G g

This consonant represents two sounds (but see also the clusters "gn" and "gl" ):

1) it stands for the sound [g] (as in Eng. "get, got, girl"...) before a, o, u, h or when it is the final letter of a word: "gatto, gola, anguria, ghiro, lunghe, footing" ( cat, throat, watermelon, dormouse, the f. pl. form of long, jogging). To obtain the same sound before e or i the letter h is inserted: "Alghero, unghia" ( a Sardinian town, fingernail);

2) it stands for the consonant sound in Eng. "joy, gentle, large, judge" etc. before e or i: "gentile, giro" ( gentle, round/tour). To obtain the same sound before a, o or u, a "silent i" is inserted: "giallo, gioia, giugno" ( yellow, joy, June).

The complete series of syllables for the [g] sound is therefore "ga ghe ghi go gu" and the complete series of syllables for the other, "soft", sound is "gia ge gi gio giu".