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[Facts] Re: Italian Pronunciation of Giacomo
Thanks, guys (esp. Christo for the detailed explanation). So does that mean the first syllable is ALWAYS stressed in Italian? Does that make Giovanni (JO-vahn-ee) rather than (jo-VAHN-ee)? I'm a little confused here.
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Re: Giovanni: It sounds different in Italian because of the accent, so it isn't as straightforward as one syllable over the other. It comes out like JYO-VAAHN-nee. The first syllable is stressed, the second syllable is dragged out for a longer time, with the 'n' from the second syllable bleeding into the third syllable.
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Question: So does that mean the first syllable is ALWAYS stressed in Italian?Answer: No, it doesn't. I had in mind the following: the stress in Italian usually preserves its postion in Latin. Actually, there are no rules for the stress position in Italian, but there are such rules for Latin. E.g., the last sylable cannot be stressed (for more precisity, enclitic additions (-quo, -que) are considered to be the last sylables).About Giovanni: It is "jo-VAHN-nee" in Italian since it was "io-HAN-nes" (Iohannes) in Latin.
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There are a few exceptions, thought, like cittá (city), but then it's stressed.*A meow massages the heart.*
~Stuart McMillan
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Italian "città" as well as Spanish "ciudad" and French "cité" are descendents from Latin "civitatem" and the stress is preserved on "a". So, it is not an exception.The rule that the last sylable cannot be stressed is valid for Latin, not for Italian.
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Isn't it città not cittá?:-)
ChrisellAll we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.

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No, it varies, but it's never the last one.*A meow massages the heart.*
~Stuart McMillan
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