Editing Italian orthography (section)

==Vowels==
The Italian alphabet has five [[vowel]] letters, {{angbr|a e i o u}}. Of those, only {{angbr|a}} represents one [[speech sound|sound]] value, while all others have two. In addition, {{angbr|e}} and {{angbr|i}} indicate a different pronunciation of a preceding {{angbr|c}} or {{angbr|g}} (see below).

In [[stress (linguistics)|stressed]] [[syllable]]s, {{angbr|e}} represents both [[open-mid vowel|open]] {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and [[close-mid vowel|close]] {{IPA|/e/}}. Similarly, {{angbr|o}} represents both open {{IPA|/ɔ/}} and close {{IPA|/o/}} (see [[Italian phonology]] for further details on those sounds). There is typically no [[orthography|orthographic]] distinction between the open and close sounds represented, although [[accent mark]]s are used in certain instances (see [[#Diacritics|below]]). There are some [[minimal pair]]s, called [[heteronym (linguistics)#Italian|heteronyms]], where the same spelling is used for distinct words with distinct vowel sounds. In unstressed syllables, only the close variants occur.

In addition to representing the vowels {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/u/}}, {{angbr|i}} and {{angbr|u}} also typically represent the [[semivowel]]s {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}, when unstressed and occurring before another vowel. Many exceptions exist (e.g. {{Wikt-lang|it|attuale}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|deciduo}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|deviare}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|dioscuro}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|fatuo}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|iato}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|inebriare}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|ingenuo}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|liana}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|proficuo}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|riarso}}, {{Wikt-lang|it|viaggio}}). An {{angbr|i}} may indicate that a preceding {{angbr|c}} or {{angbr|g}} is "soft" ({{Wikt-lang|it|ciao}}).