# How to fake an Italian accent **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088 "2014-09-21T15:34:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/1 "2014-09-21T15:34:44Z")
There’s a possibility that I shall be obliged to play a role in some amateur dramatic production. It’s a small role but the character is Italian. I am English and have never quite gotten how some people can mimic accents so well. So what I need are instructions, or a cheat-sheet “How to speak English with an Italian accent?” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/2 "2014-09-21T15:44:43Z")
One thing is that words almost always end with a vowel sound in Italian. So native Italian speakers often add -a or -e or -o to the ends of words that end with a consonant. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/3 "2014-09-21T16:02:04Z")
Is this a comedic role or are you playing it straight? Is it a native Italian character that barely knows English, or someone born outside of Italy with a slight accent? I would ask the director for some advice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/4 "2014-09-21T16:11:35Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Is this a comedic role or are you playing it straight? Is it a native Italian character that barely knows English, or someone born outside of Italy with a slight accent? I would ask the director for some advice. All good questions… Specifically the character is Felix from Cowerd’s comedy _Come Into The Garden, Maud_ I believe he is a native Italian who has a good mastery of English. While it is a comedy I think the character should not be too “over the top”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/5 "2014-09-21T16:13:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One thing is that words almost always end with a vowel sound in Italian. So native Italian speakers often add -a or -e or -o to the ends of words that end with a consonant. Iya thinka Iya knowa whata youa meana. See, I told you I couldn’t do accents (hence the request for help). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/6 "2014-09-21T16:41:16Z")
Try this: [http://www.howcast.com/videos/500503-How-to-Do-an-Italian-Accent-Accent-Training](http://www.howcast.com/videos/500503-How-to-Do-an-Italian-Accent-Accent-Training) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/7 "2014-09-21T16:50:20Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Try this: > > [http://www.howcast.com/videos/500503-How-to-Do-an-Italian-Accent-Accent-Training](http://www.howcast.com/videos/500503-How-to-Do-an-Italian-Accent-Accent-Training) Muchas gracias, I mean, molte grazie. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/8 "2014-09-21T17:14:02Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > Iya thinka Iya knowa whata youa meana. Atsa some joke, eh boss? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/9 "2014-09-21T17:31:05Z")
Make sure you sign the Sanity Clause. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/10 "2014-09-21T17:34:22Z")
Call up sone old video/audio of Father Guido Sarducci. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/11 "2014-09-21T17:41:22Z")
If it’s a straight role don’t overplay it. Italians in real life don’t go around saying “That’s-uh spece-ih spice-ih meat-uh-ball”, you’re trying for something that meets the audience’s expectation of how Italians would speak, but without making it sound comically exagerrated . Add facial and other gestures as you speak, that’s just good acting. Dye your hair and eyebrows black, get your skin to an olive tone. It satisfies people’s pre-conceived notions of what Italians look like. Start with a slightly exagerrated “Bon giorno!” or some other commonly recognized phrase to prime the pump, then tone it down a little so the audience pays more attention to what you say then how you say it. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/12 "2014-09-21T17:48:03Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Make sure you sign the Sanity Clause. > > Regards, > Shodan You nota foola me, evera body no there ain’t no sanity claws. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/13 "2014-09-21T17:56:40Z")
Well, you win the white carnation. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/14 "2014-09-21T18:11:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If it’s a straight role don’t overplay it. Italians in real life don’t go around saying “That’s-uh spece-ih spice-ih meat-uh-ball”, you’re trying for something that meets the audience’s expectation of how Italians would speak, but without making it sound comically exagerrated . Add facial and other gestures as you speak, that’s just good acting. Dye your hair and eyebrows black, get your skin to an olive tone. It satisfies people’s pre-conceived notions of what Italians look like. Start with a slightly exagerrated “Bon giorno!” or some other commonly recognized phrase to prime the pump, then tone it down a little so the audience pays more attention to what you say then how you say it. Precisamente! ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/15 "2014-09-21T18:39:17Z")
Just watch The Godfather over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/16 "2014-09-21T18:42:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Call up sone old video/audio of Father Guido Sarducci. > [@cmyk](#): > > Just watch The Godfather over and over and over. I’m afraid Brad Pitt produced the definitive work on “how to fake an Italian accent” in Inglourious Basterds. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/17 "2014-09-21T18:48:58Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > There’s a possibility that I shall be obliged to play a role in some amateur dramatic production. > > It’s a small role but the character is Italian. I am English and have never quite gotten how some people can mimic accents so well. > > So what I need are instructions, or a cheat-sheet “How to speak English with an Italian accent?” Read the “Italian or Latin” chapter in Feynman’s Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman for some advice on fake Italian. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/18 "2014-09-21T19:04:10Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > You nota foola me, evera body no there ain’t no sanity claws. That sort of testimony we can eliminate. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/19 "2014-09-21T19:29:35Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Read the “Italian or Latin” chapter in Feynman’s Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman for some advice on fake Italian. See link ["Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character - Richard P. Feynman - Google Books](http://books.google.com/books?id=7papZR4oVssC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=feynman+italian+latin&source=bl&ots=etOWabqR-U&sig=sF5jLnTx18QFM91U4cclJ9s9Bgs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_CYfVJ6TJoyYyASfiYHoCg&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=feynman%20italian%20latin&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088/20 "2014-09-21T19:45:51Z")
Hand gestures. Lots and lots of hand gestures. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fake-an-italian-accent/699088.md?page=2)