Frustrating When Those French People Switch To English, Isn`t It ?

I always feel sad when I hear British people struggle with their French pronunciation. I know how frustrating it is when French people switch to English. Those weird natives are not showing off in their eyes, they see you struggling and want to help you out. The situation is psychologically difficult: it is awkward to keep on with Excusez-moi, vous pouvez r p ter s il vous plait? or Pardon? (often both ways). To avoid further embarrassment, the conversation will soon come to an end, often at the great relief of both disappointed parties.

Pronunciation is the foundation stone of any spoken language

Of Course, bad pronunciation can be helpful if you want to sound like a tourist and need all the help you can get! But, with poor pronunciation, you can say goodbye to having fluid or meaningful conversations, especially if this was the purpose of your visit to France. Pronunciation is, in my view, more important than conjugations and grammar.

They re are two main reasons why French people may not understand you:

your pronunciation of French vowels your intonation: you use English tonic stresses instead of French ones

and sometimes both at the same time.

Here are three practical tips to improve your pronunciation:

1. Don t rely on simplified French pronunciations given in some textbooks and courses

Pronouncing French words the way you d pronounce English reinforces the English sounds your brain is used to and stops you from experiencing and hearing new ones.

Listen to a native speaker s pronunciation instead and practice listening, repeating and practising. I would suggest you use the online reverso.net to check for accurate pronunciation. And if you are not having lessons, at least opt for a language course with audio spoken by native French speakers: you could also record the original French pronunciation and yours and then compare them by playing back. How close are you? Listen for any mispronunciation and keep practicing to reduce discrepancies.

e.g Can you differentiate between U and OU as in puce (flea) et pouce (thumb)?

Those two sounds might seem very different to you but for a French person, they are miles apart. They use facial muscles differently and happen in different places in the mouth.

2. Learn the French alphabet and numbers 0 - 20

I attach a lot of importance to introducing the French alphabet within the first two or three weeks of teaching a beginners class. The French vowel sounds a, e, , , i, o, u, y are essential in themselves and helpful to pronounce all the other nasal sounds.

As a starting point, you can learn the French alphabet: there are many videos made by native speakers on Youtube. Knowing the French alphabet is also useful in so many ways: spelling your name, asking for the spelling of a word you don t know. Learning numbers from 0 to 20 can help reinforce those sound and put them into practice and context.

3. All vowels in French are pronounced fully

French and English differ in significant ways in their rhythms. English is a stress-timed language : one syllable in each word is emphasised, reducing the vowels in the rest of the syllables. This means that written words such as record, content, object, can have a different meaning if you change the stress from the first to the second syllable when you say them aloud.

French is a syllable-timed language. Unlike English, the vowels are strong and wider and are never reduced. All vowels in French must be pronounced fully and equal emphasis is given to each syllable with the stress always placed on the final syllable of the word.