Alizée America Forum - Lesson - French Sounds (Pronunciation)

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http://moi-alizee.us/forums/showthread.php?t=1101

French Sounds

You are beginning a study of French. The French language has its own sounds; it does not sound like English. Please remember that. Try, from the start, to make French sounds truly French.

Take the word Paris. In the English you say PAR-iss, with the stress on the first syllable. But in French the two syllables are equally strong, and the final s is not pronounced. You say: pa-ree. You do not slight the first syllable. You do not say: puh-REE.

To begin with, then, we have two points of difference to rememeber between English and French pronunciation:
1. the syllables of a French word are equally strong and precise
2. final consonants are usually not pronounced. In the words below c, d, p, r, s, t, x, z are not pronounced

Say the French words in the column at the left. The equivalent sounds in the second column are only an approximation of the true French, but they can be of help at this point.
tabac................. tah-bah
Richard............... ree-shahr
galop.................. gah-loh
toucher............... too-shay
vous................... voo
mot.................... moh
beaux................. boh
chez................... shay

Final l is pronounced.
Laval................. Chanel................. Ravel
mal.................... bel..................... sel

Because a noun in French usually has an article before it (the or a), we suggest you learn:
.......................... le...................... la..................... les
pronounced:......... luh.................... lah.................... lay
In word lists for practice in pronunciation we shall sometimes omit the article with the noun; there will be times we cannot omit it.

Some French sounds are easy to learn.

the letter i
The letter I is always pronounced eeeh, like the I in the English word machine. The letter y when it takes the place of I in some spellings also has the sound eeeh.

the sound of ou
The combination of ou is always pronounced oooh, like the oo in the word moon.
Here are some one-syllable words. Tighten your lip muscles as you speak. French sounds require tighter muscles and more tension than do English sounds. Make your French words fairly crisp.

In the list below pronounce the letter o as oh and a as ah.
lit...................... tout................... mot.................... pas
mis.................... nous................... dos.................... cas
plis.................... doux................... flot.................... plat
gris.................... loup................... pot..................... vas

the sound of ch
French ch is pronounced like sh of English, so that the name Chalres sounds like sharll. Pronounce now:
............. choux............... chat

Practice pronouncing:
le pilot............... le sabot.............. la machine
le motel............. le coup................ les chats
Gounod.............. le tapis............... chocolat
Arles................. vos..................... chouchou