KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

FRANÇAIS
Letters and Sounds

FRENCH IS NO STRANGER
In beginning your study of the French language you will be surprised to learn that you
already know, or can make a good guess at, the meaning of thousands of French words.

For there are some 4,000 words which are of the same spelling and meaning in French
and English, and thousands more of the same meaning which di er only slightly in
spelling. Of course the pronunciation of the French words di ers greatly from that of the
corresponding English words.

For example:
Words spelt alike and having the same meaning but di erent in pronunciation:

intelligent fruit danger question

page image humble nation
train table public nature
place index station voyage

FRENCH IS SPOKEN BY MANY PEOPLE

French is spoken not only by the 68,000,000 people of France. The language of about
one half of the population of Belgium and about one fth of that of Switzerland is French.
In Morocco and Algeria French is spoken by large groups of people.

In the Western Hemisphere French is the language of the inhabitants of Quebec in

Canada and of the people of French Guiana and Haiti.

For many years French was the sole language of diplomacy and the favourite foreign
language among educated people in European countries.

It is today the most useful single language for tourists and for the Common Market and
business people who are ocking to the Continent in increasing numbers.

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

FRENCH AND ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION DIFFER GREATLY

The similarities between French and English in vocabulary will be of great help to you in
learning French. However, French and English pronunciations are very di erent, so that
you must learn not only to pronounce the French words correctly but also to understand
them when you hear them.

As in English, there are many silent letters, and some sounds, particularly the vowel
sounds, are spelt in various ways.

Vowels:
a - madame
French a is generally like a in cat. Occasionally French a is like a in father.

• classe • table
• balle • garage
• place • classe
• salade

i - di cile
French i equals ee in feet. Practise by drawing lips towards ears as in a smile.

• riche • famille
• image • Paris

é - café
French é is like a in hate. The mark over this letter (é) is called the acute accent. Draw lips
towards ears, but less so than for i.

• matinée • papier
• qualité • désirer

è - café
French è is like e in there. The mark over this letter (è) is called the grave accent.

• mètre,
• crème

ê - fête
The mark is called the circum ex accent.

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

e - chemise
French e without any accent mark is pronounced like e in father when it ends the rst
syllable of a word.

• menace
• regard

At the end of a word, e without accent mark is silent except in words of one syllable.

• le • ce
• me • de
• ne • que

e without accent mark is often pronounced like é or è when followed by one or two
consonants.

• et • dessert
• assez • est
• pied • elle
• e et

o - poste
French o is like o in hot.

• objet • e ort
• poème • original

ô - rôle
French o is like o in rôle. Other spellings of this sound are ô, au, and eau.

• hôtel
• rose

u - bureau
French u has no equivalent in English. Practise rounding lips tightly.

• nature • avenue
• Public • excuser

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

VOWEL COMBINATION
ou - route
French ou is like oo in boot.

• rouge • touriste
• routine • coup d’état

eu - liqueur
French eu is like u in urge.

• docteur
• acteur
• professeur

au and eau sound like ô

French au and eau are like French ô.
• docteur
• acteur
• professeur

FRENCH NASAL VOWEL SOUNDS

In syllables ending in n and m the n and m are not pronounced. Instead, the preceding
vowel sound is nasalised as described below. There are four nasal sounds in French.

an / am / en / em - piquant
Say the English syllable an as in want in one sound. Mouth wide open. Hold the tongue
down with a pencil so that it cannot rise for the n and try to say an. A French nasal an will
result.

• France • ensemble
• danger • rendez-vous
• encore • enveloppe
• absent

on / om - consomme
Say the English sound awn as in dawn.
Hold the tongue down with a pencil, so that it cannot rise for the n and try to say awn.
A French nasal on results.

• oncle • station
• nation • question

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

in / im / ain / aim / ein / oin - lingerie

Draw back the corners of the lips as in a smile.
Hold tongue so that it cannot rise for the n and try to say in. The French nasal in results.

• index • intelligent
• vain • américain
• train • meringue
• important

un / um - brun
Pronounce the nasal sound in. For the nasal sound in the corners of the lips are drawn back
as in a smile. Round the lips as if pouting, at the same time thrust the lower lip forward and
try to say in. The result is a French nasal un.

• un • humble
• brun • Verdun
• parfum

Summary: French Vowel and Nasal Sounds

a é è e i o ou u eu au(eau) oi

an am en em in im ain aim ein eim on om un um

FRENCH CONSONANTS
Final consonants (except c, f, l, r) in French are usually silent.
CaReFuL

‣ bouquet
The word “careful”
‣ Paris
has 4 constants
‣ regard
that are always
but
pronounced in
✓ chef
French.
✓ hôtel

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

c before e or i is like s in see di cile

c before any other letter (except ch) is like k café
ç with cedilla is always like hissing s français
ch is like English sh riche
g before e or i is like s in measure rouge
g before any other letter is like g in goat Garage
h is always silent hôtel
j is like s in measure je
il is usually like y in yes famille
is produced at the back of the throat by letting the air vibrate
r over the glottis. Practise by holding the tongue down with a ra, re, ri, ro, ru
pencil, so that it cannot rise and touch the palate.
qu is always like k bouquet
gn is like ny in canyon espagnol

LIAISON - LINKING
The nal consonant of a French word is generally silent. However, when the next word
begins with a vowel or h the nal consonant is usually pronounced and linked to the next
word unless there is a natural pause.

Final s and x, when linked, are pronounced like z; nal f like v; and nal d like t

• s, x = z
• f=v
• d=t

Examples:
trois ans = troizan (Pronunciation only)

neuf ans = neuvan (Pronunciation only)

le grand homme = le grantomm (Pronunciation only)

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ÉLISION - ELISION
The letters e and a of the words le, la, je, me, te, se, de, ne, que are dropped before words
beginning with a vowel or an h (usually) and are replaced by an apostrophe. This process
is called elision.

le + oncle = l’oncle

le + hôtel = l’hôtel

la + école = l’école

je + ai = j’ai

que + avez-vous = qu’avez-vous

The letters e and a of the words le, la, je, me, te, se, de, ne, que are dropped before words
beginning with a vowel or an h (usually) and are replaced by an apostrophe. This process
is called elision.

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 KPRIET’24-25: SEMSTER I French Lesson 1

L'ALPHABET
The French alphabet is pretty similar to the English one - they share the same letters, and some of
them even make similar sounds.

A ah O oh
B bay P pay
C say Q coo (hard "c)
D day R er
E euh S es
F ef T tay
G zjay U oo
H ash V vay
I ee W doo-bluh-vay
J zhee X eeks
K kah Y ee-greck
L el Z zed
M em
N en

French Accent Marks

In French, there are also ve accent marks that change the way the words are
pronounced.

Name Symbol French Letters It Can Go On

Accent Aigu (acute accent) ´ e

Accent Grave (grave accent) ` a, e, u

Circum ex ˆ a, e, i, o, u

Trema ¨ e, i, u

Cedilla ¸ c

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