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pronouncing La Ciccia

I've been pronouncing it La Cheet-ZA. Rhymes with pizza. I got the pronunciation from forvo.com - but I realize it could be very wrong.

How do you pronounce it?

La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

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  1. La Cheecheeya. But I could be wrong too :-)

    1 Reply
    1. re: grayelf

      There's another pronunciation on forvo that's more like: cheech-ah - and I use that one, too.

    2. According to my Italian teacher, the rule is "cc" followed by "i" or "e" is pronounced "ch", like "cheese". As in Gucci, or focaccia.

      1 Reply
      1. re: ferret

        My S.O. and in-laws pronounce focaccia ---> fo-got-za. (They're Piedmontese.)

        So, I guess I'm also wondering how the Sardinians pronounce ciccia.

      2. How does the restaurant owner/staff pronounce it?

        1. I just called them, and the woman's voice on their answering machine greeting pronounces it something like "la Chee-Cha". No discernible z or i sounds therein.

          4 Replies
            1. re: scarmoza

              Also, note, the accent is on the first syllable (chee) and the because there is a double c in there, you hold the middle 'ch' consanant a little longer.
              Imagine thinking in terms of musical beats.
              If it were a single c, it would be a two-beat word: chee-cha.
              But because it's a double c, think three beats, with the tongue resting on the inside of the top teeth/front-of-the-roof-of-your-mouth for that middle beat.
              Then, make that middle beat a little shorter than 3 even beats and you've got it.

                1. re: scarmoza

                  Confirming that BernalKC and Pauliface have it exactly right for standard Italian, which will certainly be acceptable. I don't know if there are any Sardinian dialect differences, but given BernalKC's experience I expect not.


          1. the Sardinian restaurant.
            In other words, I haven't been brave enough to try...