Do you want to learn how to do a French accent,
or sound more like a native speaker?
In this video,
our expert instructor Mikayla
is going to share with you
some of the unique sounds
that are specific to the French language.
So stay tuned,
and before you go,
check out the link in the description box
to join one of our free online French classes.
-Hey everyone.
This is Mikayla from TakeLessons.
Today we're going to talk about
how to speak in a French accent.
The first thing you have to know is
there is not just one French accent.
French is actually spoken in 84 countries
all around the world,
which is called - La Francophonie.
There are countries in Africa,
Europe, Asia and even in Australia.
The first thing you have to decide
is: what kind of accent do I want to learn?
Do you want to learn the Canadian accent?
Do you want to learn the South of France accent?
Do you want to learn one of the African country accents?
You have to decide that first before anything else,
because normally in French classes
we use a standard French,
which is the Parisian French,
but not everyone wants to speak that way.
You have to decide for yourself,
"What French accent do I want to have?"
Now most of the time,
there's going to be slight differences.
However, between French and English,
there are a few big differences.
One of the first is that in French,
we have nasal sounds.
Yes.
Lots of nasal sounds.
We have four.
We have "An", "Ain",
"On" and "Un".
Yes, they all sound the same right ?
No, well, they're actually slightly different.
That's one of the things you have to do first.
It's to be able to distinguish
the four different nasal sounds.
Some examples: Demain or On.
One of the next big differences
that we have are the difference between the "é",
the "è" and the "e".
This is another distinction that English speakers
have to really pay attention to in French.
Then we have the difference between the two "U" sounds.
This can be very difficult,
because one of these "U" sounds
does not exist at all in English.
The first "U" sound we have in French is the "Ou".
The other one is actually going to be a very narrow "U",
which is "U".
This one is made when you put
your tongue behind your teeth,
and you pucker your lips,
so that it's like you're almost whistling "U".
An example of the difference between "U"
and "Ou" can be between the words Vous,
which means "you,"
and Vu which means "seen."
The next difference that we have
between French and English is with the consonant R.
In English we say R but in French we say R.
You will hear a really guttural sound.
It's air passing through the back of your throat.
R, like in the word "Super".
Next we have what are called, liaison.
Liaisons are very important in French,
because these are linking sounds.
When we're speaking it's very common in French
to have this very fluid linked sound,
like when we say,
"Vous avez."
This is what happens when we have
a word that ends with a consonant
that we don't normally pronounce.
Normally we say "Vous",
but because it's being followed by a word
that starts with a vowel,
you have to link it.
Then we say, "Vous avez".
Finally, we have a difference between H's in French.
We have an aspirated H and a non-aspirated H.
That's not very important right now,
but what you need to know is that oftentimes,
H's are not pronounced as "H" like in English.
When we have the word "Heure,"
you're not hearing "Her," you're saying "Heure".
Finally, here are some tips
and tricks for those of you who want to perfect
your accent when you're speaking French.
The first thing you should do is listen
as much as you can to French.
Listen to the radio,
watch movies, watch tv,
listen to French and francophone music.
All of these sounds are going to help you
with your accent.
Next, I usually tell my students to speak in a little box.
If you look at a French person,
they speak only in this part of their mouth,
quite puckered.
My next tip is a little funny,
and I promise it helps.
Speak English with a French accent,
or speak your native language with a French accent,
because it helps you get into the sound,
and then it's easier to switch into the other language.
It helps you get your intonation
and it helps you find the placement
in your mouth where the sounds differ.
Finally, practice.
That's all you can do.
Just know that sometimes,
we can't lose our accent 100%,
but that's okay.
So long as you can communicate,
that's the most important thing.
-Hey guys.
Thanks for watching.
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