When you start learning the Italian alphabet you realize that some letters are missing. You may wonder why…
The letters j k w y x don’t belong to the traditional Italian alphabet, although, in everyday speaking, some words that contain those letters are present in modern Italian. Those words are usually adaptation of foreign words, mostly English ones, or old words, like Latin ones, that are still used today.
So, when you DO encounter those letters, how do you pronounce them?
- j and y: are pronounced as an Italian i.
- w: a native Italian would pronounce it as a v.
- x: native Italians pronounce it as “eecz”
Here are some examples: Julia (latin name), Yogurt, Walter (Name), Raggi X (medical terminology).