Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
Tommasini
English translation:
Tommasini
Added to glossary by
Nicola (Mr.) Nobili
Jan 4, 2006 11:52
18 yrs ago
Italian term
Tommasini
Italian to English
Other
Names (personal, company)
name
How you pronounce it: with s or z in the middle?
I put it in this pair, becuase I presume this is Italian name and I hope to get the answer A.S.A.P.
I put it in this pair, becuase I presume this is Italian name and I hope to get the answer A.S.A.P.
Proposed translations
(English)
5 +8 | Tommasini | Nicola (Mr.) Nobili |
4 +3 | With an s | Jo Macdonald |
5 | S | Debora Villa |
Proposed translations
+8
25 mins
Selected
Tommasini
The pronunciation is roughly the following:
/tomma'?ini/
The "o" is a closed vowel, the "m" is a long consonant (typical of Italian), the two "i" are slightly longer than the "i" in "brick" and ? is...
Hey, that's the rub! In Northern Italy people would certainly pronounce it as "z" in English, this normally happens when a "s" is between two vowels.
In Southern Italy, people would certainly pronounce it like "s" in "sun".
In other words, it depends on the Italian region where a speaker is from. Unlike in English (lose vs. loose, his vs. hiss, plays vs. place), there are no minimal pairs involving the two sounds /s/ and /z/. For this reason, Italians do not really care, in all likelihood they will not even hear the difference, or vaguely sense the speaker is from another part of the country, but certainly do not confuse the meaning of a word because of this tiny detail.
In addition to this, I should like to mention this surname has a slight variation: "Tomassini". In this case, the double "s" is a long consonant and sounds like "s" in "sun" (undoubtedly). Make sure the surname is right, confusing the two is quite easy.
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Note added at 31 mins (2006-01-04 12:23:28 GMT)
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Since I read you are Russian, let me explain it some other way: áóêâà "s" ïðîèçíîñèòñÿ "ñ" èëè "ç", â çàâèñèìîñòè îò îáëàñòè. Íî â îòëè÷èè îò ðóññêîãî ÿçûêà (ñëîé è çëîé, ñìåé è çìåé...) - ýòî ñîâñåì íå âàæíî, ïðîñòî íåâîçìîæíî ïóòàòü çíà÷åíèå.
֏!
/tomma'?ini/
The "o" is a closed vowel, the "m" is a long consonant (typical of Italian), the two "i" are slightly longer than the "i" in "brick" and ? is...
Hey, that's the rub! In Northern Italy people would certainly pronounce it as "z" in English, this normally happens when a "s" is between two vowels.
In Southern Italy, people would certainly pronounce it like "s" in "sun".
In other words, it depends on the Italian region where a speaker is from. Unlike in English (lose vs. loose, his vs. hiss, plays vs. place), there are no minimal pairs involving the two sounds /s/ and /z/. For this reason, Italians do not really care, in all likelihood they will not even hear the difference, or vaguely sense the speaker is from another part of the country, but certainly do not confuse the meaning of a word because of this tiny detail.
In addition to this, I should like to mention this surname has a slight variation: "Tomassini". In this case, the double "s" is a long consonant and sounds like "s" in "sun" (undoubtedly). Make sure the surname is right, confusing the two is quite easy.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2006-01-04 12:23:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Since I read you are Russian, let me explain it some other way: áóêâà "s" ïðîèçíîñèòñÿ "ñ" èëè "ç", â çàâèñèìîñòè îò îáëàñòè. Íî â îòëè÷èè îò ðóññêîãî ÿçûêà (ñëîé è çëîé, ñìåé è çìåé...) - ýòî ñîâñåì íå âàæíî, ïðîñòî íåâîçìîæíî ïóòàòü çíà÷åíèå.
֏!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Stefano Asperti
: In northern Italy it's usually pronounced with /z/ (i.e. the "s" in "lose"). That's also the pronounciation in standard Italian / I'm perfectly aware of it :-) I studied linguistics and I'm an actor ;-)
7 mins
|
"Standard" Italian is an artificial language only linguists and theatre actors study. In any case, as far as Natalia is concerned, there is no practical difference.
|
|
agree |
Cynthia Cook
13 mins
|
agree |
Jo Macdonald
: Yep, much better answer than mine. Nice one Nicola.
22 mins
|
agree |
Alessandra Sticotti (X)
1 hr
|
agree |
silvia b (X)
: it's definitely a voiced /z/ in standard Italian, in my opinion
1 hr
|
agree |
Alfredo Tutino
: You're right - I'm a southerner and do tend to overlook the fact that some Norhtern barbarians pretend they speak Italian... ;-) ... - and let's not get started on the correct way of pronouncing the consonant "z" :-)
1 hr
|
agree |
Chiara Cacucci
2 hrs
|
agree |
lanzarotti
4 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you"
+3
3 mins
With an s
Hi Natalia,
I’d say with an s, as in Thomas. Tommasini = a little Thomas
;-)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Alfredo Tutino
: at least two little Thomases, in fact... ;-)
2 mins
|
agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: With Alfredo.
9 mins
|
agree |
silvia tamanini
16 mins
|
neutral |
Nicola (Mr.) Nobili
: It exclusively depends on the region of Italy... Yes, in the North an "s" between two vowels is almost invariably /z/. See my comments below.
16 mins
|
Thanks guys. Alfredo, yep many of them. ;-) Nicola, would it be pronounced more with a z in the Northern regions you reckon? Actually, I have friends from the Bolzzzzzzano area who pronounce everything like that.
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3 mins
S
it's an Italian name and the pronounciation is with S
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Nicola (Mr.) Nobili
: Yes, but that does not say anything about the actual pronunciation of "s": like in "lose" or like in "lost"? See my answer below.
22 mins
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Discussion