Perhaps most if not all of our readers will agree that one of the hardest things about learning and dominating the French language is pronunciation!! So, today, I’m going to try to help you out a little bit on this one with some technique talk. This is what you should do to correctly pronounce the vowels:
| VOWEL | WHERE IS YOUR TONGUE? | WHAT IS YOUR MOUTH DOING? |
| [i] as in joli |
very far in front | smiley, almost closed |
| [y] as in salut |
very far back | almost closed and rounded |
| [e] as in étude |
in front | a little open |
| [ε ] as in faire |
in front | open |
| [a] as in la |
in front | very open |
| [ə] as in le |
in front | a little open |
| [œ] as in neuf |
in front | open and rounded |
| [Ø] as in bleu |
very far back | a little open and rounded |
 as in pomme |
a little back | open and rounded |
| [o] as in mot |
in back | open and very rounded |
| [u] as in jour |
a little back | a little open and very rounded |
 as in vin |
in front *remember this one is nasal as if you have a cold |
open and smiley |
 as in dans |
a little back *remember this one is nasal as if you have a cold |
very open and rounded |
 as in pont |
in back *remember this one is nasal as if you have a cold |
a little open and really rounded |
Practice them in front of a mirror…I know, I know…it’s not that easy! But, the important thing is to have fun when you’re learning and believe me this makes for some laughs!
