Bonjour tout le monde ! In today’s lesson, I would like us to focus on how to pronounce the letter C in French, but also on how to pronounce the letter G, as the rules are pretty similar.
How to pronounce the letter C in French – Écouter
Pronounce the letter C in French
You might have been wondering how to pronounce words like “déplacer“, “trucage” or even “coincer“. The first thing that you need to know is that there are 2 ways to pronounce the letter C in French : [s] or [k].
Pronounce C like [k]
The sound [k], as in “koala”. This is what we call “le C dur”, or “the hard C”.
You will hear such a sound in words like “coco”, “carburant” or “cuir”.
The general rule is to pronounce it as [k] before the letters a, o, u.
For example:
Carotte, école, cube
Exception:
There is an exception to the rule, in words such as “cœliaque“. If the ligature “œ” is followed by a consonant, the letter C in French will be pronounced [s]. In our example “cœliaque”, we pronounce the word [seliak]. If the ligature is followed by a vowel, you can pronounce it as a hard C or [k]. For example, “cœur” is pronounced [kœʁ].
Pronounce C like [s]
In French, you have to pronounce the C, [s] in some specific cases.
If the letter C is followed by e (and accents), i or y, it will be pronounced [s].
For example:
For example :
Pronounce the letter G in French
The pronunciation of the letter G is also similar to the letter C in French.
As a general rule, before a, o, u, the letter G will be pronounced [g], or the “hard G” like in “garden”.
For example:
garçon, gomme, aigu
The letter G will be pronounced [ʒ], or the “soft G” like the letter J in French, if it’s followed by the vowels e (and accents), i and y.
For example:
gelée, logique, gyrophare
If the letters “ge” are followed by a, o, u, then the “e” is silent (unless it has an accent), and you should pronounce the G as [ʒ] (the soft G).
For example:
orangeade, cageot, voyageur
Practice
C
Acuponcture
Limace
Maçon
Cabane
Pincer
Concombre
Silice
Rinçage
Récent
Calice
Acéré
Secours
Follicule
G
Gant
Androgyne
Régal
Guerre
Engager
Guichet
Gentil
Gond
Rigolo
Gîte
Négligeant
Pigeon
Bourgeois
Pronounce the letter C in French – Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson, if you want more articles on learning the French language, make sure the visit my blog right here.
