PRONUNCIATION

Alphabet

a à b bé c cé d dé e e, é f èf g gé h ache i i j ji k ka l èl m èm n èn o o p pé q ku r èrr s èss t té u u v vé w double vé x iks y i grec z zède

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and y; the other letters are consonants.

The names of the letters are masculine.

Orthographic Signs

The accents (´, `, ^). There are three accents in French which generally indicate the pronunciation of the vowel:

(´) acute accent (accent aigu),

(`) grave accent (accent grave),

(^) circumflex accent (accent circonflexe).

The apostrophe ('), l'apostrophe, indicates that a vowel has been omitted: l'enfant.

The cedilla (¸), la cédille, placed under a c, indicates that the sound of c is soft: français.

The diaeresis (¨), le tréma, placed over the second of two consecutive vowels, indicates that the first vowel is to be pronounced separately: naïveté.

The hyphen (-), le trait d'union, is used to connect words: suis-je?

Syllables

1. A French syllable generally begins with a consonant; the first syllable, however, may begin with a vowel: fé-li-ci-ter, a-me-ner.

2. When there are two consonants, the first belongs to the preceding syllable, the second to the following syllable: en-fant, bon-té.

3. If the second consonant is l or r, the two consonants belong to the same syllable: ou-bli-er, ou-vrit. The combinations ch, ph, th, gn always belong to the same syllable.

Stress

All French syllables, except those ending with a mute e, are pronounced with equal stress, but the voice rests on the last syllable giving it a slight emphasis. If the last syllable contains a mute e, the emphasis falls on the preceding syllable: im|par|fait, a|bon|dant, a|bon|dan|te, tu de|man|des, ils de|man|dent.

Simple Vowel Sounds

1. a, short, somewhat like the first o in follow: la, table, quatre.

2. a, long, like a in Arthur: â, ~ation, ~as, ~ass~.

(a) When a has a circumflex accent: pâle.

(b) When a is followed by ~tion: conversation.

(c) Generally when followed by s: pas, passer.

3. e, mute, like e in the pronounced rapidly with the following word, the boy: ~e, ~es, ~ent.

(a) Entirely mute at the end of a word, in the ending ~es of words of more than one syllable, and in ~ent of the third person plural of a verb: porte, parles, parlent.

(b) Slightly pronounced at the end of a syllable in the body of a word: petit, acheter.

(c) Fully pronounced at the end of monosyllables: le, je, me.

4. é, closed, almost like i in fit: é, ~er, ~ai, ~ez, et.

(a) When e has the acute accent: été, défini.

(b) In the ending ~er of the infinitive and other words in which the r is silent: parler, marcher, soulier.

(c) In the ending ~ai of the verb: j'ai, je parlai.

(d) In the ending ~ez: chez, nez, parlez.

(e) In the conjunction et.

5. è, open, like e in egg: è, ê, ai, ei, ~es, ~et.

(a) When e has the grave accent: mère, père.

(b) When e has the circumflex accent: être, même.

(c) ai when followed by a consonant and in the endings of the imperfect and present conditional: mais, air, parlais, parlaient.

(d) ei in the body of a word: treize, neige.

(e) In monosyllables ending in ~es: mes, tes, tu es, il est.

(f) In the ending ~et: sujet, complet, il promet.

(g) When e is followed by a sounded consonant in the same syllable: bel, avec, quel, elle.

6. i, y, like ee in see: si, ici, style, syllabe.

7. ô, closed, like the o in no: ô, au, eau.

(a) When o has the circumflex accent: rôle, le nôtre.

(b) Generally when o is followed by s: nos, chose, poser.

(c) Also when followed by any other consonant at the end of a word: trop, mot, repos.

(d) When o is followed by ~tion: émotion, notion.

(e) au in most cases: pauvre, autres, il faut.

(f) eau in all cases: beau, bateau, chapeau.

8. o, open, like o in or: notre, poche, mort.

9. u, no English equivalent (German ü): u, eu (in verb avoir).

In order to pronounce the French u, try to pronounce ee in see with the lips rounded in position for whistling.

(a) u in all cases: du, rue, plus.

(b) eu in verb avoir: eu, j'eus, il eut.

(c) u preceded by g or q and followed by a vowel is usually silent: langue, que, quatre, guider.

10. ou, like oo in too: tout, ou, sous, nous.

11. eu, œu, closed; no English equivalent.

With the lips rounded in position for whistling, try to pronounce the e in the when said rapidly with the following word, the boy.

(a) eu at the end of a word or when followed by a silent consonant: feu, peu, deux, mieux.

(b) œu at the end of a word or when followed by a silent consonant: vœu, nœud.

12. eu, œu, open, like u in fur. Eu and œu have this sound when followed by r and generally when followed by any other sounded consonant in the same syllable: leur, seul, peur, cœur, sœur, bœuf, œuf.

Nasal Sounds

The nasal sound is the sound of a vowel followed by n or m. However, the n or m is not to be pronounced. The nasal sound has no exact equivalent in English.

There are four nasal sounds:

1. a nasal: an, am, en, em.

Somewhat like the an in want with the sound cut short: dans, jambe, enfant, temps.

2. i nasal: in, im, ain, aim, ein, eim, yn, ym.

Somewhat like the an in rang without the sound of g and with the sound cut short: fin, simple, main, faim, plein, Reims, syntaxe, sympathie.

3. o nasal: on, om.

Somewhat like the on in long without the sound of g and with the sound cut short: mon, bon, tomber, nom.

4. u nasal: un, um.

Somewhat like the un in sung without the sound of g and with the sound cut short: chacun, parfum.

Compound Vowel Sounds

1. oi, like wa in was: moi, voix, soir.

In oi there are two sounds, ou and a, with the first pronounced quickly.

2. oin, like the English w followed by the French nasal in: loin, moins, soin.

3. ui, the French u and i with the first vowel pronounced quickly: suis, lui, nuit.

4. ien, like the English y in yell followed by the French nasal in: bien, rien, italien.

5. y, preceded by a vowel, has the value of ii, the first i pronounced at the end of one syllable, the second i at the beginning of the next syllable: pays = pai + is; ayant = ai + iant; joyeux = joi + ieux.

6. ill, il (preceded by a vowel) have the liquid sound of l, pronounced like the y in yes.

ill = French i + y: fille.

ail and aill = French a + y: détail, travaille.

eil and eill = è + y: soleil, vieille.

euil and euill = French eu (open) + y: fauteuil, feuille.

ouill = French ou + y: grenouille.

The vowel sound is very long and the liquid l very short.

In mille, ville, tranquille, and words derived from them, the ll is sounded like the English l.

Consonant Sounds

Final consonants are usually silent.

1. b, pronounced as in English.

2. c has the two English sounds:

(a) Like k, when followed by a, o, u, or by a consonant: capable, colline, culotte, clair.

(b) Like c in cent, when followed by e, i, y, and also when it has a cedilla: ce, ici, garçon.

(c) In the word second the c sounds like g in gone.

(d) Final c is usually pronounced: avec, sec.

3. ch, like the English sh: chapeau.

4. d, pronounced as in English.

5. f, pronounced as in English.

6. g, like g in go and like s in measure:

(a) Like g in go, when followed by a, o, u, or by a consonant: garçon, argot, ambigu, grand.

(b) Like s in measure, when followed by e, i, y: général, gîte, gymnase.

7. gn, like ny in canyon: gagner.

8. h is not pronounced (see paragraph on liaison).

9. j, like s in measure: je, jour.

10. k, pronounced as in English.

11. l, pronounced as in English (see sounds ill, il).

12. m, pronounced as in English (see paragraph on nasal sounds).

13. n, pronounced as in English (see paragraph on nasal sounds).

14. p, pronounced as in English. Silent in a few words: sept, corps, compte.

15. q, like the English k.

16. r has no exact equivalent in English. It is the English r rolled more prominently.

Final r is usually sounded: mer, hiver, cher.

(a) It is silent in the ~er ending of a verb: parler, passer.

(b) It is silent in most words ending in ~ier: premier, dernier, soulier; but it is sounded in hier and fier.

17. s, like the s in rose and like the s in soft:

(a) Like the s in rose, when between two vowels: maison, baiser.

(b) Like the s in soft in all other cases: son, passer.

18. t, th, like the t in too: tour, théâtre.

But ti followed by a, e, o has generally the sound of s in soft: partial, patience, conversation.

19. v, pronounced as in English.

20. x has four sounds:

(a) Like x in excellent: excellent, exciter.

(b) Like x in examination when ex is at the beginning of a word and followed by a vowel: exercice, exemple.

(c) Like s in soft in the words six, dix, soixante.

(d) Like the English z in dix-huit, dix-neuf, deuxième, sixième, dixième.

21. z, pronounced as in English.

Elision

In the words le, la, je, me, te, se, ce, ne, de, que (and other conjunctions ending in que), si (before il, ils), the final vowel is dropped before a word beginning with a vowel or a silent h and is replaced by an apostrophe: l'enfant, l'homme, j'ai, c'est, qu'il, puisqu'ils, s'il. This is called elision.

Liaison

The liaison is the union of two words by pronouncing the last consonant of one with the initial vowel of the other: les enfants, vous avez.

The liaison is made only between words which are closely connected in thought.

In making the liaison, the final d is pronounced like t, the final f like v, and the final s and x like z: grand homme, neuf enfants, les amis, deux amis.

Punctuation Marks

The punctuation marks are:

The comma(,)la virgule.

The semicolon(;)le point et virgule.

The colon(:)les deux points.

The period(.)le point.

The question mark(?)le point d'interrogation.

The exclamation point(!)le point d'exclamation.

Quotation marks("")les guillemets.

Parenthesis( )la parenthèse.

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