By using the phonetic alphabet (presented in this article) you can do several things with French to better your pronunciation:

1. Know all the sounds of the French Language
2. Be able to read French dictionaires and be able to pronounce words correctly from the given pronunciation
3. Be able to read / write / speak more proficiently by sounding out words correctly.

French Phonetic Exercises

For the first exercise, I’m going to write down French words using only IPA symbols. You should be able to properly say the words out loud and guess what they are (to make the task easier, I placed spaces between syllables). Answers are provided right below… try not to cheat!
Example: [sy btɛR fyʒ] = subterfuge
[klak] =
[pɔʀ] =
[ble] =
[ʃa to] =
[tRẽ] =
[ʃə miz] = 
[sol] =
[ø ʀɔp] =
[si ɛʒ] = 
[vi] =
[mõ te] =
[vwa tyʀ] =
[lyt] =
[ʃɑ̃ paɲ] =

Answers:

[klak] = claque
[pɔʀ] = porc OU port
[ble] = blé
[ʃato] = château
[tRẽ] = train
[ʃə miz] = chemise 
[sol] = saule (note [sɔl] = le sol)
[ø ʀɔp] = Europe
[siɛʒ] = siège
[vi] = vie
[mõ te] = monter
[vwa tyʀ] = voiture
[lyt] = lutte
[ʃɑ̃ paɲ] = champagne

French Phonetic Transcription

Now, place the following French words into IPA format. You do not need to transcribe the genders; I simply added them to avoid confusion.

Example: plusieurs = [plyzjœR]
un enfant =
fleur =
moi =
le vin =
deuxième =
le chocolat =
minuit =
le public =
un cambriolage =
danser =
vendredi =
une heure =
le monde =
nous =

Answers:
un enfant = [ɑ̃fɑ̃]
fleur = [flœʀ]
moi = [mwa]
le vin = [vẽ]
deuxième = [døzjɛm]
le chocolat = [ʃɔkɔla]
minuit = [minɥi]
le public = [pyblik]
un cambriolage = [kɑ̃bʀijɔlaʒ]
danser = [dɑ̃se]
vendredi = [vɑ̃dʀədi]
une heure = [œʀ]
le monde = [mõd]
nous = [nu]


Did you find those practice exercises difficult?

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