Italian Diction: Phrasal Doubling
Introduction to Italian Diction
Much information in this presentation is taken directly from Evelina Colorni’s Singers’ Italian. A Manual of Diction and Phonetics.
PHRASAL DOUBLING
When the final vowel of a certain words precedes a consonant within the phrase, this following initial consonant may have to be doubled, under specific circumstances and according to rules. The final vowel preceding such a consonant will also have to be shortened, as when a vowel precedes a double consonant within a word.
Ex. 1: “ruban tutti i gioielli,…” should sound like this:
[ruban tutti d͡ʒɔjɛlli]
In this example the underlined double consonants are also underlined in the IPA, however they are also written twice in the IPA and the actual Italian script. When a phrasal doubling occurs the doubled consonant is rarely doubled in the original Italian script, but must be doubled and underlined when notated in IPA.
Ex. 2 “Ma fatelo tacere” should sound like
Note how the doubled consonant in this example, the [f] of “fatelo”, is doubled because the preceding word, “ma”, triggers phrasal doubling. The [a] of “ma” is shortened so that the [f] of “fatelo” may arrive early to give the audible doubling when it is attached to the normal length of the [f] in the original word (“fatelo”).
The Rules of Phrasal Doubling
A phrasal doubling occurs when a word starts either with a single consonant or with the consonants bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, tr and:
- The word is preceded within the phrase by a strong monosyllable (see list on following page).
- The word is preceded within the phrase by a polysyllable stressed on the final vowel.
- The word is preceded immediately within the phrase by one of the disyllables: come, contra, dove, ove, qualche, sopra and sovra.
- Special words are found in vocal music texts: Dio, Dei, Dea, De and Maria (when the latter stands for the Virgin Mary). In these cases these words are doubled, not the words following them.
Monosyllabic Words That Cause Phrasal Doubling
(Rule #2)
a [a] prep. ma [ma] conjunction
ah! [a] interjection me [me] disjunctive pron.
che [kɛ] pron., adj. né, nè [ne] conjunction
ché, chè [ke] conjunction no [nɔ] adv.
chi [ki] pron. o [o] conjunction
da [da] prep. o [o] interjection (invocation)
dà [da] v. oh! [ɔ] interjection (exclamation)
deh! [dɛ] interjection più [pju] adv.
dì [di] n. or v. può [pwɔ] v.
do [dɔ] v. qua [kwa] adv.
e [e] conjunction qui [kwi] adv.
è [ɛ] v. re [re]
fa [fa] v. sa [sa] v.
fé, fè [fe] n./v. and n. se [sɛ] conjunction
fo [fɔ] v. so [sɔ] v.
fra [fra] n. or prep. sta [sta] v.
fu [fu] v. sto [stɔ] v.
già [d͡ʒa] adv. su [su] prep.
giù [d͡ʒu] adv. te [te] disjunctive pron.
ha [‘a] v. tra [tra] prep.
ho [‘ɔ] v. tre [tre] number
là [la] adv. tu [tu] pron.
lì [li] adv. va [va] v.
vo’ [vɔ] v.
When any word beginning with a single consonant is preceded by these monosyllabic words you should double the single consonant. In addition to adding length to the consonant, be certain to also shorten the final vowel of each of these “trigger words. This rule should be your first step when scanning text for phrasal doublings.
Ex. 3 The phrase “Che fai?… la man?” should be pronounced
The [f] of “fai” is doubled because the preceding monosyllable of “che” triggers this. However, the [m] of “ma” is not doubled because “la” is not one of the monosyllables that triggers phrasal doubling. “Là” is different than “la” so be sure to pay attention to accents!
Polysyllables Stressed on the Final Vowel
(Rule #3)
Many of the polysyllabic words found in Italian do not contain stresses on their final vowel. When a polysyllabic word is not accented on this final vowel it does not invoke phrasal doubling. Therefore, the second action to take when looking for phrasal doubling is to locate polysyllabic words with accents (especially when notated above the vowel) on their final vowel syllable.
Ex. 4 The phrase “Pietà ti prenda” should be pronounced as
Note that the final syllable of “pietà” ends with an accented [a]/(à), which is then the trigger for phrasal doubling of the initial [t] of “ti”. For this second rule the direction of the accent on the polysyllabic “trigger word” is of no importance.
Exceptional Disyllables that Trigger Phrasal Doubling
(Rule #4)
As noted in the rules above there are several disyllables which also trigger phrasal doubling, but which do not fall into the category of polysyllables with a final stressed vowel. They are as follows: come, contra, dove, ove, qualche, sopra and sovra. These words should be treated in the same manner as the monosyllables which invoke phrasal doubling and should thus be part of the first step in locating these moments in given phrases.
Ex. 5 The phrase “Il bimbo ove sia?” should be pronounced as
In this example the disyllable “ove” creates phrasal doubling on the initial consonant, [s] of “sia”.
Ex. 6 The phrase “Dove sono” should be pronounced as
In this example the disyllable “dove” creates phrasal doubling on the initial consonant, [s] of “sono”.
The Words Dio, Dei, Dea, Dee and Maria
Rather simply put, when one of these words occurs in Italian vocal music singers should always double the initial consonant. In other words, each of these words is always stressed and always pronounced with an initial doubled consonant of [d] or [m].
Ex. 7 The phrase “Ave Maria” and the phrase “Santo Dio, come si fa?”
Should be sung: [avɛm-maria] [santɔd-diɔ komɛs-si fa]
In the first phrase of “Ave Maria” the singer should double the [m] of “Maria” and should also be certain to shorten the [ɛ] at the end of “Ave” to keep better time. In the second phrase of “Santo Dio, come si fa?” the singer has two phrasal doublings. The first is doubling the [d] of “Dio” because it is an exceptional self-doubling word. The second instance in this phrase occurs where the singer should double the [s] of “si” as it directly follows the trigger disyllable of “come”.
In-Class Group Phoneticization
1. Circle all the phrasal doubling trigger words in the Italian script. (Circle them whether or not they trigger the following word)
2. Fill in the correct IPA symbols for the vowels and consonants. Double consonants them where phrasal doubling rules dictate they should be.
3. Circle any exceptional words and then double their consonants in the IPA below them.
Rodolpho’s first act aria, “Che gelida manina”, from Giacomo Puccini’s opera La bohème.
Che gelida manina, se la lasci riscaldar
[ kɛ d͡ʒɛlida manina se lla laʃi riskaldar ]
Cercar che giova? Al buio non si trova.
[t͡ʃɛrkar kɛ d͡ʒova al bujo non si trova ]
Ma per fortuna è una notte di luna
[ma pper fortuna e‿una nɔtte di luna]
e qui la luna l’abbiamo vicina.
[
Aspetti signorina, le dirò con due parole
[
Chi son, chi son, e che faccio come vivo. Vuole. Chi son?
[
Sono un poeta. Che cosa faccio? Scrivo.
[
E come vivo? Vivo.
[
In provertà mia lieta scialo da gran signore
[
Rime ed inni d’amore. Per sogni e per chimere
[
e per castelli in aria… l’anima ho milionaria.
[
Talor dal mio forziere…. Ruban tutti I gioielli
[
due ladri: gli occhi belli.
[
V’entrar con voi pur ora, ed I miei sogni usati
[
e I bei sogni miei tosto si dileguar!
[
Ma il furto non m’accora… poichè v’ha preso stanza
[
la dolce speranza! Or che mi conoschete… parlate voi,
[
deh! partlate. Chi siete? Vi piacca dir!
[
************************************************************
DOCUMENTS
Phrasal Doubling Examples (for in-class verbal/vocal exercises)
Introduction to Italian Diction (.doc format)
IPA Solutions (from above “Che gelida manina” example)
