (Recita la parte.)
4. Be patient. (Sii paziente.)
5. Read, read, read! (Leggi, leggi, leggi!)
6. Build your vocabulary.
7. Write your “to-do” list in Italian.
8. Surf youtube.

The difference between the Italian accents is simply the pronunciation of the vowel. The downward stroking or grave accent indicates a closed sound, where the upwards stroking or acute accent indicates an open sound.

1 Answer. The standard pronunciation of Italian ci (unless there is a s before it) is /tʃi/ (which is approximately like the initial sounds of English word “cheap”).

Double ‘c’ is pronounced as a ‘k’ except when followed by ‘i’ or ‘e’. Also you must make the double consonant obvious by holding the sound for a second.

Certain consonant clusters have special sounds in Italian. Their pronunciation changes when they come together and form one syllable (monosyllabic clusters). CE, CI, CIA, CIE, CIO, CIU While ca, co and cu are pronounced as in English, ce and ci have a soft sound (palatal pronunciation), like in English che and chi.