How to Speak With a Fake Italian Accent

Last Updated: March 22, 2023

Whether it is for acting, or just to pull a prank at some friends, this article will instruct you how to re-create an Italian accent!

Things You Should Know

Start by modifying your vowels: a sounds like "ah," e sounds like "eh," i sounds like "ee," and u sounds like "oo."
Elongate double consonants in words like "azzurro," "pollo," etc. For example, you'd pronounce "better" as "bet-ter" rather than "bedder."
Speak in very simple English phrases to create the illusion that you aren't fluent in English.
End questions with "no?" to sound like an Italian native.

Steps

1
Start by modifying your vowels. Italian vowels are different than English vowels, and each letter stands distinctly as one sound.^{[1]
X
Research source}It may sound complicated, but it isn't.
- A sounds like the ä in "Father"
- E is pronounced like è in "Vendor"
- I like ï in "Naive"
- U is ù as in "Goo".
2
Blend your "th". Many Italians have some difficulty in pronouncing the English "th", and so pronounce it as either "t" (as in "Think"), or "d" (as in "The"), respectively.^{[2]
X
Research source}

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3
Use simple English. Since you are pretending to be a foreigner your working knowledge of the vocabulary would not be complete.
4
Elongate double consonants. In Italian, words such as "Azzurro", "Pollo", or other words with double consonants are pronounced twice as long as single consonants.^{[3]
X
Research source} Thus, it would be "Bet-ter" and not "bedder".
5
End questions with "no?". This is an optional step, and obviously not done every time. The Italian language uses it, and thus, Italians are familiar with it. Example: "You are going later, no?"
6
Italians often drop the 'h' from the beginning of words.^{[4]
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Research source}
7
Occasionally mistake certain sounds. Be careful with this one, as too much of it will make you pretentious! But if you want to, remember this:
- GL is LL (as in "Million")
- GN is ñ (as in "Canyon")

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Community Q&A

Question

What if I want to speak the language?

Community Answer

Learn the language first, and then you can start adding the accent. You can also learn the language and the accent at the same time.
Question

What if I don't live near Italians?

Community Answer

You can talk to Italian people online, watch Italian videos or take Italian lessons.
Question

How do I say boyfriend?

Community Answer

You pronounce "boy" as you would in English, except you exaggerate the "o". The "friend” becomes “fren”, with a subtle “d” sound. To make the subtle “d” sound, curve your tongue upward rather than downward in pronunciation.

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Warnings

Do not exaggerate too much! As "Italian" as you may sound, exaggeration will only result in incomprehensible speech.

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Never try to fool the native speakers. Italians will instantly mark you negatively.

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Use responsibly. For example, read this article to prepare for a theater play.

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Italian people may get offended. Use with caution.

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References

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 37 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 323,500 times.

292 votes - 73%

Co-authors: 37

Updated: March 22, 2023

Views: 323,500

Categories: World Languages

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