6 Focussing on pronunciation
You’ve just been noting how the word for nationality is different in the masculine and feminine forms. You listened to some people introducing themselves at the start of this week, too. You might like to return to that activity in Section 2 as part of your practice, because now you’re going to listen more carefully and hone your listening skills. You’re going to focus on how the different spelling influences the sound of the words you’ve been learning this week. How will careful listening help you to understand? If the word looks different in writing, how will it sound, when spoken?
By working carefully through these activities, you’ll discover answers to these questions. You’ll also learn some important tips about pronunciation which will help you when you speak French.
Pronunciation of final consonants
As a general rule, final consonants in French (except c, r, f, l) are silent (Paris is pronounced as ‘paree’). When followed by an -e, however, they become pronounced:
- in the words allemand and français you don’t pronounce the final d or s;
- but in the feminine forms allemande and française, the d and the s are pronounced (as [d] and [z] respectively).
Note that word-final -e itself is not pronounced.
| Final consonant not pronounced | Final consonant pronounced |
|---|---|
| anglais | anglaise |
| normand | normande |
| grand | grande |
| petit | petite |
Activity 6
a.
français
b.
française
c.
anglais
d.
anglaise
e.
canadien
f.
canadienne
g.
japonais
h.
japonaise
i.
allemand
j.
allemande
k.
gallois
l.
galloise
The correct answers are a, c, f, g, j and l.
Activity 7
Now try some yourself. Listen to the pairs of nationalities and repeat them. Press ‘record’ and play back your recording then compare it with the original. Listen, record and listen again.