UNIT 1 TOPIC 1: FRENCH ALPHABET/ L’ALPHABET FRANÇAIS

OBJECTIVES:

- Know the French alphabet

- Identify vowels and consonants
- pronounce properly the letters and memorize the sounds

OUTCOMES:
Students are familiar to French alphabet, they know how to pronounce the different
letters and can make the difference between vowels and consonants.

FLOW:
- Introduction
- Letters of French alphabet- les lettres de l’alphabet Français
- Vowels and consonants- les voyelles et les consonnes
- Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Alphabet is the group of letters of a language, which enable reading, writing and speaking.
French alphabet as well as English one, has 26 letters. The letters are obviously the same, but the
pronunciation is different. Nevertheless, some few letters have the same pronunciation both in
English and French.

It’s useful to learn French alphabet because it is the basis of the language, and a good
knowledge of the letters and their pronunciation will enhance your writing and spelling skills as well
as your overall written and spoken communication skills.

LETTERS OF FRENCH ALPHABET/ LES LETTRES DE L’ALPHABET FRANÇAIS

Below are listed the 26 letters of French alphabet in capital letters and the closest English
pronunciation.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M
aa Bay Say day ae/euh Ef J(soft) ash e G(soft) kaa l m
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
N O Pay Kuh Air/er Es tay uh vay Dooble ix e zaid
vay graik
The lecturer taking the session and the video files about French alphabet will be helpful for the
proper pronunciation of the letters.
VOWELS AND CONSONANTS/ LES VOYELLES ET LES CONSONNES

Contrary to English, French has 6 vowels (6 voyelles) and 20 consonants (20 consonnes) as
listed below:

Vowels: A E I O U Y

Consonants: B C D F G H J K L M

N P Q R S T V W X Z

In French alphabet, “Y” is considered as a vowel and not as a consonant.

CONCLUSION

Knowing French alphabet is a big step toward the mastering of French language, as
alphabet is the foundation of the language. We strongly encourage you to review the pronunciation
of the letters as taught in class, and practice with the provided video files, practice make perfect
and what is not practiced is forgotten.
 UNIT1 TOPIC 2 : ACCENTS AND SOUNDS/ LES ACCENTS ET LES
SONS
OBJECTIVES:

- Know the French accents

- Identify and pronounce properly the different accents
- Know the different sounds of French language
- Pronounce properly the different sounds
- Read properly the different sounds

OUTCOMES:
Students are familiar with the French accents and sounds, are able to identify those
accents and sounds and can pronounce and read them properly.

FLOW:
- Introduction
- The accents of French language- les accents de la langue Française
- Listen and repeat – écoute et répète
- Sounds of French language- les sons de la langue Française
- Listen and repeat
- Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

In some languages, French included, accents are use to emphasize the

pronunciation of a letter or to make the difference between two words which are written the
same way and do not have the same meaning or grammatical function. In English, though
we have to stress and emphasize on a part of a word for a good pronunciation, written
accents are not used.

By accent we mean a particular symbol, sign or mark above a letter. In French,

accents are only used on the vowels, except “Y”, and can change the pronunciation of the
vowel or make a difference in meaning.

THE ACCENTS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE/ LES ACCENTS DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE

In French language, 3 accents are used, and the accents can be seen only on the
vowels “A”, “E”, “I”, “O” and “U”. The 3 accents are: l’accent aigu (/), l’accent grave (\) and
l’accent circonflexe (^).

L’accent aigu (/) : This accent is only used on the vowel “E”, and will modify the
pronunciation of the letter. E + accent aigu (/) = É pronounced like the English letter “A”
EX: Étudiant (student), éléphant (elephant)
L’accent grave (\): the “accent grave” is used on the vowels “E”, “A” and “U”. On “E” the
accent will change the pronunciation of the vowel: E + accent grave (\) = È pronounced like
English “air” without the “r”.
EX: Père (father), mère (mother)

On the letters “A” and “U” the accent doesn’t change the pronunciation of the word
EX: ou (or) où (where); a (have 3rd person singular) à (to preposition)

L’accent circonflexe (^): this accent is used on the vowels “A”, “E”, “I”, “O” and “U”. on the
vowel “E”, the accent circonflexe will change the pronunciation of the letter producing the
same sound like the accent grave: E + accent circonflexe (^) = Ê pronounced like English
“air” without the “r”

EX: pêche (fishing), fête (party, celebration)

On the vowels “A”, “I”, “O” and “U”, the “accent circonflexe” will not affect the pronunciation
of the letter

EX: sur (on) sûr (sure) mas (farm house) mât (flagpole)

IMPORTANT :

- The accents are use only on vowels. Except “Y”

- The vowel “Y” never carries any of the 3 accents
- The accent aigu (/) is only used on the vowel “E” and will change its pronunciation
- The 3 accents are used on “E” and will change the sound of the vowel “E”
- The accent grave (\) is also used on “A” and “U” but will not change their
pronunciation
- The accent circonflexe (^) is also used on “A”, “I”, “O”, “U” but will not change their
pronunciation

LISTEN AND REPEAT/ ÉCOUTE ET RÉPÈTE

Practice with the video file repeating the pronunciation of the accents and words with those
accents.

SOUNDS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE/ LES SONS DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE

To make a sentence, we use words. To make a word, we use letters. The combining
of letters produce sounds, and speaking, reading or writing consists in pronouncing or
reporting the proper sound. That’s all the importance of knowing which sound produce a
letter or unit of letters

Below you will have in brackets the sound and in the same line the letters or group
of letters producing the same sounds. Some examples will also be provided. You should
pay attention to the lecturer’s pronunciation, and also practice with the provided video file.
Sounds with vowel or group of vowels/ les sons avec une voyelle ou ensemble de voyelles

[A]: A À Â EX: ami (friend); à (to preposition) âme (soul).

[E]: E EU OEU EX: de (some partitive), heureux (happy), œuf (egg)

[É]: É ET AI ER EZ EX : étudier (to study), et (and), je parlerai (i

will speak, verb in future tense), danser (to dance, infinitive form), chez (at
preposition)

[È]: È Ê AI EI ES EST EX: mère (mother), pêche (fishing),

balai (broom, sweeper), baleine (whale) ES, EST ( are, is; to be conjugated)

[I]: I Î Y EX: vie (life), gîte (shelter), gym (gym)

[O]: O AU EAU EX: moto (bike), auto (car), au (to preposition), eau (water)

[U] : U EU EUT EX: lune (moon), eu, eut (to have conjugated)

[OU] : OU EX : poulet (chicken)

[OI] : OI OUA EX: poisson (fish), couac (wrong note)

[OUI]: OUI UI EX: oui (yes), lui (him)

[EUI]: EUI OEI EX: écureuil (squirrel), œil (eye)

Sounds with vowels and consonants/ les sons avec voyelles et consonnes

[AN]: AN AM EN EM EX: enfant (child), ambulance (ambulance)

température (temperature)

[IN]: IN IM AIN AIM EIN EX: Fin (end), timbre (stamp), pain (bread),
faim (hunger), peinture (paint)

[ON]: ON OM EX: bonbon (sweet, candy), pompier (fireman)

[UN]: UN UM EX : un (a, an, one), humble (humble, modest)

[ION] : ION IOM EX : lion (lion), triomphe (triumph)

[OIN] : OIN EX : loin (far)

[IAN] : IAN IEN EX : pliant (folding), client (client, customer)

[IEN] : IEN EX : chien (dog), viens (come)

[AIL] : AIL AILLE EX : ail (garlic), bétail (cattle), paille (straw)

Sounds with consonants/ les sons avec les consonnes

The association of 2 consonants produce most of the time the same sound like in English,
below some combined consonants and examples.

BL: Blanc (white), table (table)

BR: Bras (arm), arbre (tree)

CH: Chaise (chair), chien (dog)

CL: Clé (key), classe (classeroom)

CR: Craie (chalk), crayon (pencil)

DR: Drap (sheet, blanket), droit (right)

FL: Flèche (arrow), flamme (flame)

FR: Fruit (fruit), Fraise (strawberry)

GL: Gloire (glory), glande (glande)

GN : Peigne (comb), gagner (win)

GR: Grand (big, tall), grâce (grace)

KL: klaxon (horn), kleptomanie (-nia)

KR: Krach (crash, collapse)

LL: like “L” Belle (nice), balle (ball)

LL: like “Y” fille (girl), bille (marble)

PH: like “F” phase (phase), éléphant

(elephant)

PL: place (place), plante (plante), plus

PR: Prix (price), prendre (take)

TR: Trouver (find), travail (work, job)

VR: Vrai (true), livre (book)

Letters with double pronunciations/ les lettres produisant deux sons

Some letters have 2 pronunciations depending on their position in the word and also
according to the letter that come before of after them. This is especially the case for “C”, “G”
and “S”. In French language, we have 2 types of vowels. Soft vowels (les voyelles faibles)
“E”, “I”, “Y” and hard vowels (les voyelles fortes) “A”, “O”, “U”. The type of vowel also affects
the pronunciation of these letters

“C”: - Is pronounced [K] when followed by a hard vowel “A”, “O” or “U” EX: carte (menu,
map), coton (cotton), cuvette (bowl)

- Is pronounced [S] when followed by a soft vowel “E”, “I” or “Y” EX: glace (ice),
ici (here), cycle (cycle), cybercafé (cybercafe)
- “Ç” ( C cédille)is pronounced [S] with hard vowels EX: garçon (boy), reçu (receipt)

“G”: - is pronounced [G] like the English word “gap” when followed by hard vowels
EX: goût (taste), gagner (win)

- Is pronounced [J] followed by a soft vowel. EX: rouge (red), gîte (shelter), gym

“S”: - is pronounced [S] at the beginning of a word and in a word when situated before or
after a consonant. EX: serpent (snake), tester (to test), penser (to think)

- Is pronounced [Z] when situated between 2 vowels. EX: case (hut), chose (thing),
pause (pause, break)
- To produce the sound [S] when “S” is between to vowel we double the “S” (SS)
EX: poisson (fish), boisson (drink)

Above are the different sounds of French language. Every word is made of one or many of
these sounds. Now that you know them, you are able to read any single word of French
language. Congratulations!!!

LISTEN AND REPEAT

Practice in class with your teacher, use also the video files provided to review the
pronunciation of the sounds. It may happen that the pronunciation of the video is different
from the teacher’s one, as some sounds are slightly different according to the French
speaking area. In case of strong difference, follow the pronunciation as given by the teacher.

CONCLUSION

Now we are at the end of this long trip within French accents and sounds, the main
objective is to help you improve your reading, speaking and writing skills, as the language is
about pronouncing sounds. Accents are very important in French language, they are useful
in making the difference between two words that are written the same way but don’t have the
same grammatical function. They also create rhythm, pitch and harmony in speaking and
reading by changing the pronunciation of some letters. Now you know how to read, get
ready for the next steps.