📚 French Phonetics Masterclass

Topics Covered: Composite vowels, composite consonants, nasal sounds

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🔤 1. Composite Vowels in French

Composite vowels are combinations of two or more vowel letters that produce a single, unified sound.

🌟 Key French Composite Vowels:

Composite	Sound (IPA)	Example	Meaning
ai	/ɛ/	j'ai	I have
au	/o/	chaud	hot
ei	/ɛ/	plein	full
eu	/ø/ or /œ/	bleu, peur	blue, fear
ou	/u/	fou	crazy
oi	/wa/	bois	wood
oy	/wa/	voyage	travel
ui	/ɥi/	nuit	night

📘 Context Example:

Il fait chaud aujourd’hui.
(It’s hot today.)
“au” appears in chaud and aujourd’hui.

📝 Practice Exercise:

Fill in the blanks with the correct composite vowel.

1. J’__ peur. → (eu)
2. Il f__t beau. → (ai)
3. La n__t est noire. → (ui)

Answers:

1. J’ai peur.
2. Il fait beau.
3. La nuit est noire.

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🔠 2. Composite Consonants in French

Composite consonants are letter combinations that form a single sound (often different from their English equivalents).

💡 Common Composite Consonants:

Composite	Sound	Example	Meaning
ch	/ʃ/	chien	dog
gn	/ɲ/	montagne	mountain
ph	/f/	photo	photo
qu	/k/	quatre	four
th	/t/	thé	tea

Note: Unlike English, French th is NOT pronounced /θ/.

🎯 Context Example:

Le chien boit du thé.
(The dog is drinking tea.)
Composite consonants: ch in chien, th in thé

📝 Practice Exercise:

Choose the correct composite consonant:

1. Le __at est mignon. → (ch)
2. Il grimpe la mon__e. → (gn)
3. Elle boit du __é. → (th)

Answers:

1. Le chat est mignon.
2. Il grimpe la montagne.
3. Elle boit du thé.

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😮‍💨 3. Nasal Sounds in French

Nasal vowels are produced by allowing air to pass through the nose and the mouth simultaneously.

📌 Common French Nasal Vowels:

Nasal Vowel	IPA Symbol	Example	Meaning
an / am / en / em	/ɑ̃/	enfant, ambassade	child, embassy
on / om	/ɔ̃/	bon, ombre	good, shadow
in / im / ain / ein / ym	/ɛ̃/	pain, impossible	bread, impossible
un / um	/œ̃/	un, parfum	one, perfume

🎙️ Context Examples:

Il mange du pain dans un bon restaurant.
Nasal sounds: pain /ɛ̃/, un /œ̃/, bon /ɔ̃/, restaurant /ɑ̃/

📝 Practice Exercise:

Underline the nasal vowel in each word.

1. parfum
2. impossible
3. enfant
4. bon
5. pain

Answers:

1. parfum → /œ̃/
2. impossible → /ɛ̃/
3. enfant → /ɑ̃/
4. bon → /ɔ̃/
5. pain → /ɛ̃/