Pronunciation help for French and other languages

Here is the podcast

When we learn a new language we are usually concerned about pronunciation. Very often there are sounds in the new language that do not exist in our own. At first we have to get used to hearing these sounds. Pronouncing them repeatedly helps us hear them better, which in turn helps us pronounce them better.

Intonation or rhythm is an important part of pronunciation. Therefore it is important to work on individual sounds, on words, and on phrases and sentences. At The Linguist we have sound files of words using the 650 most common words of English, divided into groups of five in a way that features the important vowels and consonants or consonant clusters.

We have also created recordings of content which focuses on certain difficult sounds. What is difficult can vary from language group to language group. Spanish speakers and Japanese speakers may struggle with "b" and "v", German speakers with "w" and "v", Chinese speakers with consonant clusters and so on.

Now Marianne,  a Linguist learner from France, who has created a lot of the French
content for LingQ, is asking which sounds people have trouble with in French. Maybe Chris who is learning French from scratch using LingQ can answer.

Maybe others can volunteer which sounds they find difficult in other languages in order that native speakers can start to create pronunciation content in those languages.

Comments

[Jill]

I think the French 'r' sound is definitely one of the most difficult sounds for a native English speaker. I started learning French when I was five years old and I still have difficulties with this sound!

[Chris]

Yep, definitely the "r" sound. I'm always lamenting the pronunciation of it! The other sounds (ont, ant, etc.) need some practice, but I can definitely manage them. That "r" sound however...

[Lorean]

French is my mother tongue. Living in Canada I knew many people studying French.

The hardest sounds for them IMO are:
"u" (Tu)
"r" (Regarde, Merci)
Nasal Vowels (Pont, bon, bein)
J in the initial syllable position (Je)

[Steve]

I agree with the above. I also think that vowels are important in any language, since they are often close, yet different.

The French "e" as in "le" "deux" etc. is also difficult, as if often is silent.

Intonation is key in French since it differs to much from English.