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Pronunciation Activities

Consonants

1 FINAL CONSONANTS are not sounded in French unless they are followed by a vowel (called a liaison) or are one of the following: c r f l q. The latter are often (but not always) sounded, and you need to check the pronunciation each time you meet a new word:
  • chat bas pied parlez (unsounded)
  • fer coq appel bref vrac (sounded)
Note that the r in the infinitive of -er verbs is not sounded: parler regarder
There are exceptions that need to be learnt as new words are encountered (e.g. mars, jadIs - final consonants sounded)

CONSONANT CLUSTERS follow the same rules as above:
  • mets est pieds loups (2 unsounded consonants)
  • fers coqs chefs (1 sounded, 1 unsounded consonant)
Final consonants will be sounded when making a liaison with a following word beginning with a vowel but previous ones will not:
  • c'est ‿ un stylo (t pronounced, s silent)

2 CONSONANT SOUNDS TO NOTE
CH = 'sh'
  • chalet chat cachet
QU = 'k'
  • question que quel
J/G+e/i = 'zh' as in 'measure'
  • joli joie jupe germe gicler rage région
H is not sounded
  • homme heure hôtel
R is rolled at the back of the throat
  • rouler terrible rat
GN = 'ny' like the sound in the middle of 'onion'
  • montagne brugnon campagne

3 SOFT AND HARD 'C' - THE CEDILLA (Ç)
In French, as in English, 'c' before the vowels 'i' and 'e' is softened and pronounced as an 's'.
Before 'a', 'o' and 'u' it has a hard 'k' sound:
  • cela certain ceci cimetière cantine cousin curé
When a soft 'c' is needed before a hardening vowel, the cedilla mark (ç) is used.
  • garçon ça reçu façon conçu soupçon

4 SOFT AND HARD 'G' - THE SOFTENING 'E' . HOW TO HARDEN OR SOFTEN G.
In French, as in English, 'g' before the vowels 'i' and 'e' is softened and pronounced as a 'j' (see above)
Before 'a', 'o' and 'u' it has a hard 'g' sound:
  • gicler gendarme page gâteau gants golf lugubre gens
If a hard 'g' is needed before a 'softening' vowel, the letter 'u' is inserted:
  • muguet gui déguiser guetter guillotine
If a soft 'g' is needed before a 'hardening' vowel, an 'e' is inserted:
  • mangeons pigeons cageot rangea

5 THE LETTER 'S'
As in English, the letter 's' has two sounds. The unvoiced 'ss' (sucre, passion, persil) or the 'z' sound when it appears between two vowels (rose, faisons, musée).
The sound 's' is also made by softened 'c' (see above) and by 'ti' in words containing '-tion': nationalité stationnement consolation

Vowels

There are five vowels in written French: a, e, i/y, o, u, and these sounds can have a number of different spellings.   The vowels have long and short sounds, but fewer than their English equivalents, and their sounds are pure - unlike English where many of the long sounds are diphthongs (eg A = e+ee; I = ah + ee). The English approximations are given below as a guide only. It is worthwhile getting used to the phonetic symbols used in dictionaries in order to check the precise pronunciation of new words. 

i/y  (=ee)   
  • il   vie  lyre 
closed e (=ay)  
  • blé   dé   clef    parlez   chanter 
open e (=e)     
  • père  mène  lait  merci  gêne jouet  cachet lait mais 
short a (=a)     
  • plat    patte 
long a   (=ah)    
  • bas   pâtes tasse 
short o (=o)      
  • mort  donner  bottes 
long o   (=oh)    
  • mot  gauche  eau  dôme 
ou (=oo)    
  • genou  fou  pour  moule            
u (=u)     
  • rue vêtu  sur 
short eu (=er)    
  • peu  feu  deux 
long eu   (=er)   
  • peur  meuble 
oi    (=wa) 
  • toi   roi  loin 

For English speakers, the two most difficult vowel sounds are 'ou' and 'u'.  For the first, the lips should be well rounded but not pushed forward; for the second, the speaker should say 'ee', and while continuing to say it, round the lips. Click below to listen  to the pronunciation on  Quizlet flashcards.
'u/o' Differentiation

Nasal sounds

All four nasal sounds are contained in the phrase un bon vin blanc​, but each sound has more than one spelling.
  • an am en em (antiquité ramper ensuite emporter)
  • on om (ronce rompu)
  • in im ain aim ein eim en after i (pin important pain daim peindre Reims rien)
  • un um (Verdun parfum)
Nasal Sounds

Letter string -il -​ill 

Flashcards

Fille, billet
If you isolate the highlighted letters in the English words three years, you have a good approximation of the sound -ill when it follows a consonant (or qu) in French:
  • fille bille béquille famille sillon piller ( NB common exception group where the ll is pronounced as l: mille ville village tranquille)
​If there is a vowel before -ill, there is no ee sound. (So grenouille should never be pronounced 'grenwee'!)

Where other vowels precede the ​ill, the key is to pronounce those vowels and add 'y'
-ouille
≈ English two years. It does not rhyme with fille.
  • ​trouille grenouille fouille patrouille mouillé fouiller
​-ail -aille
≈ English are you
  • rail bétail maille paille bataille faille
-eil. -eille
​​≈ English hey
  • vermeil bouteille treille abeille Marseille
-euil -euille -ueil -œil
≈ English her yacht
  • feuille œil Montreuil dueil cueillir millefeuille
Pronunciation Activities
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