4 Sounds and silence
As you’ve now seen, another characteristic of French language pronunciation is that some letters are silent. An important difference compared to English is that the final letter of words is often (but not always) silent. Have a go at Activity 4 for some more examples.
Activity 4 Silent endings
Timing: Allow about 5 minutes
Listen to the audio clips below and decide whether each final ‘t’ is pronounced or silent.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is a.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is a.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is b.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is a.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is a.
a.
T is silent
b.
T is pronounced
The correct answer is b.
Discussion
For information, here is the meaning of each word:
- et: and
- lait: milk
- test: test
- ticket: ticket
- petit: small
- huit: eight