FROM THE OMEGA BLOG

How can we read French?

How can we read French?
Probably at least 50 percent of the world's population considers French to be the most romantic language in the world. Perhaps the Louvre, Versailles, Paris contributes significantly to this attitude, but one thing is true - French just sounds different from all other languages. It has softness and a melody that acts directly on the soul and it is difficult to leave it indifferent. If you have fallen into the romance of this language and have already tried to learn it, perhaps you know that it is not so easy to learn to read French.  Yes, Balzac and Exupery's language is distinguished by a great deal of sound - 16 vowels including silently 4 ruses, 17 consonants and 3 semi-votes. However, the main difficulty comes from not all letters being pronounced as they are written. French has strict rules on how to read the different letters depending on where they are located in the word or vowels and consonants with which they are surrounded.  Here are some of the basic rules for reading French that will help you navigate and understand that it is not as scary at all as it seems. 

Reading 

  • At the end of words, consents shall not be pronounced unless followed by a silent (institution] /Institut/)
  • C pronounced as [c] in front of vowels e, y, i (Cécile [cesyl] /Cesile/) and as [k] in front of vowels a, o, u (cube [cube] / cube/). When you have to pronounce [with] to a,o,u,c becomes ç (leçon [[Lion]
  • G pronounce [g] in front of vowels e, i, y (gerbe] /snap/) and as [d] in front of other vowels a, o, u and in front of consonant (gare [gar] /gara/). When you have to pronounce [d] before e, i, y, after G we put u which is usually not read (guerre [ger] /war/)
  • GN pronounce softly [n.] (montagne [mountan] /mountain/)
  • S between two vowels is read as [h] (rose [rose] /rose/)
  • E - without accent at the end of words shall not be read (table). F - readêtre).

Pronunciation

When you learn how to pronounce all sounds correctly, it will be much easier for you to read the written words. You'll probably need a little more time to perfect the pronunciation. But do not give up because it is in large part the secret of the romantic melody of French. And of course in the unimitable French R. Here are some tips on how to master his pronouncement:  - Make a crow with water, then try to do the same without water - Try to say the sounds [g] and [R].  You might think that in this case the rule is: the more you say, the better it turns out. Actually, that's not entirely true. The most important thing is to understand how to put your tongue properly in your mouth! Yes, that's all! 

Curious and helpful

Finally, here are some of the strangest words to say in French. 
  •  mille-feuille - [milfœj] - type of cake from multi-leaf dough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  • serrurerie - [se
  • cœur - [kœ 
  • aujourd’hui - [oʒuʁdɥi] - Today  
  • bourgeoisie - [buʁʒwazi] - bourgeoisia  
  • prestidigitateur - [p "stidi" stypitatœ  
  • hibou - [  
  • quincaillerie - [kɛ̃kajʁi] - hardware store; manufacturing of hardware
  • joyeux - [ʒwajø] - Happy  
  • oisiveté - [wazivte] - idleness  
  • péripétie - [peripesi] - peripets/ obstacle  
  • oignon - [  
  • héros - [screaming] - Hero (s)  
  • heure -[œʁ] hour  
  • anticonstitutionnellement - [
  • heureux - [œ  
You can use them for home training and if you master them well, you can be sure that you are a step closer to good French pronunciation.  However, remember that every language except a sum of sounds and words is also a set of grammatical and syntactic rules. So if you want to communicate, it's not enough just to read well. If you want to learn French - from grammar to pronunciation, sign up for a course in Language School "Omega" - individually present or online. Our teachers will help you master all the subtleties of the language, taking into account your pace of work. More about our courses can be found here https://omegals.bg/kursove/za-vyzrastni/frenski-ezik/ Or call us on 0878 566 537; 02/423 21 21.  

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