Pronunciation - Part 1

Pronunciation - Part 2

For a list of all words used in the Pronunciation sections click here

The rules we have given apply to isolated words, in actual speech, or when reading a text, though, in Neapolitan as in other languages (for instance, French and Catalan) there is a running together in pronunciation of words closely linked within a given sentence. It is the word-group rather than the individual word that one usually has to consider as the unit of pronunciation. The final sound of a word is often modified by the initial sound of its neighbour (and sometime viceversa). Fluency in pronunciation depends essentially upon these liaisons.

Final o (which should be pronounced []) linked to the following word (beginning with a consonant) is pronounced instead like u [u]; in the same position final e (which also should be pronounced []) is pronounced like i [i].

Exx.: Bello guaglione [,bllugwa'jone] (beautiful boy); Belle guaglione [,blliggwa'jone] (beautiful girls).

This can be reflected in spelling too (we can sometimes find actually written bellu guaglione or belli gguaglione, for instance).

In other cases a vowel in final position can be elided in front of a word beginning with vowel.

Study the following passage of Neapolitan prose with the phonetic transcription. Read it aloud several times, at first sentence by sentence and then as a whole, paying attention to word stress and liaison. This text is presented elsewhere in this web site, check there for an English translation.

Do not worry if it seems difficult at first, keep trying and come back here after having gone through some more lessons.

Text:

Chisto sitio sta addedecato ô Reame d’‘e Ddoje Sicilie
[,kistu'sitjo ,staddd'kat ore'am ded,dojsi'tilj]

ll’antico Stato ndipennente e sovrano ‘e ll’Italia d’‘o sudd
[llan,tiku,stat ndipn,nentsso'vran ,elli'talj do'sudd].

Tutt’‘e solde d’‘o Tesoro d’‘o Stato d’‘e Ddoje Sicilie fujeno arrobbate e carriate ô nord.
[,tutte'sold ,dot,sordo'stat ded,dojsi'tilj ,fujnarrob'bat,kkar,rjato,nord]

Se carriarono ô nord perzí ‘e machinarie d’‘e ffàbbriche napulitane
[skar,rjarno'nord per'tsi,mmaki,narj df'fabbrik ,nnapuli'tan]

e lloco nascettero dapò ‘e nnústrie d’‘o Piemonte, d’‘a Lombardia e d’‘a Ligúria
l'lok na'tter da'p ,en'nustrj ,dopi'mont,dalumbar'di ,ddali'gurj

chello ca dóppo chiammarono ‘o triàngulo nnustriale
,kelluka'ropp kjam'marn o,trjangulnnu'strjal]

A tutto chesto s’ha da jógnere ‘a depressione econòmica ca fuje causata d’‘a pulítica culunizzatrice d’‘e guverne “unitarie nazziunale”.
[at,tuttu'chest sad,da'jor ,adprs,sjoneco'nmic ka,fujkau'sat dapu,litikkulunittsa'trit ,dgu'vrn uni'tarj nattsju'nal.]

Ogge ‘e ccose nun songo cagnate, ‘o sudd è na colonia d’‘o nord, sottosviluppato e povero e ‘a migrazzione cuntínua ... .
[,ggek'kos nun,sogka'at osud,dnaku'lonjdo,nord ,sottsvilup,patp'povr ,amigrat'tsjon kun'tinw ...

‘e meridiunale (napulitane e siciliane), pe ffaticà, hann'a stà appriparate a jí luntano d’‘e ccase lloro)
,emeridju'nal (,napuli'tan ,ssitiljan) ,pffati'ka anna,stappripa'rat a,illun'tan dekkasl'lor]