Pronounce It Perfectly in French

90 Pages·2016·70.63 MB·English

by  Kendris Ch.

lr
Pnonounce
ntrcrly
Pe
in FnENcir
.h"
lr
PnonouNcE
crly
Penf
e
in FnENCk
by Christopher Kendris, Ph.D.
Dipl6m6, Institut de Phon6tique
Universit6 de Paris (en Sorbonne)
Formerly Assista nt Professor
DePartment of French
State University of New York at Albany
NA
rEfiil.it-lNiK
BARRON'S EDUCATIONAL SERIES, INC.
For my wife Yolanda, my two sons.Alex and Conre rurs
Ted, my daughter-in-law Tina, and my four
grandsons Bryaln, Daniel, Matthew and Andrew Introduction vi
Abbreviations Used in This Book ix
with love The French Alphabet ix
O Copyright 1994 by Barron's Educational Series' Inc' Plnr Ore: Thr Yowrls I
Unit
A1l rights reserved. I The Vowels a, e,i, o, u, I Jo
No pirt of this book may be reproduced in any form by pho- 2 The Vowels with Accent Marks B
tostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means' or incor- 3 The Most Common Single, Double,
porated into any information retrieval system, electronic or and Triple Vowels in Combinations
mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright and Clusters in a Word l8
owner. 4 The Three Semi-vowels 76
5 The Four Nasal Vowels 80
All inquiries should be addressed to:
Barron's Educationai Series, Inc' Plnr Two: Tke Corsoranrs 91
250 Wireless Boulevard 6 The Consonants: I 93
Hauppauge, NY 11788 7 The Consonants: II 101.
8 The Consonants: III 174
International Standard Book No' 04120-16556 Plnr Thner: \Vond Prrrenrs rurd hrotrriol 1n
9 Liaison
Library of Congress Catalog Card No' 9*4387 10 La muet 123
L'Enchainement, l'6lision, e 130
1l L'Intonation
Library of Congress Cataloging-ia-Publication Data 136
Apperdix r39
Kendris, ChristoPher Pronunciation Guide t4t
Pronounce it perfectly in French / by Christopher Kendris' Vocabulary t42
ISBpN. GcSm1Z.O -I O5(FP6r o(nboouonkc)e' -i t pISerBfeNc d0y€1 2in0 S-0) 3&^^6 ^ (book & tape
package)
l. Fiench language-Pronunciation bY foreip speakers, 2. French
language-Textbooks for foreign speater--Englisb- I. Title.
II. Series.
PC2137.K46 l99t 93.44387
CIP
448.3'421-{c20
PRINTED IN I.]NNED STATES@AilfnICA
4567 sffi98765432r
lntroduction
This book and the tlvo cassettes that come with it are orga-
nized and presented simply and clearly for persons who want on the tapes, and if you let yourself go, doing your best to imi-
to improle their pronunciation of French. The program can tate the pronunciation on the tapes-even if you must exag_
be used in middle schools, high schools, colleges and uni- gerate to perfect your imitation-you will be happy with the
versities either independently, in class, or in a language lab- results you achieve.
oratory, It can also be used by students under a teacher's. I would suggest that you start at the beginning of the book
supervision in grade 5 and up in elementary schools so they with the basics and notjump around here and there (unless
can have an early start in lood French pronunciation. it's for review or reinforcement) because there is a gradual
Travelers, business people, persons in government sewice, in progression in the program from simple sounds to the more
the military, and others who want to learn to pronounce
challenging ones. The book begins with the pronunciation of
French properly and make themselves understood will also the letters ofthe French alphabet because, after all, they are
find this program valuable for self-instruction. used in the words you pronounce and you must be acquainted
It would be ideal to use the book and cassettes at the same with them so you can see how their sounds change when
time. However, this program has been designed so that you used in words. After that, the vowels are introduced. you will
can use the book and cassettes separately. You do not need to learn how to pronounce them when they have no accent
rely on the book while listening to the tape when driving marks in different positions within a word, and how they
your car or using your Walkman while jogging, walking, or change in pronunciation when they do have accent marks.
exercising. You will profit from either the book or cassettes, You will have plenty of practice in pronouncing simple words
or both at the same time. and commonly used phrases.
If you follow the book and the two cassettes from beginning The units in this book are arranged sptematically from the
to end, spending approximately twenty minutes a day, you will most simple and basic sounds of vowels and consonants to the
improve your French pronunciation so much that you will most common single, double, and triple vowels in combina_
be amazed and delighted! The key is to practice, practice, tions and clusters with or without consonants within a word
practice. or at the end of a word. One French word in particular that
The French language has musical qualities. It has melody has alwap intrigued me is oeufs (eggs), which produces only
when spoken properly because ofthe abundant use ofpure one vowel sound when pronounced.
vowels, semi-vowels, and nasal v-oweis pronounced in words in Subsequently, you are guided in the pronunciation of
al'ariety of ways. The language is never spoken in a monotone words in groups, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Take a few
because it lends itself naturally to rh;'thm, intonation (a rise minutes and turn to the Contents to become familiar with it.
and fall of the voice), liaisons, enchainements (linking- Fan the pages of the book and see for yourself that you will
which is not the same thing as a liaison), elision, and other have plenty of practice listening and speaking when you use
qualities that many languages do not have. They are all the two cassettes.
explained and illustrated in this book and on the cassette
tapes. If you listen carefully to the authentic French spoken
vl
vil
When I give English rvords as examples that contain sounds Abbreviatiohs Used in This Book
similar to French, be aware that they are onl,v approximate m. masculine i*p. imperfect
because the English language does not contain many of the f.
French sounds. For example, when pronouncing a round, s. feminine subj. subjunctive
closed o in French, it should not contain a ar sound tacked on singular part. participle
pl.
to it as it does in English. We say, for example, Oh, so go! piural fam. familiar
with a zu sound. In French you must avoid such a zu sound by P. person pol. polite
not bringing your lips together. Another frequently used lst, 2nd, first, second, sub. subject
French sound is the vowel u, as in tu, du, lu, pu, plus, and 3rd rhird
many others. This sound does not exist in English either' It is
close to the zsound in the English words cuteNtd/albutwith- The French Alphabet
out the zl sound. This, too, is explained and illustrated when
you come to the pronunciation of the French u. Listen care- lntroducing the Sounds
fully to these French sounds and many others on your tape
and try to imitate them. Occasionally, drawings are included Let's begin by pronouncing the letters of the French alpha_
in the book to illustrate the proper position of the lips and bet. It is important to know the letters and how to pronounce
tongue to help you produce the sounds as accurately as pos- them because, after all, they are used in words you are learn_
sible. ing to pronounce. You need to know the sounds of the letters
jtfuheserTte hrnaeestg rtpieoha nearsrtres eo oamf rfF eatr nhadyeni f cdfUeeifr nfeaeintnreetd dn wi tn Sa kytoasint theodesfs ,r p oCFrfoa rFennnraoecdunhanc-,s chpGi neprgaerok aEintn nugBgn rlcciitsoiaahuit nniio,nt nr aide niisnfd,- wshtepohrsetee lnall races lo ewtmhrokeer odosnv;a eemf ro estr ph aeeesl xlsitnae am let hFpperhlee oEn,n cnwehg h liwtesohon r r edays lopefuohrv raeg by iveoae tur. o yoWoorm huife.r ynTno harueem hf e2ear6v r teiolne t gtoa:
other countries of the world. There are also different levels of ttmo at/ oFnreensc,h a lneettt.er, each one is masculine; for example: rm so
pronunciation in France within regions; for example, there is
tatanguc po@laire (popular language often pronounced care- duLriinsgte nth eto p tahues efisr.st 13 letters, A to M, and repeat each one
lreescsltyl,y a)s awned s olam elatinmgeuse psrooingonuien, cwe hEicnhgl iissh ccaarreelfeirsls,l va cacnedP intacbolre- Now listen to the remaining l3 letters, N to Z, and repeat
pthrios nbuonocki aatinodn .o nT hthee pcraosnsueunec i4ateiosn bc cfForrrcercrdr' ra roermymlileen Fdreedn cihn' ueasecNhdo owton elids edtesuingri nntaogt etth hteeh epsap lueesattekeser.sr pWro,nyo, uZn.c We tish ed oFurebnlec hv . wyo risd si
in Itfh iIs hbaovoek otmhaitt teyodu a tnhvinthki nisg imabpoourrra FnrUe oPclhc dPer ownruitnec itaot itohne gcarellce.d Tah Ge rweeokrd i . gZr eisc zmede, aonrs z Gbdree.ek; in other words, t}le y is
publisher so it mry be inchrded in a fuure editi<m. Rewind, listen and repeat as many times as you need to
And now, learn hq to prucre Frtnth correctfy. practice for mastery of sounds of the letters of the French
And enjoy! alphabet.
Cfdno;tcr Xerdris' Ph.D.
il
tx
Pnnr One
Tke Vowels
Unir Onr
r Thr .Vowels A, E, t, o, U, y
lntroducing the Sounds
The letters of the French alphabet that represent vowel
sounds are a, e, i, o, u, y. The letter y is actually a variation of
the sound represented by the vowel i but is considered the
sixth vowel in the French language. In the Middle Ages and
the sixteenth century, ami and amie (friend) were written
as amy and amiye. French kings signed their proclamations and
documents as Le Roy (the king) rather than Le Roi. (By the
way, did you know that the name Leroy means the king?)
Calligraphers in the Middle Ages considered it elegant to
write the vowel i as y in a fancy flourish when it was the last let-
ter of a word.
The Vowela
The French letter a is pronounced somewhat like the o in
the English word bllipop.It is pronounced toward the front of
the mouth. The tip of the tongue touches the lower frsnt
teeth. The mouth is open. (See Figure l.)
,fltiliJ;.
Now listen carefully to all the examples, repeat the French
words after the speaker, then listen for the confirmation.
lo
Pnonource lr Prnfrcrly in Fnenck Ulir,One: Thr Vowrts n, r, i, o, u, y 5
Extnnts Erunpus
The Vowele In the following sentence the vowel i is used six times:
The French letter e is pronouncEd somewhat like the ou
Mimi a mis ses amis d Miami.
sound in the English word coul.d.. Mirni d.ropped, off herfriends in Miarni.
Extnnts
The Vowelo
::i:i *iiiiiiii::ii::::l:LF.fji#[r'e:::{rittn.siJ':rfiiiiiiiif::i ii:liiili::1::::iiiiil:i:i:ii:i:i:i:iiiiilii.ir,..ir:i:il;;.:..:i:i:,ii The French letter o is sometimes pronounced like the o in
lii:iiiffi::tll+:iiiiifi"'i;:tni,,' .:.:1i:i:ii::::i:l::::::::::iir..:::::il:i*il.i:i'i:i:i:.r.ii.i.r:iiiiiiiii:i:iiirii:,. the English word rose. Do not bring your lips together when
;;.'1.tu...i*...*,.r'nir*ra{-fj:i#rse{.fitrnff#f....s€fl$B{fdtii:i.i:'r.:.,..i:i.irri...;,.rrii you pronounce o because you will produce a slight ar sound,
i::.:.:.:ffiitlttt*irct*.fo,rcu1.rrursar.r{tnu,ln,*;litilii::iil.:.li.:t..........i........,i which is not desirable.
Exnnnes
The Voweli
The French letter i is pronounced like ae in the English
word see. The lips and tongue must be in proper position.
Stretch the lips from side to side. The upper and lower front
teeth are not touching but are very close to each other. Press
the tip of the tongue hard against the lower fiont teeth. The
back of the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth.
(See Figures 2 and 3.)
h And sometimes the French letter o is pronounced some_
thing like the a in the English word up with the jaw slightly
f dropped.
a*,i
L= --:1.
Figure 2. The vowel i. Fgrrc 3- The vowel i.
(side view) (frorrt view)
r-
5 Pnonoutct lr Penfecrly in Fntrch Utir One: Thr Vow€ls A, E, i, o, u, y 7
Exlnnrs
!
The Vowel u The Vowely
Pronounce the French letter u something like the sound of The French letter y is pronounced like the French vowel i
u in the English word cute.Bwg be carefrrl! When you pronounce sound you learned earlier.
the French u, do not bring your lips together because it will Erunnrs
come out with a slight ar sound as in the English word yort' To pro-
duce the French u sound, form your lips as you would to pro'
nounce the sound of o. With your lips in that position, pronounce
the sound of the French i as in the English word su'Tlte sounds
ofi and o were introduced earlier' (See Figure 4')
At times, the vowel y is also a semi-vowel or semi-consonant.
It is sometimes pronounced as the y in the English word
1as.
In French, that sound is known as le yod (which happens to
be the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet), as pronounced
in the words below. In the word pied, for example, the vowel
i followed by the vowel e produces the yod sound.
Extnnts
Figure 4.
The vowel u.