elision and apocope

Elision and Apocope in Italian

In Italian, words often shed their final sounds to create a smoother flow of speech. This happens through two distinct phonetic processes: Elision and Apocope.

1. Elision (Elisione)

Elision is the dropping of a final unstressed vowel when the following word begins with a vowel. In written Italian, this is almost always marked by an apostrophe (’).

When Elision is Obligatory:

• Singular Articles: lo and la before a vowel.
  • l’uomo (the man)
  • l’amica (the female friend)
  • un’amica (a female friend — note: un for males is apocope, no apostrophe!)
• Articulated Prepositions: Forms ending in -lo.
  • sull’autobus (on the bus)
• Adjectives: bello and quello before a noun.
  • bell’amica (beautiful friend)
  • quell’acqua (that water)
• Specific Fixed Forms:
  • c’è (there is — from ci è)
  • Sant’Antonio (Saint Anthony)

When Elision is Optional:

In these cases, the full form is often preferred in formal writing.

• The preposition di: città d’Europa (cities of Europe).
• The particle ci before verbs starting with e or i: c’incontriamo (we meet).
• Demonstratives like questo/questa: quest’uomo (this man).
• Conjunctions like quando or come: quand’ero giovane (when I was young); com’è il tuo paese? (how is your town?).

2. Apocope (Apòcope or Truncation)

Apocope is the dropping of a final vowel or syllable. Unlike elision, it can happen before a consonant and usually does not require an apostrophe. It typically affects syllables ending in l, m, n, or r.

Types of Apocope:

• Grammatical Apocope: Fixed rules for certain adjectives and articles.
  • un libro (a book — from uno)
  • buon ragazzo (good boy — from buono)
  • bel quaderno (beautiful notebook)
  • San Carlo (Saint Charles)
• Stylistic Apocope: Used for fluidity or in set phrases.
  • Riccardo Cuor di Leone (Richard the Lionheart — from cuore)
• Apocope of Weakening (with Apostrophe): This is a special reduction where an apostrophe is required because a whole syllable or a specific vowel is lost.
  • un po’ (a little — from poco)
  • fa’ (do! — imperative of fare/fai)
  • va’ (go! — imperative of andare/vai)