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Are you a native Italian speaker who:
- struggles with American English vowels, like the tense EE /i/ in beat and the relaxed IH /ɪ/ in bit?
- has trouble speaking American English smoothly, with natural linking and flow?
- isn't sure how to pronounce the H /h/ consonant in American English? (Is it silent? Do I say it?)
American English Pronunciation for Italian Speakers: Top 5 Pronunciation Challenges
Below are the five challenges I hear most often from my Italian-speaking students. Read what happens with each one, then practice with my free video lessons.
And don't forget to download your free Guidebook to the Sounds of American English, too!
Italian Challenge #1: The EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels
The EE /i/ vowel in beat and the IH /ɪ/ vowel in bit are very common in American English. Italian has EE /i/, but it does not have IH /ɪ/, and that's where the difficulty comes from.
EE /i/, as in beat, is a long, tense vowel. You can feel the tension: say "eee" with your hand under your chin. Do you feel the muscles there tighten?
Download a free PDF: How to Pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels
IH /ɪ/, as in bit, is a short, lax vowel. Your muscles stay relaxed when you say it. With your hand under your chin, you shouldn't feel any tension at all. IH should feel very different from EE.
Many Italian speakers say the relaxed IH /ɪ/ like the tense EE /i/. So bit can sound like beat, and similar (sih-mih-ler) can sound like "see-mee-lar."
How to Pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels in American English
The biggest difference between EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ is tension. For IH /ɪ/, relax your mouth and tongue. Use a mirror to check that you stay relaxed. Then say the tense EE /i/ and add as much tension as you can. Can you feel the difference?
To learn how to pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ vowels, watch the videos below, or read my lessons: How to Pronounce the EE /i/ Vowel; How to Pronounce the IH /ɪ/ Vowel; EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels: Minimal Pairs Listening Quiz.
Italian Challenge #2: Adding Final Vowels Between Words
American English words and syllables can end in many ways: with a consonant, a consonant cluster (two or more consonants together), or a vowel. In Italian, most words and syllables end in a vowel. So Italian speakers often add a little "uh" after a final consonant in English. That's why stop, want, and kick can sound like "stop-uh," "want-uh," and "kick-uh."
How to Stop Adding Vowels in American English
The best fix is to practice linking: how words connect to each other in American English. When you link a final consonant smoothly into the next word, there's no room for the extra vowel, and your speech sounds smoother.
To start learning the main types of linking, watch the videos below, or read my lessons: Consonant to Consonant Linking; All About the Flap /ɾ/ (aka Flap T); Vowel to Vowel Linking.
Italian Challenge #3: The H /h/ Consonant
The H /h/ consonant can be tricky for Italian speakers. In Italian, the "h" is always silent, so it's natural to keep it silent in English, too. But in American English, the rules aren't as simple.
Sometimes the "h" is silent, like in honest and hour. But much more often, you pronounce it, like in hello, history, and upheld. Without the /h/, hello sounds like "ello." That probably won't confuse anyone, but it can distract the listener from your message: "Where is this person from?"
In everyday conversation, though, some words do lose their "h": the pronouns he, him, her, his, and hers, and the word have when it's a helping verb.
When these pronouns are unstressed, the /h/ often drops, so he sounds like "ee" and her sounds like "er." You'll hear this in sentences like Is he busy? and Give it to her.
The /h/ also often drops from have in phrases like could have, would have, should have, and might have.
How to Pronounce the H /h/ Consonant in American English
There are two ways to make the H /h/ consonant. The first is in your throat: gently narrow the space between your vocal cords and let the air flow out, with your tongue relaxed. This is how I make it.
The second is with the back of your tongue: gently squeeze the back of your tongue toward your soft palate.
I don't recommend the second way. If you squeeze your tongue too much, the H sounds heavy and tight. The American H is light. It barely shapes the air as it moves through your throat and mouth.
To learn how to pronounce the H /h/ consonant, and when to drop it from pronouns, watch the videos below, or read my lessons: How to Pronounce the H /h/ Consonant; English Rhythm: Pronoun Reductions; Top 10 Reductions of the Word "Have".
Italian Challenge #4: Final -s and -ed Endings
Italian is a phonetic language: words are usually pronounced the way they're spelled. American English isn't, so pronunciation can feel like a guessing game.
The -s and -ed endings are especially tricky, because the same spelling can be pronounced in different ways. For example, plays, cats, and watches all end in -s, but the -s sounds different in each word!
How to Pronounce Final -s and -ed Endings in American English
How you pronounce -s and -ed depends on the last sound of the base word (the word without any ending). Find the base word first, then use these rules.
Here are the rules for the -s ending:
- -s sounds like /s/ after a voiceless sound (except S /s/, SH /ʃ/, and CH /ʧ/): cats, ships, kicks.
- -s sounds like /z/ after a voiced sound (except Z /z/, ZH /ʒ/, and J /ʤ/): shoes, dogs, loves.
- -s becomes its own syllable, /ɪz/, after S /s/, Z /z/, SH /ʃ/, ZH /ʒ/, CH /ʧ/, and J /ʤ/: classes, watches, pushes.
Here are the rules for the -ed ending:
- -ed sounds like /t/ after a voiceless sound (except /t/): kissed, typed, looked.
- -ed sounds like /d/ after a voiced sound (except /d/): traveled, bragged, applied.
- -ed becomes its own syllable, /ɪd/, after /t/ or /d/: voted, divided, graded.
To learn how to pronounce the -s and -ed endings, watch the videos below, or read my lessons: Pronounce the Past Tense Like a Native Speaker; Never Delete This Sound!; Speak Smooth and Easy English Using the Flap T.
Italian Challenge #5: The TH /θ, ð/ Consonants
The TH /θ, ð/ consonants don't exist in Italian, so they can be hard to say in English. Many Italian speakers use /t/ or /d/ instead. So the, this, and that sound like "duh," "dis," and "dat," and think, thing, and three sound like "tink," "ting," and "tree."
This usually won't confuse an American listener very much, but it can make them notice your accent more than your message.
How to Pronounce the TH /θ, ð/ Consonants in American English
For TH /θ, ð/, let the tip of your tongue come out a little between your upper and lower teeth. Close your teeth lightly to keep it in place (no biting!). Keep your tongue wide. The air flows out over the top of your tongue, where it touches your upper teeth. Your cheeks gently push the corners of your lips toward each other.
TH /θ/ is voiceless: only air comes out, with no vocal cord vibration. This is the "th" in think, thing, and three. TH /ð/ is voiced: your vocal cords vibrate. This is the "th" in the, this, and that.
To learn how to pronounce the TH /θ, ð/ consonants, watch the videos below, or read my lessons: How to Pronounce the TH /θ, ð/ Consonants; Place, Manner, and Voicing of the American English Consonants; English Made Easy: The TH /θ, ð/ Sound.
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Nicky found her own voice in English, and her confidence grew a lot.