How many times a day do you need to spell out a word for someone? It happens a lot more frequently than we realise, both over the phone and in person. So, in case this happens when you’re speaking French, below is the French alphabet and how to pronounce each letter.
How Learning the French Alphabet and its Pronunciation can Help Your Grasp of the Language
It may seem a little pointless to learn the French Alphabet and how to pronounce the individual letters, but this can actually really help your grasp of the French language.
The alphabet is one of the very first things you learn in your native tongue, so it stands to reason that it should be one of the first things that you learn when learning a new language.
The French alphabet will help you in all aspects of your French learning. For one, it helps with your pronunciation, because even if you aren’t sure how to say a word that you have read, you can sound it out in a similar way to how you would in your native language.
Learning how to pronounce letters of the French alphabet can also help with your writing. When you are trying to remember how to spell a word, you can use the above technique, but in reverse by sounding it out. Identify the different sounds and link them to the letters as you write.
As with every language, there are exceptions to how the letters will sound, especially if they are paired with an accent. But once you have learnt the basics of their pronunciation you can begin to learn the variations as well.
The French Alphabet and its Pronunciation
| Letter | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| A | Ah |
| B | Bay |
| C | Say |
| D | Day |
| E | Euh |
| F | Ef |
| G | Zjay |
| H | Ash |
| I | Ee |
| J | Zjee |
| K | Kah |
| L | El |
| M | Em |
| N | En |
| O | Oh |
| P | Pay |
| Q | Coo |
| R | Er |
| S | Es |
| T | Tay |
| U | Oo |
| V | Vay |
| W | Doo-blu-vay |
| X | Eeks |
| Y | Ee-greck |
| Z |
Other Resources That Can Help You to Learn the French Alphabet
When learning French, staring at and memorising tables of sounds for pronunciation can be a bit tiresome. This method certainly doesn’t work for everyone. As such, there are other ways that can help you to learn the French Alphabet and its pronunciation.
The most popular way is to use YouTube. As a video streaming platform, you can actually hear how the letters are supposed to sound. Some videos can even show you how to form the letters with your mouth, to imitate the noises a little easier.
There are several songs available for learning your ABC’s in any language. You can have these playing in the background while you go about your day. By doing this, the information can subconsciously enter your brain as a catchy tune while you multitask.
Conclusion
Once you have learnt the French alphabet and the pronunciation of the letters, you can begin to build upon this knowledge and look into how the sound changes depending upon which accents are being used and which letters follow it in different words.
