La prononciation française

1. La prononciation française Comment ne pas parler en français comme une vache espagnol

2. La transcription phonétique [a] la, là, avec [ó] au, beau, allô [ã] dans, encore, temps [ò] homme, alors [é] télé, chez, dîner, les [õ] non, regardons [è] elle, êtes, frère [œ] deux, veut [e] fin, demain [œ] heure, sœur [i] qui, il, lycée, dîne [œ] un [g] garder, goûter, Guy [u] vous, où, jour [zh] je, âge [ü] tu, une [sh] chez, Michel  [y] fille, travailler

3. L’alphabet a (a) b (bé) c (sé) d (dé) e (eu) f (èf) g (jé) h (ach) i (i) j( ji) k (ka) l (èl) m (èm) n (èn) o (o) p (pé) q (ku) r (èr) s (ès) t (té) u (u) v (vé) w (double vé) x (iks) y (i grec) z (zèd)

4. Les accents • l’accentaigu ( ‘ ) can occur over the letter “e”. André Valérie une étudiante répétez • l’accent grave ( ` ) can occur over the letters a, e, u. voilà où frère Hélène • l’accentcirconflexe can occur over all vowels. It often marks the loss of the sound /s/ at an earlier stage of French. le château la fenêtre le dîner l’hôtel • la cédille ( ç ) can occur only under a “c”. When the letter “c” is followed by a hard vowel (a, o, u) it has a hard /k/ sound as in cave and coca, culmination. The cédille changes the hard /k/ sound to a soft /s/ sound. ça garçon français commençons • le tréma ( “ ) can occur over e, i, u. It indicates that the two vowels next to each other are to be pronounced individually. Noël égoïste Haïti Loïc

5. Le rythme et la tension • In French, all of the syllables have the same strength and thusly the same degree of stress. • Canada/ Canada introduction / introduction madam / madamePhillip / Philippe • While speaking French, vowels at the end of a syllable are pronounced with the lips and the jaws tense. • The vowels are shorter and the lips and jaws do not move during their production.

6. La détente des consonnes finales • As a general rule, final consonant letters are not pronounced in French. mon copain elle est nous sommes très jeunes • There are four final letters that are generally pronounced: c, r, f, l. Éricpour neuf Daniel • An exception is “r” in the infinitive ending and in words ending with –ier: chanter jouer le papier le premier janvier • At the end of a word, one or more consonant letters followed by –e stands for a pronounced consonant that you must articulate. It does not make any sound. intelligent / intelligente serieux / serieuse amusant / amusante

7. Les sons de « e » • /e/: This vowel must be pronounced with a lot of tension and without any glide. Your lips should stay tense and in a smiling position. It is spelled é, e, er, ier, ez. The /e/ sound also occurs when an e is followed by a double consonant. la télé danser janvier écoutez dessert • / ε / : This vowel is pronounced with less tension than /e/, but without any glide. It is spelled è, ê, e (followed by a pronounced consonant), ei, ai. The /e/ sound also occurs when it is the final syllable in a word when it is followed by one or more consonants, in a non-final syllable when followed by two or more consonants, or in a non-final syllable when followed by an x. la mère bête elle treize j’aime concert question examen • /ø/: To pronounce this vowel, start from the position of /e/ and round the lips. The lips should be tense and moved forward while lengthening the sound. It is spelled e or eu. It also occurs at the end of words and syllables, before consonant /z/, when followed by a consonant and an r or l, or as a mute e. bleu sérieuse je regretter un secret ce

8. Les sons de « e » • /œ/: To pronounce this vowel, start from the position of /ø/ and relax the lips somewhat. It is spelled eu or œu. It also occurs before a pronounced consonant, or followed by a consonant and an r or l. couleur peuvent sœur heure vendeur • unstable e : An unstable e has the sound of /œ/ or /ø/ and depending on the consonants around it, the e could be retained or elided (dropped in speech). It is usually dropped within words when it comes after only one pronounced consonant (samedi). But it is retained if it comes after two pronounced consonants (vendredi). This, too, applies across words and phrases. The unstable e is also pronounced when it occurs before groups consisting of a consonant plus the semivowel /j/, after a group of consonants ending in /r/ or /l/, in one syllable grammatical words (je, le, me, se, te, ne, que), or at the beginning of a phrase. feuilleton / gouvernement facilement / simplement jetons / jetions un coup de soleil / j’aime le soleil de on ne fait rien / ne fait rien

9. Les sons de « o » • /o/ : To pronounce this vowel, your lips should be rounded and tense. It has a short, tense sound. It is spelled o, au, aux, eau,eaux, o + silent consonant. In a few words it occurs before a pronounced consonant (drôle). biologie au resto aux bureaux gros • / /: To pronounce this vowel, your lips should be less tense than /o/ but without any glide. It is spelled o and it usually occurs before a pronounced consonant. le prof la forme la note il adore

10. Les voyelles • /i/: To pronounce this vowel, your lips should be spread and tense, as if in a frozen smile. The sound produced is high-pitched. It is spelled i, y. Mimi y ici gris • /u/: To pronounce this vowel, your lips should be very rounded, protruding and tense. The sound is very low-pitched and has more tension in the lips than /y/. It isspelledou. vous tout nous chou • /y/: To pronounce this vowel, your tongue must be forward and your lips should be rounded, protruding and tense. This sound has more tension in the lower jaw muscles than /u/. Start from the position /i/ and round the lips. It is spelled u. tu bu vu su

11. Les semi-voyelles • /w/: To pronounce this semivowel, start from the vowel /u/ and pronounce it with the vowel that follows (normally /a/). It is often spelled oi but can also be spelled ou. If the spelling is oy, then in represents the sound /waj/ and if the oi occurs with an /n/ after it has a nasal vowel sound. vois toi oui jouer employé royal loin moins • / / : To pronounce this semivowel, start from the /y/ and pronounce it with the vowel that follows (normally /i/). It isspelledui, ua, uy. huit suis nuit bruit nuage ennuyeux s’essuyer • /j/: To pronounce this semivowel, form your mouth for the ‘y’ of the English word yes. The sound /j/ is spelledi(and sometimes y as in joyeux), and it must come right before a vowel sound. The /j/ forms a single syllable with the following vowel. le mari / le marié étudie / étudiez bougie / changiez • When i comes right before a group of consonants and followed by a vowel sound, it is pronounced /i/ and forms a separate syllable. le chien / le client bien / oublier

12. Les voyelles nasales • A nasal vowel can make a difference in meaning. beau [bo] / bon [bõ] ça [sa] / cent [sã] sec [sεk] / cinq [sεk] • There are four nasal vowels in French in a helpful phrase : un[œ] bon [bõ] vin [vε] blanc [blã] • Nasal vowels are always written with a vowel letter followed by a nasal consonant (m or n) but that consonant is usually not pronounced. • The vowel /õ/ is usually spelled on:l’oncle • The vowel /ã/ is usually spelled an or en: janvier le vent • The vowel /ε/ can be spelled in, en or am: vingt le chienexamen le bain • The vowel /œ/, which is rare and often pronounced like /ε/, is spelled un: brunlundi

13. Les voyelles nasales • Before b and p, all nasal vowels are spelled with m. The exception is lebonbon. combien la champagne le temps impossible • When a nasal vowel is accompanied by an m or n, it is an oral vowel. The nasal consonants must be pronounced with a strong release and the preceding vowel is never nasalized. bon [bõ] / bonne [b n] Simon [simõ] / Simone [sim n] cousin [cuzε] / cousine [kuzin] l’an [lã] / l’année [lane] • Avoid adding a short /n/ sound when a nasal vowel occurs before a consonant. Lengthen the nasal vowel. le camping la planche la montagne une randonnée

14. Les deux h • Anh in French does not make any sound. • Most h words sound as if they begin with a vowel and create a liaison/elision that produce a linking sound between the articles and words. These words are begun with un h muet. l’hiver l’histoire les hommes les habitudes l’huile s’habiller • Other h words sound as if they begin with a consonant because there is no liaison/elision that would cause a linking sound between the articles and words. These words are begun with un h aspire. un hamburger la Hollande les haricots verts les hors-d’œuvre • There is no way to tell if an h is muet or aspiré, you just have to learn it as such. • There are two times that a vowel will act as if it contains an h aspiré: le nombre * un le * onze novembre

15. Les consonnes • gn: To pronounce the consonant gn, your tongue is placed against the lower front teeth while the tongue body is against the hard palate. You act as if you were producing the /n/ and /j/ sound simultaneously. It isspelledgn. campagne soigne montagne cygne • l: To pronounce the French l, your tongue is against your upper front teeth. il belle bol elle

16. Les sons de « ill » • The spelling ill has two pronunciations. It can take on an /l/ sound or a /j/ sound. There is no way to know how it is pronounced, you just have to learn it as such. • /l/: mille ville village Lille Lillois tranquille million • /j/ : Antilles fille se maquiller s’habiller Camille famille

17. Les sons de « s » • A single s will create a /z/ sound. désertcousin poison • A double s will create a /s/ sound. dessert coussinpoisson • If an s is next to a consonant, it will create an /s/ sound. rembourserresterl’estomacrespire • An s at the beginning of words and after a nasal vowel it will create an /s/ sound. ils sont vous savez ainsi

18. La consonne x • The sound of x may vary in different words. There are four sounds of x, and the pronunciation must be learned with the word. • /s/: six soixanteBruxelles • /z/: six hommes dix aspirins • /gz/: l’examen exagérer exactement • /ks/: le taxi l’expérience

19. La consonne r • To produce the French /r/, begin practicing by saying “aga” and moving the back of your tongue back and up until you are producing the continuous sound “ara”. Then alternate between saying the two. rouge resterage rirerue

20. L’enchaînement • Enchaînementis made when consonants that occur within a rhythmic group tend to be linked to the following syllable. This is why most syllables end in a vowel sound. Il a /i la/ cinq amis /sε ka mi/ Alice arrive /a li sa riv/

21. La liaison consonant • The linking of a final consonant to the beginning of the next syllable is liaison. Liaison consonant occurs when the final consonant of a word will link to the next word when it starts with a vowel or a h muet. • A final s, x, z creates a /z/ sound during liaison. vous avez six ans chez eux • A final t, d creates a /t/ sound. c’estun grand immeuble • A final n creates a /n/ sound. on a un oncle mon ami • A final r creates a /r/ sound. le premier étage le dernier imper • When you pronounce the liaison, articulate it as part of the next word. deux oncles /døzõkl/ on a /õ na/ il est ici /i le ti si/

22. La Liaison Obligatoire • There are cases when liaison must always be made. This is called liaison obligatoire. • Always link after the plural form of articles and adjectives that precede the noun. les hôtels un appareil ces étages mon église beaux avions • Always link after the adjectives gros, mauvais, petit, bon and grand. un gros homme un mauvais élève un petit animal un grand âge bon anniversaire • Alwayslinkafternumerals. trois heures quatre-vingts ans le six avril

23. La Liaison Obligatoire • Always link after the plural subject pronouns nous, vous, ils, elles. nous habitons vous utilisez ils ont payé elles adorent • Alwayslinkafter one-syllableadverbs and prepositions (pas, plus, très, dans, sans, sous, en) and the combination of the preposition à and de with the plural definite articles. très intéressant dans un café aux Antilles sans argent en octobre • Always link in certain fixed phrases. Quel temps fait-il? Quelle heure est-il? Comment allez-vous ?

24. Pas de Liaison • No liaison is ever made after the word et. Pierre et Alain vingt et un