If you’ve become a regular reader of these posts, you may remember we started our pronunciation adventure all the way back with the vowels a, e, i (y), o and u. I hope by now you feel confident pronouncing them and that you know your anchor words off by heart.

If you’re new to the blog, the use of anchor words is a fairly common practice for those learning to pronounce a second language. These are words that you absolutely know how to pronounce and by extension allow you to pronounce a whole host of other words that contain the same sounds. Apart from the exceptions, (bien sûr*).

I can almost hear you howling from here about French and its plentiful exceptions, but I promise you that on the pronunciation side of things, at least, there are very few exceptions to the rule. Don’t believe me? Follow this blog to the bitter end and you’ll see that the pronunciation table we’re building has a form to it that will satisfy even the most méticuleux* of reader.

Today we’re going to look at nasal vowels, which for me are what makes French sound so…well, French. If you think of a caricature of a French person (say Pepé Le Pew or Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau) their overblown accents are often due to an exaggeration of the four nasals vowels. Read on to find out un peu plus*.

By the way, here are my personal anchor words for the French vowels. Please do not feel hidebound by mine. While you’re welcome to use them, it is a really great exercise for you to find your own.

LES VOYELLES FRANÇAISES - KATRINA’S ANCHOR WORDS

A - ça va
E - je
I/Y - ici
O - tomate
U - tu

Okay, so now let’s take a look at these very special-sounding vowels - les voyelles nasales*.

Step 1…

This (admittedly) very memorable French phrase encapsulates the nasal vowels in one easy-to-understand sentence: a good white wine.

There are officially four different nasal vowels in French, though many French people will say the sounds un and in sounds are exactly the same. While it’s true the difference is très nuancée*, each have separate phonetic symbols so for now at least, we have quatre* to learn. Don’t worry, though, if you can’t hear the difference between the two. In a hundred years or so, there will likely only be three of them and you’ll have been proven right.

Choose your favourite word below to become your anchor word. There are actually very few words that contain un in French. Next post you’ll see that the sound um is exactly the same (see, I told you it’d get easier!) so there’ll be a few more of them to choose from.

un
lundi
quelqu’un
aucun
chacun

MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying ‘un’ as in ‘unhappy’. Now say it again, but don’t say the ‘n’. This sound approximates the sound you want.

bon
mon
tonton
chanson
oncle

MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying the English word ‘on’. Now say it again but do not pronounce the ‘n’. Your mouth should finish open, not with your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

cousin
intelligent
fin
lapin
prince

MAKE THE SOUND: Try saying the English word ‘an’ as in ‘an apple’ without finishing the ‘n’ sound. This is quite close to the sound you’re after.

enfant
enfin
dans
antique
dent

MAKE THE SOUND: The two sounds are identical. Think of the word enchanté, in which it appears twice.

So, let’s take a look at our pronunciation table after the addition of the nasal vowels. You’ll see we’ve added four extra rows, as the sounds are completely different to all those that have preceded them.

Ne vous inquiétez pas*, though, next post we’ll fill out those new rows in a really satisfying (and hopefully helpful) way.

How to Learn French - follow your nose