Using music as a language learning tool has been proven by various linguistic studies as being an efficient method for perfecting pronunciation in a foreign language (We’ve already shown you how to learn a language with music). Therefore, learn to speak Italian with songs from Andrea Bocelli is something that you are sure to find as interesting and useful as I do. In this article, I will share with you a pronunciation guide in Italian as well as a selection of songs from Andrea Bocelli so that you may practice and improve your pronunciation in Italian while you sing.

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Learn Italian With Songs

1. Italian Pronunciation

As this article is on learn to speak Italian with songs, you have to be able to read the lyrics. So here are a few things on the Italian writing system.
Italian, unlike English (fortunately), is a language with phonetic spelling, meaning that words are spelled the same way they are pronounced (with a few exceptions). This makes it rather easy for English speakers to learn how to write. However, you do have to learn the Italian sounds, which do differ from English. Out of which you can find:

Differences in The Italian Alphabet

The Italian alphabet only has 21 letters. It has all the same letters we have, except for the j, k, w, x and y. However, some borrowed words may keep the same spelling, such is the case with the word wireless.

  • A. The same a we find in the word lack
  • E. As in elephant (second e)
  • É. As in elephant (first e)
  • I. A shortened version of the double e found in street
  • O. As we would pronounce it in the word mock
  • U. Close to book
  • Q | /k/ The Q sounds just like our Q and always has the sound of the u that comes with it. Just remember to pronounce the Italian U, not the English one
  • R. Just as the Spanish R
  • Z. The Z is just like the English Z, but has a D sound right before it. It thus sounds like DZ

 

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Digraphs

There are some pronunciation rules in Italian regarding a few combinations of letters (we have those also, think of th, ph, and ch).
In this following list, you will see that, many times, e and i are treated differently than other vowels. We do so too when combining c+vowel. For example, case is said with a k sound, while lace is said with an s sound. In the list below, remember to pronounce all of the English translations (on the right) with the Italian vowel sounds described above.

  • Ca, che, chi, co, cu = ca, ke, ki, co, cu
  • Cia, ce, ci, cio, ciu = cha, che, chi, cho, chu
  • Scia, scie, sci, scio, sciu = sha, she, shi, sho, shu
  • Ga, ghe, ghi, go, gu = ga, (same sounds as for ga, but with an e), (same sound as for ga, but with an i), go, gu
  • Gia, ge, gi, gio, gio = gia, gie, gi, gio, giu
  • Gna, gne, gno, gni, gnu = (pronounce each gn as you would pronounce the n when saying the word canyon) na, ne, ne, ni, no, nu

Double consonants

  • Words that have the double consonants bb, cc, dd, ff, gg, and ll are pronounced with more emphasis.
  • In the case of mm, pp, qq, rr, ss, tt, vv, zz, however, it is pronounced for longer and the following vowel is pronounced briefly.
  • Similar to many English words, such as use, fuse, and lose (even more if you don’t live in the U.S.A, such as memorise and utilisation), words with a single s in between two vowels will have their s pronounced like an English z, in any other circumstance it should be pronounced as an s. So, casa is said caza (with an English z, not an Italian one), and cassa is pronounced casa.

2. Songs From Andrea Bocelli

Con te partirò

Here, are the Italian and English Lyrics.

Vivo per lei

Click here for the lyrics in the two languages.

Mille lune, mille onde

Here, you can find the lyrics in both Italian and English.

Bellissime stelle

Here are the lyrics in both languages.

3. Top 10 Songs for Learning Italian

  1. Perdono, Tiziano Ferro
  2. Partigiano reggiano, Zucchero
  3. Penso Positivo, Jovanotti
  4. L’essenziale, Marco Mengoni
  5. Strani Amori, Laura Pausini
  6. Grande Amore, Il Volo
  7. Vivere a colori, Alessandra Amoroso
  8. Quanti Anni Hai, Vasco Rossi
  9. Pes, Club Dogo Ft. Gulianno Palma
  10. Senza Riserva, Annalisa

I hope that this article on learn to speak Italian with songs from Andrea Bocelli helps you learn the language. If you want to know more about this learning tool, I invite you to read about the 5 steps to learn a language with music and the best websites for learning a language with music.

Happy learning!