Advanced French Pronunciation

English speakers can emphasize one word in a sentence just by pronouncing it with more stress or by saying it more loudly, but this is not the case in French. Instead, the affective accent can be used to emphasize what the speaker wants to say.

Assimilation is a pronunciation phenomenon which causes consonant sounds to change according to the sounds that surround them. More specifically, assimilation occurs when voiced and unvoiced sounds are combined.

A look at the classification of French consonants: where in the mouth each one consonant is pronounced, how it is articulated, and whether it is voice or unvoiced.

There are no stressed syllables in French; however, the unaccented E is sometimes "unstressed." That is, it disappears in spoken French. Learn how to recognize the E muet and when (not) to pronounce it.

What is euphony and why is it so important in French?

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and, sometimes, spellings. Therefore, French homophones can cause difficulties in oral comprehension and spelling. These pages should help you to understand the difference between the most common French homophones.

Unless you started learning French as a child, you're unlikely to ever sound like a native speaker, but it's certainly not impossible for adults to speak with a decent French accent. Here are some ideas to help you improve your French pronunciation.

If you've ever listened to native French speakers talk to friends or family, you've almost certainly noticed that they don't sound like your French teacher or audio tapes. In this lesson you will learn about how pronouns are used informally.

Learn about the International Phonetic Alphabet as is applies to French.

A liaison is when a normally silent consonant at the end of a word is pronounced with the next word, and is part of what makes French difficult. This lesson includes plenty of sound files to help you master French liaisons.

Imrove your ability to pronounce and hear the difference between the French letter combination ou and the letter u.

Why does the French language sound so musical? Find out in this detailed lesson on French rhythm.

Tongue twisters are words or phrases which are repeated as quickly as possible as a test of the speaker's ability to correctly pronounce the succession of similar sounds. For French students, les virelangues provide an interesting insight into the French language as well as a way to practice phrases which are difficult even for native speakers.

English speakers can emphasize one word in a sentence just by pronouncing it with more stress or by saying it more loudly, but this is not the case in French. Instead, the tonic accent can be used to emphasize what the speaker wants to say.