{"id":26274,"date":"2017-03-21T05:30:37","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T04:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=26274"},"modified":"2017-04-22T01:07:55","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T23:07:55","slug":"french-pronunciation-basics-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-pronunciation-basics-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"French pronunciation basics part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, I shared a fun song that highlights proper pronunciation for the common ‘oo’ sound<\/a> in French, based on requests for more help with pronunciation. This week in our continuing journey of sound, I thought it would be a good time to talk about final consonants. As many of you probably know, the final consonants in French are generally not pronounced. Pronouncing them when you shouldn’t is one of the more common mistakes that new French learners make. But did you also know that there are times when you DO pronounce the final consonants?<\/p>\n

\"\"

Aubrey Beardsley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>The pronunciation of a generally-silent final consonant is called a liaison.\u00a0Liaisons (of the pronunciation kind) generally occur in French when a word that ends in a consonant is followed by another word that starts with a vowel sound. And it turns out that in French, liaisons aren’t only dangereuses<\/strong> (dangerous<\/em>)*, but sometimes they are required. Be careful though, sometimes they are also forbidden!<\/p>\n

When don’t <\/em>you make a liaison? Here are the most common cases: 1. before or after proper names, 2. after et<\/strong> (and<\/em>), 3. before\u00a0oui<\/strong> (yes)\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0onze\u00a0<\/strong>(eleven)<\/em>, 4. after nouns singular or plural), 5. before \u00e0<\/strong> (at, to).<\/em><\/p>\n

When you do make a liaison, some letters will also change their pronunciation. A final ‘f’ becomes ‘v’, final ‘s’ and ‘x’ become ‘z’.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples and counter examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Masc.<\/strong><\/td>\nFem.<\/strong><\/td>\n[English]<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Les amis de Paul<\/strong><\/td>\nLes chats de Paul<\/strong><\/td>\nPaul’s friends. \/ Paul’s cats.<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vous avez<\/strong><\/td>\nVous et moi<\/strong><\/td>\nYou have \/ You and I<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deux amis<\/strong><\/td>\nDeux livres<\/strong><\/td>\nTwo friends \/ Two books<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dix \u0153ufs
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		Six poules<\/strong><\/td>\nTen eggs \/ six chickens<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ils sont fran\u00e7ais.<\/strong><\/td>\nElles sont allemandes.<\/strong><\/td>\nThey (m) are French. They (f) are German.<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tr\u00e8s t\u00f4t
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		Tr\u00e8s occup\u00e9<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0Very early \/ Very busy<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

While we’re on the subject, a version of this phenomena also shows up in adjectives and can help you tell the difference between masculine and feminine. Listen to the differences between these common adjectives in the masculine and feminine forms. This isn’t a liaison since the final consonant isn’t final anymore, but the impact on pronunciation is the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Masc.<\/strong><\/td>\nFem.<\/strong><\/td>\n[English]<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
blond<\/strong><\/td>\nblonde<\/strong><\/td>\nblond<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
brun<\/strong><\/td>\nbrune^<\/strong><\/td>\nbrown (colored, like hair)<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
grand<\/strong><\/td>\ngrande<\/strong><\/td>\nbig \/ tall<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
petit<\/strong><\/td>\npetite<\/strong><\/td>\nsmall \/ short<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
intelligent<\/strong><\/td>\nintelligente<\/strong><\/td>\nsmart<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fran\u00e7ais<\/strong><\/td>\nfran\u00e7aise<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0french<\/a><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

^ Notice that the change here effects the ‘n’ and the ‘u’ sounds.<\/p>\n

Finally this week, another new discovery. I’ve been listening to the radio** from France a great deal of late, and this is one of my new favorite songs. Amir Haddad is a Franco-Israeli singer who represented France at the 2016 Eurovision<\/a> song contest after initially appearing on France’s version of The Voice. Enjoy!<\/p>\n