ITALIAN/ITALIANO: pronoucing "ci" or "ce" ???

Question

i have this software that says ur supposed to press ur tongue hard against some part of ur upper mouth, then move it back sorta, to make the "ch" sound for "ci" and "ce" ---but i just do it like "ch" in "chow" so my teeth touch in the very beginning of the sound. am i doing it incorrectly?? please help, thx

Answer 1

Your teeth don't touch when you make the "ch" sound like in "ciao"/chow. It's a palatal affricate, which means that it's against your palate. It would be the hard or soft palate based on what sounds were near it. Like, if it were an "eeeee" sound, it would be closer to the front of your mouth, but if it were an "ahhhh" sound, it would be closer to the back.

An affricate is a combination of a tap and friction. Basically, it starts like a tap against the roof of your mouth and then turns quickly into a fricative (friction.)

There is some debate among us linguists as to whether it's a stop and then a fricative, or if it's some different combination entirely. I say it's something different entirely. It's a quick sound, made faster than if you tap and then do the friction.

Bottom line, if you make the "ch" sound like "chow", you're fine. There isn't another sound close enough to where you'd have to differentiate between them by how your tongue moves. If you say "ch", they'll understand you. If you really need to know how to say something, ask a native speaker to demonstrate. Don't rely too much on books, as descriptions aren't nearly as good as hearing sounds for yourself.

Answer 2

What attention to detail! That's awesome!

ci- chee
ce- chay

And yes, you're doing it right. The more you hear the language, the more you'll figure it out. Sometimes it helps to tape yourself and then listen to how you're really saying it. Buona Fortuna!

Answer 3

ci and ce are pronounced ”tsh” like chicken and check
cioccolata
ca co cu are pronounced ”k” like car corner and cuckoo, but
without air, without an ”h” after the k

che and chi however are pronounced like ”k”

you are welcome

Answer 4

ce- u pronounce it like k
yo e un italiano!