Italian is known as one of the most beautiful languages in the world. The Italian language shares some similarities with French, Spanish and Romanian, which are all romance languages derived from Latin. Italian is heard not only throughout Italy, but in other countries such as Switzerland and France. Phrases in Italian, for example, “Happy Birthday,” mean one thing when the words are said together but mean something different when the words are separated.
Buon
Say “Buon.” It’s pronounced Bwohn. This means “Good” by itself but is the “Happy” section in “Happy Birthday.”
Compleanno
Say “Compleanno.” It’s pronounced Com-play-ah-no. This means “Birthday” by itself as well as in the phrase “Happy Birthday.”
Buon Compleanno
Now say them together. Say “Bwohn Com-play-ah-no.”
Practice
Practice until you can say it without having to look at the pronunciation.
Say “Buon Compleanno.”
Say it again, this time without the looking at the pronunciation. Say “Buon Compleanno.”
Practice Without Translation
Practice until you’re able to say it without looking at the translation.
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Writer Bio
Christina Martinez has been writing professionally since 2007. She's been published in the California State University at Fullerton newspaper, "The Daily Titan." Her writing has also appeared in "Orange County's Best" magazine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications and print journalism from California State University.