Italian has a seven-vowel system, consisting of , and 23 consonants. Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian phonology is conservative, preserving many words nearly unchanged from Vulgar Latin. Some examples: Italian ' "fourteen" < Latin (cf. Spanish ', French ' , Catalan and Portuguese ) Italian settimana "week" < Latin (cf. Romanian săptămână, Spanish and Portuguese semana, French semaine , Catalan setmana) Italian medesimo "same" < Vulgar Latin * (cf. Spanish mismo, Portuguese mesmo, French même , Catalan mateix; Italian usually prefers the shorter stesso) Italian guadagnare "to win, earn, gain" < Vulgar Latin * < Germanic (cf. Spanish ganar, Portuguese ganhar, French gagner , Catalan guanyar).
Italian has a seven-vowel system, consisting of , and 23 consonants. Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian phonology is conservative, preserving many words nearly unchanged from Vulgar Latin. Some examples: Italian ' "fourteen" < Latin (cf. Spanish ', French ' , Catalan and Portuguese ) Italian settimana "week" < Latin (cf. Romanian săptămână, Spanish and Portuguese semana, French semaine , Catalan setmana) Italian medesimo "same" < Vulgar Latin * (cf. Spanish mismo, Portuguese mesmo, French même  Catalan mateix; Italian usually prefers the shorter stesso) Italian guadagnare "to win, earn, gain" < Vulgar Latin * < Germanic (cf. Spanish ganar, Portuguese ganhar, French gagner , Catalan guanyar).