Italians are delighted at any attempts at their language and are willing to help you at pronouncing the words. Many Italians in larger cities know a great deal of English. Since they made an effort to learn our language, it is only polite that you make an attempt to learn their's. Besides, it can only help you in getting around and getting the things that you need.

To help with pronunciation here are the vowel sounds of the Italian language:

• a is said like "ah"
• e is said like "ay"
• i is said like "ee"
• o is said like "oh"
• u is said like "oo"

Another thing to keep in mind is that "ch" makes a "k" sound and "c" or "cc" makes a "ch" sound.

click next to go to useful phrases.