Top French Pronunciation Mistakes and Difficulties

Top French Pronunciation Mistakes and Difficulties Many students find that pronunciation is the hardest part of learning French. The new sounds, the silent letters, the liaisons - they all combine to make speaking French very tricky. If you really want to perfect your French pronunciation, your best option is to work with a native French speaker, preferably one who specializes in accent training. If that isnt possible, then you need to take things into your own hands by listening to French as much as possible, and by studying and practicing the pronunciation aspects that you find most difficult. Here is a list of the top French pronunciation difficulties and mistakes, with links to detailed lessons and sound files. The French R The French R has been the bane of French students since time immemorial. OK, maybe its not quite that bad, but the French R is pretty tricky for a lot of French students. The good news is that it is possible for a non-native speaker to learn how to pronounce it. Really. If you follow my step-by-step instructions and practice a lot, youll get it. The French U The French U is another tricky sound, at least for English speakers, for two reasons: its hard to say and its sometimes difficult for untrained ears to distinguish it from the French OU. But with practice, you can definitely learn how to hear and say it. Nasal Vowels Nasal vowels are the ones that make it sound like the speakers nose is stuffed up. In fact, nasal vowel sounds are created by pushing air through the nose and mouth, rather than just the mouth as you do for regular vowels. Its not so difficult once you get the hang of it - listen, practice, and you will learn. Accents French accents do more than just make words look foreign - they modify pronunciation and meaning too. Therefore, its extremely important to know which accents do what, as well as how to type them. You dont even need to buy a French keyboard - accents can be typed on virtually any computer. Silent Letters Many French letters are silent, and a lot of them are found at the end of words. However, not all final letters are silent. Confused? Read over these lessons to get a general idea of which letters are silent in French. H  Muet  / Aspirà © Whether its an  H  muet  or an  H aspirà ©, the French H is always silent, yet it has a strange ability to act as a consonant or like a vowel. That is, the  H aspirà ©, although silent, acts like a consonant and does not allow contractions or liaisons to occur in front of it. But the  H  muet  acts like a vowel, so contractions and liaisons are required in front of it. Confusing? Just take the time to memorize the type of H for the most common words, and youre all set. Liaisons and Enchaà ®nement French words flow one into the next thanks to liaisons and enchaà ®nement. This causes problems not only in  speaking but in  listening comprehension  as well. The more you know about liaisons and enchaà ®nement, the better youll be able to speak and understand whats being spoken. Contractions In French, contractions are required. Whenever a short word like  je, me, le, la, or  ne  is followed by a word that begins with a vowel or H  muet, the short word drops the final vowel, adds an apostrophe, and attaches itself to the following word. This is not optional, as it is in English - French contractions are required. Thus, you should never say je  aime or le  ami - it is always  jaime  and  lami. Contractions  never  occur in front of a French consonant (except H  muet). Euphony It may seem odd that French has specific rules about ways to say things so that they sound prettier, but thats the way it is. Familiarize yourself with the various euphonic techniques so that your French sounds pretty too. Rhythm Ever heard anyone say that French is very musical? Thats partly because there are no stress marks on French words: all syllables are pronounced at the same intensity (volume). Instead of stressed syllables or words, French has rhythmic groups of related words within each sentence. Its kind of complicated, but if you read my lesson youll get an idea of what you need to work on.