The capital's accent, familiar from film: ci between vowels softens to sh, l before a consonant becomes r — 'il cane' is 'er cane' — nd becomes nn, and gl becomes a plain y. It is relaxed and low, with a drawl on the stressed syllable.
Where: Rome and Lazio
Anything the spelling engine can transcribe, the accent can move. Slow it down to hear the shape.
Low, slow and drawled on the stressed syllable, with a falling tail. Rome speaks from the chest.
In the order the mouth applies them. Every before-and-after is playable — click the IPA. The pattern is the rule as the engine runs it, for the curious.
([iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ][ː̃]?) ?t͡ʃ(?=[iɪyʏeɛøœəɐæaɑɒɔoʊuʌɤɵɚɨɯ]) → $1ʃWhen: between vowels, including across a word boundary
How: Skip the t: go straight to sh.
Deaffrication. The stop drops out of the affricate and only the hiss is left. 'Dieci' is 'dieshi'.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| dieci | |||
| pace | |||
| la cena |
l(?=[pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]| [pbtdkɡqʔmnɲŋɴfvθðszʃʒɕʂʐçxχɣʁħʕhβʝlʎɹrɾjwɥʈɖɳɽʋɦ]) → rWhen: before a consonant, including across the article boundary
How: A quick tap of the tongue where the l would be.
Rhotacism. 'Er' for 'il' is the single most Roman sound there is.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| alto | |||
| il cane | |||
| molto |
nd → nnHow: Hold the n across both beats.
Assimilation: the d gives up and joins the n. 'Quanno' for 'quando'.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| quando | |||
| mondo | |||
| grande |
ʎː? → jjThe palatal l of the standard flattens to a doubled y. 'Figlio' is 'fiyyo'.
| Word | Reference | Accent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| figlio | |||
| famiglia | |||
| meglio |
Other accents of Italian: Standard Italian · Neapolitan · all accents