In addition to oral vowels, French also has four nasal vowels. Oral vowels are produced mainly within the oral cavity. Nasal vowels are produced when air passes through the nose as well as the mouth.
English has nasal-like vowels in words such as sing and impossible, but the nasal consonants /n/ and /m/ are still pronounced. These consonants are not pronounced in French when following a nasal vowel. The consonant is totally assimilated into the vowel pronunciation.
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French has 4 nasal vowels:
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A. Repeat the following pairs of words contrasting oral and nasal vowels.
La voyelle /ã/
gras/grand
chat/chanter
femme/faon
Jeanne/Jean
cane/quand
âne/an
La voyelle /ɛ̃/
panne/pain
fine/fin
certaine/certain
ancienne/ancien
aucune/aucun
B. Repeat the following phrases being careful to properly pronounce and distinguish the nasal vowels.
La voyelle /õ/
peau/pont
mot/mont
haut/honte
trop/tronc
seau/son
beau/bon
J'entre dans la lingerie.
Qu'est-ce que tu as pensé du concert?
Il chante une chanson marrante.
J'ai vu une interview avec un comédien ce matin.
Il se tient au courant.
C'est un roman plein de violence.
Listening proficiency
You will hear 10 pairs of words. Decide whether the first word or the second word of the pair contains a nasal vowel. Answers ...
- main/ma
- bonne/bon
- cette/sainte
- cadeau/bandeau
- personne/raison
- moment/anniversaire
- garçon/gâteau
- beau/blonde
- année/an
- bon/bonne