It is quite amazing how the United States is already becoming a country of two languages. One official: English. One unofficial: Spanish.

There is a growing trend among companies in the US to support Spanish speaking customers. For instance, many cell phone companies offer an option for English or Spanish on their phone prompt menus. This can only be because a large portion of their billable clients are Spanish speakers.

While some choose to simply feel annoyed by this trend, others are willing to embrace learning a new language.

In Europe it is really no big deal to be multi-lingual.

Health wise, there are actually studies that show you are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s or at least stave off the effects of the disease until later if you know more than one language. Does that mean that language learning is exercise for the brain?

It’s an interesting thought. Maybe it is time to learn Spanish?

Read More About Learning Spanish By Clicking On This Text.

These are just my ‘all things pondered’ thoughts for the day. Comment below or sign up to be alerted to new posts.

Also, I’ve been using Rosetta Stone to learn a different language, but you can also use Read About Using It for Spanish Too.

Sincerely,

David Snape
http://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com
http://www.tobeinformed.com
913-269-6952
Author: What You Should Know about Gum Disease
ISBN: 978-0981485508

This is a continuation of the article: Learning Italian Vowels and Consonants – Part 1

P sounds as it does in English, but without the aspiration, which sometimes happens in English.

Qu sounds as it does in English like in the word quest.

R is very different from the English; it is pronounced with one flip of the tongue against the gums of the upper teeth. This will make the trill sound of the r.

S before vowels and unvoiced consonants such as c, f, p, q, s, t is pronounced like the s in the English word rose.

T is pretty much like the T in English, but with no escaping of breath to go along with it in the Italian.

Z can be voiced, like ds in beds, or it can be voiceless, like ts in bets.

All Italian consonants have a corresponding double consonant, whose pronunciation is similar to, but not exactly like the single consonant. The mispronunciation of the double consonants can result in miscommunication.

Italian is known as a musical language because every sound is clear and distinct but stays soft rather than hard. The consonants will never lose their sound value even when linked together with syllables and words.

When they say Italian is a phonetic language, they mean it is spoken the way it is written. Italian and English share the Latin alphabet, but the pronunciation of each letter differs between the two languages.
Don’t you wonder how all of these languages that share the same alphabet became so different in countries that are so close together?

Scott Wells suggests Learning Italian Today!

Pronouncing Italian Vowels

The correct pronunciation in Italian can be difficult for some beginners. Yet it is standard and stays the same. Once the rules are understood it is simple to pronounce each word correctly. Here are some step by step instructions on how to pronounce the Italian vowels.

A – sounds like a in father
E – has two sounds: short vowel like e in pen and the long vowel similar to ai in fair
I – sounds like ea in tea.
O – has two sounds: like o in cozy or similar of o in cost
U – sounds like u in rude.

Italian vowels are always spoken in a sharp, clear fashion; they should never be slurred or pronounced weakly. Vowels always keep their value in diphthongs. Italian is a phonetic language. This means it is spoken exactly the way it is written. Italian and English use the same Latin alphabet, but the sounds by the letters are different in the two languages.

 Pronouncing Italian Consonants

In Italian pronunciation can be difficult especially for beginners Yet much like the vowels the sound each consonant makes is a regular sound and remains the same, so once the rules are understood, it is simple to pronounce the words correctly. Here are the step by step instructions on the way the consonants are pronounced in Italian.

The consonants B, F, M, N, and V are pronounced exactly as they are in English.
When the C is before a, o, u and before a consonant it has the sound similar to the English letter K. When the C comes before the e and I it sounds very similar to the English sound of the Ch.

D is much more explosive in Italian than it is in English; with the tongue near the tip of the upper teeth but with no aspiration.

When G comes before a, o, and u and before consonants it sounds like the g in good; when it comes before e and i it sounds like the g in general.

Gli sounds like ll in million and Gn sounds like the ny in canyon.

The H in Italian is silent.

The L sounds like it does in English except with a sharper tone and more forward in the mouth.

Author: Scott Wells suggests Learning Italian Today

Italian may be the best of the romantic languages. It is such an expressive and beautiful language complete with powerful hand movements.

Click here to Start Learning Italian

In fact, it is a requirement to speak Italian with your hands! No, just kidding, but you sure would think that wouldn’t you?

Much effort has been taken to keep Italian pure and to keep it from devolving into a ‘blended’ language as you may see happening with other languages.

Therefore it is important to be exposed to native Italian speakers (or as close as you can get). But you still need training.

Many people swear by the Rosetta Stone Method.

There are many other decent methods out there. But, when talking to people who have tried the Rosetta stone way, they nearly all agree that not only did it work, but that it is probably the best.

When you attempt to learn a language, you want to succeed. Perhaps it is best to go with the program that has the best chance of making you successful.

Click here to Start Learning Italian

 Learn Italian from Amazon 

Can you remember a time when you overheard a convesation in another language and really, really wished you knew what was being said?

I have. I still do. I have friends that speak a foreign language and sometimes they forget I’m there and speak in their native tongue. I’m left wondering, or trying to figure out what they are saying.

Woudn’t it be great if we had some device that could instantly translate foreign languages for us?

You bet it would!!!

At least we can solve the reading problem. Really? Yes!

See those flags at the top of the page up there. Click on one of them and this entire site will be translated to that language.

What does that mean? It means that people that speak Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, French, German and Porteguese can all read this entire blog. Actually, they can read this entire site, including the forums and the article directory!

This is cool stuff. People from all over the world can read this site in their native language.

If you speak another language click on the corresponding flag above and check it out!

Some people reading this have websites too. And I know that you might want to know how you can have the same thing for your website. Guess what? You CAN!!

Here is the translation software I use.

Leave your comments and thoughts below.

- Dave

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