French Pronunciation
In Part 1 of this chapter you will learn the elements of French pronunciation. The
words used to illustrate the French sounds need no translation, for they have the same
or almost the same spelling as corresponding English words of like meaning, such as
you have seen in Chapter 1. As you learn the correct French pronunciation of these words,
you are without further effort gradually adding to your French vocabulary.
The description of each French sound is accompanied by a pronunciation key, which
indicates the nearest English equivalent of that sound. This key will be used freely
throughout the book to ease your way in the pronunciation of new words, phrases, and
sentences.
In Part 2 and Part 3 of this chapter you will practice correct French pronunciation in
words and expressions useful for the traveler, and in short easy dialogues.
French Vowel Sounds
With Nearest English Equivalents and Pronunciation Key
 1 a is like a in cat. Key Symbol (a). balle (bal). See Note 1 below. |
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 3 é is like a in hate. Key Symbol (ay). café (ka-fay), matinée (ma-tee-nay). |  4 è is like e in there. Key Symbol (eh). scène (sehn), sévère (say-vehr). | ||
 5 o is like u in but. Key Symbol (u). poste (pust), poème (pu-ehm). See Note 3. |  6 ou is like oo in boot. Key Symbol (oo). route (root), touriste (too-reest). | ||
Note 1. French a is sometimes like a in father. Key Symbol (ah). classe (klahs).
Note 2. Stress (emphasize) slightly the last syllable in French words of more than
one syllable. The last syllable is indicated by heavy type in the pronunciation key.
Note 3. French o is sometimes like o in note. Key symbol (oh). hôtel (oh-tel).
PREMIÈRE PARTIE (FIRST PART)
French Sounds Illistrated in Familiar Words
Pronounce each sound and the words which illustrate it three times. Stress
(emphasize) lightly the syllable in heavy type in the pronunciation key of each
word. Note well:
The last syllable-and only the last syllable-of French words is stressed.
| a(a) a(ah)
| madame (ma-dam) French a is generally like the a in cat. Key symbol a. See Diagram 1. Occasionally French a is like a in father. Key symbol ah. Practice:
Note: French r is made as if gargling. French g before e or i equals s in measure. Symbol zh. | ||||||||||||||||||
| i(ee) | difficile (dee-fee-seel) French i equals ee in feet. Symbol ee. See Diagram 2. Practice:
pronounced like y in yes. Symbol y. | ||||||||||||||||||
| é(ay) | café (ka-fay) French é is like a in hate. Symbol ay. See Diagram 3. The mark over this letter (´) is called the acute accent. Practice:
French qu always equals k. French c equals s before i or e; French c is like k before any other letter except for ch, which is pronounced like sh, as in riche (reesh). | ||||||||||||||||||
| è(eh) | scène (sehn) French è is like e in there. Symbol eh. See Diagram 4. The mark over this letter (`) is called the grave accent. Other spellings of this sound are ê and very often al. The mark (ˆ) is called the circumflex accent. Practice:
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| e(uh) | chemise (shuh-meez) French e without any accent mark is pronounced like e in father, when it ends the first syllable of a word. Symbol uh. Practice:
At the end of a word, e without an accent mark is silent except in words of one syllable. Practice:
e without an accent mark is sometimes pronounced like é (ay), sometimes like è (eh) Practice:
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| o(u) | poste (pust) French o is like u in but. See Diagram 5. Practice:
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| ô(oh) | rôle (rohl) French ô is like o in note. Symbol oh. Other spellings of this sound are au and eau.
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| ou(oo) | route (root) French ou is like oo in boot. Symbol oo. See Diagram 6. Practice:
(pa-ree), regard (ruh-gar) The final consonants (c, f, l, r) are usually pronounced:
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| u(ü)
| bureau (bü-roh) French u is like ee spoken with lips held firmly in a small circle as for whistling. Symbol ü. See Diagram 6. Practice:
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| eu(eu)
| liqueur (lee-keur) French eu is like u in urge. It is the sound eh spoken with lips firmly rounded on a somewhat larger circle than for French u. Symbol eu. Practice:
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French Nasal Vowel Sounds
In syllables ending in n and m, the n and m are not pronounced. Instead
the preceding vowel sound is nasalized as described below. There are four
nasal vowel sounds in French. As you will note, each of these nasal vowel
sounds has a number of spellings. In the pronunciation key ñ indicates that
the preceding vowel sound is nasalized.
| an(ahñ) | piquant (pee-kahñ) Say the English syllable ahn as want loudly. Mouth wide open. Hold the tongue down with a flat stick so that it cannot
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| on(awñ) | consommé (kawñ-su-may) Say the English sound awñ as dawn. Hold the tongue down with a flat stick, so that it cannot rise for the n and try to say awn. An excellent French nasal on, symbol awñ, results. Practice the sound without using the stick:
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| in(añ) | lingerie (lañzhuh-ree) Say an as in the English word ban. Hold tongue down with flat stick so that it cannot rise for the n, and try to say an. The French nasal in, symbol añ, results. Practice the sound without using stick. Other spellings of the nasal sound in are im, ain, aim, eim, oin. Practice:
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| un(euñ) | brun (breuñ) Pronounce the nasal sound in (añ). For the nasal sound in (añ) the corners are drawn back as in a smile. Round the lips as in Diagram 5 and try to say in (añ). The result is a good French nasal un, symbol euñ. Another spelling of the nasal un (euñ) is um (euñ). Practice:
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Summary of the French Vowel Sounds
| Letters: Symbols: | a | é | è | e | i | o | ou | u | eu | au (eau) | oi |
Note 1. French a is generally like a in cat. Symbol a. Sometimes French a is like a in
father. Symbol ah.
Note 2. French e is sometimes pronounced like é (ay), sometimes like è (eh). When an
e without an accent ends the first syllable of a word, it is pronounced like the e in mother.
Symbol uh. The French e is silent at the end of a word, except for words or one syllable;
then it is also pronounced like the e in mother.
Note 3. French o is generally like u in but. Symbol u. Sometimes it is like o in wrote.
Symbol oh.
Summary of the French Nasals
| Letters: Symbols: | an (am, en, em) | in (im, ain, aim, ein, eim) | on (om) | un (um) |
French Consonants
| c c ç ch g g | before e or i is like s in see. difficile (dee-fee-seel) before any other letter (except h) is like k. café (ka-fay) with cedilla is always like hissing s. français (frahñ-seh) is like English sh. riche (reesh) before e or i is like s in measure. rouge (roozh) before any other letter is like g in goat. garage (ga-razh) | h j ll r qu gn | is always silent. hôtel (oh-tehl) is like s in measure. je (zhuh) is usually like y in yes. famille (fa-meey) is a gargling sound. Paris (pa-ree) is always like k. bouquet (boo-keh) is like ny in canyon. espagnol (ehs-pa-nyul) |