MODULE 1

Guide for French

Pronunciation
and Self Introduction
 The French Alphabet
The French alphabet is similar to the English alphabet,
but many letters have different sounds than what we are
used to hearing. And, just like the first time learning your
English alphabet, it may take a little while to really master the
French alphabet.
 How to Say the Letters

Let's try the sounds together-- remembering that the French do not prolong their vowels. The vowel
sounds are kept short!
Letter Pronunciation Examples
A /ah/ - the sound in 'spa' aller (ah-lay) means 'to go'

B /beh/ - similar to 'bay' une batte (eeoon baht) means 'a bat'

C /seh/ - similar to 'say' (C or S sound) un couteau (uh koo-toh) means 'a knife

D /deh/ - similar to 'day' dormir (dohr-meer) means 'to sleep'

E /uh/ - the sound in 'wool' les cheveux (lay shuh-vuh) means 'hair'

F /eff/ - similar to English fort (fohr) means 'strong'

G /zheh/ - similar to the g in 'massage' le gaz (luh gahz) means 'gas'

/ah-sh/ - said like 'osh' in gosh,

-l'huile (lweel) means oil, and the 'h' is silent
H usually silent in French but there are a few words
-le haricot (luh ah-ree-koh) means 'the bean'
with an aspirated 'h'

I /ee/ - the sound in geek finir (fee-neer) means 'to finish'

J /zhee/ - similar to jhee jouer (zhoo-ay) means 'to play'

 /kah/ sounds like English (rarely used in
K un kangourou (uh kahn-goo-roo) means kangaroo
French)

L /ell/ - sounds like English un livre (uh lee-vruh) means 'a book'

M /ehm/ - sounds like English mon ami (moh-nahm-ee) means 'my friend'

N /ehn/ - similar to English, sometimes nasal la naissance (lah nay-ssahnss) means 'birth'

un ordinateur (uh- nohr-dee-nah-tuhr) means 'a

O /oh/ - similar to English
computer'

P /peh/ - said like the 'pu' in 'put' payer (pay-ay) means 'to pay'

Q /keoo/ - said like KEE with rounded lips qui (kee) means 'who'

R /ehr/ - guttural throat 'r', like gargling un renard (uh rruh-nahrr) means 'a fox'

/ess/ - usually one 's' sounds like 'z' un poisson (uh pwah--ssohn) means 'a fish'
S
double 's' sounds like 's' du poison (deeoo pwah-zohn) means 'some poison'
 T /teh/ - said like 'tay' une tarte (eeoon tarr-tuh) means 'a pie'

une ruse (eeoon reeooz) means 'a joke or

U /eew/ - said like EE with rounded lips
trick'

une voiture (eeoon vwah-teeoor) means

V /veh/ - said like 'vay'
'a car'

/doobluh veh/ - sounds similar to double un wagon-lit (uh vahgohn lee) or (uh wah-
W
vay (rarely used in French) gohn-lee) means a train car for sleeping

une exercise (eeoon ehks-ehr-see-ss)

X /eeks/ - similar to English
means 'an exercise'

Y /ee grehk/ - sounds like EE then gr-ek un yaourt (uh yah-oo-rt) means 'a yogurt'

Z /zehd/ - sounds like zed un zèbre (uh zeh-bruh) means 'a zebra'

https://study.com/academy/lesson/french-alphabet-pronunciation.html
 Sounds
Most of the consonants in French are pronounced as in in English, but many of the vowels
sounds differ. It is almost impossible to describe the true sound of French using text. For best result try
to listen to actual French being spoken, only then you can actually appreciate the sound of the
language. The following, however, is the list of sounds used in French language. Practice making the
sound few times and say the example word out loud.

• On sound like much “oh” in English, with just a hint of soft “n” at the end. you will
find it in a word such as maison (meh-zohn meaning “house”) and Garcon (gar-
sohn, meaning “boy”).

• Ou An “ooh” sound that you’ll encounter in word such as “tout” (tooh, meaning“all”)

• Oi A “wha” sound much like the beginning of English word “waddle”. A French
example is “soir” (swahr, meaning “evening”)
• Ai sound like “ehh” you’ll find it in a great many word , including “maison” and “vrai”
(vreh meaning, “True”)

• En sounds similar to “on” in English, but with a much softer “n” sound, you’ll find it in a
word “encore” (ahnk-ohr, meaning “again”) and parent (pahr-ahn, meaning “parent”)

• An is pronounced the same way sa “en”

• Eu to make a this sound hold your mouth like you’re going to make an “eee” sound,
buy they say “oooh” instead, it sound much like the beginning of the English word “earl”
Heure” (ehhr, meaning “hour”) is an example.

• In pronounced like the beginning of the English word “enter” but again with the much
softer “n” sound. Magasin (may-guh-zehn, meaning “store”) and pain (pehn,meaning
“bread”) are examples.

• Er sounds like “ayy” you will find this at the end of the verbs. Such as “parler” (parl-ay,
meaning “to speak”) and “entrer” ( ahn-tray, meaning to “enter”).
 Sometimes, letters are silent and are not pronounced; this often occurs with letters at the
end of the words. The letters are still required in written French, of course, but you don’t hear them,
here are the letters to watch:

• Words ending in –d: chaud (show) meaning “hot”

• Words starts with –h: heureux (er-rooh) meaning “happy”

• Words ending in –s: compris ( com-pree)meaning “included”

• Words ending in –t: achat (ah-sha) meaning “purchase”

• Words ending in –x: choix (shwa) meaning “choice”

 In French , the letter “h” is usually silent;words that begin with it
are usually pronounced as if the “h” wasn’t there at all. In French , a silent
letter is known as “muet” (moo-eh) and the silent “h” as h muet (ahsh-moo-
eh). There are a few cases where the “h” will be pronounced; it is the
known as an aspirated h, or h aspire (ahsh-as-pee-ray). The majority of
French word begin with a hmuet, so , when pronounced , they’ll sounds as
if they begin with a vowel. Words that begin with an h aspire are the
exception.

Often, in spoken French, words are run together. This occurs

when using words that begin with vowels after words that end in a hard
consonant sound. When learning the language, this can cause
consternation for new speakers, as it can be difficult to understand what
other people are saying. In addition, words can be shortened, and
contraction can be formed, adding to the confusion. Other times, the
syllables are just pushed together, so two or three words can be sound like
one long word instead.
Colon
The colon, called les deux (lay doo-pwegn), is used to introduce another
phrase that is related to the previous one. Usually, the following phrase will be an
elaboration on a point or something that explains the sentence more clearly. The colon
functions the same in both languages.

Comma
The comma called la virgule (la vehr-gool), is used in the same way as English
uses them, but remember that French also uses use virgule when indicating an amount
of money. For example, 1.25 in English would be 1,25 un French, exchange rates
notwithstanding.
Exclamation Point
An exclamation point, called le point d' exclamation (le pwehn dexkla-mas-yohn), can
be used at the end of a sentence to indicate an element of surprise, excitement, or other intense
emotion. The usage between French and English is, for the most part, interchangeable.

Comprehension problem, because native speakers definitely won't be expecting it. The
resulting phrase may sound like some other phrase, causing your listeners to wonder
what on earth you're talking about.

After a noun used in a singular:

For example I' etudiant a un livre. (lay-tchoo-dee-ahn ah uhn leevr).

After et, the word for "and":

For example, vingt et un (vehn-tay-uhn).
In front of an h aspire: For example des heros (day ay-ro).
 ELISION

Elision occurs when two vowels appear together-one at the end of a

word, and the other at the beginning of the word immediately following it. One of
the vowels is dropped, and the remaining letter is joined to the following word
with an apostrophe.

I'eau, pronounced low, is an elision of la + eau (water)

l'ete, pronounced lay-tay, is an elision of le + ete (summer)

Elision is a frequent occurrence with articles and nouns, but can also occur with
verbs and subject pronouns, and even prepositions .This affects both written
and spoken French, so it is an important concept to remember.

When does elision, or dropping a vowel, occur?

Elision can occur with any of the following words when followed by another
word that begins with a vowel: ce, de, je, la, le, me, ne, que, se, si, and te.
• An elision is a type of contraction that occurs when two
words are combined: one or more letters are dropped
and replaced with an apostrophe. In English, elisions
like "I’m" and "can’t" are optional and indicate informality.
In French, however, written elisions are required,
regardless of the register you’re speaking or writing in.
 There are four main groups of written
French elisions:
1) Definite articles
Le and la elide with nouns that begin with a vowel or h
muet.

• le + animal l’animal
• le + homme l’homme
• la + école l’école
• la + haleine l’haleine
• Exception: la une (front page of a newspaper)
 2) Direct object pronouns

Le and la contract with verbs that begin with a

vowel, h muet, or adverbial pronoun y.

• je le + ai je l’ai
• tu le + hérites tu l’hérites
• il la + obéit il l’obéit
• elle la + y voit elle l’y voit
ENCHAINEMENT

Enchainement, unlike liaison and elision, is a matter of

pronunciation only; it does not affect written French. It does,
however, operate in similar fashion, pushing the sounds of the
words together. Instead of being governed by vowels and
consonants, though, enchainement is governed by phonetic
sounds. And instead of affecting the last letter of a word,
enchainement affects the last sounds.

il a (ee-la)
elle est (el-lay)
une ecole (ohh-nay-kohl)
 3) Other two-letter words that end in e muet
These elide when followed by a vowel, h muet, or adverbial y.

• ce ce + est c’est
• de de + azur d’azur
• je je + aime j’aime
• me je me + habille je m’habille
• ne il ne + aime pas il n’aime pas
• se ils se + adorent ils s’adorent
• te tu te + y mets tu t’y mets

Exception: No written elision when je is inverted.

• Puis-je + aller Puis-je aller

• Ai-je + envie Ai-je envie
 4) Elisions figées (Fixed elisions)
• aujourd’hui today contraction of au + jour + de + hui from the 12th century
• d’abord in the first place, first of all
• d’accord
• d’ac okay
• OK
• d’ailleurs besides, moreover
• d’après according to
• d’habitude
• d’hab usually, as a rule
• entr’acte ~intermissioncontraction of entre + acte only used in English; the French write entracte
• *presqu’île peninsula the only contraction with presque
• quelqu’un someone
• s’il
• s’ils si + il (if he/it)
• si + ils (if they) but not si + elle
• si + elles
• si + on si elle
 Enchainement
In French, whenever a word ending in a consonant sound is followed by a vowel
or h muet, that consonant sound is transferred onto the next word. This euphonic
technique is called enchaînement and it’s one of the aspects of French
pronunciation that sometimes makes it difficult to determine where one word
ends and the next begins.

Par exemple…

avec [ah vehk] avec elle [ah veh kehl] [ah vehk ehl]
sept [seht] sept enfants [seh ta(n) fa(n)]
[seht a(n) fa(n)]
CAPITALIZATION
For the most part, French follows the same rules regarding capitalization as English,
with a few exceptions. In French, a capital letter is known as a majuscules.
Capitalized word are said to be en majuscules. The following shows the types of words that are
capitalized in French.

The first word in the sentence is capitalized.

Both first and last names are capitalized.
Names of cities, countries and continents are capitalized.
Directions are capitalized to indicate a specific place. like ( Amerique du Nord )(f) (North
America). When used to indicate a general direction, like le nord (North) no majuscule is used.

When words are used as nouns to indicate the nationality of a person.

For example, un Francais (a Frenchman), the word is capitalized.
PUNCTUATION MARKS
Written French looks very similar to English, so reading books in French should
seems almost familiar. For the most part, French uses the same punctuation marks, and
they function in much same way as in English. Included in this section are the French
terms for many punctuation marks; they are handy words to know, and you never can tell
when you may be called upon to use them.

BRACKETS
Brackets, called les crochets (lay-crow-shay), are often to used to show words
inserted into qouted text to help explain the original. In English, they are sometimes
referred to as "square brackets". They function the same in both languages.
Period

The period, called le point (le pwehn), is ised at the end of a sentence,
anytime you use a period in English, you can do the same in French, except when
indicating amounts of money.

Question Mark

A question mark, called le point d' interrogation (le pwehn dint-hehr-oh-gass-yohn), is

used to indicate a question. In written French, you will most often see est-ce que used to indicate a
sentence; in dialogue, however, you may encounter inversion or even plain sentences that use a
question mark (see Chapter 7). In the latter case, the dialogue is intended to be read witg
intonation: the question mark is your clue.
FACTS

After Norman invasion of 1066, French became the language of England. The phrase
"Pardon ny French" gained notoriety in the nineteenth century as an apology for using off-color words in
an ironic twist, presumably because French had been the language of the aristocracy for centuries
(where such language would normally be highly inappropriate).

Question Marks

French quotation marks, called les guillemets (lay gee-meht), appear slightly different from
English ones. Instead of using symbols that look like commas like we do in English, French uses small
double arrows that wrap around the quotation, as follows:
ll dit: (je ne sais pas) He said, "I don't know."
Semicolon
A semicolon , called le point-virgule (e pwehn-vehr-gool), is used to attach a
phrase the is loosely related to the previous phrase in the sentence. Like the comma and
period, its usage is primarily interchangeable with the English usage.

Accents
In order to provide guides to pronunciation, French uses accents, which are
pronunciation marks that appear with some letters. Firstly, there are five different types of
accents: acute (é), grave (è), circumflex (ê), trema (ë) and cedilla (ç).
 The Aigu Accent
The aigu (ay-gooh) points upwards and toward the right, as in é. In English, it is known as the
acute accent. Although it only appears over the letter "e", it can become an integral part of a word,
substantially changing its meaning. The aigu accent also provides important clues about where the word
fits in a sentence. Whenever it appears, it changes the pronunciation of the "e" from an "ehh" sound (like
the middle "e" sounds in "treble") to an "ay" sound.

•reveil (ray-vay): alarm clock •médecin (may-dehh-sehn): doctor

•épicé (ay-pee-say): spicy
 The Grave Accent

The grave accent (pronounced like the beginning "grav" in "gravel")

falls to the left, as in é. The grave accent can appear over the letter
a, e, i, o, u, however, it changes the pronunciation only when it
appears above e. It's not so important in spoken French, so it can
be easy to forget about. The grave accent must be used in written
French, however, so pay close attention to the words that use it.

• •trés (treh): very •oú (ooh): where

• •troiséme (twa-zee-emm): third
 The Circonflexe
The circonflexe (sir-kohn-flex) accent appears over vowels, like a little hat
over the letter, as in ô. It doesn't modify the pronunciation at all, but the French
Academy has opted to keep it, so it remains with the language.

•forêt (fohh-ray): forest •hôtel (owe-tel): hotel

•hôpital (owe-pee-tal): hospital
déçu (disappointed)
•façon (fass-ohn): manner
 The Cédilla

The cedilla (in English word, pronounced se-dill-ah; in French, the word is cédilla,
pronounced say-dee) appears underneath the letter "c" to make it appear like it
has a tail: ç. It indicates a soft "s" sound instead of the hard "k" sound the letter "c"
would normally have if ir appeared before the letter "a" For example, the French
language is referred to as françois pronounced frahn-say. The "c" becomes soft,
turning into an "s." (If the cedilla were not present, the word would be pronounced
frahn-kay.)

here are some words with a ç:

 leçon (leh-sohn): lesson

 français (French)
 ça (that)
 garçon (boy) (gahr-sohn):
 Trēma

The trema (tray-ma) is the French word for the two dots that appear above the second
vowel when two vowels are situated together. In English, it is known as an umlaut, and
is used in some foreign words, including words borrowed from French. The accent tells
you that the second vowel is to be pronounced in its own, distinct from the vowel
preceding it. Noel and naive are examples of French words that are commonly used in
English; Noel is pronounced no-well, and naive is pronounced nigh-eve, in French, the
sound is softer and pronounced more to the front of mouth.

•coīncidence (ko-ehn-see-dahnss) coincidence

•Noel (no-ell): Christmas
•jamaique (jam-eh-eek): Jamaica
SELF INTRODUCTION
IN FRENCH
1) Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

“Hello” and “Nice to meet you” are must-know phrases.

Any introduction will probably will start with these words.
Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

2) Comment t’appelles-tu?
What’s your name?
Comment t’appelles-tu?

Since you’re learning French introductions here, you may as well learn the questions you’d get.
Now, to answer it..
3) Je m’appelle ______.

This is simple. To say “my name is” in French, you just need the phrase “Je m’appelle.”
Then say your name. For example, if the name is Linguajunkie, it would be like this…

My name is ______.
Je m’appelle ______.
Je m’appelle Linguajunkie.

Here’s another example:

Je m’appelle Robert. Comment t’appelles tu ?
Informal tu/vous formal -you
My name is Robert. What’s your name?

4) Je viens de ____.
So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick the name of your
country inside this phrase. We’ll use France as an example.

Je viens de France.
I’m from France.
 5) J’habite à ______.
What about now – where do you live?
Just fill in the blank with the country or city (if famous) into this phrase. I’ll use Paris as an example.

J’habite à Paris.
I live in Paris.

6) J’apprends le français depuis _____.

How long have you been learning French for? A month? A year?
J’apprends le français depuis un an.
I’ve been learning French for a year.

7) J’ai ___ ans.

Here’s how to say how old you are in French. Just add the number in
J’ai ans.
J’ai 27 ans.
I’m 27 years old.

8) Je suis ______.
Je suis étudiant –
 9). What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher? Lawyer for the potato
Industry? Potato salesman? Super important question that people like to ask (and
judge you about – Hey, I’m just a blogger!). Just use “ani” meaning “I” and add your position.
Je suis enseignant(e). - I’m a teacher.
Here are some examples of other jobs:

ingénieur – engineer
programmeur – programmar
infirmière – nurse
professeur – professor
employé de bureau – office worker/clerk
ouvrier de société – company worker
gérant – manager
secrétaire – secretary
docteur – doctor
agent comptable – accountant
officier de police – police officer
pompier – firefighter
avocat – lawyer
cuisinier – cook
étudiant - student
 \

10) J’aime écouter de la musique.

Now, this is just another example line about your hobbies.
You can use something elsewhere.
J’aime écouter de la musique.
I enjoy listening to music.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in French.

Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

Comment t’appelles-tu?
Je m’appelle ______.
Je viens de France.
J’habite à Paris.
J’apprends le français depuis un an.
J’apprends le français sur (insert here).
J’ai 27 ans.
Je suis enseignant(e)
Un de mes passe-temps est la lecture.
J’aime écouter de la musique.
 “My name is” in French is probably one of the first phrases you’ll learn as a beginner.
Say it this way followed by your name:

Je m’appelle [Your name] — My name is [Your name].

In a conversation, when someone has already introduced themselves, use this one an alternative
phrase:

Moi c’est [Your name]. — I’m [Your name].

If you want to be exceptionally polite by saying “I don’t know” in French, you can also add “I’m
sorry.”

Je ne sais pas. — I don’t know.

Je suis désolé. — I’m sorry.

The word “Please” in French takes two forms. “S’il vous plaît” is a very polite version used with the
polite form of “you.”

S’il vous plaît. — Please (formal).

When asking your friend or someone you know well, use this one as an informal version:

S’il te plaît. — Please (informal).

This one is among basic French phrases you tend to hear everywhere:

D’accord. — I agree or Of course.

It’s also possible to agree by saying a simple “Okay,” but you should try to say it with a
French accent.

Just like in English, you can use “Excuse me” in French to pardon, apologize, or in situations
when you need to draw someone’s attention if they are blocking a way.

Excusez-moi. — Excuse me or sorry.

Say “Merci” to be polite when someone does you a favor, or when you receive something
from someone. There is no short version, and you can use it with everyone.
Merci! — Thank you!

This a very polite version of “Thank you” in French:

Merci beaucoup.-Thank you very much.

You can respond to “Merci” with “De rien”. These phrases come as a pair, so learn and
practice them together.
De rien. — You are welcome.

When meeting someone, you can use the following sentences:

Bonjour. Enchanté. Je m’appelle [Your Name]”.
 Useful questions in French
When visiting a French-speaking country, you might want to ask some questions to get the
information that you need. These useful French phrases will surely help you out.
Quelle heure est-il? — What time is it?

Combine these questions with some phrases in French you already know to draw someone’s attention if
need be:
“Excusez-moi. Quelle heure est-il?”.

Comment vous appelez-vous? — What is your name? (formal)

This is a formal way to ask someone their name. If you are having a conversation with a child or you’re in
an informal setting, use the following phrase:
Comment tu t’appelles? — What is your name? (informal)
If you feel like the common French words you know by now is not enough for a meaningful conversation,
you can ask a person to switch to English.
Est-ce que vous parler anglais? — Do you speak English?

Je parler anglaiz.
Je ne parler pas anglais.
Je parler pa anglais un peu.
Possible answers:

Oui, je parler anglais. — Yes, I speak English.

Non- No
Un peu. — A little bit.
Je ne comprends pas. — I don’t understand.

Beginners often come across different pronouns such as “Why” in French when they want to ask
questions. Here are some of them:
Pourquoi? — Why?
Où? — Where?

The word “Where” in French is often used in a phrase:

“Où est […]? — Where is […]?”.
Here are also some other useful question words:
Comment? — How?
Qand? — When?
Qui? — Who?
 Here’s how to ask someone their age:

Casual
“How old are you?” Formal
Tu as quel âge ?” “How old are you?”
“Quel âge avez-vous ?”

J’ai 20 ans. (“I’m 20 years old.”)

This literally means: “I have 20 years.”

J’ai is the contraction of Je and ai, which means: “I have.”

ans is the plural of the word An which means: “Year.”
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