6 e in French. French alphabet. Reductions and sounds

How to print on French so that all the superscript and subscript characters so commonly used in French are written? I can recommend several methods. The first one is suitable for those who only type in Word. The second and third are for those who use other applications, for example, Skype.

1. Keyboard shortcuts in Word

The required axans and sedias can be configured by assigning special keyboard shortcuts. For example, when you press the Ctrl key and the letter “e” at the same time, type “é”. To assign keyboard shortcuts, you need to click on the “Insert” button on the top panel of Word and select the “Symbol” option

In the “Symbol” window that opens, find and select the desired French letter, for example é. At the bottom of the page, click on the “Keyboard Shortcuts” button:

In the window that opens, in the “New keyboard shortcut” field, enter a convenient combination, for example “Ctrl” + “e” (you don’t need to write Ctrl, just press the two indicated keys at the same time). At the bottom of the page you need to click on the “Assign” button.

Now in any Word document, when you simultaneously press two keys - “Ctrl” + “e” - you will see é! The main thing is not to forget which keys to press.

2. Install the French keyboard layout

If you actively use not only Word, but also other applications, I advise you to install the French keyboard layout. To do this you need:

1. Click on the “Start” button, go to the “Control Panel” of the computer and select the “Regional and Language Options” button.

2. Select the “Languages ​​and keyboards” tab, click on the “Change keyboard” button.

3. Find the “Add” button

4. And in the window, select the input language – “French (France)” and the keyboard layout – “French”. Click "Ok".

You can switch to/from the French keyboard in the same way as you do with the English keyboard.

French keyboard layout - AZERTY

Don't forget about the special "French" keyboard layout, which is not the same as the English one:

Canadian keyboard layout

To install, the same manipulations are required as for French, but we select, accordingly, “French (Canada)”.

3. Entering codes in combination with Alt

Alt character codes are typed by holding down the Alt key and a numeric combination on the numeric keypad.

The fluent [ə] corresponds to the letter “e” in an open unstressed syllable and at the end of function words consisting of two letters (for example, je, me, de).

The sound [ə] is often called fluent, because often it is not pronounced. Its pronunciation or omission depends on various factors, which may overlap each other. The omission of this sound is characteristic of colloquial speech.

Rules regarding pronunciation/omission of [ə] in speech:

1) [ə] is not pronounced if it is next to another vowel or at the end of a word:

Gai(e) ment, il étudi(e) ra, vous jou(e) rez, notr(e) écol(e) .

2) Three consonant rule

  • In the official style, the sound [ə] is pronounced when it is surrounded by three consonants, of which two precede it:

Le gouverne ment, l’apparte ment, juste ment, notre famille, l’autre jour.

  • If out of three consonants the sound [ə] is preceded by only one, then its pronunciation becomes optional (pronounced at will):

Une place, au re voir.

  • If out of three consonants the sound [ə] is preceded by only one, but it is followed by combinations or, the pronunciation of [ə] is mandatory:

Un ate lier, nous se rions, vous fe riez, il ne chante rien.

3) Two consonant rule

If [ə] is surrounded by only two consonants, then it is usually not pronounced either in colloquial or formal speech, but remains in pronunciation only in recitations:

Maint(e) nant, ma p(e) tit(e) soeur, nous v(e) nons.

4) [ə] is usually pronounced in the first syllable of a word or rhythmic group:

De main, le jour, de bout.

5) [ə] is pronounced in colloquial speech if it is slow and emotional:

Vous le dites? (amazement)

Tu ne le connais pas? (disturbance)

Une haine, une hache, le héros.

7) [ə] is pronounced in the words ce ci, ce lui, de hors.

8) If several words with [ə] occur in a row in speech, then one sound out of two is retained in pronunciation: pronounced first, third, etc. However, this principle is violated if stable combinations are encountered in which other pronunciation preferences have developed. Such combinations include:

Je m(e) [Ʒəm]

Je n(e) [Ʒən]

J(e)te [Ʒtə]

C(e)que

Parc(e)que

9) In recitation and singing there is a tendency to pronounce all [ə](if the rhythm requires it).

French alphabet and correct French pronunciation- the basis of the foundations of this melodic language, french alphabet- topic of the article. Good news for those who have studied English languagefrench alphabet exactly the same as English. In order to learn french alphabet we will need two things: first, himself french alphabet, secondly, the name of each letter. Today there is an opinion that a language learner does not need to learn the French alphabet in order to avoid confusion between the name of a letter and its pronunciation. However, I highly recommend learning the French alphabet now as the first step in the amazing journey that is learning the French language. Learn the French alphabet - it will be very useful for you when using dictionaries! Your French pronunciation may not be perfect. If you have French-speaking friends, ask them to recite the French alphabet for you. So, a few lessons are behind you and you are about to have your first conversation with a native French speaker. What will we talk about? Surely we will talk about what you and your interlocutor do, where you come from and of course what your name is. And already at the first contact you may need a clear knowledge of the French alphabet. And if this is not idle communication, and at the same time filling out personal data, this percentage increases. A special feature of the French alphabet is the fact that the letters w, k and ligatures Æ æ used only in foreign words and proper names. The French alphabet is complemented by the ç sign (cedille), and 3 diacritics written above the vowels: acute (accent aigu), gravis (accent grave) and circumflex (accent circonflexe). The fact is that in the French alphabet not all letters of a word are pronounced, for example, the word beaucoup ( a lot of) consisting of 8 letters in writing, is pronounced [boku]/, that is, in its sound embodiment it has only 4 sounds. Of course, a native speaker knows how to spell a familiar word, but you, as a beginner, may have to ask how this word is spelled (Pouvez-vous épelez, s’il vous plaît?/ Spell it please). The spelling of an unfamiliar geographical name, first name and especially last name will probably be unknown to your French interlocutor and then be prepared to answer the above question. From you to in this case You only need one thing - a clear knowledge of the French alphabet. The French alphabet is a regular Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters. In addition to these familiar letters, the French also use letters with diacritics and ligatures (see below).

Letters of the French alphabet with transcription

Aa[a] Jj [Ʒi] Ss [ɛs]
Bb Kk Tt
Cc Ll [ɛl] Uu[y]
Dd mm [ɛm] Vv
Eee [ǝ] Nn [ɛn] Ww
Ff [ɛf] Oo[o] Xx
Gg [ʒe] Pp Yy
Hh Qq Zz
Ii[i] Rr [ɛr]

French alphabet with pronunciation

Listen to alphabet français (French alphabet audio)

Song "French Alphabet"

Diacritics

A diacritic is a superscript, subscript, or intraline character used to change or clarify the meaning of other characters denoting sounds.

3) accent circonflexe(Axan Sirconflex): ê, â, ô, î, û - in the first three cases it affects the pronunciation of vowels, in the last two it is written according to tradition instead of those that disappeared during historical development language of letters;

4) trema(diaeresis): ë, ï, ü, ÿ - shows that in this case there is no formation of a diphthong or other sound;

5) cedille(sediy): ç - placed only under “s”, shows that the letter is read as [s] regardless of the letter following it.

Ligatures

A ligature is a sign formed by merging two or more graphemes.

Two ligatures are used in French: œ And æ . They are digraphs, i.e. They convey one sound, but in writing they consist of two graphemes.

Written letters of the French alphabet

Rules for reading French

French alphabet

Letter reading table:

Aa[a] Jj [Ʒ] Ss [s], see 10
Bb[b] Kk [k] Tt [t], see 35
Cc cm.12 Ll [l] cm.6 Uu[y]
Dd[d] mm [m] Vv[v]
Ee see 24-26, 36 (fluent e) Nn [n] Ww[v]
Ff[f] Oo[o] Xx cm.11
Gg cm.13 Pp [p] Yy [i], see 28
Hh is unreadable Qq see 17 Zz[z]
Ii [i], see 18 Rr[r]

In addition to letters from the French alphabet, a number of letters with various superscript and subscript marks are used:

Reading rules, pronunciation

1. The stress in a word always falls on the last syllable.

2. The words at the end are not readable: “ e, t, d, s, x, z, p, g” (except for some exceptions), as well as letter combinations “ es, ts, ds, ps”: rose, nez, climat, trop, heureux, nid, sang; roses, nids, cadets.

3. The endings of verbs are not read “ -ent ”: ilsparlent.

4. At the end of the word “r” after “e” is not readable (- er): parler.

Exceptions: in some nouns and adjectives, for example: hiver , cher ɛ: r] mer ,hier ,fer ,ver .

5. The end of the word is unreadable “ c” after nasal vowels: unbanc.

6. Letter “ l” always reads softly.

7. Voiced consonants are always pronounced clearly and are not deafened at the end of a word (about phonetic assimilation in French). Unstressed vowels are pronounced clearly and are not reduced.

8. Before the consonant sounds [r], [z], [Ʒ], [v], stressed vowel sounds acquire length: base.

9. Double consonants are read as one sound: pomm e.

10. Letter “ s” between vowels gives the sound [z]: ros e .

  • In other cases – [s]: ves te.
  • Two "s" ( ss) are always read as [s]: class e.

11. Letter “ x” at the beginning of a word between vowels is read as: ex otique [ɛ gzotik].

  • When not at the beginning of a word, the letter “x” is pronounced [ks]: tax i.
  • In cardinal numbers it is pronounced as [s]: Six, dix .
  • In ordinal numbers it is pronounced as [z]: Six ième, dix ième .

12. Letter “ c” is read as [s] before “i, e, y”: c irque.

  • In other cases it gives the sound [k]: c age.
  • ç ” is always read as the sound [s]: garç on .

At the end of the word the letter “ c

  • In most cases it is pronounced as [k]: parc.
  • Not pronounced after nasal vowels - ban c and in some words ( porc, estomac [ɛstoma], tabac).

13. Letter “ g” is read as [Ʒ] before “i, e, y”: cag e.

  • In other cases, the letter gives the sound [g]: gallop.
  • Combination “ gu”before a vowel is read as 1 sound [g]: gu erre.
  • Combination “ gn” is read as the sound [ɲ] (similar to Russian [н]): lign e.

Exceptional cases of reading the letter combination gn.

14. Letter “ h” is never read: home, but is divided into h silent and h aspirated.

15. Letter combination “ ch” gives the sound [ʃ] = Russian [ш]: ch at [ʃa].

16. Letter combination “ ph” gives the sound [f]: Ph oto.

17. Letter combination “ qu” gives 1 sound [k]: qu i.

18. Letter “ i” before a vowel and the combination “ il” after the vowel at the end of the word are read as [j]: mie l, ail.

19. Letter combination “ ill” reads like [j] (after a vowel) or (after a consonant): family e.

Exceptions: ville, mille, tranquille, Lille and their derivatives.

20. Letter combination “ oi” gives a semivowel sound [wa]: troi s.

21. Letter combination “ ui” gives the semivowel sound [ʮi]: hui t [ʮit].

22. Letter combination “ ou” gives the sound [u]: cou r .

If after the letter combination “ ou” is a pronounced vowel letter, it is read as [w]: jouer [Ʒ we].

23. Letter combinations “ eau ”, “au” give the sound [o]: beau coup, au to.

24. Letter combinations “ eu ”, “œu” and the letter e(in an open unstressed syllable) are read as [œ] / [ø] / [ǝ]: neu f, pneu, re garder.

25. Letter “ è ” and the letter “ ê ” give the sound [ɛ]: crè me, tê te.

26. Letter “ é ” reads like [e]: té lé.

27. Letter combinations “ ai" And " ei” are read as [ɛ]: mais, beige.

28. Letter “ y” between vowels is “expanded” into 2 “i”: royal (roiial = [ rwa- jal]) .

  • Between consonants it is read as [i]: stylo.

29. Letter combinations “ an, am, en, em” give a nasal sound [ɑ̃]: enfant [ɑ̃fɑ̃], ensemble [ɑ̃sɑ̃bl].

30. Letter combinations “ on, om” give a nasal sound [ɔ̃]: bon, nom.

31. Letter combinations “ in, im, ein, aim, ain, yn, ym ” give a nasal sound [ɛ̃]: jardin [ Ʒardɛ̃], important [ɛ̃portɑ̃], symphonie, copain.

32. Letter combinations “ un, um” give a nasal sound [œ̃]: brun, parfum.

33. Letter combination “ oin” read [wɛ̃]: coin.

34. Letter combination “ ien” read [jɛ̃]: bien.

35. Letter “ t” gives the sound [s] before “i” + vowel: nation nal .

Exception: amitié , pitie .

  • But, if the letter “t” is preceded by the letter “s”, “t” is read as [t]: question.

36. Fluent [ǝ] in the flow of speech may fall out of pronunciation or, conversely, appear where it is not pronounced in an isolated word:

Acheter, les cheveux.

In the flow of speech, French words lose their stress, uniting into groups with a common semantic meaning and a common stress on the last vowel (rhythmic groups).

Reading within a rhythmic group requires mandatory adherence to two rules: cohesion (enchainement) and binding (liaison).

a) Concatenation: the final pronounced consonant of one word forms one syllable with the initial vowel of the next word: elle aime, la salle est claire.

b) The phenomenon of binding is that the final unpronounceable consonant begins to sound, connecting with the initial vowel of the next word: c'est elle, à neuf heures.

Letter combinations in French

sound
ai [ɛ]
ail, aille
au [o]
ay [ɛj]
ch [ʃ]
eau [o]
ei [ɛ]
en, em nasal [ɑ̃]
eu [œ] / [ø]
gn [ƞ]
gu [g](before e, i)
ien 1) nasal (if there is no vowel or second n after n)

2) nasal (if n is followed by an unpronounceable letter t, except for forms of the verbs venir, tenir)

il [j](at the end of a word after a vowel)
ill 1) [j](between vowels)

2) (after a consonant)

in, im [ɛ̃] (if it comes at the end of a word or before a consonant)
œu [œ] / [ø]
oi
oin nasal (if it comes at the end of a word or before a consonant)
ou [u]
oh
ph [f]
qu [k]
th [t]
tion nasal (if there is no s before t)
un, um nasal [œ̃] (if it comes at the end of a word or before a consonant)
yn, ym nasal [ɛ̃](if it comes at the end of a word or before a consonant)

Rules for reading French numerals

This article is about reading final consonants in French numerals.

French counting (writing numerals and audio exercises on numerals) and pronunciation of numerals.

5 - cinq

6 - six and 10 - dix

at the end of a phrase Il y en a six. [ sis]
linking with the next word, the final letter of the numeral is pronounced [z] dix euros [ dizœro]
the final letter of a numeral is not pronounced six cents [ si sɑ̃]

dix personnes [ di pɛrson]

in dates the final letter is not pronounced or is pronounced (both options are possible) as [s] before months beginning with a consonant; like [z]/[s] before months starting with a vowel le 10 juin/

le26 avril /

when designating numbers the final letter of a numeral is pronounced [s] compter jusqu'à dix [ dis]

7 - sept and 9 - neuf

In these numerals, the final consonant is always pronounced:

Il y a sept chansons. [ sɛt]

Il y a neuf comédiens. [ nœf]

The final f in the numeral neuf (9) is pronounced as [v] before the words ans (years), autres (others), heures (hours) and hommes (man/men):

Elle a neuf ans. [ nœvɑ̃]

Il est neuf heures. [ nœvœ:r]

8-huit

There is no elision (vowel loss) before this numeral:

Il ne reste que huit jours avant mes vacances.

Before this numeral, binding occurs only as part of a complex numeral:

dix-huit ans [ disʮitɑ̃].

Exceptions:

88 - quatre-vingt-huit and 108 - cent huit [ sɑ̃ʮit].

at the end of a phrase the final letter of the numeral is pronounced Il y en a huit. [ ʮit]
before a word starting with a vowel or silent h linking with the next word, the final letter of the numeral is pronounced as [t] huit euros [ ʮitœro]
before a word beginning with a consonant or h aspirate the final letter of a numeral is usually not pronounced huit cents [ ʮi sɑ̃]
in dates the final letter is not pronounced or is pronounced (both options are possible) as [t] before months beginning with a consonant; before months beginning with a vowel is pronounced [t] le 8 juin /

le 28 avril

when designating numbers the final letter of the numeral is pronounced [t]. May not be pronounced before percentages Il a eu 88% à son dernier examen. /

20 - vingt

20 - vingt [ vɛ̃].

If the word 20 is followed by a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h, a linkage occurs, the final t is read:

vingt ans [ vɛ̃t ɑ̃].

In numerals from 21 to 29, the final t reads:

vingt-neuf [ vɛ̃t nœf],

but in 22 and 23 the sound [t] is usually replaced by [n]:

vingt-deux [ vɛ̃n dø], vingt-trois [ vɛ̃n trwa].

80 - quatre-vingts / 90 - quatre-vingt-dix

If after the word 80 there is a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h, binding occurs, the final s is read [z]:

quatre-vingts ans.

In numerals from 80 to 99, the final t in the word vingt is not pronounced!

quatre-vingt-un

quatre-vingt-onze.

21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71

In these compound numerals there is a connection between the ten and the conjunction “and”:

vingt-et-un [ vɛ̃teœ̃]

trente-et-un [ trɑ̃teœ̃].

100 - cent

The final t in cent is pronounced when associated with the following word beginning with a vowel or silent h:

cent ans [ sɑ̃tɑ̃].

Exception: 101, where linking between two words is prohibited:

cent un [ sɑ̃œ̃].

In the words 200, 300, 400 ... 900, the ending -s appears in the word cent (in the absence of a subsequent numeral), so the linking will occur with this letter:

deux cents ans.

You can read more about this topic with our

French letters are read differently and have their own pronunciation in speech. In this article we will look at various situations of pronunciation of French letters.

Friends, if you have already studied French a fair amount, then, of course, you know its alphabet! But, as they say, repetition is the mother of learning, so pay attention once again to the French alphabet. And most importantly, what the transcription of its letters looks like.

The French language uses an alphabet of Latin origin, which includes 26 letters to represent 35 phonemes.

Aa[a]Jj [Ʒi]Ss [ɛs]
BbKkTt
CcLl [ɛl]Uu[y]
Ddmm [ɛm]Vv
Eee [ǝ]Nn [ɛn]Ww
Ff [ɛf]Oo[o]Xx
Gg [ʒe]PpYy
HhQqZz
Ii[i]Rr [ɛr]

A few notes should be made about some of the letters in the alphabet. Letters k And w are written only in words with foreign origin. Letter h is not pronounced, but it may indicate readings of neighboring letters. If the letter h used at the beginning of a word; in French there is a distinction h mute– h muet) and h aspirated- h aspiré. With words that start with h aspirated, linking is prohibited. In addition, there is no truncation of the article before such words: lero – hero. In dictionary h aspirated, as a rule, is denoted by an asterisk (*) in dictionaries.

French alphabet with words in pictures

Reductions and sounds

Reduction in language is the weakening of the sound of vowels in an unstressed position. In French speech, partial reduction (change in vowel timbre) is less common. It is more characterized by complete reduction (obligatory cases of loss of the fluent [ə]).

Regarding vowel sounds, it is worth mentioning the fact that in the French language, the labialization of vowels (and therefore the participation of the lips when speaking) plays an important role.

As for consonant sounds, attention is drawn to the polarization of consonants at the place of articulation. This suggests that French has relatively more labial consonants, which are produced at the very front of the vocal apparatus.

Spelling marks of French letters

In this section we will talk about the well-known accent grave, accent aigu, accent circonflexe and other sticks and dots over French letters.

  • The ` sign above the letter è is a spelling sign that indicates the openness of the sound (accent grave):

la mère, le père, le frère

The same sign above the letter à and above the letter combination où, which has a semantic and distinctive meaning:

a - 3 l. verb (il a)
à - preposition

ou - or
où - where

  • The sign ´ above the letter é is a spelling sign that indicates the closedness of the sound (accent aigu):

le café, j'ai parlé, capacité

  • The ˆ icon above the letter ê, ô, î, â is a spelling sign indicating openness and elongation of the sound or a dropped consonant (accent circonflexe):

la tête, la fenêtre, les vêtements, l’âme, il plaît, le dôme

  • The sign of two horizontal dots above a vowel indicates that this vowel is readable, it is pronounced (tréma):

le mais, Citroën, naïf

  • The tail ¸ under the letter ç is a spelling sign indicating that ç is read [s] contrary to the usual rule (cédille):

français, Besancon

  • The ' apostrophe sign indicates the omission of a vowel before another vowel, or before a silent h:

l'élève, l'heure

Dividing words into syllables

Now let's see how division occurs French words into syllables.

First, let's look at the cases of a syllable boundary before a consonant:

  • When a consonant is between two vowels:

fatigué
la chaleur
jamais [ʒa-‘mε]

  • When there are two identical consonants in a row that are pronounced as one sound: mm, tt, ss, rr, pp, etc.

appeler
casser
laisser
grammaire

  • If two consonants are in a row, of which the second is a sonant (r, l, m, n). Such a group is called an indivisible consonant group (for example: br, cr, fl, gr):

fabriquer
ecrire
agréable

  • When a consonant + semivowel come in a row (for example: j, ɥ):

le mariage
spirituel
le métier

Cases when the syllable boundary passes between consonants:

  • If two different consonants come in a row in any combination (except one: consonant + sonant):

marcher
parler
l'artiste
la gymnastique
detester
servir

  • If two lls are in a row:

il l'aime
il lit

Well, now we have sorted out the French letters. Now we know how they are pronounced and how to divide words into syllables. We wish you good luck and see you again!

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