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• Course Introduction
• Speech Mechanics
• The French Accent
• Intro to Vowels
• Accents
• Vowel Sounds I
• Vowel Sounds II
• Consonants
• Nasal Vowels
• Final Consonants
• Liaison
• About the Instructor
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Consonants

The French r [ʁ ] is a retroflex trill, so it is similar to Spanish, but instead of being done with the tip of the tongue at the front of the mouth, it is done with the back of the tongue towards the throat as if gargling.

There are two ways that help most French students get this down.

Method 1: Say the sounds [k], [g], then try the [ʁ] Notice how the tongue placement progresses towards the back of the throat.

Method 2: Intensive Tongue Training
I recommend doing this everyday for two weeks, preferably while in the shower (you'll find out why!).

	Step 1: Recite the basic 5 French vowels: A, E, I, O, U [a, ә, i, o, y]
	Step 2: Add the R sound in front of the vowels: RA, RE, RI, RO, RU
	Step 3: Now place the R behind the vowels: AR, ER, IR, OR, UR
	Step 4: Put the R before and after the vowels: RAR, RER, RIR, ROR, RUR

Please note that in the beginning, the R's should be forced and harsh like expelling phlegm. This is simply to gain control of your tongue. After about a week or so, you will be able to vary the power of the R, either rolling it like Edith Piaf singing "Non, rien de rien. Non, je ne regrette rien" or just slightly tapping it as is most common in French. Usually the trill only really occurs when a word begins with an R like Robert, or rien.

After a couple of weeks you'll be able to purr (ronronner) like a cat!

	vers sœur près tribu poetry sister near tribe tourner irlandais grenouille nerveux to turn Irish frog nervous

	haut héros heure high hero hour, time homme hier hôpital man yesterday hospital

h apiré words - of foreign, typically germanic language origin

	haricot hasard hibou homard haine bean chance owl lobster hatred hausse honte haïr harceler hâter increase shame to hate to badger to hasten

Letter combination ch is normally pronounced like English sh [∫] ( left column), but in a few words ch is pronounced like English k [k] (right column).

	chanter schéma to sing diagram chaos chœur choléra psychologie chaos choir cholera psychology

	thé théorie méthode tea theory method enthousiasme athlétisme enthusiasm track and field

	champagne enseignement vigne champagne information vine ignition gnome

	parking camping smoking

The Hard and Soft C and G

When the letters c and g are follwed by the front vowels e and i, they are pronounced softly. When they are followed by the back vowels a, o, and u, they are pronounced hard.

The letter c before i, e is pronounced like English s. Before a, u, or o it is pronounced like k. A c with a cedilla: ç, is always pronounced like an s.

	célèbre ciel cinq ça français garçon famous sky five that French boy, waiter cahier calme curieux notebook calm curious

The letter g before i, e is pronounced like the soft frenh j [ʒ] as the letter g in the English words massage and garage. Before a, u, or o it is pronounced hard like the g in the Englsih words gate and great. Since the letter g cannot take an accen to force it to be soft when follwed by a back vowel, the letter e is usally inserted.

	gigot gigantesque génome géant leg of lamb gigantic gris garçon gourmand goûter gray boy to taste/snack

The letter l is normally pronounced like the English l. However, in the letter combination ille the l is pronounced [j]. The same is true when the letter combination il ends a word. There are a few exceptions to this rule; they are listed in the right column.

	fille orteil oeil travailler il travaille bouteille feuille mouiller daughter toe eye he works to work bottle leaf to moisten mille ville belle tranquille village thousand city beautiful tranquil village