Sidenote: Midnight/Dawn Italian with Whitney

I'm just going to try to consolidate and paraphrase my Italian so far.


Alphabet things:

Letter | italian pronunciation {Lazy American pronunciation}

A | a {ah}
B | bi {bee}
C | ci {chee}
D | di {dee}
E | e {eh}
F | efe {ehf-feh} it's more of a softer "eh" than "ay"
G | gi {jee}
H | acca {ahk-kah}
I | i {ee}
L | elle {ehl-leh}
M | emme {ehm-meh}
N | enne {ehn-neh}
O | o {oh (I have noticed it seems a bit more open than our super OWE noise. It's like that song GLOOORRIAAA or if of and off had a baby. There's jsut more of a jaw opening than our direct cheerio sound)}
P | pi {pee}
Q | cu {coo}
R | erre {ehr*-reh}
S | esse {ehs-seh}
T | ti {tea}
U | oo {ooh}
V | vu {vooh}
Z | zeta {zeh-tah}

Words not in the Italian alphabet:
J | ilunga {ee-loon-gah}
K | ka {kah}
X | ixe {eeks-eh}W | dochia vu {dohkyah vooh}
Y | ipsilon {eep-seelon (like long without "g")}


USING THAT JANK:

Some common things to try to keep you from sounding painfully American when reading out of you dorky Italian dictionary**:
 **No Italian dictionary? I have one for the both of us.

C
ca & co: totes chill. Pronounce like "k"
capo, cotone, contento

ci & ce: pronounce the "c" like "ch"
cervo, cena, cibo, cielo (you will say this like che-llo, because the i sort of smushes into the "ch" sound)
bicicleta

G 
go & ga: just like you think it would be.
gusto

gi & ge: pronounce like "j" 
Giovanni (similar rule with i as in "ch" sound),  geografia

gn: just like Spanish ñ
cognome
 
gl: my notes say this sound is silent. I don't know how reliable my notes are there because I missed the first class and I probably copied them weird. It is said they are silent, but I notice a slight sound when they are present, like in "glug" if you were to mouth it. I don't know if that makes sense.

foglio

S 
se & sa, sco & sca: normal "s"
salve, scarpa

sci & sce: "sh" sound
scena, liscio, pesce
 
one "s" between two vowels: "z"
rosa

T
Just a note on pronouncing "t" in Italian: don't make it such a harsh, sharp tone like we do in English. Making a "t" sound in Italian is soft. Try putting your tongue right at the top back of your front teeth when making t sounds. Americans really get made fun of for the "t" thing.

 Z
This one isn't incredibly groundbreaking, but it alternates between a "dz" sound and a "ts" sound. I think it depends on where it is in the word, but I can't find my notes from that day. I'll have to get back with you there. 
zaino {dzai-no}, grazie {grats-yeh}   

QUICK PHRASES:
 
Ciao, mi chiamo {kyah-mo} Bailey. Comé ti chiami?
Mi chiamo Whitney, piacere {pyahchereh}.

Come stai? (Formal: Come sta?)
Bene, e tu?

Bene fine
Molto bene very good
Benissimo friggin' awesome
abbastanza bene alright
cosi cosi eh, so-so 



per favore please
grazie/prego

 
Greetings
Formal
Buongiorno hello
Buonasera good afternoon
Arrivederci  goodbye

Informal
Ciao
Domani see you tomorrow
Presto see you soon
Puí tarde see you later (today)  


Alright, well I fell asleep and got lazy writing this and now I have to get ready for my 9am. I hope this gives you enough information to at least start figuring out some words and not have accent insecurity. Expect a post sometime today that will hopefully make up for the brief posts prior. CIAO ;D (ew).