French for Beginners Read Free

pronouns are used before any word that starts with a vowel. These 9 syllables are:
              Ce /sε/
              De /dε/
              Je /ʒ ε/
              Le /lε/
              Me /mε/
              Ne /nε/
              Que /kε/
              Se /sε/
              Te /tε/
    Some examples include:
Je ne (I do)  – elided to j’ne / ʒ ə n/
Le arbre (the tree) – elided to l’arbre /l aʀbʀ /
    Other instances when the letter ‘e’ is dropped from pronunciation is when it is located beside other silent letters (letters that are completely dropped from intonation), especially if it is the last letter of the word.
    Examples of these words include:
Homme /awm/
Femme /fεm/
    In some words, the letter ‘e’ is not completely dropped. The pronunciation is simply changed into a different vowel sound. This happens mostly on words wherein the letter ‘e’ is squeezed between two single consonants. Some examples include the following words:
Devoirs /duh-vwar/
Logement / lɔ. ʒ ə . mɑ ̃/
Galetas /galta/
Parfaitement /p aʀfɛ t mᾶ /
    On the other hand, emphasis is given to the pronunciation of the letter ‘e’ if it preceeds a double consonant, such as on the following words:
Verrai / vɛ. ʁ ɛ /
Dessert /dεsεr/
    Being able to determine when to pronounce the letter ‘e’ and when not to is a basic necessity when on the process of learning the French accent. This is because a lot of French words contain this letter in the written spelling though only about half of these words actually pronounce the ‘e’ during intonation.
    Consonant Sounds
    The consonant sounds in French are almost the same as the consonant sounds in English except for the “r” sound which is created at the back of the throat and somehow sounds like a roar or a growl.  Of course, you can speak French using the English “r” but you will sound more like a natural French speaker if you can learn the French “r” sound.  Believe me, it will be well worth your effort.
    It is also important to remember that French consonants are pronounced with the tongues remaining tensed the whole time. And in order to properly pronounce the consonants, it is necessary to maintain an open mouth while enunciating. This is unlike the enunciation of most English words wherein the mouth is almost closed and the last letter, especially the consonant, is ‘swallowed’.
    The Semi-consonant W or Double V
    A lot of phonetics experts in the English language often refer to the letter ‘W’ as a vowel, specifically as a derivative of the letter ‘u'. This is because it is often pronounced in a semi-vowel sort of way wherein the mouth is positioned in almost the same way as pronouncing the vowels. For instance, when trying to pronounce the word ‘word', you might notice the lips puckering up at the beginning of the sentence.
    On the other hand, the letter W is referred to as a semi-consonant in French because the letter itself is pronounced as a double v or du-blah-vay (since the letter V is pronounced as 'vay'). Most of the French words that have the semi-consonant double v are borrowed English. One example is the word wagon that denotes ‘a train car’ or ‘a truckload of something’ and is pronounced as /va-gôn/.
     
    The Semi-consonant Letter Y or i-grec
    The French term for the letter Y, which is igrec, could be confusing for many non-French speaking individuals. But note that igrec does not denote how the letter is pronounced. It used as a description or an indication of the letter's origin. Simply put, igrec should actually be written as "i grec" which means that it is the Greek symbol for the letter 'I'. This is also the same way that the letter Y is referred to in other European languages such as Russian and Italian.
    There aren't that many native French words that use the letter y or the igrec because it is often used only in borrowed English words. This