French/Appendices/Pronunciation

Appendices

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French

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IPA pronunciation for Standard French

The following pronunciation guide using IPA symbols is for Standard French. Also known as International French and Received Pronunciation (RP) French. Although it is considered snobbish by some, it is generally understood by all French speakers.

IPA chart French vowels

	Front		Central	Back
	NR	R		NR	R
Close	i	y			u
Close-mid	e	ø	ə		o
Open-mid	ɛ ɛ̃	œ (œ̃)			ɔ ɔ̃
Open	a			(ɑ) ɑ̃

These tables based upon Wikipedia:French phonology

IPA chart French consonants

	Bilabial	Labio- dental	Dental1/ Alveolar	Palato- alveolar	Palatal	Labio- palatal	Velar	Labio- velar	Uvular
Plosive	p b		t d				k g
Nasal	m		n		ɲ		ŋ
Fricative		f   v	s   z	ʃ   ʒ					ʁ
Approximant					j	ɥ		w
Lateral				l

Approximate pronunciations

The approximation column is a hint for beginners. In some cases it is very close, and in others it leaves something to be desired. The best method is to listen to a real French audio sample included in the book, or additional web resources (Forvo, Language Guide). In the approximations you will see that they follow the IPA symbols. For example: [a] and [ɑ] will always be [ah], [ɛ] will always be [eh], [i] will always be [ee], etc. Also there is a superscript [⁽ⁿ⁾] for a nasal on the syllable. Do not read it to mean an "n" sounding nasal, but rather a symbol to indicate nasalization on the preceding syllable.

A note to beginners, is that there are many dialects of French language. Northern, or Parisian French will sound most like the examples, while Canadian and Southern French may be unrecognizable. The web site Forvo has many examples of non-IPA sounding French words, and when you see where they live you should become aware why they pronounce it different. An example would be Mississippi English compared to Bronx English. The web site Language Guide has many examples of perfect Northern/Parisian French.

The student should be cautious of French songs also. Many French singers will change the pronunciation to perform a rhyme. Main (hand) may sound wrong, but the singer is rhyming it with Américain, and thus may leave off the nasal emphasis.

The French "ill" (IPA 'j') is a difficult pronunciation. Fille, Marseille, Mireille, Guillotine, etc., are sometimes exaggerated with a "yuh" sound by teachers. By describing it as "Fee-y^uh, Mahr-seh-y^uh, Mee-reh-y^uh, or Gee-y^uhoh-teen" puts too much emphasis on the "yuh." The best way to describe it, is to let the "uh" roll-off your breathe as a nasal.

An excellent external resource is | 2019 DRAFT French Official IPA Chart and | French Pronunciation.

Consonants

Example words

IPA	Example		Approximation
/m/	[mjɛl]	miel	myehl
/n/	[nu]	nous	noo
/ɲ/	[aɲo]	agneau	ah-gnoh
/ŋ/	[paʁkiŋ]	parking	pahr-keeng
/p/	[po]	peau	poh
/b/	[bo]	beau	boh
/t/	[tu]	tout	too
/d/	[du]	doux	doo
/k/	[kø]	queue	kew
/ɡ/	[ɡɛ̃]	gain	ga(n)
/f/	[fu]	fou	foo
/v/	[vu]	vous	voo
/s/	[su]	sous	soo
/z/	[zɛ̃]	zain	za(n)
/ʃ/	[ʃu]	chou	shoo
/ʒ/	[ʒu]	joue	zhoo
/l/	[lu]	loup	loo
/ʁ/	[ʁu]	roue	roo

Mid vowels

Example words

IPA	Example		Approximation
Oral vowels
/i/	[si]	si	see
/e/	[se]	ses	say
/ɛ/	[sɛ]	sait	seh
/ɛː/	[fɛːt]	fête	feht
/ə/	[sə]	ce	suh
/œ/	[sœʁ]	sœur	suhr
/ø/	[sø]	ceux	sew (like dew)
/y/	[sy]	su	sew (rounded lips)
/u/	[su]	sous	soo
/o/	[so]	sot	soh
/ɔ/	[sɔːʁ]	sort	sohr
/a/	[sa]	sa	sah
/ɑ/	[pɑːt]	pâte	paht
Nasal vowels
/ɑ̃/	[sɑ̃]	sans	sah(n) (like ball nasalized)
/ɔ̃/	[sɔ̃]	son	soh(n)
/œ̃/	[bʁœ̃]	brun	bruh(n)
/ɛ̃/	[bʁɛ̃]	brin	bra(n) (like than nasalized)

Semi-vowels

Example words

semi-vowel	Example
IPA		Orthography	Approximations
semi-vowels
/j/	[nje]	nier
/j/	[fi.j]	fille	fee-yuh
/w/	[lwe]	louer
/ɥ/	[tɥe]	tuer	oo (rounded lips)

Appendices

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