Rules for reading in French not the simplest, but still they are more consistent than, for example, in the English language: there are much fewer exceptions. Below are the rules with approximate reading in Russian: focus not on the transcription, but on the descriptions of sounds. The peculiarities of the French accent, which is very bright and characteristic, are still better practiced by the sound of the French language in the speech of native speakers. In French, the stress ALWAYS falls on the last syllable. Moreover, often on the last syllable not even of a word, but of a phrase or a significant part of a phrase, that is, before a pause in speech. The letters -e, -s, -t, -d, -z, -x, -p, -g (and often their combinations) at the end of words are NOT READABLE. Remember that there are exceptions to every rule: fils (son) is read as [fis]. Voiced consonants are always pronounced clearly and are not deafened at the end of the word: Parade, plage, journal, telephone, Arabe. Double consonants are read as one: Personne, adresse, professeur. The letter combination “oi” gives a semivowel semivowel sound in Russian transcription [ua]: Trois [trois], voilà [veil], trottoir [sidewalk], répertoire [repertoire]. The letter combinations “eau”, “au” give a closed sound [o]: Tableau [table], bureau [bureau]. The letter combinations “ai” and “ei” give an open sound [ɛ]: Chaise [shez], portrait [portre], neige [nezh]. The letter combinations “eu” and “œu” give a sound similar to the Russian Ё after the consonants Adieu, il veut, sérieux, vœu, nœud, sœur, cœur, fleur, directeur, couleur œuf, bœuf, manœuvre, chef-d'œuvre (masterpiece ). E, è, ê, é, е under stress and in a closed syllable is read as “e”: fourchette [buffet] - fork. e in an unstressed syllable is read approximately like the German “ö” - like the letter “e” in the word Möbius: menu [menu], regarder [rögarde]. In order to make this sound, you need to stretch your lips forward like a bow and at the same time pronounce the letter “e”. In the middle of words in an open syllable, this letter is dropped completely during pronunciation (e is fluent). So, for example, the word carrefour (crossroads) is read as [kar "fur] (the unstressed "e" in the middle of the word is not pronounced). It would not be a mistake to read it [karefur], but when you speak quickly, it falls out, as it turns out to be a weak sound . Madeleine - [madeleine]. E at the end of words (see exceptions below) is not read (in songs and poems it is sometimes pronounced, but if there are any signs above it, it is always read, no matter where it is). régime [mode], rosé [rose] - pink wine. In monosyllabic words, e is read at the end of words - if you don’t read it there, the syllable cannot be formed at all. These are articles, prepositions, pronouns, demonstrative adjectives: le [le], de [. dyo], je [zhe], me [мё], ce [сё]. The letter “s” between vowels is voiced - gives the sound [z]: Lise, Basile, une surprise, visa, visite, dose, pose, rose, viscose, casino, camisole, crise, sclerose, narcose, crise. The unreadable ending -s, which forms the plural of nouns and adjectives, even if it appears, does not make the letter -e at the end of the word readable: régime and régimes are read the same - [mode]. -er at the ends of words is read as “e”: parler [parle] – talk. -er is the standard ending for French regular verbs. The u is pronounced like the "yu" in the word "muesli". Example: cuvette is read [ditch] and means “ditch”, parachute [parachute] means “parachute”, the same thing happens with purée (mashed potatoes) and confiture (jam). To make an open "u" sound, use the combination ou. Souvenir [souvenir] - memory, fourchette [buffet] - fork, carrefour [carrefour] - crossroads; pronouns nous (we) read [well], vous (you and you) read [vu]. y is read as [i], but next to vowels it is more like the Russian Y. The letter l is read softly: étoile [etoile] - star, table [table] - table, banal [banal] - banal, canal [channel], carnaval [carnival] ]. g is read as "g", but before e, i and y it is read as "zh". For example: général - read [general], régime [mode], agiotage [excitement]. A good example is the word garage - read [garage] - the first g before a is read firmly, and the second g before e is read as "zh". The letter combination gn is read as [н] - for example, in the word cognac [cognac] - cognac, champignons [champignon] - mushrooms, champagne [champagne] - champagne, lorgnette [lornet] - binoculars. s is read as "k", but before e, i and y it is read as "s". For example: certificat reads [certificate]. If it is necessary to change this behavior, that is, to force this letter to be read as [s] before other vowels, a tail is attached to it at the bottom: Ç and ç. Ça is read as [sa]; garçon [garson] - boy, maçon (mason), façon (style), façade (facade). The famous French greeting Comment ça va [coma~ sa va] (or more often just ça va) means “how are you”, and literally “how is it going”. In films you can see - they say hello like that. One asks: “Ça va?”, the other answers: “Ça va, ça va!”. (High punctuation marks - exclamation and question marks, semicolons, as well as parentheses and quotation marks - are separated from words by spaces, unlike in Russian.) At the ends of words, c is rarely found. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule about when to read it and when not to. This is simply remembered for each word - fortunately there are few of them: for example, blanc [bl "an] - white, estomac [estoma] - stomach and tabac [tab] is not readable, and cognac (cognac) and avec (with, together with) - read. h is NEVER read. It's as if she doesn't exist. Except for the combinations "ch", "th" and "ph". Sometimes this letter acts as a separator - if it occurs inside a word between vowels, then this indicates their separate reading: Sahara [sa-ara], cahier [ka-ye]. In any case, it itself is not readable. The combination ch gives the sound [sh]. For example, chance [chance] - luck, luck, chantage [blackmail], cliché [cliché], cache-nez [muffler] - scarf (literally: hiding my nose); ph is read as "f": photo. th is read as "t": théâtre [theater], thé [those] - tea. p - reads like Russian “p”: portrait [portrae]. In the middle of the word, the letter p before t is not readable: sculpture [skulture] j - reads like Russian zh: bonjour [bonjour] - hello, jalousie [blinds] - envy, jealousy and blinds, sujet [plot] - plot. s reads like Russian “s”: geste [gesture], régisseur [director], chaussée [highway]; between two vowels s is voiced and read as “z”: fuselage [fuselage], limousine [limousine] - very intuitive. The letter combination “ier” gives the semivowel sound [je] or [е] (Russian transcription): Plumier, pionnier, papier, tablier, cahier, calendrier. The letter combination “ill” gives the semivowel sound [j] or [й] (Russian transcription): Famille, fille, pavillon, quadrille, médaille, oreille, gorille, feuille, vieille, maquillage. The letter combination “qu” gives the sound [k]: Qui, que, quatre, quarante, quatorze, cirque, masque, fabrique, polyclinique, bibliothèque, disque, baraque, panique, squelette, jaquette, kiosque, paquet, breloque, quadrille, coquette, mosaïque, Monique, Afrique, Amérique, critique. The remaining consonants - n, m, p, t, x, z - are read more or less obviously. But N and M, when combined with vowels, give rise to a whole class of sounds. The fact is that after vowels (but not before other vowels), N and M themselves are not read, but they nasalize (that is, force them to be pronounced “in the nose”) the preceding vowels: mon [mo~] (my, my, etc.) n.) rejoindre [rəzhua~dr] (to connect) But at the same time: madame [madam] (madam) mademoiselle [mademoiselle] (mademoiselle) The letter combinations “in, im” give a nasal sound [ɛ] before a consonant or at the end of a word: Singe , magasin, jardin. Before vowels “in, im”, as well as inn, imm, are read as , magazine, inértion, immeuble, marine. Letter combinations “ein, aim, ain” give a nasal sound [ẽ] before consonants or at the end of a word: Plein, peintre, train , pain, demain, faim The nasal sound is lost before vowels: Baleine, migraine The letter combinations “yn, ym” give the nasal sound [ẽ]: Syndicat, sympathie, symphonie. The letter combinations “un, um” give the nasal sound [œ]: Brun, parfum, un, lundi, tribun. But before the vowel “un, um” they lose their nasal sound and read brune, parfumérie. The letter combination “oin” gives a nasal sound: Loin, point, coin. The letter combination “ien” produces a nasal sound: Bien, rien, chien, musicien.
Moreover, having opened the French-Russian dictionary, you will be surprised to find an almost complete absence of transcription, so familiar to English language. And if, nevertheless, you come across a transcription, it means that this word is not read according to the rules.
How many rules do you need to learn to learn to read “like a Frenchman”?
No one will answer this question for you. The authors of some textbooks consider any minor difference in pronunciation as a separate rule, and then there are more than forty of them. Other authors combine similar-sounding sounds into one rule and are content with two dozen. One thing is certain: if you learn these rules and master the pronunciation, within a week you will be able to amaze your friends with a reading of Maupassant or Stendhal in the original. So what if you won’t understand a single word! Friends won't know about this!
In french alphabet 26 letters, as in most European languages. But there are much more sounds. Therefore, the same letters are read differently depending on their position in the word or diacritic. So about forty sounds were collected.
With consonant sounds everything is more or less clear. Of course, in French phonetics there is not a single consonant sound identical to Russian. But they are easier to pronounce than “terrible” vowels that are completely alien to our ears.
That's where we'll start. IN first In this lesson we will learn two vowel sounds: [a] and [ɛ].
Sound [a] Russian
The sound [a] is French. It's like you're imitating someone
1. This sound is formed by the letter a in its “pure” form or with accentgrave à .
sa le, ra te, da te, a, là
2. Sound [ɛ]
similar to the Russian sound [e] in the word “this”. Only the lower jaw should be “dropped” significantly lower.This sound is produced in several ways:
è – mè re
ê – fê te
e (in a closed syllable) travel rse
(for those who graduated from school twenty years ago, let us remind you: this is a syllable that ends with a consonant sound)
ai – pai re
aî – maî tre
ei – bei ge
And finally, just the word est (v. be in 3rd unit)
And now a few more rules, and we will be able to read not only words, but also sentences in French. As you can see, learning to read French is not that difficult...
3. The letter e at the end meaningful words unreadable: la gare, la salade
(If the letter e is the only vowel letter in a word and is at the end, then it is read. As a rule, this happens in function words: prepositions, articles, etc.)
4. The letter c before e, i, y is read as [s]: Luc ie, la plac e, bic yclette
Before other letters, as well as at the end of a word (after consonants and “pure” vowels) this is the sound [k]: la c arte, parc, Marc
5. The letters d, p, s, t, x at the end of words, as a rule, are not readable: tard, gares, part, parcs
6. The letter combination ch is read as [ʃ]: ch arade, vach e
7. The letter g before e, i, y is read as [ʒ]: la ge rbe, la gi rafe, la gy mnaste
Before other letters it is read as the sound [g]: la g are, la g lace
8. The letter s between vowels is read as the sound [z]: la chaise, la braise, la falaise
ExerciseForreading:
1. sale, rate, date, va, vaste, valse, valve, lac, fade, stade, carte, caste, face, acte, trace, mare, tare, rare, lave, cave, rave, slave, patte, cape, gare, place, nappe, barre, parle, part, garde, gala, agate, tatare, salade, malade, mascarade, camarade, cravate, carafe, lactate, cavalcade, palace, panama, Canada, caravane;
2. père, frère, crème, traverse, cadet, cadette, carnet, ballet, fête, tête, rêve, chair, paire, maire, faire, salaire, beige, neige, fraise, braise, falaise, vache, charme, charge, charade, crèche, pêche, salle, nasale, basalte, caserne, frais, adresse, gerbe, gêne, bergère, bagatelle, grammaire, sagesse.
Now let’s show off to our friends how we can read sentences in French:
Marc va à la gare, traverse la belle place et parle avec sa femme* Claire.
- th read as [t]: M Ar th e .
- e at the end of the significant parts of speech it is silent, that is, we do not read: mAdam e .
- In most cases the letter l at the end of the words we read: P аsca l.
- With reads like before e,i, y: laplAce .
In other cases With reads like [k]: laca rte la commode lac rаvate .
- Two consonants at the end of a word are always read as one: be ll e , cade tt e .
Double consonants within a word are also read as simple in most cases: bAllet .
- ch read as [ʃ]: ellemAr ch e [ε l -‘mar ʃ ].
- Before e,i, y letter g read as [ʒ]: laplAge , lAgirAfe , lagymnAstique .
In other cases g reads like: lagAre , lagrè ve .
- s between two vowels we read as: lachai s e .
In all other cases as [s]: s a weight te , elle traver s e [ ε l-tra-‘v ε rs].
- Two s I read and eat like [s]: la press e .
- s,z,t, d We don’t read the end of the word: le s éleves, très parlez, assez , chez [ ʃe] elle par t[εl-‘pa:r] le pied , tard .
- At the end of the infinitive of verbs starting with -er, the letter r unreadable: repéte r .
- With at the end of words after consonants and pure vowels we read as [k]: ave c , parc [rac].
- h never read in French, but plays a role in pronunciation.
When h, stands inside a word between vowels, they are read separately: ca h ier , tra h ir , Sa h ara
The letter h, standing at the beginning of a word before a vowel, happens:
A) h mute, with which a link is made and a vowel is dropped: ilsh applicant , l'h ectare .
b) h aspirate, before which the binding is not made and the vowel is not dropped: leh amac, lah arpe , lesh amacs , lesh arpes .
Words starting with h aspirated, are indicated in dictionaries with an asterisk: * haut.
- qu reads like [k]: lafabri qu e (la -fa -‘brik], qu itter.
- j read as [ʒ]: j edéj eune[ʒə –de -‘ʒ œn].
- f at the end of the words it reads: neu f , acti f .
- r at the end of the word it usually reads: lafleu r , leti r .
Letter r is not read at the end of the indefinite form of verbs in -er and in the vast majority of nouns and adjectives ending in — er, -ier: demour er prem ier [рrə-‘mje] lecah ier .
Exceptions: in some nouns and adjectives, for example: hiver , cher [ʃ ɛ: r] mer ,hier ,fer ,ver .
- ph reads: le paragraphe.
- X the end of the word is unreadable: vieu x les yeu x .
The exception is numerals six And dix, where the letter X pronounced like .
When linking a letter X pronounced like: deu x amis , si x elèves .
- f in the numeral neuf when bound, pronounced as before the word heure (and several other words): neu f heures
- t in the group ti + the vowel is read either as or as.
The most common reading with sound is: na ti onal lademocra ti e ac ti onner ter ti aire
If the group ti + the vowel is preceded by the letter s, then t is always read as: le ves ti aire .
- There is a letter at the end of the word r usually unreadable: tro p , lesiro p
- z reads like: quator z e , zé ro .
- gn read as [ŋ]: espa gn ol [εs –pa -‘ŋɔ l ].
- After a group of indivisible consonants, the letter i retains its vowel, and the following vowel is usually slightly iotated: l'ouvr i er , oubl i er .
- Any vowel that comes before nasal consonants n And m, which are in the same syllable with it, acquires a nasal timbre, and consonants n And m not readable: lef on d b om barder .
“an, am, en, em” give a nasal sound [ɑ̃]: enfant [ɑ̃fɑ̃], ensemble [ɑ̃sɑ̃bl].
“on, om” give a nasal sound [ɔ̃]: fond, nom.
“in, im, ein, aim, ain, yn, ym” give a nasal sound [ɛ̃]: jardin [ Ʒardɛ̃], importer [ɛ̃porte], sympa, pain.
“un, um” give a nasal sound [œ̃]: un [œ̃], parfum.
“oin” read [wɛ̃]: foin.
“ien” read [jɛ̃]: bien.
If the nasal consonant is doubled (nn, mm) or the consonant is followed by a vowel, the nasal timbre of the vowel is destroyed, and the consonant is read: é con om e s on ner .
- When a nasal vowel is associated with the next word beginning with a vowel, the nasal timbre of the nasal vowel is preserved, but between it and the vowel of the next word a consonant n appears, which is attached to this vowel, forming with it one syllable: o n achete[ɔ ̃ -na - ʃ εt ].
- ç reads like legarç on laleç on .
- y between two vowels corresponds to two i, of which one forms a sound-letter combination with the preceding vowel, and the other gives an iotated sound with the subsequent vowel: bala y er (=ba -lai -ier) lecra y on (=le crai -ion) .
- In most cases the letter r in the middle of a word before t is not readable: com p ter unescul p ture .
- gu before vowels it is usually read as: conju gu er leguide .
- After the nasal vowel the letter With the end of the word is unreadable: blan c .
- Letter X in words starting with ex-, inex-, reads like:
1) before vowels: l‘ e x amen , ine x orable .
2) before consonants: e x terne, l'excursion.
In the middle of a word x mostly read both before a consonant and before a vowel: lami x ture , lele x ique .
In ordinal numbers deuxiè me'second', sixiè me'sixth', dixiè me'tenth' x is read as .
34. The endings of verbs are not read “ -ent”: ilsparlent.
35. Letter combination “ ill” reads like [j] (after a vowel) or (after a consonant): famille.
Exceptions: ville, mille, tranquille, Lille and their derivatives.
The French language is very rich in reading rules. But this has its own advantage: they are quite understandable, once you learn them, you can read any word.
Of course, there are many exceptions, including words that, depending on reading, change their meaning. But this will come gradually with the addition of vocabulary, and first you should familiarize yourself with the rules, thanks to which you will be able to read anything.
1. The stress of a word always falls on the last syllable(except for some words of foreign origin)
2. At the end of words the following are not readable: “e, t, d, s, x, z, p, g” (except for some exceptions), as well as the letter combinations “es, ts, ds, ps”: rose, nez, climat, trop.
3. The ending of verbs “-ent” is not readable: ils parlent.
4. At the end of the verb in the infinitive, “r” after “e” (-er) is not read: parler.
5. The letter “l” is always read softly, softer than the Russian “l”.
6. Double consonants are read as one sound: pomme.
7. The letter “s” between vowels gives the sound [z]: rose.
In other cases – [s]: veste.
Two "s" (ss) are always read as [s]: classe.
8. The letter “x” at the beginning of a word between vowels is read as: exotique [ɛgzotik].
When not at the beginning of a word, the letter “x” is pronounced [ks]: taxi.
In cardinal numbers it is pronounced as [s]: Six, dix.
In ordinal numbers it is pronounced as [z]: Sixième, dixième.
9. The letter “c” is read as [s] before “i, e, y”: cirque.
In other cases it gives the sound [k]: cage.
“ç” is always read as the sound [s]: garçon.
The letter “c” at the end of the word
In most cases it is pronounced as [k]: parc.
Not pronounced after nasal vowels - banc and in some words (porc, estomac [ɛstoma], tabac).
10. The letter “g” is read as [Ʒ] before “i, e, y”: cage.
In other cases, the letter gives the sound [g]: galop.
The combination “gu” before a vowel is read as 1 sound [g]: guerre.
The combination “gn” is read as the sound [ɲ] (similar to Russian [н]): ligne.
11. The letter “h” is never read: homme.
12. The letter combination “ch” gives the sound [ʃ] = Russian [ш]: chat [ʃa].
13. The letter combination “ph” makes the sound [f]: photo.
14. The letter combination “qu” gives 1 sound [k]: qui.
15. The letter “i” before a vowel and the combination “il” after a vowel at the end of a word are read as [j]: miel, ail.
16. The letter combination “ill” is read as [j] (after a vowel) or (after a consonant): famille.
17. The letter combination “oi” gives the semivowel sound [wa]: trois.
18. The letter combination “ou” gives the sound [u]: cour.
19. Letter combinations “eau”, “au” give the sound [o]: beaucoup, auto.
20. The letter combinations “eu”, “œu” and the letter e (in an open unstressed syllable) are read as [œ] / [ø] / [ǝ]: neuf, pneu, regarder.
21. The letter “è” and the letter “ê” make the sound [ɛ]: crème, tête.
22. The letter “é” is read as [e]: télé.
23. The letter combinations “ai” and “ei” are read as [ɛ]: mais, beige.
24. The letter “y” between vowels is “expanded” into 2 “i”: royal (roi – ial = ).
Between consonants it is read as [i]: stylo.
25. The letter combinations “an, am, en, em” give the nasal sound [ɑ̃]: enfant [ɑ̃fɑ̃], ensemble [ɑ̃sɑ̃bl].
26. Letter combinations “on, om” give the nasal sound [ɔ̃]: bon, nom.
27. Letter combinations “in, im, ein, aim, ain, yn, ym” give a nasal sound [ɛ̃]: jardin [Ʒardɛ̃], important [ɛ̃portɑ̃], symphonie, copain.
28. Letter combinations “un, um” give the nasal sound [œ̃]: brun, parfum.
29. The letter “t” gives the sound [s] before “i” + vowel: national.
There are really a lot of rules at first glance, but thanks to practice, in a few lessons you can easily learn them, and now you can read in French! Certainly, French "r" is not given immediately, but it can also be mastered if you study hard.
will help you to plunge into diversity French phonetics and gain real French pronunciation. By the way, pronunciation is trained not only by speaking, but also by listening to French speech, so join us to listen and speak more French, and you will succeed!
Sign up for a free French lesson online via Skype with a native speaker
, which offers a free trial duration 30-45 minutes!
We are always happy to provide you with any assistance and consultation. We will answer all your questions within a maximum of 24 hours!
| Aa[a] | Jj [Ʒ] | Ss [s], see 10 |
| Bb[b] | Kk [k] | Tt [t], see 35 |
| Cc cm.12 | Ll [l] cm.6 | Uu[y] |
| Dd [d] | mm [m] | Vv[v] |
| Ee see 24-26, 36 | Nn[n] | Ww[v] |
| Ff[f] | Oo[o] | Xx cm.11 |
| Gg cm.13 | Pp[p] | Yy [i], see 28 |
| Hh is unreadable | Qq see 17 | Zz[z] |
| Ii [i], see 18 | Rr[r] |
In addition to letters from the alphabet, a number of letters with various superscript and subscript marks are used:
How to Print French Badges
Reading rules
1. The stress in a word always falls on the last syllable.
2. The words at the end are not readable: “ e, t, d, s, x, z, p, g” (except for some exceptions), as well as letter combinations “ es, ts, ds, ps”: rose, nez, climat, trop, heureux, nid, sang; roses, nids, cadets.
3. The endings of verbs are not read “ -ent”: ils parlent.
4. At the end of the word “r” after “e” is not readable (- er): parler.
Exceptions: in some nouns and adjectives, for example: hiver , cher [ʃ ɛ: r] mer ,hier ,fer ,ver .
5. The end of the word is unreadable “ c” after nasal vowels: un banc.
6. Letter “ l” always reads softly.
7. Voiced consonants are always pronounced clearly and are not deafened at the end of a word (about phonetic assimilation in French). Unstressed vowels are pronounced clearly and are not reduced.
8. Before the consonant sounds [r], [z], [Ʒ], [v], stressed vowel sounds acquire length: base.
9. Double consonants are read as one sound: pomm e.
10. Letter “ s” between vowels gives the sound [z]: ros e .
- In other cases – [s]: ves te.
- Two "s" ( ss) are always read as [s]: class e.
11. Letter “ x” at the beginning of a word between vowels is read as: ex otique [ɛ gzotik].
- When not at the beginning of a word, the letter “x” is pronounced [ks]: tax i.
- In cardinal numbers it is pronounced as [s]: Six, dix .
- In ordinal numbers it is pronounced as [z]: Six ième, dix ième .
12. Letter “ c” is read as [s] before “i, e, y”: cirque.
- In other cases it gives the sound [k]: c age.
- “ç ” is always read as the sound [s]: garç on .
At the end of the word the letter “ c”
- In most cases it is pronounced as [k]: parc.
- Not pronounced after nasal vowels - ban c and in some words ( porc, estomac [ɛstoma], tabac).
13. Letter “ g” is read as [Ʒ] before “i, e, y”: cag e.
- In other cases, the letter gives the sound [g]: gallop.
- Combination “ gu”before a vowel is read as 1 sound [g]: gu erre.
- Combination “ gn” is read as the sound [ƞ] (similar to Russian [н]): lign e.
14. Letter “ h” is never read: home, but is subdivided into h silent and h aspirated.
15. Letter combination “ ch” gives the sound [ʃ] = Russian [ш]: ch at [ʃa].
16. Letter combination “ ph” gives the sound [f]: Ph oto.
17. Letter combination “ qu” gives 1 sound [k]: qu i.
18. Letter “ i” before a vowel and the combination “ il” after the vowel at the end of the word are read as [j]: mie l, ail.
19. Letter combination “ ill” reads like [j] (after a vowel) or (after a consonant): family e.
Exceptions: ville, mille, tranquille, Lille and their derivatives.
20. Letter combination “ oi” gives a semivowel sound [wa]: troi s.
21. Letter combination “ ui” gives the semivowel sound [ʮi]: hui t [ʮit].
22. Letter combination “ ou” gives the sound [u]: cou r .
If after the letter combination “ ou” is a pronounced vowel letter, it is read as [w]: jouer [Ʒ we].
23. Letter combinations “ eau”, “au” give the sound [o]: beau coup, au to.
24. Letter combinations “ eu”, “œu” and the letter e(in an open unstressed syllable) are read as [œ] / [ø] / [ǝ]: neu f, pneu, re garder.
25. Letter “ è ” and the letter “ ê ” give the sound [ɛ]: crè me, tê te.
26. Letter “ é ” reads like [e]: té lé.
27. Letter combinations “ ai" And " ei” are read as [ɛ]: mais, beige.
28. Letter “ y” between vowels is “expanded” into 2 “i”: royal (roi – ial = [ rwa- jal]) .
- Between consonants it is read as [i]: stylo.
29. Letter combinations “ an, am, en, em” give a nasal sound [ɑ̃]: enfant [ɑ̃fɑ̃], ensemble [ɑ̃sɑ̃bl].
30. Letter combinations “ on, om” give a nasal sound [ɔ̃]: bon, nom.
31. Letter combinations “ in, im, ein, aim, ain, yn, ym” give a nasal sound [ɛ̃]: jardin [ Ʒardɛ̃], important [ɛ̃portɑ̃], symphonie, copain.
32. Letter combinations “ un, um” give a nasal sound [œ̃]: brun, parfum.
33. Letter combination “ oin” read [wɛ̃]: coin.
34. Letter combination “ ien” read [jɛ̃]: bien.
35. Letter “ t” gives the sound [s] before “i” + vowel: nation nal .
Exception: amitié , pitie .
- But, if the letter “t” is preceded by the letter “s”, “t” is read as [t]: question.
36. Fluent [ǝ] in the flow of speech may fall out of pronunciation or, conversely, appear where it is not pronounced in an isolated word:
Acheter, les cheveux.
In the flow of speech, French words lose their stress, uniting into groups with a common semantic meaning and a common stress on the last vowel (rhythmic groups).
Reading within a rhythmic group requires mandatory adherence to two rules: cohesion (enchainement) and binding (liaison).
a) Concatenation: the final pronounced consonant of one word forms one syllable with the initial vowel of the next word: elle aime, la salle est claire.
