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l | The French 'l' is similar to the 'l' in English "with Lee". The tongue tip usually touches the back of the upper teeth. It is also a so-called "clear" l: in other words, you don't raise the back of your tongue as you pronounce the French 'l', as occurs in some cases in English. | ||
ə | The 'schwa' or 'neutral e' is pronounced with the tongue in a "central, relaxed" position and the mouth also in a 'half open, relaxed' position. Note that many French speakers actually tend to pronounce this vowel as a 'close eu' vowel (as occurs at the end of words ending in -euse), or at least with some rounding of the lips. | ||
d | A French 'd' sound is pronounced like an English 'd' after a 'th' sound (as in "with Dave"): the tongue touches the back of the teeth. An addition, as with French 'b' and 'g', make your vocal cords vibrate right through the 'd' sound by "trying to force some extra air out" even though your tongue is blocking it. | ||
ʒ | This sound is the sound represented by the 'g' in "beige", or the 's' in the English word "leisure". | ||
i | The French 'i' vowel is pronounced with the tongue almost as far forward and close to the roof of the mouth as it will go and with the lips spread. Aim to "tense" your lips for a moment as you pronounce it. | ||
n | The French 'n' sound is similar to the 'n' of English "tenth", i.e. pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth. |