Prononciation
1. The Alphabet
● 26 letters (same as English) but with different letter names:
a, bé, cé, dé, e, effe, gé, ache, i, ji, ka, elle, emme, enne, o, pé, qu, erre, esse,
té, u, vé, double vé, iks, i grec, zède.
● Diacritics:
○ Accent aigu (é) — forces /e/ sound (café).
○ Accent grave (è, à, ù) — changes /e/ to /ɛ/ or distinguishes words (là
vs la).
○ Accent circonflexe (â, ê, î, ô, û) — historical letter loss, sometimes
affects vowel quality.
○ Tréma (ë, ï, ü) — pronounce vowels separately (naïf).
○ Cédille (ç) — forces /s/ before a/o/u (garçon).
French Vowels (Oral)
~12 oral vowels.
Sound Example Notes
/i/ si, vie close front unrounded
/e/ été close-mid front unrounded
/ɛ/ mère open-mid front unrounded
/a/ patte open front unrounded
/ɑ/ pâte (in some accents) open back unrounded
/o/ eau, mot close-mid back rounded
/ɔ/ port open-mid back rounded
/u/ fou close back rounded
/y/ lune close front rounded (key French difficulty)
/ø/ peu close-mid front rounded
/œ/ peur open-mid front rounded
/ə/ le, demain schwa, often dropped in speech
French Nasal Vowels
Nasal vowels = air flows through mouth and nose. (~4 core sounds)
Sound Example Notes
/ɑ̃/ sans, banc back open nasal
/ɛ̃/ pain, vin front open-mid nasal
/ɔ̃/ nom, son back open-mid nasal
/œ̃/ un, parfum front open-mid rounded nasal
Consonants
1. Shared with English
/p, b, t, d, f, v, m, n, l, s, z, k, g/
2. Distinctive French sounds:
● /ʁ/ (r) — uvular fricative in the throat (not rolled like Spanish).
● /ʒ/ (j, g before e/i/y) — as in jour.
● /ʃ/ (ch) — as in chat.
● /ɲ/ (gn) — as in montagne.
● /ŋ/ (borrowed words) — camping.
● /h/ — always silent in native words (except in English loans).
Silent Letters & Pronunciation Rules
1. Final consonants are usually silent unless followed by liaison:
○ Silent: grand → /gʁɑ̃/
○ Pronounced: grand homme → /gʁɑ̃.t‿ɔm/
2. Exceptions: final C, R, F, L are often pronounced (mnemonic: CaReFuL).
3. Many verb endings (-ent) are silent: ils mangent → /il mɑ̃ʒ/.
Liaison & Enchaînement
1. Liaison — linking a normally silent consonant to a following vowel:
○ vous avez → /vu.za.ve/
2. Types:
○ Obligatory (grammar rules require it) — les amis, nous avons.
○ Optional (formal speech) — ils ont attendu.
○ Forbidden — et elle (never /tɛ.tɛl/).
3. Enchaînement — moving final consonant to next word:
○ avec elle → /a.vɛ.kɛl/
Elision (Vowel Dropping)
● Drop a vowel before a vowel sound:
○ le ami → l’ami
○ je aime → j’aime
● Helps keep speech fluid.
Rhythm, Stress, Intonation
1. Syllable-timed — each syllable is roughly equal in duration.
2. Word stress — always on last syllable of a phrase group.
3. Intonation patterns:
○ Rising for yes/no questions (Tu viens ?).
○ Falling for statements (Je viens.).
○ Rise–fall for WH-questions (Pourquoi tu viens ?).
Spelling–Sound Correspondences
1. oi → /wa/ (moi)
2. ou → /u/ (fou)
3. ai/ei → /ɛ/ (mais)
4. au/eau → /o/ (eau)
5. an/en/am/em → /ɑ̃/
6. on/om → /ɔ̃/
7. in/ain/im/ein → /ɛ̃/
8. un/um → /œ̃/
9. ill → /j/ (fille) or /ij/ (ville)
Practice Techniques
● IPA study — know symbols for French sounds.
● Shadowing — repeat after native recordings in sync.
● Minimal pairs — practice tricky distinctions (beau vs bon).
● Record & compare — self-assessment.
● Tongue & throat training — especially for r and nasal vowels.
