Pronunciation and Spelling
(Parnunsia e Ortografìa)

Vowels (Vocal)

The spelling system we use in these pages generally uses 7 letters (a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü) to denote its 8 vowels ([a], [], [e], [i], [], [ø], [u], [y]).

The letter a denotes a single sound, while the letter e may denote either an open [] (written è when it doesn't preceedes a double consonant - es: "quèst" but "quell") or a closed [e] sound (notice that the open vowel [] occurs in stressed syllables only); the pronunciation of the open and closed sounds may vary from one part of the region to the other.

The letters i and u, on the other hand, have vocal ([i] and [y]) and semivocal ([j] and [w]) values; moreover the letter i may be silent in its function to palatalize a preceding c, g, or sc.

Lombard vowels in word final position can be either short or long, and this difference is phonemic: fà to do is pronounced [fa], faa done (m) is pronounced [fa:], and fall to do it is pronounced [fal:].

Long vowels generally occurs in open syllables or in syllables whose coda is a single consonant.

The glide with which English vowels frequently end should be, anyway, avoided.

The approximate English equivalents are as follows:

• A is like a in the RP English word father, cf.:
amor m love;
argoment m matter;
bella adj.f. beautiful;
sala f hall;
sira, sera f evening.
Word finally, it may be pronounced [] in some non standard dialects.

• E has two pronunciations:
• it can be closed, sounding like e in the RP English word they (without the final i glide), cf.:

bév v to drink;
e conj and;
el art the;
ver m true.
• it can be open, sounding like e in the RP English word met (it occurs only in stressed syllable), cf.:

fèsta f party; holiday;
l’è v it is;
prèst adv soon;
vèrt m open.
In this second case it has to be written è, to contrast.

• I is used in 3 cases:
• to denote a vowel like i in machine, cf.:

liber m book;
ninoeu m child;
pin m pine;
vin m wine;
• to denote a semivowel [j] like y in yet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

fiamma f flame;
fiumm m river;
piüma f feather;
• the i is not pronounced in the combinations ci, gi, and sci when they are followed by a, o or u, unless the accent falls on the i; in these cases the letter i merely indicates that c, g and sc are palatalized and pronounced, respectively, like the English ch, j and sh, cf.:

arancia [a'ranta] f orange;
ciao [taw] interj hello! bye!;
giornal [dur'nal] m newspaper;
giust ['dyst] adj just, right;
lassà [la'sa] v to leave;
scienza ['ensa] f science.
• NB! The stressed i, however, is pronounced:

biologìa [bjulu'dija] f biology;
busìa [by'zia] f lie.

• O can have only an open sound, like o in the RP English word or. Notice that it occurs only in stressed syllables: in unstressed syllables it becomes [u], cf.:
mòda f fashion;
nò adv no;
pòsta f mail;
tòga f toga.
• to denote a vowel like u in RP English boot, cf.:

mond m world;
on art a;
ora f hour.

Remember that o has never the sound of English Oh!, found in Italian.

• U is used in 2 cases:
• to denote a semivowel [w] like w in wet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

guèra f war.
• as French u or German ü, cf.:

fumm m smoke;
lus f light;
mur m wall;
uga f grapes.

• OEU is like French oeu. It occurs only in stressed syllables; cf.:
foeura adv outside;
incoeu adv today;
moeuri v I die;
voeuri v I want.
• In unstressed position oeu becomes o, cf.:

moeuri v I die => morì v to die.

Elision (Elision)

The hiatus to be avoided, some function words drop their vowel before a word beginning with another
vowel. In these cases the apostrophe (l'apostruf) is generally used to indicate this dropping, cf.:

el amis => l’amis the friend (male);
la amisa => l’amisa the friend (female);
ona universitaa => on’universitaa a university;
de Italia => d’Italia of Italy.

Consonants (Consonant)

The consonants b, f, m, n, v are pronounced as in English.

The other consonants need special treatment.

Remember that all final stops are devoiced.

• C has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant, it is like the English k, cf.:

can m dog;
cred v to believe;
cuna f cradle;
cont prep with.
This sound is written ch at the end of the word, cf.:
coeuch m chef;
vacch fpl cows (plural of vaca).
• before e or i it is like the English sound ch in chest, cf.:

cena f supper;
cent num a hundred;
cima f peak;
cìnema m cinema.
This sound is simply written c at the end of the word. See also mute i.

• D is somewhat more explosive than in English, with the tongue near the tip of the upper teeth but with no aspiration, cf.:
danee m money;
data f date;
devet v [you] (sg) must;
dòna f woman.

• G has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant it is as in the English word go, cf.:

gamba f leg;
gòma f eraser;
grand adj great;
gust m taste.
This sound is, as usual, devoiced at the end of the word, and is written gh.
• before e or i it is like the j in English jam, cf.:

gelaa m ice cream;
gent f people;
gita f outing;
pàgina f page.
This sound is, as usual, devoiced at the end of the word, and is written g. See also mute i.

• H is always silent; it is used in few words, mainly foreign names, cf.:
ahi! interj ouch!;
hotel m hotel.
• A better rendering for these words would be:

ai! interj ouch!;
hotel m hotel.

• L is sharper and more forward in the mouth than in English, similar to l in link, cf.:
luna f moon;
longh adj long;
lus f light;
òli m oil.

• P is as in English, but without the aspiration that sometimes accompanies this sound in English, cf.:
pan m bread;
pever m pepper
post m place;
pont m bridge.

• Q is always followed by a consonantic u [w] and this combination is pronounced like the English qu in quest, cf.:
quader m picture;
qual adj which;
quant adv how much; when;
quèst pron this.

• R is pronounced with one flip of the tongue against the gums of the upper teeth. This is the trilled r and it is different from the English r; cf.:
albergh m hotel;
art m art;
ora f hour;
orelògg m watch.

• S has two pronunciations:
• between vowels or before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v it is like the English z in zoo, cf.:

faseva v he did;
sbaj m mistake;
sgridà v to scold;
svelt adj quick.
• in all the other cases it is like the English s in set; notice that this sound, when found between vowels, is written ss; cf.:

passà v to pass;
saltà v to jump;
stanza f room;
stuvaa adj stew.

• T is approximately the same as in English, but no escaping of breath accompanies it in Lombard, cf.:
carta f paper;
fèsta f party;
matida f pencil;
tutt adj all.

• J is approximately the same as y in English yet, cf.:
àj m garlic;
fioeu m son;
mèj adj better;
iér adv yesterday.

Consonantic Digraphs

• CH (found only before e or i and word finally) is like the English [k], cf.:
anca adv also;
che conj that;
chi pron who;
perchè adv because.

• GH has two pronunciations:
• before e or i it is like the [g] in get, cf.:

ghe pron to him;
ghett m ghetto;
• word finally it is pronounced [k], cf.:

lagh m lake;
magh m magician.

• GN is approximately like the English ny in canyon, cf.:
bagn m bath;
gnecch adj weary;
ignorant adj ignoramus;
vegnì v [I] come.

• SC has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, or u is like the English sk in ask, cf.:

scoltà v to listen;
pèsca f peach;
scalopin fpl cutlets;
scarpa f shoe;
• before e and i and word finally is like the sound sh in shell, cf.:

ascia f axe;
omasc m bad man.

• SCH occurs only before e or i or word finally, and is pronounced like the English sk, cf.:
disch m disk; record;
fiasch mpl flasks;
scheda f card;
schisc adj flat.

• S’C occurs only before e or i or word finally, and is pronounced like the sound of English s in see followed by the sound of ch as found in cheat, cf.:
mas’c m man;
s’ciopà v to die;
s'cèna f scene;
s'cendar f ash.

• S’G occurs only before e or i or word finally (where it is pronounced as s’c), and is pronounced like the sound of English s in see followed by the sound of j as found in jet, cf.:
s’gelà v to thaw.