ALCE

The Moto Guzzi SuperAlce is an updated version of the earlier Alce motorcycle. The pronunciation of “Alce” in Italian language is two distinct syllables. The first syllable is accented or emphasized and pronounced “AHL”, as in “open your mouth for the doctor and say AHHHH” and add an “L” to the syllable. The second syllable has the letter “C” pronounced like the CH in CHurCH and includes pronunciation of the letter “E” as a long “A”.

The later version motorcycle is called: ”sue-pair-AHL -chay”

Click this highlight to hear the word SUPERALCE pronounced by an Italian voice.

BERSAGLIERI

Elsewhere in these links, you will find the name of an Italian Army Regiment known as the Bersaglieri (riflemen or sharpshooters). This is pronounced in four syllables with an accent or stress on the third syllable:

ber = sounds like “bear”

sal = sounds like “sal” and rhymes with gal.

GLIER = sounds like “YARE” and rhymes with fair or bear. This is the accented syllable. Hard to do in English as we have no comparable pronunciation. The Italian combination of “GLI is best translated to English an pronounced as “LYEE”. The GL combination is common in Italian words, but hard to master unless you grow up with it. A simpler word with this combination is Moglie which means wife and is pronounced MOLE-yay. Do you hear the LY sound? We make the same phonetic sound in English in the middle of the word billiards = “BILL-yards”.

i = sounds like “ee”. This is the plural form. A single member of this regiment would be a Bersagliere and the final syllable would then sound like “ay”.

Thus ”bear-sal-YARE-ee”

Click this highlight to hear the word BERSAGLIERI pronounced by an Italian voice.

MOTO GUZZI

And finally, for Moto Guzzi itself. The full Italian word for motorcycle is “motocicletta” (mow-tow-chick-LET-tah) and most commonly abbreviated or contracted simply as “Moto”. Although most people do just fine with the double-Z pronunciation of pizza, some seem to have difficulty with the same sound in the name Guzzi with a long “U”. Italian words have gender. Motocicletta is of feminine gender. Therefore, any adjective or article has to share or recognize the gender of the noun. So, The Moto Guzzi is pronounced as:

Click this highlight to hear the word LA MOTO GUZZI pronounced by an Italian voice.

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