Like

13k

117

Follow

Follow 3,402 followers

LoveToKnow Travel & Vacations French Learn French

Easy French Pronunciation

Like 4 1

Easy French Pronunciation

By Dianne Brooks

There really isn't any such thing as easy French pronunciation, unfortunately. One of the most challenging things about learning the French language is pronouncing the words correctly with the proper accent. Ads by Google Learn French in 10 Days Start Speaking French in 10 days! Method Seen on PBS$10 + Free S&H. PimsleurApproach.com/Learn-French

Popular in French
French Love Quotes French Love Phrases Romantic French Phrases Famous French Sayings French Romantic Sayings

French Pronunciation Tips for Easier Learning

Practice is essential. Listening to and practicing the pronunciation of vowel sounds in particular can make speaking easier, and daily pronunciation practice is recommended. Online audio clips can be a great place to start, simply listen, and repeat. Many websites, such as Jump Gate.com's French Pronunciation include audio clips of vowel sounds, vowel combinations, and lists or words these vowels commonly appear in. Remembering the mostly likely words these sounds will be seen in can also help make sounding out French words a bit simpler. Another tip or making pronunciation easier is to look at the way the mouth forms the sounds when French words are spoken. This can be done by observing someone speaking in French, or studying French videos. You can even find free French videos online at sites such as You Tube. Americans and native English speakers typically stress one particular syllable in a word more than the others. In French, however, the stress is more evenly spread out across the word, with a slight stress typically on the last full syllable of a word.

French Slideshows

The Easiest French Words and Sounds

Clearly there will be some French words that are easier to pronounce than others. Two factors make for easy French pronunciation with respect to English speakers. First are cognates or words that have recognizable English counterparts. Second are words that are phonetic, meaning they sound exactly as they are spelled. Usually these two factors are closely related. Ads by Google 90+ Online Programs 90+ degree programs online. Special tuition for active-duty & spouses. military.umuc.edu Learn French for Free You Can Learn French Easily Here. Learn French with a Free Account! www.frenchpod101.com/free 100% Online RN to BSN Earn Your BSN In 3 Semesters. Convenient And User-Friendly. www.Chamberlain.edu
Basic French Phrase Picture Gallery

Cognates
There are lots of French vocabulary words that look exactly like English words. These are often words that were French in origin and then were adopted by the English language. It also goes the other way around, English words that are frenchified. Usually they do not sound exactly the same, but often they are close enough that they are easily pronounceable. For example: These words started as French words, but they are familiar to English speakers:
French Greeting Words

Browse French Categories

French Culture

caf (ca-fay) ballet (ba-lay) duvet (doo-vay) agile (ah-geel) boutique (boo-teek) bureau (bee-ro) chef (shef) which can also mean chief

French History French Phrases French Slideshows

French Vocabulary and Translations Learn French

Editor's Picks
10 Best French Study Abroad Programs 10 French Cheeses The Essentials of Teaching French Interview French Study Abroad Program Interview The Easy French Interview

These words started as English words and are now used in French:

camping (cam-ping) as in faire du camping: to go camping shopping (shop-ping) as in faire du shopping: to go shopping sandwich (sand-weech) super (soo-pare)

These words are just plain cognates:

Pimsleur $9.95 + Free S&H

PimsleurApproach.com Best Pimsleur offer ever! Get started today.

adorable (a-dor-a-bleh) certain (sur-tahn), nasal cinma (see-nay-ma) lgal (lay-gal) permanent (per-ma-nont), nasal restaurante (re-stor-ahnt), nasal tlvision (tel-ay-vee-see-ohn), nasal tlphone (tel-ay-fone) date (daht) minute (min-oot) photo (foe-toe) soda (soe-da) In order to learn and practice the nasal sound, pinch the nose together with thumb and forefinger and pronounce the word.

Online College Courses

www.Courses.DegreeSearch.org AA, BA, BS, MA, MS, & PhD Degrees Search 1,000+ Accredited Courses

RN to BSN Online Option

www.Chamberlain.edu 3 Semesters & Entirely Online. Affordable, Convenient & Respected!

Online Spanish Programs

www.conversaconmigo.com Learn Spanish with experienced instructors, live, one-on-one.

New in French
French Love Quotes Charts for French Verb Conjugations History of the Eiffel Tower How Do You Say "I Love You" in French Online French Language Games

Easier Phonetic French Words

These words are so close to being English cognates that they are easy to pronounce. Sometimes they mean the same thing, but sometimes they are false cognates and have a different meaning.

These words look and sound very similar to their English counterparts and have the same meanings:

Follow Us

amricain (a-may-ree-cahn), nasal - means American banque (bahnk) - means bank docteur (dok-tur) - means doctor supermarch (soo-pare-mar-shay) means supermarket bleu (blehr) - meaning blue famille (fa-mee-yah) - means family papier (pa-pee-yeh) - means paper musique (moo-seek) - means music

Faux amis or false cognates look like English words but have different meanings:

librairie (lee-brayr-ree) means bookstore not library crayon (cray-ohn) nasal, means pencil not crayon attendre (a-ton-dreh), means to wait not 'to attend' rester (rest-ay), means to stay not 'to rest' assister(a-sist-ay), means to attend not 'to assist'

Easy French Pronunciation By Region

Since French is widely spoken, there are differences in the difficulty of pronunciation depending upon locale.

In France
By far the most difficult and particular pronunciation happens in Paris, where people speak very quickly, with lots of nasal emphasis, and by dropping letters and connecting words, also known as liason and lision. Tours is said to have the most neutral, non-accented French in all of France. Different regions in France may incorporate their old ancient languages with Celtic, Gaelic and even German influences. For example, in Alsace-Lorraine, the region which borders Germany, the accent and pronunciation has a decidedly German influence and in some instances may seem easier given the similarities between German and English.

Outside of France
In general the French spoken in the following regions is easier to pronounce because the language is spoken more slowly. In the North American regions, the contact with English has been so constant that it has somewhat influenced the accent so that there is less nasality than in Parisian French. There is also less liason/lision. Some of these regions include: Qubec Southern Louisiana Switzerland Sngal and other Francophone African countries South Pacific islands such as Vanuatu, French Polynesia and New Caledonia

Websites
University of Toronto and BBC French Steps offer easy french pronunciation instruction.French pronunciation isn't always easy, but there are certainly easier words and places to speak to make it less difficult to learn.

Spread the Love!

Like Tweet

Was this article useful?

Yes No

Related Topics
How to Pronounce French Words French Pronunciation How to Say Yes in French The Easy French Interview Learn French Free Audio Sites French Pronunciation Dictionary Starter Words in French Easy French Song to Learn for Preschool Graduation English Words of French Origin Tips for Learning French

French Clothing Vocabulary

Romantic French Words

Ads by Google French Video Online Start improving your French today Try the free demo. French.Yabla.com Online College Courses AA, BA, BS, MA, MS, & PhD Degrees Search 1,000+ Accredited Courses www.Courses.DegreeSearch.org

Post a comment
0 comments Leave a message...
Best Community Share

No one has commented yet.

r Comment feed

Subscribe via email

Beauty & Fashion | Entertainment | Health | Home & Garden | Technology | Money | Lifestyle | Travel & Vacations
Help

About LoveToKnow

Careers

Privacy Policy

Editorial Policy

Terms of Service

2006-2013 LoveToKnow Corp.