9 Common Accent Struggles for Italian Speakers

Italian and English may share many Latin-based words, but the sound systems are worlds apart. Italian has a relatively simple five-vowel system and consistent spelling-to-sound rules, while English has over a dozen vowel sounds and countless exceptions. For Italian speakers, this difference creates predictable hurdles in pronunciation and accent training. Below are nine of the most common struggles, with explanations of why they happen and how to tackle them.

1. The “Ship” vs “Sheep” Problem

Italian has just one close front vowel, somewhere between the English /ɪ/ in ship and /iː/ in sheep. This means many Italians pronounce both words the same way.

Fix: Train your ear first. Record yourself saying minimal pairs like ship/sheep, sit/seat, live/leave. Apps like Accentify give you structured drills and coach feedback so you can master this tricky contrast.

2. Trouble With the Schwa /ə/

English speakers use the schwa constantly in unstressed syllables, like the a in about or the o in lemon. Italian doesn’t have a schwa at all, so Italians often pronounce every vowel with equal weight.

Fix: Focus on word stress. Practise saying banana with the first and last a reduced to /ə/ while stressing the middle syllable. Listening to natural speech and shadowing phrases will make schwa feel more natural.

3. Mixing Up “H” Sounds

Italian doesn’t pronounce the letter h, so Italians often drop it in words like house or happy. Conversely, they may add an unwanted h before vowels, producing heggs instead of eggs.

Fix: Isolate the sound at first: practise whispering h with no vowel, just breath. Then attach it to words. Recording yourself is key here — you’ll spot missing or extra h sounds more easily.

4. The “Th” Challenge (/θ/ and /ð/)

Sounds like think (/θ/) and this (/ð/) don’t exist in Italian, so many speakers replace them with /t/ or /d.* This can cause confusion, since thin may sound like tin.

Fix: Practise placing the tongue gently between the teeth and blowing air for /θ/ or voicing for /ð/. Minimal pairs such as thin/tin and then/den are essential. Accentify’s coaches often recommend practising these in short phrases rather than single words.

5. Rolling the “R” Too Much

Italian r is a tapped or rolled sound, quite different from most English r sounds, which are approximants. As a result, Italian learners’ speech can sound too sharp or staccato.

Fix: Practise relaxing the tongue. Try the American-style r by pulling the tongue slightly back without touching the roof of the mouth. Record yourself saying words like right, red, really and compare to native samples.

6. Extra Vowels After Final Consonants

Italian words rarely end with consonant clusters, so speakers sometimes add a vowel at the end of English words: stop becomes stop-uh, film becomes filum.

Fix: Focus on “clipping” the final consonant. Shadow recordings of native speakers, paying attention to how they cut words short without adding extra sounds. Short drills with single-syllable words work best.

7. Word Stress Issues

Italian stress patterns are more predictable than English, where stress can fall on any syllable (REcord vs reCORD). Italians often misplace stress, making their English sound unusual even when the vowels and consonants are correct.

Fix: Learn stress as part of vocabulary. Whenever you learn a new word, note where the stress falls. Dictionaries often mark this. Accentify courses build this into each lesson so stress becomes second nature.

8. Intonation Patterns

Italian intonation is famously musical, with big rises and falls. English intonation is flatter, especially in accents like RP or General American. Overly “sing-song” intonation can make Italian speakers stand out.

Fix: Practise with recordings of native speakers reading full sentences. Focus on imitating the melody of the phrase, not just the words. Reading dialogues aloud while shadowing helps smooth out intonation.

9. Consonant Clusters

English allows clusters like strengths or worlds, which don’t exist in Italian. Italians often insert extra vowels or drop consonants to make these words easier.

Fix: Break the cluster down slowly, then speed up. For strengths, start with streng, add the th, then finally the s. Over time, your mouth muscles will get used to moving between sounds more efficiently.

Things To Consider

Italian speakers bring natural rhythm and musicality to English, but predictable challenges around vowels, consonants, and stress can hold them back. The good news is that once you know the patterns, you can fix them with structured practice.

Accentify offers tailored lessons, native samples, and free feedback from professional coaches, making it easier to target these exact struggles. Whether you want to master RP, General American, or another English accent, Accentify gives you the tools to sound authentic.