3.1: Consonants - Introduction

Objectifs

In this section, you will learn how to:

• Pronounce consonants
• Identify silent consonants

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Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.

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French Consonants

Most consonants are pronounced similarly in English and France, but not exactly the same. Two things that are significantly different in French and often challenging for English speakers are (1) silent consonants that we write but don't pronounce (see below) and (2) the pronunciation of the letter r. Here are the consonants that are most different from English:

Consonants

Consonants	Pronunciation	Examples
r	How to pronounce r	Lorsque j'arrive à la gare
ç	Pronounce it like s in English	Ça, leçon
h	silent	hôpital, halles, haine

Note

There are many subtle differences between the way we pronounce consonants in English and French. To explore these, you can watch this tutorial on the pronunciation of consonants. Later, you will learn how to pronounce clusters of consonants, such as ss, th, qu, etc.

French consonants pose relatively few problems for English speakers. However, there are two particular areas which are treated differently in the two languages that merit some discussion: consonant release, and the French r Consonant release. English speakers tend to not pronounce final consonants fully or distinctly. In words such as big, bad, tight, can’t, and fun, for example, the final consonant sounds may not be fully articulated in normal speech (it is sometimes said that these consonants get “swallowed”).

In continental French, pronounced final consonants should be enunciated with a distinct release of the consonant (called détente in French). This means that the point of contact is fully released, whether it be between the two lips ([p]), the upper teeth and lower lip ([f]), or the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth ([t]). Practice making a distinct contrast between the final consonants in the following English/French pairs. In the first word of each pair, the point of contact is not released, while in the second there is a slight burst of air caused by the release of the final consonant: bun/bonne, soup/soupe, debt/dette, peel/pile, mud/mode, some/somme.

The release of the final consonant in French is important because the presence or absence of the consonant often serves as a grammatical marker, signaling for example that an adjective is masculine or feminine (petit/e), or that a verb is singular or plural (il vient/ils viennent). Do not be shy about pronouncing these final consonants energetically; while it may seem strange to do so in English, it is quite normal in French.

The French « r »

The French r can be one of the most difficult sounds for English speakers, as it is a very different sound than the English r (which itself is difficult for speakers of certain languages, including French). The sounds are different because they are produced in different ways and in different areas of the mouth. The American r is produced in the middle of the mouth by raising the sides of the tongue, whereas the French r is produced in the back of the mouth by raising the back of the tongue toward the uvula (the fleshy knob that hangs down in the back of your throat).

Learning to make the French r requires practice and patience. It is helpful to first locate, with your tongue, the area of the mouth where it is produced by saying “ka, ga” with a forceful k and g sound. As you do so, notice that the back of your tongue rises to touch the back of your mouth and momentarily block the passage of air. (You can observe this by using a small mirror and opening your mouth wide, looking at the back of your throat as you say “ka, ga.”)

The French « r » occurs slightly further back in your mouth than "ka" and "ga". Try it by first anchoring the tip of your tongue against your lower front teeth; keep it there, then say “AGA, ARA.” The g blocks the air completely, but for the French r, the tongue allows some air to pass through the narrow opening created by the back of the tongue, as if you were gargling: “ahhrrrah.”

You can practice by making a gargling sound (perhaps in a place where you are alone and can feel comfortable making odd sounds!). When you can consistently produce the r by itself, try saying the French word garage: first press and keep the tip of your tongue against your lower front teeth, then say “gaa-raage” slowly, syllable by syllable, prolonging the r in the middle. (Anchoring the tongue tip against the teeth is important: it keeps your tongue tip stationary and restricts the movement to the rear of your mouth where the sound is articulated.) When you can control the r with some consistency, practice with different vowels using the following sequences:

 

1. j’arrive, j’arrête, je ris.
2. l’amour, la mort, la mer.

Pronounce each sequence slowly, patiently, until you can produce the « r » in each word reliably.

The Cedilla: « ç »

The French cédille is just a « c » with a little curved line attached to the bottom: ç. You can think of it as a « c » that wants to be an « s », and it is pronounced [s]. For example, the word ça sounds like « saw », not « caw »

The Letter « h »

Remember that there is no h sound in French, as there is in English. An h at the beginning of a word is not pronounced. So, for example,the words habitude, homme, and hôpital are all pronounced with an initial vowel sound, just like in the English word honor.

 

habitude, homme, hôpital

The consonant clusters ps and pn

In the combinations ps- and pn-, the p is pronounced together with the following consonant, unlike in English where the p is silent. Compare (p)sychology and psychologie, (p)neumonia and pneumonie.

Silent consonants

In addition to the letter h, there are a number of consonants that may become silent in certain contexts.

Learning how to pronounce correctly takes time and practice. Above all, you need to listen to as much French as possible.

Additional Resources

• Watch this video for a general introduction to French Pronunciation.
• Watch this tutorial on Silent letters, then answer this question: What are the CRFL and Big Good Quality Kale rules?
• You can practice your French pronunciation with this Video tutorial: Pronounce the 100 most common French words. Try to repeat everything you hear (practice makes perfect).
• You can listen to how specific words are pronounced by visiting the How to Pronounce channel on YouTube.
• You can hear audio recordings of French words and more at: audiofrench.com. If you want to go all out, consult the French Pronunciation: Ultimate Guide.
• Have fun practicing your pronunciation with these tongue-twisters, or virelangues. Also try les virelangues.
• Practice French pronunciation with this video of illustrated French sounds.

Let's practice!

Activity

Say whether the pronounced letters are vowels or consonants.

 

1. Voyelle ou consonne ?
2. Voyelle ou consonne ?
3. Voyelle ou consonne ?
4. Voyelle ou consonne ?
5. Voyelle ou consonne ?
6. Voyelle ou consonne ?
7. Voyelle ou consonne ?
8. Voyelle ou consonne ?
9. Voyelle ou consonne ?
10. Voyelle ou consonne ?