Pronunciation: “en”, “em”, “an” and “am”

We are looking at a sound that doesn’t have a clear, simple spelling in English. It is the sound that we hear in these English words: gone, Ronald,
lawn. It’s a bit of a blend between some sounds we know in English, so this is a pronunciation exercise where imitation will be important! When
watching the video or listening to the recording, do not be shy about copying the accent you hear, because listening carefully, noticing, and
imitating are the keys to nailing this sound in your French accent and pronunciation!
All four of the letter combinations today make this same sound in French: “en”, “em” , “an”, and “am”. Be sure you have watched the linked video at
least once, and listened to my recording and practiced multiple times before making your recording!
Some of the words below are going to include some of our previous sound combinations, so be sure to notice those as well. The more you notice,
the better your French pronunciation will get! Our previous sounds were “gn” (makes a “ni” or “nyuh” sound - like onion/oignon), “ou” (makes an
“oo” sound like soup/soupe), and “o”/ “au”/ “eau” (makes an “oh” sound like in “ghost”). I will highlight these sounds in grey to help you notice them.
If a letter has an over it, it’s because it’s silent (often the last consonant in a French word is silent, like the “p” in “loup” or the “s” in “nous”.)
Practice these words, and when you’re ready, record yourself reading them on Edsby!

“en”/“em”/“an”/“am”
trente le vent ensemble blanc
(thirty) (the (together) blanche
wind) (white)
pendant centre ma lentement
(during) (center) chambre (slowly)
(my room)
cent le courant mentir éléphant
(one (the (to lie) (elephant)
hundred) current)