Script

Chapter 1 - Lesson 2 Typical sounds in French -1

Bonjour and welcome, viewers and students, to “Let’s speak French” (Parlons français)”.

These lessons on basic French are short and easy. If you follow the program regularly, I can

guarantee you that, very soon, you will be able to speak and understand French quite easily.

In the previous class, we learnt two basic things - the French alphabet and how to introduce

oneself. In today’s class, we are going to learn some of the typical sounds that are

characteristic of the French language.

These sounds are created in two different ways:

a. By bringing ---together a combination of vowels and a consonant, or

b. By combining two and sometimes three vowels

By learning these letter combinations, you will not only improve your pronunciation and your

spelling, but you will also be able to read correctly, on your own, new words that you come

across for the first time.

I. Nasal sounds

The first sound that we shall learn in today’s class is the nasal sound. The nasal sound is

common in many European languages. In French, it is one of the most frequently used sound

and therefore every French student must master this sound in order to speak, read and

write French properly. The French language has four nasal sounds.
Three of the nasal sounds are quite similar to one another. So let us begin with them. The

first one is the [ã] sound: [ã], [ã]. This sound is similar to the French letter ‘A’. Listen and

compare the two sounds: “aa” “[ã]”. I’ll repeat them once again: “aa” “[ã]”. If you have

difficulty pronouncing this nasal sound, try this. It will help you understand how to produce

the desired sound. Hold your nose and say “aa”: “[ã]”.

Let us practice the nasal sound by adding a letter before this letter-combination. Let us do

this with the letters M T S: /mã/, /tã/, /sã/.

Let us now look at how this nasal sound is written. The sound “[ã]” is created when the letter

‘A’ is followed by the letter ‘N’. A few examples of words where the letters ‘A’ and ‘N’

produce the nasal sound are: DIAMANT, KANGOUROU, ORANGE. We came across these

words in the previous class. Let me now give you a few new words: QUARANTE (image),

ELEPHANT (image), MANGUE (image).

Sometimes, this nasal sound can have a slight variation in its written form. The letter ‘N’ can

be replaced by the letter ‘M’. The reason behind this change in spelling is that in French, the

letters ‘B’ and ‘P’ can never be preceded by the letter ‘N’. So when there is a nasal sound

before these two letters, the letter ‘M’ replaces the letter ‘N’. This change however, does

NOT alter the pronunciation. The pronunciation remains the same. For example: AMBULANCE

(image), JAMBON (image), LAMPE (image). Therefore the following letter combinations “an”

and “am” have the [ã] sound.

This same nasal sound can also be created by combining the letters ‘E’ and ‘N’. Thus, “en” is

also pronounced as [ã]. For example: DENT (image), SERPENT (image), ENVELOPPE (image).

The same rule that we saw regarding the letter ‘M’ preceding the letter ‘B’ and ‘P’ is

applicable here too. So words like SEPTEMBRE, TREMBLER and TEMPLE have “em” instead of
an “en”. Pronunciation-wise, both “en” and “em” are identical. Before moving on to the 2rd

nasal sound, let me summarize what we just learnt. The following letter combinations: “an” (or

“am”) and “en” (or em”) have all the same [ã] sound. Most words that have the [ã] sound are

written with either “an” or “en”. Only when the letters ‘B’ and ‘P’ follow immediately after the

nasal sound, the letter ‘N’ changes to ‘M’. This change in the writing does NOT affect the

pronunciation. The pronunciation remains the same.

To practice, let us repeat all these new words: diamant, kangourou, orange, quarante,

éléphant, mangue, ambulance, jambon, lampe, dent, serpent, enveloppe, septembre, trembler,

temple.

The second nasal sound that we shall learn is the [ɛ̃] sound – [ɛ̃], [ɛ̃]. This sound is similar to

the way the letter ‘A’ is pronounced in the follow English words: ANIMAL, APPLE. Listen and

compare the two sounds: [ɛ] and [ɛ̃]. Again, [ɛ] and [ɛ̃]. If you have difficulty pronouncing this

nasal sound, try the trick holding your nose. This will help you understand how to produce the

desired sound. Hold your nose and say [ɛ]: [ɛ̃].

Now let us combine this nasal sound with a consonant. Let us do it with the letters M T S:

/mɛ̃/, /tɛ̃/, /sɛ̃/.

Let us now look at how this nasal sound is written. [ɛ̃] can be created by a variety of letter-

combinations. All of the following letter combinations : “in”, ”im”, “ain”, “aim”, “ein” and “ien”

have the same [ɛ̃] sound.

We came across this nasal sound in our previous class when we learnt the words LAPIN and

SAPIN.
Let me show you a few new words with each of the following letter-combination: “in” as in

INSECTE (image), “im” as in TIMBRE (image), “ain” as in TRAIN (image), “aim” as in DAIM

(image), “ein” as in CEINTURE (image) and “ien” as in BIEN.

Let us repeat these words: insect, timbre, train, daim, ceinture, bien

The third nasal sound that is often confused with [ɛ̃] and [ã] is [œ̃ ], [œ̃ ]. Note the three

sounds [ã], [ɛ̃] and [œ̃ ]. As you see, the difference between them is slight. [œ̃ ] is mid-way

between [ã] and [ɛ̃]. [œ̃ ], [œ̃ ], [œ̃ ].

Let us practice this nasal sound by combining it with a consonant. Like before, let us do it

with the letters M T S: /mœ̃ /, /tœ̃ /, /sœ̃ /.

In writing, when the letter ‘N’ is preceded by the letters ‘U’, it creates the [œ̃ ] sound. A few

examples of words that have this [œ̃ ] nasal sound are: LUNDI (image), BRUN (image),

JUNGLE (image)

Let us repeat these words: lundi, brun, jungle

The fourth and final nasal sound is [ɔ̃], [ɔ̃]. As you can see, this sound is very different from

the other three nasal sounds we just learnt. This sound is similar to the letter ‘O’. Listen and

compare the two sounds: “o” “[ɔ̃]”. I’ll repeat them once again: “o” - [ɔ̃]. If you have difficulty

pronouncing this nasal sound, try doing the same trick I showed you with the [ã] sound. Hold

your nose and say “o”: “[ɔ̃]”.

Let us practice this nasal sound by adding a consonant before this letter-combination: /mɔ̃/,

/tɔ̃/, /sɔ̃/.

Let us take a closer look at how this sound is written. [ɔ̃] is created by putting together the

letters ‘O’ and ‘N’. Let me point out to you that in our previous class, we came across four

words that have the [ɔ̃] sound: AVION, DRAGON, JAPON and MONTRE. Let us look at some

more new words now: ONGLE (image), CRAYON (image), CAMION (image)

Let me repeat these words: ongle, crayon, camion.

The same rule regarding the letters ‘N’ and ‘M’ are applicable here too. For example in the

words CONCOMBRE (image), NOMBRE (image), TROMPETTE (image), the letter ‘M’ replaces

the letter ‘N’ because of the letters ‘B’ and ‘P’. As you can see, pronunciation-wise, there is no

difference between “on” and “om”.

Let me review this section on the [ɔ̃] sound. This nasal sound can be created in two ways. In

most cases, the [ɔ̃] sound is written with an ‘on’. But when the letters ‘B’ and ‘P’ follow

immediately after this nasal sound, the letter ‘N’ changes to ‘M’. This change in the writing

does NOT affect the pronunciation. The pronunciation remains the same.

So here you have the four nasal sounds of the French language: [ã], [ɛ̃], [œ̃ ] and [ɔ̃]. These

four sounds are very common in French and being able to pronounce them correctly is as

important as being able to read them correctly. Initially it may be difficult to produce these

nasal sounds. But regular practice will help you improve your pronunciation. Always remember,

the individual letters that form a nasal sound are not pronounced separately, but rather,
pronounced as a whole. For example, in French, “o-n” is pronounced as [ɔ̃] and not as [ɔn]. So

you don’t say [a-vjɔn], [kʀɛ-jɔn], but [a-vjɔ̃], [kʀɛ-jɔ̃].

II. Combination of vowels

Next we shall learn other specific sounds typical of the French language. Unlike the nasal

sounds, these sounds are a combination of vowels only. In French, there are eight such

sounds:

i. ‘ai’ - [e] or [ɛ].

When the letter ‘A’ precedes the letter ‘I’, two different sounds can be produced. One of

the pronunciations of ‘ai’ is [e], [e]. And the other pronunciation is [ɛ], [ɛ]. Let me repeat the

two sounds: [e] and [ɛ]. Again, [e] and [ɛ].

Let us practice this sound by adding a letter before this letter-combination: /me/, /mɛ/, te/,

/tɛ/, se/, /sɛ/

Let me give you a few examples of words with “ai”: AIGUILLE (image), MAISON (image),

AIGLE (image), CAISSE (image), PALAIS (image)

In the first four words, the first syllable contains the ‘ai’ letter-combination. When ‘ai’ is at

this position, i.e., is at the beginning of the word, then it can be pronounced either as [e] or

[ɛ]. Let me read these words and demonstrate: aiguille, maison, aigle and caisse. But if the

letter-combination is at the end of a word, then ‘ai’ is always pronounced as [ɛ], as in palais.
Let me recapitulate this point: the letter-combination ‘ai’ has two pronunciations. When it is

at the end of a word, it is pronounced as [ɛ]. But when a word begins with ‘ai’, the letter-

combination can have two distinct pronunciations [ɛ] or [e].

ii. ‘au’ and ‘eau’ – [o]

The next letter-combination that I will show you is ‘A’ followed by ‘U’. This composition of

letters produces the [o] sound. The following words are examples of words that have this

letter-combination:

AUBERGINE (image), AUTRUCHE (image), CHAUSSURES (image)

There are many words that begin with ‘au’. But there are very few words that end with this

letter combination.

This [o] sound can also be created by bringing together the letters E, A, U. When the letter

‘E’ precedes ‘au’, the [o] sound is still retained. Let me give you a few examples: BATEAU

(image), MARTEAU (image), SEAU (image). Except from the word “eau” which means water,

there isn’t any word in French that begins with this letter-combination. But there are several

words that end with ‘eau’.

Let us repeat these words: aubergine, autruche, chaussures, bateau, marteau, seau

iii. ‘eu’ and ‘æu’ - [ø], [œ]

The next letter-combination that we will learn is ‘E’ followed by ‘U’. This combination of

letters produces the [ø] sound. This is similar to the [e] sound. Let us compare the two: [e]

and [ø]. Again, [e] and [ø].

Let us practice this sound by adding a letter before this letter-combination: /mø/, tø/, /sø/

Before we look at a few French words having this [ø] sound, let me show you another letter-

combination that produces this same sound. When the letter ‘O’ is added before the ‘eu’, the

[ø] sound is again created. When the letter ‘O’ is in this position, it is joined to the letter ‘E’,

like this – ‘œu’. In reality, these two letter-combinations ‘eu’ and ‘œu’ have two different

pronunciations, but since the difference is so slight and not required for a beginner’s course,

we are not going to discuss its other pronunciation. However if you are interested to know

what distinguishes the two sounds, an explanation has been provided in the FAQ section.

Let us now look at a few words with the ‘eu’ and the ‘œu’ combination: DEUX, JEUNE,

HEUREUX, CŒUR, SŒUR.

Let us practice this sound by repeating these words: deux, jeune, heureux, cœur, sœur.

iv. ‘oi’ - [wa]

The fourth letter-combination consists of ‘O’ followed by ‘I’. This letter-combination creates

the sound [wa], [wa]. Repeat after me [wa], [wa]. Remember, the letters are not pronounced

separately. Do not say /oi/, but [wa].

Let us practice this sound by adding a letter before this letter-combination: /moi/, toi/,

/soi/
Let me give you a few examples of words having the [wa] sound: NOIX, POISSON,

HISTOIRE

Let us repeat these words: noix, poisson, histoire.

v. ‘ou’ - [u]

The fifth letter-combination consists of ‘O’ followed by ‘U’. This letter-combination creates

the sound [u], [u]. This sound is similar to the sound created by the “OO” in words like

MOON, NOON, MAROON. The following words are written using the ‘O’ ‘U’ letter

combination: OURS (image), MOUTON (image), CAILLOU (image)

Let us repeat these words: ours, mouton, caillou.

vi. ‘ui’ - [ɥi]

The sixth and final sound that we will learn in today’s lesson is formed by the letters ‘U’ and

‘I’. In this letter-combination both the letters are pronounced separately, but without any

pause. This makes it seem like one single sound [ɥi], [ɥi]. Repeat after me: [ɥi], [ɥi].

Let us practice this sound by adding a letter before this letter-combination: /mɥi/, /sɥi/,

/tɥi/

Let me give you a few examples of words having this [ɥi] sound: NUIT (image), PLUIE

(image), HUIT (image)

Let us practice this sound by repeating these words: nuit, pluie, huit.
 III. Revision

Before we end, let us revise what we learnt today. Here is an exercise. In this exercise, we

will learn how to pronounce words that are formed by the letter-combinations that we learnt

today.

You can repeat after me:

POI-SON = POISON MOI-NEAU = MOINEAU

AU-JOURD-‘HUI = AUJOURD’HUI DAN-SEUR = DANSEUR

So, here we come to the end of our second class which focused on a few special sounds that

are characteristic of the French language. Let me summarize today’s lesson in a few words.

This lesson was divided into two parts.

In the first part, we learnt how to pronounce a combination of vowels and consonants. This

group of sounds consisted of four nasal sounds – [ã], [ɛ]̃ , [œ̃] and [ɔ̃]. In the second part, we

learnt sounds that are made up of a combination of vowels. These include ‘ai’, ‘au’, ‘eau’, ‘eu’,

‘œu’, ‘oi’, ‘ou’ and ‘ui’. And in the final part, we revised today’s lesson. We did a spelling

exercise which was based on words that were formed by all these letter-combinations.

I hope you enjoyed today’s session. The next class will be a continuation of today’s class:

“Special sounds that are characteristic of the French language – part II”. We will also learn

all about the accents that certain letters, notably the vowels, take. Hope to see you in the

next class. Thank you and à bientôt! See you soon!