The Three Stooges Sound | ITALIAN LANGUAGE NUGGET o’ the week | Avoiding Pronunciation Landmines

Rather listen than read? ⇓ Podcast below ⇓

This week’s Language Nugget features another common Italian pronunciation landmine… one that has the dubious distinction of being voted by my students as “Most Obnoxious Sound in Italian.” Can you guess which sound I’m talking about?

I jokingly call it the Three Stooges Sound… in reference to “nyuk, nyuk, nyuk”, the written/spoken onomatopoeic representation of laughter made famous by the Three Stooges.

The Italian sound in question is represented by the letter combination of ‘gn’. The best known examples of this sound are most certainly gnocchi /NYOH-key/ and lasagna /lah-ZAHN-yah/. People usually get these two right simply because they’re Italian foods that have found fame and fortune outside of Italy.

The challenge, however, arises with lesser-known words containing this sound. These tend to trip folks up. Let’s start with possibly the biggest offender of all: significa. I teach this word on day one of class with the phrase, “Che significa?” (“What does it mean, or signify?”), pronounced /Kay seen-YEE-fee-kah/.  It’s a useful phrase for someone about to dive into a new language.

Anatomy of ‘gn’

Nearly everyone tends to mispronounce significa. It’s tricky because as a letter combo, gn does exist in English but with a different sound value. In English this combo calls for a hard g (like a gut punch) sound followed by the /n/ sound. In Italian however, the gn is instead like the ‘ny’ combo in the English word canyon – you completely ignore the ‘g’, pronounce the ‘n’, and follow it with the consonant /y/ sound (as in the word yes).

Matters are further confused by the fact that significa is a cognate (a word that looks and sounds similar between two languages) – If you don’t stop to think before you speak, your default language brain will cause you to say the word with a very Englishy sound to it.

[Sidenote: Spanish has this sound, too, but it’s easier to recognize and deal with because it shows up as ñ rather than gn. While ñ is common in Spanish words, the Italian gn throws Spanish speakers, too, because in Spanish gn is pronounced with a hard-g + n, /gn/, just like in English.]

Aside from canyon and a few obscure words like lanyard, bunion, and banyan …the Italian gn is not a common sound in English. What always comes to mind for me, as mentioned earlier, is the Three Stooges saying, “nyuk, nyuk, nyuk,” in imitation of the sound of laughter. It’s hard to describe it in words, so if you’re too young to know the Three Stooges, check out this video.

Not only is gn a counter-intuitive letter combo, it’s nearly impossible to properly pronounce this very nasal sound (at least when you’re first learning it) without screwing up your face into an obnoxious expression worthy of the Three Stooges, hence it’s prize as the Most Obnoxious Sound in Italian ;D

Try it for yourself in these common Italian gn words: bagno – bisogno – sogno – sognare – agnello – pugno – guadagnare – spegnere – lasagna – prugna – lavagna – bagnoschiuma – giugno – castagna – frignare – disegnare – disegno – ingegnere – bagnino – magnifico

Suggestions for pronouncing the Three Stooges/gn Sound

Just like with the Hot Z and the Sneaky S sounds, the best way to get a handle on this sound is to make yourself a list of gn practice words, like the ones above.  To be sure you get it right, start off by saying canyon, lanyard, banyan, (or “nyuk, nyuk, nyuk”) and notice what your mouth and tongue are doing. With that muscle memory fresh in mind, immediately practice saying the Italian gn words on your list.  

Keep at it, and before you know it, pronouncing words with the Three Stooges/gn Sound correctly will become second nature. And when that happens, you’ll be the one laughing… nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! 😉

– Are you saying it correctly?? Listen to the mini podcast of this Language Nugget to hear and practice saying these words right!

Leave a comment! What’s your take on the Three Stooges/gn Sound? Does it ever trip you up? Have any favorite or least favorite gn words to add to the list? Let me know what other Italian pronunciation landmines you’d like me to cover. Love to hear your comments!