Lesson - French Sounds (Pronunciation) - #2

[CFHollister]

Please see the following for introduction and citation information:
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/showthread.php?t=1101

au, eau, oi, ez, er

To review the point that final consonants in French are silent, pronounce:
Margot............... clos................... estomac
Bardot................ Cloud................. Yves
Corot................. Tarbes............... chassis
In pronouncing the third column did you say
es-tom-mah........ eve................... shah-see?

Did you remember to make each syllable equally strong?
You probably have made the ar combination sound more English than French. Put the sound more in the front of your mouth; thin your lips a bit; make the sound fairly crisp. Now try again:
Margot................ Bardot................ Tarbes
Do you hear the difference?

We have now called attention to the following points:
i........................ has the sound of............... eeeh
(the vowel sound of beet)
ou..................... has the sound of................ oooh
(the vowel sound of boot)
a....................... has the sound of................ ah
(the vowel sound bah)
os/ot/od............. at the end of a word have the sound of.......... oh
(the vowel sound of oak)

Practice pronouncing:
Mimi................... clou................... ma..................... nos
Fifi..................... cou................... chat................... fagot
midi.................... coucou............... bas.................... vos
si....................... bout.................. plat.................... bigot
dit..................... sous................... tas..................... bachot
tapis................... fou.................... glas.................... pot

au and eau
Both au and eau have the sound of oh:
Pau.................... beau.................. aussi
faut................... seau................... autel
maux.................. Meaux................ drapeau
chaud................ chapeau.............. bateaux

the sound of oi
The combination oi is often found in French.
oi...................... has the sound of................. wah
(the vowel sound of watt)

Pronounce:
moi.................... choix.................. bois
loi...................... voix................... froid
lois..................... croix.................. chamois
toit.................... fois.................... trois

final ez and er
Final ez and er have the sound of ay as in English day.
BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. In English we slide from ay to ay-eee. As a matter of fact we do that sliding with words like die also; we say dy-eee. It is important to remember that the French do not slide the vowel. They say ay without changing the position of the lips, tongue, or teeth during the sound.

Pronounce:
coupez............... coucher.............. sauter
chez................... passer............... placez

One more point: the French word for “and” is et, pronounced (always and in every case) ay as explained above.
Say: Margot et Charles