CFHollister
12-29-2006, 06:10 PM
Please see the following for introduction and citation information:
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/showthread.php?t=1101
Note: Letters that appear in red are those that appear with strikethrough in the original text.
More French Consonants
Consonants in French are not exactly like English consonants. Take the letter t for example. In English you say “tall” and your tongue may not seem to touch any part of your mouth. In French the sound of t is more crisp and the tip of your tongue must touch the gum behind your upper teeth. Because the vowel sounds, too, are more crisp and quickly released, the lips are thinned, slightly spread out at the corners and flattened against the upper teeth in saying
tel...................... tir..................... tapis.................. tic-tac
In French the letter d also requires the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth for a good sound. And in saying a French t or d, you do not move your jaw and you do not expel a great amount of air.
dit...................... dada.................. dame................. date
In saying the letters l and n in French the tongue end the sound by touching the gums behind the upper teeth.
Chanel................ Laval.................. Michel
Final e
Many word in both English and French end in e, but that e has no sound. It merely gives sound to the letter in front of it.
Louise................ place.................. amie
Nice................... toute.................. boue
Anne.................. bastide............... foie
The silent e is often found in French endings -tte, -rre, -sse, -lle, -nne, -ppe, as in
datte................. civette............... Annette
terre.................. serre.................. barre
passe................. tasse................. classe
belle................... ville................... Michelle
canne................. panne................ Anne
nappe................. lippe.................. Philippe
the letter j
The letter j as a distinctive French sound. It must never sound like English j in jet. It is pronounced like the z in azure or like the s in measure.
jatte.................. jaloux................. toujours
jour................... ajoute................. joue
joie.................... bijou................... jardiniste
the letter g
When the letter g comes before e or i, it has the same pronunciation as the letter j. Otherwise, it is like the g in English gap, got, gun.
page.................. bouge................. goutte................ gigot
agit................... plage.................. grave................. guide
nage.................. pige.................... fagot................. Guy
the letter h
In French the letter h is silent.
habiter (ah-bee-tay)
th is pronounced like t.
Thibaut (tee-boh)
thibaude (tee-bohd)
the letters b and p
Letter b and p are easy, but do not push out any air*. French b and p are not explosive. If you hold a lighted match in front of your lips and say English pipe, papa, pour, you will blow out the match. Say those same words in good French and you will not. Try it.
balle.................. page................... nappe
boule................. pas..................... belle
berger................ pipe.................... Robert
battez................ Paris................... pourboire
*I believe the author is slightly in error here. On any phonetic chart (such as IPA) b and p are “plosive bilabial stops” (voiced and unvoiced), where plosive means the pushing out of air… In other words you cannot produce these sounds without pushing out air. I think the author’s intention was to emphasis that is French this is done far less forcefully than in English (she uses the word “explosive”).
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/showthread.php?t=1101
Note: Letters that appear in red are those that appear with strikethrough in the original text.
More French Consonants
Consonants in French are not exactly like English consonants. Take the letter t for example. In English you say “tall” and your tongue may not seem to touch any part of your mouth. In French the sound of t is more crisp and the tip of your tongue must touch the gum behind your upper teeth. Because the vowel sounds, too, are more crisp and quickly released, the lips are thinned, slightly spread out at the corners and flattened against the upper teeth in saying
tel...................... tir..................... tapis.................. tic-tac
In French the letter d also requires the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth for a good sound. And in saying a French t or d, you do not move your jaw and you do not expel a great amount of air.
dit...................... dada.................. dame................. date
In saying the letters l and n in French the tongue end the sound by touching the gums behind the upper teeth.
Chanel................ Laval.................. Michel
Final e
Many word in both English and French end in e, but that e has no sound. It merely gives sound to the letter in front of it.
Louise................ place.................. amie
Nice................... toute.................. boue
Anne.................. bastide............... foie
The silent e is often found in French endings -tte, -rre, -sse, -lle, -nne, -ppe, as in
datte................. civette............... Annette
terre.................. serre.................. barre
passe................. tasse................. classe
belle................... ville................... Michelle
canne................. panne................ Anne
nappe................. lippe.................. Philippe
the letter j
The letter j as a distinctive French sound. It must never sound like English j in jet. It is pronounced like the z in azure or like the s in measure.
jatte.................. jaloux................. toujours
jour................... ajoute................. joue
joie.................... bijou................... jardiniste
the letter g
When the letter g comes before e or i, it has the same pronunciation as the letter j. Otherwise, it is like the g in English gap, got, gun.
page.................. bouge................. goutte................ gigot
agit................... plage.................. grave................. guide
nage.................. pige.................... fagot................. Guy
the letter h
In French the letter h is silent.
habiter (ah-bee-tay)
th is pronounced like t.
Thibaut (tee-boh)
thibaude (tee-bohd)
the letters b and p
Letter b and p are easy, but do not push out any air*. French b and p are not explosive. If you hold a lighted match in front of your lips and say English pipe, papa, pour, you will blow out the match. Say those same words in good French and you will not. Try it.
balle.................. page................... nappe
boule................. pas..................... belle
berger................ pipe.................... Robert
battez................ Paris................... pourboire
*I believe the author is slightly in error here. On any phonetic chart (such as IPA) b and p are “plosive bilabial stops” (voiced and unvoiced), where plosive means the pushing out of air… In other words you cannot produce these sounds without pushing out air. I think the author’s intention was to emphasis that is French this is done far less forcefully than in English (she uses the word “explosive”).