Vowels - French Phonetics
Sons des voyelles françaises
1. [e] - [ə] - [ɛ]
[e] (close-mid front unrounded vowel):
It’s similar to the "e" in the Spanish word "bebé"
Example in French: "été" ([ete], meaning "summer").
[ə] (schwa or mid-central vowel):
This is a neutral, unstressed vowel sound. It is a mid-central vowel, meaning the tongue is positioned centrally in the mouth.
In French, this sound often appears in unstressed syllables and can be dropped in casual speech.
Example in French: "le" ([lə], meaning "the").
[ɛ] (open-mid front unrounded vowel):
Open your mouth a bit wider than for the [e] sound, and keep your tongue low but towards the front of your mouth.
Example in French: "père" ([pɛʁ], meaning "father").
Watch Front Unrounded Vowels /i/, /e/, /ɛ/, /a/ by LRC Michigan.2. [ɔ] -[o]
[ɔ] (open-mid back rounded vowel):
Example in French: "porte" ([pɔʁt], meaning "door").
[o] (close-mid back rounded vowel):
Example in French: "eau" ([o], meaning "water").
[ɔ] sounds more open and relaxed, while [o] sounds more closed and rounded.
Watch Back Rounded Vowels /u/, /o/, /ɔ/ by LRC Michigan.3. [ø] - [œ]
[ø] (close-mid front rounded vowel):
The shape of your mouth is rounded as if you are going to pronounce [o], but you produce the sound [e].
Example in French: "peur" ([pøʁ], meaning "fear").
Watch how to pronunce [ø] by LRC Michigan.[œ] (open-mid front rounded vowel):
The shape of your mouth is rounded as if you are going to pronounce [ɔ], but you produce the sound [ɛ].
Example in French: "sœur" ([sœʁ], meaning "sister").
Watch how to pronunce [œ] by LRC Michigan.4. [u] - [y]
[u] (close back rounded vowel):
The [u] sound is pronounced with the lips rounded and the tongue positioned high and towards the back of the mouth, similar to how you would pronounce "oo" in English.
[y] (close front rounded vowel):
The shape of your mouth is rounded as if you are going to pronounce [u], but you produce the sound [i].
Example in French: "lune" ([lyn], meaning "moon").
Watch Front Rounded Vowels Intro and /y/ by LRC Michigan.
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