Ch 1 · Lesson 8French · Chapter 1 · Lesson 8 · Pronunciation
The sounds of French
The r, the u, and the nasals - the four sounds that make French sound French, with the mouth shown from the inside.
Pick a sound, watch the mouth make it, then play the example words and copy them aloud. When a slider appears, drag it slowly and watch which part of the mouth moves - that moving part is the whole difference between the two sounds.
France vs Quebec: what actually differs
Both are correct. Pick the one you are learning towards, be consistent, and know the other when you hear it.
t before i or u - Quebec's signature affrication
France: petit/pəti/ - a plain t
Quebec: petit/pət͡si/ - 'p'tsi', a built-in s
d before i or u
France: dimanche/dimɑ̃ʃ/
Quebec: dimanche/d͡zimɑ̃ʃ/ - 'dzimanche'
oi in older or informal Quebec speech
France: moi/mwa/
Quebec: moi/mwa/, but traditionally /mwe/ - alive in songs and with grandparents
Hear it, pick it
One of the two words plays - which did you hear? This is the single highest-value pronunciation exercise there is.
Ear check
0/9
Real words, one sound each: how is the highlighted part pronounced?
How do you pronounce the highlighted r in France French?
rouge
word pageLesson 8 of 14 in this chapter