La prononciation
Sommaire
- Les différentes manières de prononcer la lettre s
Today we’re going to work on the pronunciation of the letter s. The letter s is pronounced differently depending on the letters that surround it.
1 S pronounced as z
When an s appears between two vowels for example :
vowel | s | vowel
la ro|s|e
it is pronounced like the z in the English word ‘razor’. So we have :
la rose
the rose
la chose
the thing
la base
the base
à cause de
because of
le désert du Sahara
the Sahara desert
amnésique
amnesiac
la télévision
the television
You have come across the same z sound when there is a ‘liaison’ between two words. An s at the end of a word is not normally pronounced. But when a word that ends in s is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, the s is treated as if it were between two vowels, so it’s pronounced z. For example :
les_ avions
– the aeroplanes (airplanes)
elles_ ont une maison
– they have a house
The rule applies even if there is a consonant just before the final s :
les grands_espaces
large spaces
les questions_ idiotes
the stupid questions
de temps_ en temps
from time to time
2 S pronounced as s
In all other situations, s is pronounced as s like in the English word ‘simple’. When the order is consonant s vowel :
consonant | s | vowel
la ten|s|ion
ob|s|erver
to observe
j’observe
tu observes
il observe
conserver
to conserve
une capsule
a capsule
un psychologue
a psychologist
un arsenal
an arsenal
And when the order is vowel s consonant :
vowel | s | consonant
la poste
le risque
the risk
une histoire
a story
l’esthétique
aesthetics
une catastrophe
a catastrophe
There is one exception. The s is not pronounced in:
il est
it is, he is
At the start of the word the sound is also s. This is especially important if Spanish or German is your first language – Spaniards have a tendency to begin words with the sound es and Germans with the sound z :
le Stade de France
the name of the sports stadium in Paris
le style
the style
la station de métro
the metro station
la séparation
the separation
la salade
the salad
And, finally it’s the same sound for ss. So we have :
nous réussissons
we succeed
le saucisson de Lyon
the cooked sausage from Lyon
l’assurance
the insurance
essayer
to try
The different ways of pronouncing s can make an important difference in expression and comprehension. For example, we have :
la table basse
the low table
le poisson
the fish
la base militaire
the military base
le poison
the poison
Les Exercices
1 La prononciation
Read out loud the following sentences. Record your voice and listen back to it. If you have any doubts check back over the lesson. Then start up your audio player to see if your pronunciation is correct.
La liste des candidats est publiée.
The list of candidates is published.
Est-ce que vous aimez le poisson ?
Do you like fish?
L’arsenic est un poison violent.
Arsenic is a dangerous poison.
Ma voiture est bien assurée par une compagnie très sérieuse.
My car is well insured by a very professional company.
Je suis très heureuse de mes résultats en français.
I am very happy with my results in French.
Tu es en vacances demain ?
Are you on holiday tomorrow?
C’est un grand plaisir.
It’s a great pleasure.
2 Le vocabulaire
Now an exercise to help you build your vocabulary. It is very important to learn the gender of words when you learn their meaning. Today we are going to look at the words to describe the face. One way to memorise the gender of the nouns describing the face is to divide it in two. The top half of the face is masculine – the bottom half is feminine. Take a look at this picture.
3 . Dictée
Now try this test in dictation. Listen to the text and write down the words that you hear. Give yourself 20 points and deduct one point for every mistake you make. You can use the pause of your audio player when necessary.
Les visiteurs du musée des Arts Modernes ne sont pas heureux aujourd’hui : le musée est fermé pour cause de restauration. « Zut ! », dit un monsieur énervé. « C’est la poisse ! Ce n’est pas mon jour de chance ! Je n’aime pas les autres musées. L’art classique, ce n’est pas trop ma tasse de thé. » « Tu as raison », répond sa femme, « c’est désolant, mais qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire ? Rien, il n’y a rien à faire. C’est comme ça et c’est tout ! »
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