French Grammar: French Pronunciation – Basics

Posted by LEAF Architect on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 · Leave a Comment

French Grammar: French Pronunciation – Basics
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Identify:

French Grammar: Basic French Pronunciation – Overview
la grammaire française: la prononciation française – les rudiments

Being able to pronounce French words correctly is an important part of learning the language. Good pronunciation is essential for making yourself understood by native speakers! This lesson will give you the basics of French pronunciation, in order to help get you started. Your pronunciation will improve over time, as long as you practice!

Study:

The good news is that about 40% of English words are derived from French, so you will recognize a lot of vocabulary as you progress through your study of French. However, even words that are spelled identically in both languages are pronounced differently in French than they are in English.

Like English, French pronunciation is very quirky. French has silent letters, single letters that can have more than one sound, and many exceptions to its own general rules of pronunciation. At some point, you should consult the additional pronunciation lessons (Vowels and Vowel Sounds / Nasal Vowel Sounds / Consonants and Consonant Sounds) for more in-depth explanations of different aspects of French pronunciation. In the meantime, this simplified lesson will give you an idea of how to pronounce new words correctly.

Five (5) Basic French Pronunciation Rules

1) Syllable Stress:

The one thing you can always rely on with regard to French pronunciation is syllable stress. French words are always stressed on the very last pronounced syllable!

au revoir (‘oh ruh-VWAHR’) : goodbye
français (‘frahn-SAY’) : French
madame (‘mah-DAHM’) : Mrs. / ma’am
université (‘oo-nee-vayr-see-TAY’) : university

2) Final ‘-E’ & Final ‘-ES’ / Final ‘-ER’ & Final ‘-EZ’ / the word “ET”:

Both final letter ‘-e’ without an accent mark and final ‘-es’ without an accent mark are normally silent, never pronounced. However, the consonant that immediately precedes the final ‘-e’ or ‘-es’ is pronounced.

(Je) parle (‘pahrl’) : (I) speak
voiture (‘vwah-TYOOR’) : car
(Tu) dînes (‘deen’) : (You) eat dinner
téléphones (‘tay-lay-FUHN’) : telephones

Final ‘-er’ and final ‘-ez’ without an accent mark is usually pronounced ay, like in the English word ‘day’.

chanter (shahn-TAY’) : to sing
demander (‘duh-mahn-DAY’) : to ask / to ask for
tomber (‘tohm-BAY’) : to fall
chez moi (‘shay MWAH’) : at my house
finissez! (‘fee-nee-SAY’) : finish!
attendez! (‘ah-tahn-DAY’) : wait!

The French word “ET” means and. Like final ‘-er’ and final ‘-ez’, it is pronounced ay, like in the English word ‘day’.

Et vous? (ay VOO’) : And you? (formal)
toi et moi (‘twah ay mwah’) : you (informal) and me
le français et l’espagnol. (‘luh frahn-SAY ay less-pahn-YOHL’) : French and Spanish

3) Final Consonants:

Most final consonants in French are silent, not pronounced. However, final c, r, f, and l usually are pronounced. Use the consonants in the English word ‘C a R e F u L’ in order to help you to remember to pronounce final c, r, f, and l.

avec (‘ah-VECK’) : with
bonjour (‘bohn-ZHOOR’) : hello
neuf (‘nuff’) : nine
animal (‘ah-nee-MAHL’) : animal

4) Élision:

For French speakers, when a pronounced letter ‘a’ or ‘e’ at the end of a one-syllable word is followed by a word that begins with a pronounced vowel sound, the result is not a pleasant-sounding combination. For this reason, the pronounced ‘a’ or ‘e’ at the end of a French word is usually dropped when the next word begins with a vowel sound or a silent letter ‘h’. The dropped vowel is then replaced with an apostrophe. This is called élision (contraction). Élision occurs with the letters ‘a’ and ‘e’ in the following words: je, me, te, se, ne, ce, de, que, le, la.

Je adore le enfant. –> J’adore l’enfant.
(‘zhah-DOHR lahn-FAHn’)
I love the child.

Je étudie la histoire. –> J’étudie l’histoire.
(‘zhay-too-DEE leess-TWAHR’)
I study history.

Tu te habilles. –> Tu t’habilles.
(‘too tah-BEE-yuh’)
You (informal) are getting dressed.

Il ne a pas de argent. –> Il n’a pas d’argent.
(‘eel nah pah dahr-ZHAN’)
He has no money.

le homme que elle aime –> l’homme qu’elle aime
(‘luhm kell EMM’)
The man that she loves

5) Liaison:

Often, the final consonant of one word may be pronounced if the word that follows it begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, or y) or a silent ‘h’. This is called liaison (linking). When liaison occurs, the pronunciation of certain final consonants may differ from the way they are normally pronounced – the consonant ‘d’ is pronounced like a ‘t’; the consonant ‘f’ is pronounced like a ‘v’; the consonants ‘s’ and ‘x’ are pronounced like a ‘z’.

un‿étudiant (‘uhN‿ay-tyoo-dee-AHN’) : a (male) student
grand‿hôtel (‘grahnT‿oh-TELL’) : big hotel
neuf‿heures (‘nuhV‿UHR’) : nine o’clock
deux‿amis (‘duhZ‿ah-MEE’): two friends