10 English Pronunciation Errors by French Speakers
If your mother tongue is French, you may find certain sounds in English more difficult than others. Here we present to you some of the common errors made by French-speaking students at Pronunciation Studio:
1. /r/ & silent ‘r’
French ‘r’ is a voiced uvular fricative /ʁ/, made at the back of the mouth, English /r/ is an alveolar approximant made near the front of the mouth – not to be confused:
right red lorry great
French speakers tend to say every written ‘r’, but in British English you should not pronounce an ‘r’ if it is before a consonant:
Four thirty in the afternoon.
2. Vowel rounding
Many French centre and front vowels use rounded lips, whereas in English they would be made with neutral lips – the sound is very different:
The first thing I heard was a scream.
3. th
French does not contain dental fricatives θ or ð, speakers often replace these with /s/ and /z/:
We’ll see them on Thursday, I think.
4. h
The glottal fricative /h/ does not exist in French, it does in English:
house home holiday Harry
5. /ɪ/ vs. /i:/
French has just one close front vowel [i], English has two: /ɪ/ and /i:/ – /ɪ/ should be made with a slightly lower jaw, but French speakers often just use the one position for these vowels:
[thrive_leads id=’7075′]ship / sheep
fit / feet
rid / read
6. Word Stress
French tends to stress the last syllable of a long word, English does not:
father corruption absolutely computer
7. Intonation
French has a very unique melody – it is often flat and high with rising patterns. English is generally uses falling patterns more and has a greater difference in stress:
Where do you think we should go?
I don’t see how it is that important.
8. Open vowels /æ/ vs /ɑ:/
French contains one open vowel unrounded: [a], English contains 2: /æ/ (cat) /ɑ:/ (cart) so French often the French [a] instead:
hat heart
ham harm
had hard
9. Diphthong ‘o’
French does not use diphthong (double) vowel sounds, so they often come out a bit flat:
Don’t go to the show.
10. Affricate Consonant /dʒ/
French speakers often miss the beginning plosive sound in English affricates:
/dʒ/: James general job agent
