Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part one Introductory concepts
- Part two Vowels and glides
- Part three Consonants
- Part four Suprasegmentals
- Part five Appendices
- A The International Phonetic Association
- B Diacritic marks in French orthography
- C Outline of the history of French orthography
- D Sounds and letters in French: summary
- E A selection of h-aspiré words
- F Fundamental principles of French pronunciation: summary
- Bibliography
F - Fundamental principles of French pronunciation: summary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part one Introductory concepts
- Part two Vowels and glides
- Part three Consonants
- Part four Suprasegmentals
- Part five Appendices
- A The International Phonetic Association
- B Diacritic marks in French orthography
- C Outline of the history of French orthography
- D Sounds and letters in French: summary
- E A selection of h-aspiré words
- F Fundamental principles of French pronunciation: summary
- Bibliography
Summary
The following principles summarize the fundamental practical rules of pronunciation that native speakers of English should strive to follow if they wish to speak French with a minimum of a foreign accent. [The numbers in square brackets refer to the chapters and pages in the text where these questions are discussed.]
Pronounce each syllable with approximately equal stress. Maintain for each vowel a full, unreduced quality. [3.33–5]
Do not diphthongize vowels; maintain a constant quality during their entire production. [3.39–42]
Distinguish between the front rounded vowels and the back rounded vowels, especially between [y] (tu) and [u] (tout). [3.42–3]
In the production of rounded vowels, project the lips forward while rounding them well. [3.43–5]
Avoid nasalizing oral vowels before nasal consonants. [5.69–73]
Do not aspirate the voiceless stops [p, t, k]. [8.129–30]
Be sure to produce a clear l in all instances; pay especially close attention to the pronunciation of l in syllable-final position. [9.137–9]
Be sure to produce a back r; pay especially close attention to the pronunciation of r after a vowel and before a consonant. [9.142–6]
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Sounds of FrenchAn Introduction, pp. 230Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1987