It is the kindness of Italians when you stumble through a few words of their language that I love about Italy. Sometimes, a taxi driver or shopkeeper will give you a concise but coherent sentence and you are praised like someone who has just memorized Dante. Although the overwhelming positive responses seem completely out of my grasp of Italian, it is an invaluable confidence booster that keeps me returning for more.
But, not when it comes down to calling on the phone.
To keep my linguistic skills in order, I will gladly have a conversation with my taxi driver. However, I will not make or receive a telephone call in Italian. I don’t rely on reading lips, but I am not looking at the driver when I sit in the back of the taxi. It may be physical because Italians speak with all their bodies. But most of it is due the speed at which they talk.
After all that, it is sometimes necessary to pick up the phone in Italy for travelers – like me – who are traveling there from other countries. After you have convinced the person on the other side of the phone that you really, truly need them to speak slower, the next obstacle is one you probably aren’t prepared for: Spelling.
My last name is so complicated that I must spell it over the phone every day at home. “S as in Sam,” I repeat, followed by “P as in Paula” in Italian. This is why the Italian spelling alphabet or Italian phonetic alphabet is available.
The spelling alphabet will be covered in a moment. But first, you must know the Italian alphabet. It is different from the English alphabet. It only contains 21 letters, with pronunciations in parentheses.
| A | kah) | Q (coo |
| B – (bees) | I | reh) |
| C | L (EH | leh) | S (EH | seh) |
| D | meh) | T |
| E eh | N (EH | neh) | U oo |
| feh) | O | V (vee or voo) |
| G [jee] | P – (pee). | tah) |
Although the letters J, K and W are not in the Italian alphabet you will see them everywhere in words that were introduced from other languages or dialects. These five letters also have their own pronunciations:
- gah)
- K – kappa (KAH | pah)
- yah voo or vee)
- X– icks
- kah or EEP
Even if you have this or another pronunciation guide, M can still sound a lot like N on the phone. This is when the Italian spelling alphabet is needed.
Italian people use city names wherever possible. These are not the only ones that are commonly used. You can substitute “Savona” for “Siena” by using “Salerno” or “Salerno”. You will also find that it is possible to understand the five non-Italian letters without using one of these prompts.
meh. Each phrase will have its pronunciation listed below, which includes both the letter as well as the word.
|
A, come Ancona (ah / ahn | KOH | nah) |
J, have a jolly gah / JAW |
S, come Savona (EH | seh / sah | VOH | nah) |
|
B, come Bari ree) |
K, come kursaal (KAH | pah / koor | SAL) ** |
T, Torino REE |
|
C, come Como moh) |
L, come Livorno leh / lee |
U, come Udine (oo / OO | dee | neh) |
|
D, come Domodossola moh |
M, come Milano (EH | meh / mee | LAH | noh) |
V, come Venezia (vee or voo / veh | NET | zee | ah) |
|
E, Empoli poh |
N, come Napoli (EH | neh / NAH | poh | lee) |
W. Come Washington yah voo or vee / WAH |
|
F, come Firenze (EH | feh / fee | REN | zeh) |
O, come Otranto (oh / oh | TRAHN | toh) |
X, come xilofono (eeks / see | LOH | foh | noh) |
|
G, come Genova (jee / JEH | noh | vah) |
P, come Palermo LEHR |
Y, come yogurt kah or EEP |
|
H, hotel (AH | kah / OH | tel) |
Q, come quarto toh) |
Z, come Zara (ZEH | tah / ZAH | rah) |
|
I, come Imola moh |
R, Roma reh / ROH |
* The “jolly” (or what the Italians refer to as the “joker”) in a deck is a card that contains a number of playing cards.
** “Kursaal” is a German word.
+ These are English words. You don’t have to know how they sound. Except that Italians pronounce them slightly differently. You may not be able to understand an Italian if you speak “yogurt” and “Washington” the same way as you do in English.
Super-Handy Bonus Phrases to Talk on the Phone
- “Io non parlo Italiano molto bene.” – I don’t speak Italian very well.
- “Parla lentamente per favore” – Please speak slowly.
More Language Nerdery in the Internet Age
It’s not technically possible to use the letter W in Italian. Also, it isn’t always spelled out aloud – “doppiavoo voo voo” – so imagine the collective groaning in Italy when it was discovered that all web addresses had to begin with “www.” However, the Italians have a clever way of putting the beginning of each web address. Instead of saying “doppia doppia doppia voivoo voo,” they just say “voo vao voo.” Next time you ride in an Italian taxi with the radio on, listen out!
