Learn French: Alphabet, Accents & Pronunciation

1. Introduction: welcome to this first course. I'm very pleased that you decided to join me for this first French lesson. Today. We're gonna have a look. What I think is very important to start with when learning a language. And we're gonna learn at how the French language looks like and a high sons like it's something they sometimes forgotten. But I think it's a very important part of learning a language. We're going to look at three aspects. The 1st 1 is the French effort bit because depending on the country you live in or the language you speak, it might be different from the French language. So it's good to have a look at the French. As I bet you might be different to what you already know. The second thing we're going to learn is a different French accent. We're gonna look what they are and why we use them, because there are several reasons why we use a certain accent on the word, and it's quite interesting to know why we use them. And the third thing, which I think is the most important part of the course, is the pronunciation of the French language. We're gonna look at each consonant in each vowel off the French language. We're gonna look at them. We're gonna learn them. We're gonna practice. So that's what's the plan for this course. I'm really happy that you are willing to join me on this score, so now we just need to start. 2. The French Alphabet: So now we're gonna have a look at the French chef of it. The French alphabet contains 26 letters, which includes 20 continent and six vowels. What's really interesting about the French language is those six vowels because we've got the letter. Why? Which in English actually is a constant, which is what it is a little bit different in French. It's something we're going to see later Nichols with the pronunciation. But I find it very interesting in India. The NFIB, it's I'm gonna read the f A bit very slowly so you can hear each letter on How do penance the letter? It's not a pronunciation that we've seen words is just the habit. So now I'm just gonna pronounce it. Uh, big. See, de, if g us e is you can't and him en no pay que Yes t Yeah. Do prove it speaks Eagle, is it? So It's something you can practice slowly repeating each letter and then you can repeat it faster and faster just to make sure you know it. So I'm going to get a little bit faster. Uh, B c did. It's us Kim m n pick que yes t Yeah, they do proving ex eagle like that nights you tend to practice 3. The French Accents: Now we're gonna have a look at the accent. The first accent. We're gonna have a look at ease the acute accent that we call in French Lexan. It's the accent that is rising, and the only appears on the letter, which is now eight. And I've noticed something with my student is Where is that? I see it a lot, people putting it on the A, which actually is very important. It does not exist in French. I think you can find it in Gaelic in other languages. But in French we do not have this accent, and it's a common mistake that I've noticed plain French. We only have it on the I've got to example, for instance, the word Calfee coffee. Who in Clementina McClymont time one of the reason we used this accent ease. When it's at the end of the world, you will never see the other accent. I'm gonna show you after at the end of a word. It's always this way. The second accent. We're gonna have a look out. It's the grave exit, which we call the Exxon Cup. It's deal positive, the 1st 1 we've just seen, so the extent you going down and you can find it on the letter in the letter A. On the letter. I've got three examples, which is Lemerre, which means lump the mother DeMont, which means see you tomorrow and which means where this to reason why we use this exit. The first reason. Ease to not use the same word. So, for instance, if we don't get those two examples at Duma, the A's going accent. Because if you didn't have an accent, you would mean something else. You would mean to have developed to have conjugated a certain person and would mean all instead of where, so it would have a different meaning. Which is why we put an accent So we can. I have two words sounding the same, but they looked. And another reason why we used this accent is when the syllable phase after these accent, it's with a silent and that's our first example, Lameck. So if you look at it, the second eon Lemaire is silent. You don't hear it. Actually, all you hear is the heart than Mac, and because it's silent, we using before the other E is having this accent and not another one Now we've got third Accent, which is called the Second Flex Exit that we call in French Lick since your conflicts. What's interesting about this accent is you can find it on all the vowels in French about from why, but is no accent on. Why, so I wouldn't count camp. Why in this time we the vowels, So old avowals got it. You can find it who anywheres with that well. And I've got a few example, which are deep. That which means best stuff left a net, which means the window net to be born, which is hello when you answered the foot and in mill the BlackBerry so you can see the accent on a different word with a different letter each time. So I'm just finding example so you can't really see them on different words. You can also find your own words. It's a good way to kind of think about where the French and we use the accent for different reasons as well. One reason is similar to the one we just saw is if we have two worlds that sounds the same . Putting the accent makes them different. For instance, I didn't put this example, but we can use soup as you all. It can be reaching with that Dixon and we'd be accent if you put the accent, he means to be sure if you don't put the accent, it means on on something. So obviously he changed the meaning of the world. And another reason why we have the sex in which I think is very interesting. It's because off the Latino origin of French, so that accent replaces unless they used to be on this in the world and over time, that just disappeared. So friends in the word left in it. The window in Latin used to be finished, and there was a nest in the world on which is great of it and replaced it fighting accent and the fourth accent that we have in French. It's those two dot that we call look him up. You can find them on E I and you, and they are very, very interesting because if you don't have those two dots, he changes the whole world word. So the first example is no end, which means Christmas. The 2nd 1 means a year to hate, and the 3rd 1 means on Careful now, which means shambles on what we use them is because when you put those two dots, it tells you that you have to prominence each vow. So in the 1st 1 you have to pronounce tickle and the heat. If the two just went out there, you would have to pronounce, nor because those two vowels would merge together, which is something we're going to learn later because you have sounds like this in French, so we have to use to do it's so we can actually pronounce each valve. 4. The French Consonants: Now we're gonna look at the pronunciation of the French language, and we're going to start with the constant. But what's a constant? A constant. Either Sunday's obstructed. So you figured you an example. The letter birth is obstructed by my lips birth. The sound is obstructed by my teeth. That's a continent. So we're gonna have a look in order of the alphabet, and we're going to look at each continent. You see if there is any difference with English and Heidi's pronouncing French. The 1st 1 we've got is the lead, the letter B, which sounds but like in English. So, for example, we go big, be a baby beautiful and a face that want is quite straightforward. Then we've got the letter C, which can sound in two different sound. The first sounds that you can hear is, and you only find it in front of the letters. A Oh, and you like. I cannot a duck. Could you? A necklace the next cruise and excuse. It is very important to remember those free that is together because that roll off a you comes back later on with other letters. It's always them three, and then for do sounds. So we're going to see now they come back together. So it was good to remember that. So the letter c also sound and you find it in front of the letters in I and white goings on pork Be nice juice A tip in secret, please. This call and a senior this one and the next one with God is what we called assisted which is the letter c with the label Tell any sounds like the sea that we just saw the because it's in front of a Oh, and you and it used to be the son. And we don't want that sound we want, sir. That's where we have to tell. So there's very important. So if you look Seva, how are you? No, Gasol, the boy Close shoot receive If we didn't have the hotel and we left it as a see you would be the Suncor. But we want the sunset which is why we are tell you tell on the next sun we've got I'm still with the letter C provided the age to put them together is sure example I'll shop adult. Then we've got the letter which sounds the like in English, and you see a five. The little F Sounds neck in English favorite You February and then we've got the letter G, which is a bit different. So if it's in front of the letters A you he sounds good. See the pattern with those creators? It's back, so it sounds good on ga je a guarantee on go he a gorilla. Use the then that same letter G. If it's in front of E I. Why it with some, for example, some word on garage, a carriage in jihad and a gymnast. Also, we got blog associated with N. And then we create the son. Yeah, in Virginia, but divine. Now let's have a look at the letter H. It's very different from English because we don't hear it in French. Doesn't exist. The first exam port is a silent each leave their the winter. It's silent because if it wasn't written, we wouldn't even hear the difference. It be lever, and the 2nd 1 is that aspirated Age, for example, look very cool. The difference is he does matter a little bit because you can hear the article Look, article it. No, it's not logical which would be wrong in French. That's the little difference between the two. What's important is we do not pronounce the H in front. The next letter is the letter J, which is Brendel's of Thursday. Then we have the little cake, which is pronounced killam it kilometer. Now we have the little end. When it's on his own, it sounds Aleppo a rabbit. When you have those double L, it can't sound a bit different and see you again. I'm gonna say he's wanted a second time in a year, so it's like, so different. The next letter is M good. Mazel a house en no Neuville New. The next letter is people put the door quite straightforward. And then we've got the letter Q wishing cook a rooster. And I've put another example because we've got that qu that you see a lot in French, and I think it's good to put it with it. It's the same sound. For example, Call went, now we have the letter R, which is different than in English. It's the French are huh comes from the throat. Okay, hold now. So it's one that you really, really need to practice because It's not like the in English, it's her. Now we have the little miss. Two different cases. The 1st 1 It's sir. So a soldier, the soldier Quite easy. The 2nd 1 it's in missile. The house. How do you know the difference? The differences. The second case is it Z? Because if you look at the letter s, it's between two. Vow on when it's between two vowels. The sound changes and becomes is the instead of now we have the letters, which is you taught you a total and enough put together a group of letters. But starting with TNS just to put them together. So you've got T i O n. Which sounds, I mean, that's your which is quite difficult, but it's good to remember because they come a lot in different words. I mean, that's your the nation. But we always have exception in French, and that's something that always going to come up when I'm teaching French to you is exception exception? That's the golden rule of French. So you got a STD I O. And that is prince completely as normal in Kiss the question. So it's good to know the just chilled and they don't sound the same. Now we have the letter V, which is the hoods. Friday. The little W. It's got two different cases. The luxury Vega, the trend coach. And then it's got the same Sanders in English. What because it's when we use words that up from all the languages, mainly English. So we said Liu weakened the weekend because we've taken their world from the English language. Sometimes you can hear people saying Winner, and they will use the same word in English. Now we have the letter X. You can't pronounce it two ways in French because of you exit, which is a A name. And you also can sound, sir, for example, this tin and you find them more or less in numbers. Six is also another one, and all last letter of the alphabet, which is the letter said, is, is zero zero. Let's not on the continent. It's something that you gonna notice. Quote in French ease that we do not pronounce the continent. If it's at the end of the world, it's something that is quite common. There's different rules abate. I'm not gonna go into details about it today because you could do a whole course just about this. It's there so many different reasons. So I'm just gonna go through some example, and you may be the reason why you can't pronounce the Leslie. So be Duplo. Lead metal Deep Interval e sitting G. You know, Long Pete book a lot. It's this year dogs keep Oh shut X, the shovel horses and some reason why you don't pronounce the letter at the end first, for example, the Levant with the letter T is because it's a congregation ending, and we do not pronounce congregation anything. It's on Lee for writing something that you would see when you learn conjugating in French because we're going to do all different tenses present past etcetera and you're gonna learn does ending at the end of each verb, and we don't pronounce them. They're just there so we can see the difference when we right another one that we can see a is no with Did you? We don't pronounce it. It's masculine, and you can't hear it when it's feminine, longer does what it's there. You don't hear it. Another one is when you have the parole. They shot the show dogs, horses, you've got the s you got. The X is just to mark the approval, but you don't need to hear it. And it's very important to learn when to pronounce those letters or not, because that's when you can hear. Each of pronunciation is curry because I hear a lot like for the peat bog coop, which is Baku. Don't pronounce the P Indian, and he makes such a difference when you start speaking French. So it's good you take the habits off. Knowing is trail way, how to pronounce of what? And every time I was helping my students to learn this, I would give them the word and if the last later in the pregnancy, I would poor little dot under it. So when the reading didn't know and I remember not to pronounce the Let the last consonant 5. The French Vowels: Now we're gonna have a look at develop. So the first vowel is a And as we've seen before, we've got a with a different accent. So the example that boot is Lucia the camp, The next letter. We've got these which is in English and we pronounce it. Do not tomorrow. Now we've noticed those accent and we need to learn how to present time. We've got the one with the rising accent, which was the acute accent. Like some big Ligety. The next one we can group those accent together because the sound is exactly the same. Look back. The father and I always get asked How do you hear the difference between the rising one and the one going down? And if you feel how you promise that you can actually feel your face rising with the 1st 1 okay. And the 2nd 1 Okay, a a. And if you really, really concentrate on you facial expression, you were fit. It e rising like the accent a going down like the exit. So it's a good way to remember it. Then We've got a little I which is pregnant meeting no. One. Now we have the little who? Which sounds Two different waves. Wait, Sure. Cola and number. Oh, just been. And finally we go to let it you, which in French is booed and I was very important, like the French her those sounds are only in French. We don't have them in English. So the letter you is, um do and it's something you really, really need to practice because are usually hear English speakers saying it, and it's kind of sound like which is not. It's tries to get to an English sound, but it's not. Yeah, love what chu the car and to finish we've got that letter that we talked about these a vow in French, not a constant like in English, which is why that sounds exactly like I beef a senior this one. 6. The French Nasal Vowels: So the next thing we're going to see in the pronunciation is what we call the nasal vowels . And while they so then there's overall. He's basically when you pronouncing a sound, the air coming for your math is also coming from your nose. You would understand more want once I stopped pronouncing those sound So it's harder to get the 1st 1 The 1st 1 We've got different spending a M eight and M and eaten enough, but they will sound the same. So, for example, Wicker was shot the field Nash Also the song The Time The wind The next one we have used to sound huh? When you get really feel if you pronounce it the air coming for your nose and your mouth we've got different spending. I am I m white m white end a i m a i n e i N u m u n We've got quote of different spending . They will sound so the 1st 1 we have is the word tumble This them Recep the pine tree Something nuts Lusanne Deka Syndicate That month, the hens look belt the bread No full best film perfume one and the film further one we have . He's the sound. No, which has to spendings. I m in longer The shadow little the china. So it's really good to remember those three sounds. Those free nasal sounds. Oh. Ah, I'll do it again. Oh! Ah, my son. Very similar to you, But the more you practice, the more you can hear the difference. Oh, uh 7. The French Diphthongs: Now we're gonna have a look at what we call the difference. So what are they, a diff tongue eas the sound off Two or more house together. It's gonna make more sense once we look at that. So, for instance, in the first case, ai a wine e i e y those two vowels together create a new some or create a some. For example, Mitt, may you pay dumping Levin the vein so they will have that same sound. They've got different spending with those two volt together. Make us then we go and you e eight we sounds Oh, so, Lou, the water you owe you which sounds blue birth the better Love the eggs. Well, I sounds what? The goose All you sounds look And then we have I What? You I you i Which sounds we we yes, you to run away 8. Class Project & Conclusion: so nice you tend to practice. This is the class project for this course. The first thing you have to do is learn the alphabet learning by heart. Keep practice saying it and learn it by heart. The second thing you need to do is find the fug of your worlds. We've each accident that we've seen in French on The first thing you need to do is look at the PD after will add with discourse. Download it you. Did you find the category off each highlighted sound and write down the corresponding sound . So don't forget you download the pdf to work more and practice more. Let me know if you have any questions. Tonight's to conclusion off. Of course. So what did we learn today? We've learned the alphabet. You've learned all the 26 letters off the French are for bits up bit sea the M and o que as the w v x you like, is it? The second thing we've seen is the different accent Lex Montague, the acute accent Lexan Club, the grave accent with Hema, which is the two dots and the second flex exit. And then we had a look at the pronunciation. We've looked at all the constant in French. We looked at all the vowels We've looked at all the nasal vow and all the dick talks. So now you know exactly how to pronounce the French language. You know, exactly high looks and you can pronounce it. Let me know if you have any question I will and sold a question and I thank you, fool taking the time to be in this course and to learn more about the French language Messi Bullet liquids over