French alphabets

1. French Alphabet & Pronunciation
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

2. French Alphabet
• a = ahh
• b = bay
• c = say
• d = day
• e = euh
• f = eff
• g = jay
• h = ash
• i = eeeee
• j = jee
• k = ka
• l = ell
• m = em
• n = en
• o = oh
• p = pay
• q = kuh
• r = air
• s = ess
• t = tay
• u = ew
• v = vay
• w = dooble vay
• x = eeks
• y = eeee grec
• Z = zed
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

3. Why do we need to learn the alphabet?
•Because the letters of the alphabet are like
the music notes of the French language.
Knowing their names and the sound they
make enable you to read, to speak, and to
write in order to communicate.
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

4. Listen to the Alphabet song!
La chanson de l’alphabet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkFXGlHCn_o
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

5. Read the song
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P,
Q, R, S, T, U, V,
W, Y, Z.
MAINTENANT, JE LES CONNAIS
TOUTES LES LETTRES DE L’ALPHABET
(now, I know them,
All the letters of the alphabet)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

6. Sound of the French Alphabet
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhH51nv8k1Y
• Our goal is to learn to recognize the 36 French sounds in order to be
independent reader.
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

7. Comparison to the English Alphabet
• You may notice some similarities
• F, L, M, N, S, Z sound the same
• B, C, D, P, T,V nearly sound the same
• A, E, G, H, I, J, K, O, Q, R, U, W, X sound different.
 So, focus on learning what is different and practice, practice…
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

8. Important Points
• 26 letters like in English
• Pay attention to A, E, G, H, I, J, K, O, Q, R, U, W, X as they sound
different
• 6 vowels (voyelles): A, E, I, O, U, Y
• 20 consonants (consonnes).
• Don’t mix the name of the letters of the alphabet and the sound they
make.
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

9. • Final consonants are usually silent: Paris (pa-ree).
• However, the consonants C, R, F & L are usually pronounced at the end
of words.
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

10. Common exceptions where the last letter can
be heard include:
• Août (August)
• Cinq (five)
• Sept (seven) (can hear ‘t’ but not the ‘p’!!)
• Huit (eight)
• Neuf (nine)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

11. Accents
• Some but not all accents can change the sound of the letter and or the
meaning of a word. The main ones are:
• É accent aigu
• È accent grave
• Ê accent circonflexe
• Ë trema
• Ç cedille
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

12. ‘ç’ (cedille) changes the ‘C’ (K) into an ‘S’ sound for C followed by A, O or U. C
already makes the ‘S’ sound followed by ‘E’ or ‘I’
•Français (French)
•Garçon (boy)
•Leçon (lesson)
•Ciel (sky)
•C’est (it’s)
•Ce n’est pas (it’s not)
•Glace (ice cream)
•Citron (lemon)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

13. ‘h’ is not pronounced hôtel (ohtel), homard
(omar) (lobster).
• Horrible (horrible)
• Henri (Henry)
• Hôpital (hospital)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

14. ‘q’ or ‘qu’ has a hard ‘k’ sound e.g. quinze
(sounds like ‘cans’) (fifteen)
• Quatre (four)
• Quatorze (fourteen) ‘cat oars’
• Qui (who)
• Quitter (to leave – can also say ‘partir’)
• Cinq (five)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

15. ‘r’ is said at the back of the throat with the tongue
at the bottom of the mouth (in English the ‘r’
makes the tongue go up).
It sounds like a softer version of a cat trying to get
rid of a furball.
•Travaille (work)
•Garage (garage)
•Carottes (carrots)
•Tranche (slice)
•Hiver (winter)
•Printemps (spring)
•Réserver (to reserve)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

16. ‘th’ is pronounced just ‘t’ which is why French native
speakers have a lot of problems with our th and you may
hear them say ‘zat was ze zeory on zursday ze forz’ instead
of ‘that was the theory on Thursday the fourth’ although I
haven’t heard this sentence too often!
•Thé (tea)
•Thierry (Terry or Thierry as in the footballer
Thierry Henri)
•Cathédrale (cathedral)
•Théâtre (theatre)
•Thon (tuna)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

17. ‘u’ = oo e.g. sur (soor) (on)
• Jus (juice)
• Université (university)
• Rugby (rugby)
• Jupe (skirt)
• Musique (music)
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

18. ‘ui’ (wee) e.g. huit (weet)
Huître (oyster)
• Huile (oil)
• Cuire (to cook)
• Suivre (to follow)
• Lui (him)
• Nuit (night)
• Puis-je? (may I?)
• Puis-je cuire les huîtres avec l’huile pour lui cette nuit?
= May I cook the oysters with oil for him this night?!
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

19. Game
NAME THE LETTER ON THE BOARD
• U
• W
• R
• H
SPELL THE FOLLOWING WORDS
PAPA
ARBRE
• SPELL YOUR NAME
French Alphabet and Pronunciation

20. Bravo!
French Alphabet and Pronunciation