Key French sounds & spellings - teacher

Key French sounds & spellings(a very general & simplified reference)Prior learning: Following on from the alphabet!Jo Rhys-Jones, November 2011Talkabout Primary LanguagesTable of contents:vowelstricky consonantsnasal phonemes on/an/en, in/ain/einregular graphemes ou, au/eau, gn, phgraphemes which make more than one soundsilent letterselision & liaisonVoyelles:ae-i-you

Aa

chate same sound made by eu / ue

lemene jeneuf

deux

uf

same sound made by er/ezdcembreregarderlevez la main!caflphantbb

- same sound made by ai/ei/et-frre premrettepchezbre

i-yi-ydixsixYvonnestylobicyettelit

o - same sound made by /au/eauo can also be a short soundopiano

pomme, bol, docteurcarotte

vlo, pot, htel, beau, chaud

uusucette

Put your finger in your mouth like a lollipop.Remove your finger but keep your lips still.Without moving your lips, try to say ee

That is the French sound u.Tricky consonants:cgywsth

usually a hard soundSoft when followed by e or iccinmapolice, France, cent,cinq, dlicieux, garon...carottecrayon, sac, caf, banc, camra...same sound as

usually a hard soundSoft when followed by e or iggaragepigeon, orange, genou,girafe, gorillegomme, guitare, catalogue, regarder...

h is silenththhroshtel

usually a soft soundHard when between 2 vowelssoiseaucuisine, visite, rose, musique, chemise poissonsac, soupe, classe, danser...

usually the same sound as in Englishexceptions can change to s sound when followed by itdictionnairedirection, addition, patience, essentiel tomatetulipe, tarte, moto, minute...Do these words make a normal t sound in English?

w is only used in words that are borrowed from other languages- makes the same sound as in EnglishwEXCEPT:kiwiwagonle wc

usually same sound as french ibut same sound as in English when between 2 vowelsycrayonjoyeux, loyal, incroyable, voyagestyloYvonne, cycliste, Nancy lyce, pyjama...

nasal phonemes, :on/an/enin/ain/einPurists will rightly argue there is a very subtle difference between on and an/en but its highly unlikely to be noticable up to GCSE level so I leave that to teacher discretion and the level of your class

on/an/en: also om/AM/EMonanenbonjourdansedentiste tombolachambredcembrelampeenfantsmoutonomamem

in/ain/ein: also iminaineinvinintelligenttraindemainpeinture importantpainceinturelapinim

regular graphemes:ouau/eau/gnph/ez/er/ai/ei/ete/eu/oeuoi

ou: always makes the same soundoubouchesourismoutarde

e/eu/u: Always make the same soundeeuu

lemene jeneuf

deux

ufoi: always makes the same soundoitroistoilehistoire

/ez/er: make the same soundezerdcembrelevez la main! janviercafjouernez

au/eau/: make the same soundoaueauhteljauneoiseaubateautaureaumoto

//ai/ei/et: All make the same soundaieietfrreftechaiseneigePaul et Lilianerobinetjaimebaleine

ph: makes the same sound as french fphtlphonealphabetlphant

gn: always makes the same soundgnaraignesignalchampignon

graphemes with more than one sound:chillail/eil/euil/ouil

usually a soft sound:but hard sound when a greek word often before r or lchChrtienorchestre, chur, chronique, techniqueChefCharlotte, march, chat champagne, chocolat...

usually a softened sound:some exceptions when the l sound is pronounced:illMillionvillage, ville, mille tranquilleFamillefille, vanille, gorillegentille, habiller

ail/eil/euil/ouil: make similar y sound At the endaileileuilouiltravailsoleilfeuillenouillebouillirmdaillebouteille

abeille

usually the final consonant is not pronounced:But the letters b c f k l q R usually are pronounced:Silent lettersclubsnob, flic, chef, anorak avril, cinq, hivermoutonlphant, lit, lapintrois, froid, abricotExceptions: blanc, porc, clef, -er infinitives

Exceptions: ours, sud, autobus, tennis,some names,

I can not include every exception here, so just the most common.35Elision/liaison:le petit lphantpetitwhen a word that ends in a normally silent consonant is followed by a word that begins with a vowel or silent h, then the consonant is pronounced usually...