What are the differences between French and English phonetics? What sounds are difficult to pronounce for French speakers? I’ve taught English to French professionals for many years and there are various ‘phonetic sounds’ that always cause problems. I’d like to look at those here…
First, I think it’s important to understand the different sounds we create when we speak a language? I’m talking of course about phonetics and The International Phonetic Alphabet, (IPA).
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
English and French share lots of consonant sounds but there are many differences among the vowel sounds. There are 44 sounds in the English language that can be presented as symbols, (International Phonetic Alphabet – IPA) and 37/38 sounds in French. The subject of phonetics is enormous, and I don’t intend to explore it in great detail, but it’s interesting to look at the basics and explore which sounds cause the most problems for French speakers. My next posts will take a look at some of the most common problems.
Please click here to look at the English Phonetic Alphabet.
If you have a problem with a specific sound, or the pronunciation of a certain word or sentence, please add a comment and tell me, or give me a call.
