French Phonetics Course

Lesson 1 • Overview of French Phonetics

Establishes why French phonetics requires dedicated study. Contrasts French and English sound inventories to motivate precise articulatory training.

Lesson 2 • Listening and Perception Training

Trains the ear to detect French phonetic distinctions before production practice begins. Develops auditory discrimination as a prerequisite skill.

Lesson 3 • Articulatory Phonetics Basics

Covers the vocal tract and articulators involved in speech production. Provides anatomical grounding needed for all subsequent pronunciation work.

Lesson 1 • Rounded Front Vowels

Addresses the rounded front vowels /y/, /ø/, /œ/ absent in English. Systematic lip-rounding exercises build accurate production.

Lesson 2 • Vowel Classification and the Vowel Chart

Introduces the vowel quadrilateral and classifies French vowels by height, backness, and lip rounding. Provides the framework for all vowel production work.

Lesson 3 • Back Vowels and Schwa

Covers /u/, /o/, /ɔ/, and the French schwa /ə/. Connects back vowel production to lip rounding and jaw position.

Lesson 4 • Front Oral Vowels

Focuses on the high, mid, and low front vowels unique to French. Drills articulation of /i/, /e/, /ɛ/, /a/, and their minimal pair contrasts.

Lesson 1 • Nasal Consonants

Covers /m n ɲ ŋ/ and distinguishes nasal consonants from nasal vowels. Articulation drills reinforce correct placement for each nasal.

Lesson 2 • Fricatives and Affricates

Addresses French fricatives /f v s z ʃ ʒ/ and their distribution. Minimal pair drills sharpen voicing and place distinctions.

Lesson 3 • Lateral and Glide Consonants

Covers the lateral /l/ and glides /j w ɥ/, highlighting the French clear /l/ and the labiopalatal glide /ɥ/. Connects glides to their corresponding vowels.

Lesson 4 • The French Uvular /ʁ/

Focuses exclusively on the French uvular fricative, the most challenging consonant for English speakers. Progressive exercises move from perception to fluent production.

Lesson 1 • French Syllable Structure

Defines the CV-preferred syllable template of French and contrasts it with English. Students practice syllabifying words using onset-nucleus-coda analysis.

Lesson 2 • Phonotactic Constraints

Surveys the rules governing permissible sound sequences in French. Students apply constraints to detect and correct phonotactic errors in production.

Lesson 3 • Consonant Clusters

Examines permissible onset and coda clusters in French. Articulation drills address cluster simplification errors common among English speakers.

Lesson 1 • Elision: Vowel Deletion Rules

Explains the deletion of final /ə/ and other vowels before vowel-initial words. Students identify elision triggers and apply them in reading aloud.

Lesson 2 • Linking in Authentic Speech

Applies all linking rules to natural spoken French at normal speed. Students transcribe and reproduce linked speech from native audio samples.

Lesson 3 • Enchaînement: Consonant Resyllabification

Introduces enchaînement as the resyllabification of a final consonant onto the next vowel-initial word. Drills establish this as the baseline linking process.

Lesson 4 • Liaison: Rules and Categories

Covers obligatory, optional, and forbidden liaison contexts with their grammatical conditioning. Students categorise liaison environments in authentic texts.

Lesson 1 • Emphatic and Contrastive Stress

Covers non-default stress used for emphasis and contrast in French. Students produce emphatic stress without imposing English stress patterns.

Lesson 2 • Stress and the Rhythmic Group

Defines the rhythmic group as the unit of French stress assignment. Students identify group boundaries and place stress on the final syllable.

Lesson 3 • Schwa and Rhythm

Examines how optional schwa deletion and retention affect rhythmic structure. Students apply the three-consonant rule and stylistic schwa variation.

Lesson 1 • Intonation of Questions

Contrasts yes/no and wh-question intonation with declarative patterns. Students produce rising and falling question contours in context.

Lesson 2 • Foundations of French Intonation

Introduces pitch, tone, and intonation as distinct levels of prosodic analysis. Establishes the declarative falling contour as the baseline pattern.

Lesson 3 • Continuation and List Intonation

Covers the continuation rise signalling non-final phrases and list intonation patterns. Students use these contours to structure multi-clause utterances.

Lesson 4 • Regional and Stylistic Intonation Variation

Surveys intonation differences across French regional varieties and speech styles. Students recognise variation without losing command of standard patterns.

Lesson 1 • Mute H and Aspirate H

Distinguishes h muet from h aspiré and their effects on liaison and elision. Students correctly apply linking rules based on h-type classification.

Lesson 2 • Phonological Processes in Rapid Speech

Integrates all processes — assimilation, deletion, linking — as they co-occur in rapid native speech. Students transcribe and reproduce fast-speech samples.

Lesson 3 • Vowel Harmony and Height Alternations

Examines mid-vowel alternations conditioned by syllable type and suffix. Students predict vowel quality in derived forms using phonological rules.

Lesson 4 • Consonant Deletion and Reduction

Analyses deletion of /l/, /ʁ/, and other consonants in casual speech. Students distinguish careful and casual speech registers phonetically.