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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Ciao!
Chapter 2: What are the challenges of Italian pasta pronunciation?
Sono Francesca di Coffee Break Italian and in this episode I'm going to check your knowledge of pasta. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to cook instead. I'll test your Italian pronunciation when it comes to pasta shapes and dishes. Una cosa davvero importante. So, are you up for a challenge? Io sì, quindi dai, cominciamo!
So, let's begin with pasta names containing the combination of letters C and H. As you know, in Italian, this is always pronounced as C, never C, as in mi chiamo, my name is. Let's see some examples. Maccheroni. orecchiette. And did you know that orecchiette means small ears, coming from the word orecchie, ears. Then we have pizzoccheri. Oh, i pizzoccheri sono deliziosi.
They are typical from the Valtellina area, a beautiful area in Lombardy. And they are made of back wheat flour. And they're usually cooked with cabbage, potatoes, cheese and tantissimo burro, a lot of butter. I love them. They are the perfect comfort food for cold winter days. Then we have lumache. Lumache is a type of pasta which means snail shell, but don't worry. And finally, paccheri.
You know, I thought of this type of pasta because I can still remember... A journalist publishing a video of himself trying paccheri for the very first time during the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. He literally fell in love with them. But remember, when ordering this pasta, you need to emphasise the first syllable. Paccheri.
situation applies to the letters G and H, which is always pronounced as G, as in the word ghepardo, cheetah. So, which one is probably the most common type of pasta with this sound? Esatto, sto parlando di spaghetti. Attenzione però! If you fancy spaghetti with a nice sauce on top, when in Italy do not mention spag bol. There is no such word in Italian.
Usually, the traditional Bolognese sauce is referred to as ragù and you can appreciate it more if served with tagliatelle because tagliatelle soak up the sauce really nicely. Mmm, che bontà! tagliatelle actually lead us to our next sound, which is probably the trickiest sound in Italian. G-N-L, G, not G-L. So, let's get it right once and for all with this type of pasta.
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Chapter 3: How do you pronounce pasta names with 'CH' in Italian?
Tagliatelle. Not tagliatelle. Attenzione. Which other pasta shapes with gli were you pronouncing differently? Well, let's find out. So, we have, for example, tortiglioni. Or tagliolini. We also have conchiglie. Conchiglie means seashells. And again, the name comes from their shape. And also notice in conchiglie the CH sound, which is also very important.
So, if you got the pronunciation of conchiglie right, well, you have earned un bel piatto di conchiglie al sugo di pomodoro fresco. And finally, a nice one with the gli sound, paglia e fieno. Do you know what this type of pasta is? Literally, this translates as straw and hay.
It's a type of tagliatelle pasta, but some of them are green in colour, thanks to the addition of spinach, so that they resemble grass in a way. Another key sound you need to be aware when ordering your pasta is the combination of letter GN, pronounced as GN, as in the word castagna, chestnut. So, again, which pasta comes to your mind with this sound?
Well, it's not a pasta shape as such, but more of a pasta dish. Ma sì, dai, ovviamente le lasagne, lasagne. talking about interesting facts about pasta, did you know that in some parts of Italy lasagne are called differently? For example, they are called pasticcio in the Veneto area and in the Marche region they are called vincis grassi, a beautiful word.
I also think that in the GN category, we can find another of my favorite dishes. E attenzione, you don't want to say gnocchi, mi raccomando, gnocchi. And I have an interesting grammar curiosity here for you. I'm sure you know that the article for gnocchi is gli, gli gnocchi. But it's very common in Italy to also hear i gnocchi. Che interessante, vero?
And because I'm from Piemonte, I'm from the region of Piemonte, I also have to mention here the traditional agnolotti, some sort of ravioli stuffed with meat, which you have to try when you visit my region. Well, we are almost at the end, but one final advice to get your pasta right. Don't forget to bounce on those double consonants. Shall we try together? Proviamo insieme? Ok. Cavatelli!
Wow, quanti tipi di pasta! And a final little pronunciation mistake or inaccuracy to avoid for pasta shapes ending in "-ine", which has to be pronounced "-ine", not "-ini". For example, "-linguine", not "-linguini". or fettuccine, not fettuccini. Attenzione! Allora, è tutto per oggi?
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