La conversazione inizia adesso.

La is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

In Italian, nouns often appear with an article more often than in English. So la conversazione means the conversation.

• la = the for a feminine singular noun
• conversazione = conversation

You could sometimes omit the article in other contexts, but in a sentence like this, la conversazione is the normal choice.

A good clue is the ending -zione. Nouns ending in -zione are very commonly feminine in Italian.

So:

• la conversazione
• la stazione
• la situazione
• la lezione

That is why the article is la, not il.

Inizia is the conjugated verb form, while iniziare is the infinitive.

• iniziare = to begin / to start
• inizia = begins / starts

In this sentence, the subject is la conversazione, which is third person singular, so the verb must match it:

• La conversazione inizia adesso.
• The conversation begins now.

If you used iniziare, it would be like saying The conversation to begin now, which is not grammatical.

It is the present tense.

Specifically:

• inizia = it begins / it is beginning / it starts

In Italian, the present tense often covers meanings that in English might use either the simple present or the present continuous, depending on context.

So La conversazione inizia adesso can naturally correspond to:

• The conversation starts now
• The conversation is starting now

Because Italian usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the subject is already clear.

Here, the subject is not it anyway—it is explicitly stated as la conversazione.

Italian often avoids unnecessary subject pronouns:

• inizia already tells you the verb is third person singular
• la conversazione tells you what is beginning

So there is no need to add anything like English it.

Putting adesso at the end is a very natural Italian word order.

• La conversazione inizia adesso.

Italian is flexible with word order, but this version sounds normal and straightforward. The adverb adesso means now, and placing it at the end gives it a slight emphasis, similar to English The conversation starts now.

You could also hear:

• Adesso inizia la conversazione.

That version is also correct, but the focus feels a little different.

Both adesso and ora can mean now.

So you could also say:

• La conversazione inizia ora.

In many situations, they are interchangeable. Very broadly:

• ora is often slightly shorter and very common
• adesso can sound a little more emphatic in some contexts

But in a sentence like this, both are natural.

It is pronounced approximately kon-ver-sa-TSYO-ne.

A few useful points:

• zione is typically pronounced like tsyoh-neh
• the stress falls on -zio-: con-ver-sa-ZIÓ-ne

So:

• conversazione → con-ver-sa-TSYO-ne

If you are familiar with IPA, it is roughly /konversaˈtsjone/.

Yes. Cominciare and iniziare both mean to begin / to start, and in many contexts they are interchangeable.

So you can say:

• La conversazione inizia adesso.
• La conversazione comincia adesso.

Both are correct and natural.

There can be small stylistic preferences depending on context, but for a learner, it is safe to think of them as near-equivalents here.

It is neutral and standard Italian.

Nothing in the sentence is especially formal or especially casual. It would fit well in:

• an announcement
• a lesson
• a meeting
• a presentation
• a scripted dialogue

If you wanted something a bit more conversational in everyday speech, people might also say:

• Cominciamo adesso. = Let’s start now.
• Si comincia adesso. = We’re starting now / It starts now.

But your sentence is perfectly normal standard Italian.