Transformation of X into Italian

The more you study a language the more your brain is able to recognize patterns that repeat themselves. That's a important learning process as it can facilitate communication and shows that Italian language is not too far away from English (or other languages).

Today I would like to focus on the letter "X". This letter "ics" is not considered part of the Italian alphabet and it only appears in loanwords. Even though X was present in ancient Latin it disappeared in Italian before the end of the Vulgar Latin period.

But there are some patterns we can follow to translate words with X from English into Italian. This will help us to expand our vocabulary and enter in the morphology of the new language.

English words with an internal X become words with "S" or double "S in Italian. Here some examples:

example - esempio

context - contesto

anxious - ansioso

exactly - esattamente

saxophone - sassofono

explore - esplorare

extinct - estinto

oxygen - ossigeno

sexism - sessismo

anorexia - anoressia

anxiety - ansia


When the X is at the end of a word or is in the middle but followed by "CE" in English it usually becomes "CE" or "CCE" in Italian:


index - indice

appendix - appendice

fenix - fenice

excellent - eccellente

except - eccetto

excellence - eccellenza

exception - eccezione


I hope you will find these observations useful for your learning process!

Grazie,
Ciao!
Linda



June 26, 2017
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Linda Riolo

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*** Want to learn Italian? *** I offer encouraging classes, friendly environment and lessons prepared ad hoc using material from real life situations. Speaking Italian is facilitated from the really first class. What more? Literature, cinema, cuisine, tourism, we can talk about what you find more interesting. Not sure yet? Book a trial classes of 30 minutes! Ciao! My name is Linda, I’m 31 and I’m from Piedmont. I’m a qualified teacher and I’ve been teaching Italian as a foreign language for some years. I lived in Ireland for four years where I worked for the Italian Institute of Culture. This working experience has allowed me to develop a dynamic teaching method. Depending on the student’s needs each lesson can be created ah hoc with materials from literature, history, everyday situations, music. We will focus on conversation and communication, using exercises and diagrams to explore grammar. No matter your starting level, everything is possible with a bit of practice! Would you...
Flag
Italian
globe
Italy
time
272
Speaks:
English
C1
,
Portuguese (Brazilian)
B1
,
Spanish
A2
*** Want to learn Italian? *** I offer encouraging classes, friendly environment and lessons prepared ad hoc using material from real life situations. Speaking Italian is facilitated from the really first class. What more? Literature, cinema, cuisine, tourism, we can talk about what you find more interesting. Not sure yet? Book a trial classes of 30 minutes! Ciao! My name is Linda, I’m 31 and I’m from Piedmont. I’m a qualified teacher and I’ve been teaching Italian as a foreign language for some years. I lived in Ireland for four years where I worked for the Italian Institute of Culture. This working experience has allowed me to develop a dynamic teaching method. Depending on the student’s needs each lesson can be created ah hoc with materials from literature, history, everyday situations, music. We will focus on conversation and communication, using exercises and diagrams to explore grammar. No matter your starting level, everything is possible with a bit of practice! Would you...
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