Re: Gianina
in reply to a message by Mandy
Like Tieliebirds said, the jya rhymes with 'spa', and is one syllable. When looking at Italian gi- words it's easiest to forget the 'i' and pretend that the 'g' is a 'j'. For example, Giulia is pronounced exactly the same as Julia.
Gianina - ja-NEE-na - rhymes with Marina
Gianna - JAN-ah - rhymes with Hannah
Giovanna - jo-VANNA - doesn't rhyme with anything!
Italian vowels are *very* specific - each vowel letter represents only one sound in most cases, unlike in English where vowels are all over the place. In this case, it's 'a' as in "cat", 'i' as in the 'ee' in "free" and 'o' as in "joke".
Gianina - ja-NEE-na - rhymes with Marina
Gianna - JAN-ah - rhymes with Hannah
Giovanna - jo-VANNA - doesn't rhyme with anything!
Italian vowels are *very* specific - each vowel letter represents only one sound in most cases, unlike in English where vowels are all over the place. In this case, it's 'a' as in "cat", 'i' as in the 'ee' in "free" and 'o' as in "joke".