Key French sounds & spellings (a very general & simplified reference) Prior learning: Following on from the alphabet! Jo Rhys-Jones, November 2011 Talkabout Primary Languages

Table of contents: vowels tricky consonants nasal phonemes on/an/en, in/ain/ein regular graphemes ou, au/eau, gn, ph graphemes which make more than one sound silent letters elision & liaison

Voyelles: a e é è-ê o i-y u

A a chat

e – same sound made by eu / Œu le me ne je e neuf œuf deux

É – same sound made by er/ez décembre regarder levez la main! é café bébé éléphant

è-ê same sound made by ai/ei/et tête pêche frère père mère zèbre

i-y dix six Yvonne i-y stylo bicyette lit

o carotte piano vélo, pot, hôtel, beau, chaud pomme, bol, docteur o - same sound made by ô/au/eau o – can also be a short sound carotte piano vélo, pot, hôtel, beau, chaud pomme, bol, docteur

u sucette u Put your finger in your mouth like a lollipop. Remove your finger but keep your lips still. Without moving your lips, try to say ‘ee’ That is the French sound ‘u’. u sucette

Tricky consonants: c g h s y t w

c cinéma carotte same sound as ç police, France, cent, Soft when followed by e or i same sound as ç usually a hard sound cinéma carotte police, France, cent, cinq, délicieux, garçon... crayon, sac, café, banc, caméra...

g garage gorille gomme, guitare, catalogue, regarder... usually a hard sound Soft when followed by e or i garage gorille gomme, guitare, catalogue, regarder... pigeon, orange, genou, girafe,

h is silent h thé héros hôtel

s oiseau poisson sac, soupe, classe, danser... cuisine, visite, usually a soft sound Hard when between 2 vowels oiseau poisson sac, soupe, classe, danser... cuisine, visite, rose, musique, chemise

t dictionnaire tomate tulipe, tarte, moto, minute... usually the same sound as in English exceptions – can change to s sound when followed by i dictionnaire tomate tulipe, tarte, moto, minute... direction, addition, patience, essentiel… Do these words make a normal t sound in English?

w kiwi wagon EXCEPT: le wc w is only used in words that are borrowed from other languages - makes the same sound as in English w kiwi wagon EXCEPT: le wc

y crayon stylo Yvonne, cycliste, Nancy lycée, pyjama... joyeux, loyal, usually same sound as french i but same sound as in English when between 2 vowels crayon stylo Yvonne, cycliste, Nancy lycée, pyjama... joyeux, loyal, incroyable, voyage…

on/an/en in/ain/ein nasal phonemes, : Purists will rightly argue there is a very subtle difference between on and an/en but it’s highly unlikely to be noticable up to GCSE level so I leave that to teacher discretion and the level of your class… in/ain/ein

on/an/en: also om/AM/EM bonjour danse dentiste tombola chambre décembre on an en om am em lampe enfants mouton

in ain ein im vin intelligent train demain peinture lapin important in/ain/ein: also im vin intelligent train demain peinture important in ain ein lapin im ceinture pain

regular graphemes: ou e/eu/oeu oi é/ez/er au/eau/ô ph gn è/ai/ei/et

ou: always makes the same sound bouche souris moutarde

e/eu/Œu: Always make the same sound le me ne je e eu œu neuf œuf deux

oi: always makes the same sound trois étoile histoire

É/ez/er: make the same sound décembre levez la main! janvier é ez er nez café jouer

au/eau/ô: make the same sound hôtel jaune oiseau moto bateau taureau

è/ê/ai/ei/et: All make the same sound frère fête chaise neige Paul et Liliane baleine robinet j’aime

ph: makes the same sound as french f téléphone alphabet éléphant

gn: always makes the same sound araignée signal champignon

graphemes with more than one sound: ch ill ail/eil/euil/ouil

ch Chef Chrétien Charlotte, marché, chat champagne, chocolat... usually a soft sound: but hard sound when a greek word – often before r or l Chef Chrétien Charlotte, marché, chat champagne, chocolat... orchestre, chœur, chronique, technique…

ill Famille Million fille, vanille, gorille gentille, habiller… usually a softened sound: some exceptions when the l sound is pronounced: Famille Million fille, vanille, gorille gentille, habiller… village, ville, mille tranquille

ail/eil/euil/ouil: make similar y sound At the end abeille ail eil euil ouil travail soleil feuille nouille bouteille médaille bouillir

Silent letters club mouton éléphant, lit, lapin trois, froid, abricot… usually the final consonant is not pronounced: But the letters b c f k l q R usually are pronounced: club mouton I can not include every exception here, so just the most common. éléphant, lit, lapin trois, froid, abricot… snob, flic, chef, anorak avril, cinq, hiver Exceptions: ours, sud, autobus, tennis, some names, Exceptions: blanc, porc, clef, -er infinitives

petit le petit éléphant Elision/liaison: when a word that ends in a normally silent consonant is followed by a word that begins with a vowel or silent h, then the consonant is pronounced – usually... petit le petit éléphant