1.2: Phonetic Tools
- Page ID
- 266021
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In this section, you will learn about the International Phonetic Alphabet for French.
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
Let's get started!
Articulation of Speech: Consonants and Vowels
Consonants
Consonants are speech sounds produced with a narrowing or a closure at some point along the vocal tract (lungs, larynx, oral cavity and nasal cavity). It all depends on the place of articulation and the manner of articulation.
Place of articulation
The pace of articulation is where you make the constriction or closure along the vocal tract. Labial consonants are made with the lips: a bilabial consonant is when the upper and lower lips come together, for example, when pronouncing the letters b and p; a labiodental consonant the lower lip comes into contact with the upper teeth, like with the letters f and v. A dental consonant is when the tongue touches the upper teeth, like with the combined letters th in "the" or "these". Alveolar consonants occur when the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge behind your front teeth: t, d, and l are examples of alveolars. Velar sounds happen when the back of the tongue touches the velum, like the letters c, k and g in "car", "kill" and "go". Uvular consonants occur when the back of the tongue touche the uvula: this happens with the letter r in French. Glottal consonants involve the constriction of the glottis between the vocal folds. A glottal stop, for example, occurs when you hold the vocal folds together and then release them like the t and the end of the words "hot" or "don't", or the pause in the middle of "uh-oh".
Manner of articulation
The manner of articulation is how the air flows through your vocal tract. There are seven of them. Stops - or plosives - occur when there is a complete closure (or blockage) of the airflow. The bilabial p in "pet" and b in "bet" are examples of stops (or plosives). Nasal consonants and vowels are produced by lowering the velum to permit the air to flow through the nose (like the n and the m in the French word bon (good) and comte (count). Fricatives are produced when the closure in incomplete at the place of articulation. The dental "th" and the labiodental "f" and "v" are examples of fricatives. When you combine stop and a fricative, it is called an affricate. We see this in the "ch" in "church" or the "j" in "joke". When the sides of the tongue are lowered at the point of articulation, we have laterals; for example the "l" in love". Rhotics refers to the different ways to articulate the letter "r" and glides are consonants that are almost vowels (semivowels) such as the letters "w" and "y".
Voiced vs. unvoiced consonants
When a consonant is voiced, it means that your vocal folds are vibrating. When a consonant is unvoiced, the vocal folds not vibrate. Compare for example, the voice letters "b" and "v" to the unvoiced letters "p" and "f". This difference is important for distinguishing words like fin (end) vs. vin (wine), or beau (beautiful) vs. peau (skin).
This overview of place and manner of articulation is just scratching the surface, but it gives you a general idea of how we can describe how consonants are articulated. For a complete list of consonants, look at he IPA consonant chart.
Vowels
Vowels are speech sounds produced when air flows through your mouth without significant restriction or friction in the vocal tract. In most languages all vowels are voiced. The shape of your oral cavity is shaped primarily by the positioning and shaping of the tongue. How your tongue is positioned will define the size and shape of your resonating chambers (oral cavity, nasal cavity and pharynx).
Your tongue can more toward the front or toward the back of your mouth (front, central, back). At the same time, it can move up or down (high, mid, low). For example, a high front vowel means that your tongue is high up in your mouth and towards the front. We can feel this in the "ee" [i] sound in he word "meet". A high back vowel would a vowel like "oo" [u] in "boot". The "e" [ɛ] in "bed" is a mid front vowel, whereas the "a" in "fat" is a low front vowel. The "o" in "cot" is an example of a low back vowel. For a complete presentation of vowel positions, see the IPA vowel chart.
You can hear he articulation of consonants and vowels with this IPA consonant chart with audio.
Here is a downloadable copy of the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Phonetic symbols for French Consonants and Vowels
The following tables provide a list of phonetic symbols (far right column) that tell you how each vowel and consonant is pronounced, i.e. how it actually sounds.
In the first column on the left, you will see the grapheme (i.e., the written letter[s]) that indicate when the the phonetic sound is pronounced. The second column provides a list of other graphemes that are pronounced in the same way. For example, the grapheme « au » is pronounced [o], and so are the graphemes « eau », « o » and « ô ».
The table also provides words in which each sound occurs.
Consonants and Semi-consonants (aka semi-vowels)
| Main grapheme | Equivalent Graphemes | Examples | Phonetic Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | — | bal, beau, bébé | [b] |
| c | k, qu | cours, kir, quand | [k] |
| ç | ç c + e/i s (at beginning of word) ss (between vowels) x |
ça ceci sans assez six |
[s] |
| ch | — | cher, chance | [ʃ] |
| d | — | dans, délire, dinde | [d] |
| f | ph | feu, fin, phase, strophe | [f] |
| g | gu | gare, goût, guide, vague | [ɡ] |
| ge | g(é), g(è), g(i), j | neige, génial, gène, girage jamais |
[ʒ] |
| gn | — | ligne, montagne | [ɲ] |
| h | — | homme | — |
| j | g(e,é,è,i) | je, jeune, joli gens, girafe |
[ʒ] |
| k | c | kangourou, caline | [k] |
| l | ll, -ille (mille, ville et tranquille) | lait, lac, pull, ville | [l] |
| -ille | -il, y, hi | fille, famille, soleil, payer, hier | [j] |
| m | — | moi, mon, maman, | [m] |
| n | — | non, neige | [n] |
| pn | — | pneu | [pn] |
| ps | — | psychologie | [ps] |
| qu | c(a,o,u), k | qui, quand, cage, kangourou | [k] |
| r | — | rouge, pour | [ʁ] |
| s (between vowels) | z | Asie, zèbre | [z] |
| s (at beginning of word) | — | son, sel | [s] |
| ss (between vowels) | — | essence, finesse, poisson | [s] |
| t | th | toute, thé | [t] |
| ui | uy | oui, huit, essuyer | [ɥ] |
| v | w (at beginning of word) | vrai, wagon | [v] |
| w (at beginning of word) | — | wagon | [v] |
| x | — | excellent, examen | [ks], [gz] |
| y | — | yaourt | [j] |
| z | s (between vowels) | zoo, zèbre, faisons, poison | [z] |
Oral Vowels
| Main grapheme | Equivalent Graphemes | Examples | Phonetic Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | à, â | aller, là, attends, bâteau |
[a] [ɑ] |
| au | eau, o, ô | chaud, beau, labo, allô | [o] |
| ai | aî, è, ê, ei e + double consontant (ette, esse, elle), e + silent consonant (et) |
lait, maître, mère, fête, peine, dette, vitesse, belle violet |
[ɛ], [ɛː] |
| e | — | je, le, petit monsieur* |
[ə] |
| è | ê, ei, ai, aî, e + double consontant (ette, esse, elle), e + silent consonant (et) |
mère, fête, caisse, maître, dette, vitesse, belle violet |
[ɛ], [ɛː] |
| é | -ée, -er, -ez, -ed, -es (monosyllabes) | clé, année, parler, parlez, pied, les | [e] |
| eu | œu | deux, peu, fleur, sœur | [ø], [œ] |
| eu | eu (verb: avoir) | j'ai eu | [y] |
| i | ie, î, y | idée, vie, île, cycle | [i] |
| o | ô o + silent consonant au, eau, |
vélo, allô mot taux, beau |
[o] |
| o | ô | botte, bol | [ɔ] |
| oi | oî | moi, voir, boîte | [wa] |
| ou | où, oû | nous, où, goût | [u] |
| u | eu (verb: avoir) | bu, sur, j'ai eu | [y] |
| -um | -omme, -emme | forum, homme, femme | [ɔm] |
*The « on » in monsieur is an exception. It is pronounced like [ə]: « me-sieur ».
Nasal Vowels
| Main grapheme | Equivalent Graphemes | Examples | Phonetic Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| an | am, aon en, em |
France, chambre, faon lent, temps |
[ɑ̃] |
| en | em an, am |
lent, temps chance, champs |
[ɑ̃] |
| in | im, yn/ym, ain/aim, ein | vin, simple, synthèse, symboles, pain, faim, peindre | [ɛ̃] |
| -ien | -yen | bien, rien, moyen | [jɛ̃] |
| on | om | bon, nom | [ɔ̃] |
| -oin | -oins | loin, moins | [wɛ̃] |
| un | un, aucun | [œ̃] or [ɛ̃] |
Any phonetic transcription of English words in this textbook will represent General American English. If you want to see how English words are transcribed phonetically in other English dialects, you can consult Explore English Pronunciation.
Read more about French phonetics.
Here are two sites that present the International Phonetic Alphabet for French: