The letter combination 'sc', when followed by the vowels i or e, will produce a soft sound, like the English words shoe, shore, share and cash. cuscino = cushion scimmia = monkey sciarpa = scarf pesce = fish The letter combination 'sc', when followed by the vowels a, o or u, will produce a hard sound, like the English words sky, ski, score and scarf. scuola = school tasca = pocket pesca = peach scarpe = shoes scatola = box discorso = speech bosco = forest When the letter combination 'sc' is followed by an h, the sound becomes hard. maschile = masculine schiavo = slave schiuma = foam schiuma da barba = shaving cream