French oral vowels contrast several vowels that are distinguished mainly by mouth opening and tongue position. a is pronounced with the mouth wide open, the tongue low. i is made with the tongue very far forward and the lips stretched. u requires a high and forward tongue, with rounded lips. y is pronounced like i but with rounded lips. e and ɛ are distinguished by openness: e is more closed, as in été, and ɛ more open, as in mère. o is closed and rounded, while ɔ is more open, as in porte. The difference between e and ɛ, then between o and ɔ, is very useful for understanding oppositions like été and était, peau and porte. For written sounds, the same sound can be written in several ways, and the ear must first recognize the vowel before seeking the spelling. The relationships between sounds and letters are well worked out with Accents et Accentuation and Lettres muettes.

The nasal vowels occur when air passes through both the mouth and the nose. The tongue and lips form a normal vowel, but the velum lowers and allows nasal air to pass. ɑ̃ appears in sans, vent and temps. ɛ̃ is found in pain, vin and plein. ɔ̃ appears in bon, nom and pont. œ̃ exists in a few words, such as un and brun, depending on region and pronunciation habits. When a vowel is nasal, no final consonant is pronounced separately after it. You hear only one nasal vocalic sound, not a vowel followed by a complete n or m. That is why bon is not pronounced as b-o-n separately. In some accents, especially in Northern France and in part of Swiss Romand, œ̃ and ɛ̃ can come very close. To really spot them in speech, compare pairs like beau and bon, pain and peu, then listen to how the nose colors the vowel. The distinction between final sound and final consonant is often covered in Liaison et Élision and Lettres muettes.

Difference between voiceless and voiced consonants

Word	Notation	Description	Example
an	ɑ̃	La bouche reste ouverte et l air sort aussi par le nez quand on prononce an.	J entends an dans un grand chant imaginaire.The word papa starts with a voiceless consonant.
in	ɛ̃	La langue se place plus en avant et le son passe par le nez quand on prononce in.	Le in d un lapin danse dans la cuisine.The word baba starts with a voiced consonant.
on	ɔ̃	Les lèvres s arrondissent et la voyelle devient nasale dans on.	Le on du ballon roule sous la table.In poule and boule, I clearly hear the difference.
un	œ̃	On ouvre un peu les lèvres et la nasalité reste bien présente dans un.	Un un malin saute dans le jardin.In fée and vélo, the breath changes everything.

A voiceless consonant does not make the vocal cords vibrate. A voiced consonant makes the throat vibrate. The mouth can produce nearly the same movement in both cases, but the vibration changes the sound. p and b are formed with the lips. t and d are formed with the tip of the tongue behind the teeth. k and g are made at the back of the mouth. f and v use the upper teeth and the lower lip. s and z pass between the tongue and the teeth. ch and j are pronounced with the lips slightly advanced and the tongue raised toward the front of the palate. The useful pairs are pied and bien, tout and doux, cou and goût, fête and verte, sac and zèbre, chat and jardin. In French, the opposition between voiceless and voiced often changes the meaning of a word, so one must listen to the vibration as well as the mouth noise. To distinguish written sounds of similar letters, the support of Homophones et ambiguïtés can be useful, especially when two words sound very similar to the ear.

Regional variants of the French R

Idea
Avec une consonne sourde, les cordes vocales ne vibrent pas.
Avec une consonne sonore, les cordes vocales vibrent.
La consonne p se prononce sans vibration, alors que b se prononce avec vibration.
La consonne f est sourde, alors que v est sonore.
La consonne s est sourde, alors que z est sonore.

The standard French r is pronounced at the back of the mouth, near the throat. The tip of the tongue does not strike the teeth as in several other languages. The sound [ʁ] resembles a light frication or a heavy friction produced in the uvular or velar region. In careful speech, it is clear in rue, Paris, travail and raison. Before a vowel, it easily links with the following syllable: ra, re, ri, ro, ru. In some regions, it can be more rolled, weaker, or even replaced by a local articulation, especially in dialectal or informal use. The learner should aim for a steady, non-rolled sound, without turning it into l or into a too hard consonant. For practice, the clusters br, tr, fr and gr are very helpful, because they force keeping the r clear without adding a vowel. The contrast with final silent letters is often found in Lettres muettes.

r parfois roulér très soupler parfois plus douxr guttural

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Dans certains parlers, le r garde une articulation souple et claireSelon les régions, le r peut être roulé au lieu d être gutturalDans certains accents, le r peut sembler plus léger et moins appuyéC est la forme la plus connue et le son vient du fond de la gorge

Rules of liaison in fluent speech

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
France	r guttural	C est la forme la plus connue et le son vient du fond de la gorge.	En France, on entend souvent r guttural dans la rue.In les amis, the sound links naturally.
Belgique	r parfois plus doux	Dans certains accents, le r peut sembler plus léger et moins appuyé.	En Belgique, le r parfois plus doux peut surprendre.With vous avez, the sentence becomes more fluid.
Suisse	r parfois roulé	Selon les régions, le r peut être roulé au lieu d être guttural.	En Suisse, un r parfois roulé amuse parfois les apprenants.In toi et moi, the pause remains quiet.
Canada	r très souple	Dans certains parlers, le r garde une articulation souple et claire.	Au Canada, un r très souple peut accompagner la phrase.In vous aimez, the linking sounds very soft.

Scramble

When a word ends with a normally mute consonant and the following word begins with a vowel or a mute h, that consonant can link to the next word. A single fluid sound sequence is then heard. In les amis, the s is pronounced and joins amis. In petit enfant, the t links to enfant. The linking does not create a new consonant; it attaches an already present sound to the next syllable. The liaison changes the way the phrase is segmented to the ear, which helps recognize spoken French. In reading, one must therefore look at the end of the word and the beginning of the next word together. The most frequent forms occur after a determiner, a subject pronoun, and certain fixed expressions. Conversely, a final consonant that does not participate in a liaison remains mute. Correct reading of these linkings depends a lot on Lettres muettes and on Liaison et Élision, where the meeting between two words is heard clearly.

Use and disappearance of the mute e

Idea
The e muet may disappear in rapid speech.
The e muet often helps to keep the rhythm of the sentence.
The e muet is not always pronounced at the end of a word.
The e muet can reappear to avoid a sequence too difficult to say.

The mute e is sometimes pronounced as a very brief and very central vowel, close to a light schwa, then it often disappears in rapid speech. In petite, fenêtre or samedi, it can help distribute consonants and maintain rhythm. In ordinary speech, it often disappears when pronunciation remains natural and the previous syllable can bear the sequence of sounds. It is not kept everywhere: it often drops at the end of a group or before another vowel if the sentence is spoken quickly. When it disappears, the surrounding consonants come together, which changes the cadence of the word or sentence. One must therefore listen to the full form and the reduced form, because both exist in real French. This written e often helps the word structure, even when it is not heard, which connects to Lettres muettes and Liaison et Élision.

Words close in sound to distinguish by ear

Idea
Le e muet peut disparaître dans la parole rapide.
Le e muet aide souvent à garder le rythme de la phrase.
Le e muet ne se prononce pas toujours en fin de mot.
Le e muet peut réapparaître pour éviter une suite trop difficile à dire.

French does not work like languages that place a very strong tonic accent on a particular syllable. The syllables retain a fairly regular value, with a rhythm that moves group by group. The main stress falls mainly on the last audible syllable of a group of words. One thus hears more of a regular cadence than a strong contrast between stressed and weak syllables. In je vais à Paris, the end of the group carries more relief than the beginning, without becoming explosive. Liaisons, the e muets and the length of the syllables contribute to the overall rhythm. To speak with natural intonation, one must keep the syllables stable and avoid striking one syllable too hard as in some other languages. Good perception of rhythm also depends on the quality of vowels and consonants, especially of Liaison et Élision and the voiced oppositions seen in Homophones et ambiguïtés.

sursûrsansbotsonbeau

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Ce mot indique la position au dessus deCe mot signifie joli ou agréable à regarderCe mot signifie en absence de quelque choseCe mot désigne une personne au pied déforméCe mot peut parler de bruit ou de possessionCe mot signifie certain ou rassuré

Link between heard sounds and writing

Word	Definition
beau	Ce mot signifie joli ou agréable à regarder.
bot	Ce mot désigne une personne au pied déformé.
son	Ce mot peut parler de bruit ou de possession.
sans	Ce mot signifie en absence de quelque chose.
sur	Ce mot indique la position au dessus de.
sûr	Ce mot signifie certain ou rassuré.

Scramble

In French, several words are pronounced almost the same or exactly the same. One must then listen to the context to choose the right word. beau and bot can sound close to the ear depending on the pronunciation, especially if the vowel is short. son and sans are distinguished by the final nasal. sur and sûr contrast mainly in writing, but not always strongly in speech depending on the accent and rate. Other pairs blur even more, such as ver, vert, vers and verre, which distinguish almost only by spelling. For speech, one must first identify the vowel, then the final consonant, then the presence of nasalization or a liaison. The smallest differences are often found in neighboring vowels and in silent letters. Careful listening to these contrasts relies directly on Homophones et ambiguïtés and Lettres muettes.

Lien entre sons entendus et écriture

Idea
Il faut d abord écouter le son avant de chercher l orthographe.
Un même son peut avoir plusieurs écritures possibles.
Une même lettre peut représenter des sons différents selon le mot.
L imitation aide à relier la prononciation et l écriture.

Written French does not always provide a single letter for a single sound. The same sound can have several spellings, and the same sequence of letters can change sound depending on the word. é and er can both yield a sound close to [e]. è, ê and certain spellings with a final mute consonant can correspond to [ɛ]. Nasal vowels are often written with an, en, on, in, un or close variants, but the final consonant is not pronounced as a separate consonant. To read correctly, one must start from the sound heard, then associate the most probable spelling. Listening comes before the written rule, and imitation comes before analysis. In words like été, mère, bon or pain, the vowel guides pronunciation much more than the isolated letter. The accents often indicate vowel quality, as seen also in Accents et Accentuation, while final silent letters fall under Lettres muettes.