French 5th-Hour Labs
2007 Chantal Maréchal.
All rights reserved.

SOUND-SPELLING CORRESPONDENCES:
An Introduction to French Pronunciation Based on the Use of Cognates

Table of Contents
A. Introduction
B. Articulation
C. French Vowels
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

A. Introduction

One of the key words in the description of foreign language learning goals and standards is “communication”.  Just imagine somebody spending hours in the gym, building a perfect body with healthy bones and powerful muscles, and never learning how to walk… If, as a student of French, you carefully study grammar and acquire the best possible vocabulary by reading, but neglect to learn how to pronounce words correctly, you are just like the man in the gym.  You will have a hard time leaving the company of books for the exciting world of conversation.  Relax!  This program will not give you a complete description of the French phonetic system.  You will learn only the most common sounds.¹   However, the sooner the better, for  it is much easier to learn new skills than to break bad habits. Would you know what a French person is talking about if he/she described a “niece mar”?   Unless you were at a horse race, you might not guess it meant a “nice mare”!  Remember, this works both ways!!!

Let us start with six major rules:

1. Unless you want to ask a question, do not end words or sentences on a rising intonation.  Instead, use a falling intonation.
   
   
2. French and English words are divided into syllables. In this document, we will call "open" syllable any combination ending in a vowel sound (ex: taxi), and "closed" syllable any combination ending in a consonant sound (ex: site; vote).²
   
   
3. Whether or not they are in a stressed syllable, all French vowels have to be pronounced clearly.  They are a major feature absolutely necessary for the words to be recognized.
   
   
4. In French, stressed syllables are not pronounced in a stronger way. They are just marked by a lengthening of the corresponding vowel. The stress occurs in the last syllable of isolated words or the last syllable of phrases (ex: Canada; déjà vu). Do not shift the position of your lower jaw or your tongue while pronouncing this vowel, and do not forget rule #1!
   
   
5. If you studied Spanish before French, be careful not to pronounce the "e" in open syllables (ex: la médecine). Compare to the English schwa in unstressed syllables (ex: other).
   
   
6. At the end of nouns, final consonants are usually silent (ex:  robo[t], chao[s], portrai[t]) with the exception of “c, r, f and l” (ex: parc, caviar, chef, banal).
   
   
   

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² Like the examples in this paragraph, the words selected for this program are cognates (French and English cognates share the same spellings and very similar meanings).