ISM Français 1: FR 1 -Semestre I.I.6a. Les accents et les signes

Add I like to think of the accent aigu like the sharps on the black keys of a piano. G# (French sol) is on the right of the key. The accent aigu (´) also points right. Do you know that "aigu" also means "sharp" so G# in French is G aigu or sol aigu (do re mi fa sol la si). The "grave" accent is "flat" and points left (`). Everytime I think of è, it reminds me of E bémol or E flat!

INTRODUCTION

French is based on the Latin alphabet (also called the Roman alphabet), and there are twenty-six (26) letters. Originally there were twenty-five (25) letters, with 'W' being added by the mid-nineteenth century. Unlike the English, who call it a "double-u," the French use "double-v" and pronounce it /dy.blə.'vɛ/ after the 'V' which is pronounced /vɛ/. During the period from Old French to Modern French, the letter 'K' was added. These two letters are used mostly with adopted foreign words. The French alphabet used today is less than 200 years old.

The twenty-six letters are parted into :

20 Consonants (Consonnes): B C D F G H J K L M N P Q R S T V W X Z
6 Vowels (Voyelles): A E I O U Y

In addition, French uses several accents: grave accents (à, è, and ù) and acute accents (é). A circumflex applies to all vowels, except Y (considered as a vowel): â, ê, î, ô, û. A tréma (French for dieresis) is also applied: ë, ï, ü, ÿ. Two combined letters (called orthographic ligatures) are used: æ and œ. Finally, a cedilla is used on the c to make it sound like an English s: ç. Here is the chart below:

Les voyelles - the vowels

Compare the name of the vowels:

French:            a /a/ • e /ə/ • i /i/ • o /o/   • u /y/
Spanish:     a /a/ • e /ɛ/ • i /i/   • o /o/   • u /u/
RP English:     a /eɪ/ • e /i/ • i /aɪ/ • o /əʊ/ • u /u:/
Am English:    a /eɪ/ • e /i/ • i /aɪ/ • o /oʊ/ • ju /u:/

English speakers, beware of confusing the letter "I" with "E". In English, the letter "I" is pronounced like "eye" /aɪ/. In French an "I" is pronounced like the ee in beet. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the "ee" sound in English is /i/. Learning the IPA or International Phonetic Alphabet will give you an excellent tool to navigate your way into correct French pronunciation. Go to the link here to start learning this very useful alphabet right away!

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Les consonnes - the consonants

Letter	Name in French	Pronunciation

Bb	/be/ (bay)	like b in maybe
Cc	/se/ (say)	before e and i: like c in center before a, o, or u: like c in cat
Dd	/de/ (day)	like d in dog

Ff	/ɛf/ (ehf)	like f in fog
Gg	/ʒe/ (zhay)	before e and i: like s in measure before a, o, or u: like g in get
Hh	/aʃ/ (ahsh)	Never pronounced
Ii
Jj	/ʒi/ (zhee)	like s in measure
Kk	/ka/ (kah)	like k in kite
Ll	/ɛl/ (ehl)	like l in lemon
Mm	/ɛm/ (ehm)	like m in minute
Nn	/ɛn/ (ehn)	like n in note

Pp	/pe/ (pay)	like p in pen
Qq	/ky/ (kew)	like k in kite
Rr	/ɛʁ/ (ehr)	force air through the back of your throat near the position of gargling, but sounding soft
Ss	/ɛs/ (ehs)	like s in sister at beginning of word or with two s's or like z in amazing if only one s
Tt	/te/ (tay)	like t in top
Uu	/y/ (ew)	say the English letter e, but make your lips say oo
Vv	/ve/ (vay)	like v in violin
Ww	/dubləve/	depending on the derivation of the word, like v as in violin, or w in water
Xx	/iks/ (eeks)	either /ks/ in socks, or /gz/ in exit

Zz	/zɛd/ (zehd)	like z in zebra