A is the first letter of the alphabet. It was the first letter in all the alphabets from which ours evolved. In this post, you will learn more about the Alphabet and about Letter A
A little background on the letter A
The Semites of Syria and Palestine named their first letter aleph, which means “ox.” They created an ox using Egyptian hieroglyphics (picture symbol). The ancient Greeks later called this symbol alpha.
Our word alphabet comes from alpha (the first letter) and beta, the second letter in Greek. The Romans gave the letter its present form.
A or a is the second most frequently used letter in books, newspapers, and other printed material in Italian after the letter E.
Pronunciation
Represents the vowel with the broadest mouth opening. The lower jaw and tongue resting on the softer palate are required for the pronunciation of the vowel A.
Listen to the sound of the letter A
Listen to the following words paying attention to the pronunciation of the letter A
animale (animal)
arte (art)
aula (classroom)
gamba (leg)
panorama (view, panorama)
barba (beard)
An accent is represented by the letters – à – when it occurs in the final stressed syllable of a word as in these examples:
città (city) – papà (dad) – verità (true)
Frequent Italian words starting with the letter A
al, anche, alla, anni, ai, ad, alle, aveva, ancora, altro, altri, anno, altra, abbiamo, agliavrebbe, avere, altre, alcuni, adesso, avuto, amore, almeno, avevano, appena, acquaallo, andare, alcune, aria, accordo, auto, avevo.
What’s next?
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free resources:
The Italian alphabet
