In the first lesson of the French language course, you will learn to read the letters a, à, p, b, t, d, f, ph, v, w, m, n.
To indicate the pronunciation of French letters, this course uses the International Phonetic Transcription. It is shown in square brackets []. Please note that letters and symbols of the International Phonetic Transcription are not the same thing. Letters are elements of the French alphabet, while transcription symbols represent sounds. For example, French letters and letter combinations e, è, ê, ai, ei represent only one sound [ɛ] (like in “bed”), meaning there are many letters and letter combinations but only one sound.
A, a, À, à = [a] (like in “father”)
The grave accent ( `__) is used to distinguish certain words in writing, for example: a – has (verb form); à – preposition corresponding to English “to”, “at”, “in”. The capital letter À is more commonly written as A.
P, p = [p] (like in “pay”)
B, b = [b] (like in “bay”)
T, t, Th, th = [t] (like in “top”)
D, d = [d] (like in “day”)
F, f, Ph, ph = [f] (like in “effect”)
V, v = [v] (like in “van”)
W, w = [v] (is rarely used)
M, m = [m] (like in “mom”)
N, n = [n] (like in “not”)
If a word ends with the sound [v], any stressed vowel before it is usually lengthened, for example [pa:v]. The colon in transcription indicates the length of the vowel.
The letter ‘e’ at the end of words is usually silent, for example: dame [dam] – lady, arabe [arab] – Arabic
In French words, the stress falls on the last syllable, for example: papa [papá] – father. From now on, it will not be indicated in the transcription.
All French vowels sound equally clear and distinct both in stressed and unstressed positions, for example: panama [panama] – panama. All three [a] sounds are pronounced with equal energy, they are not “swallowed” and do not change.
banane [banan] – banana
madame [madam] – madam
panama [panama] – panama
papa [papa] – father
Nana [nana] – Nana (female name)
Double consonants are pronounced as a single sound, for example: Anne [an] – Anna, batte [bat] – sledgehammer.
date [dat] – date
datte [dat] – date (fruit)
nappe [nap] – tablecloth
natte [nat] – braid (plaited hair)
patte [pat] – paw
panne [pan] – breakdown
fade [fad] – bland, tasteless
bave [ba:v] – drool
R, r = [r] (gargled sound made in back of throat, similar to German ‘r’)
rate [rat] – spleen
arme [arm] – weapon
rame [ram] – oar
parade [parad] – parade
If a word ends with the sound [r], any stressed vowel before it is usually lengthened, for example: bar [ba:r] – bar, amarre [ama:r] – mooring line.
barbare [barba:r] – barbarian
radar [rada:r] – radar
mare [ma:r] – puddle
phare [fa:r] – headlight
rare [ra:r] – rare
avare [ava:r] – stingy, miserly