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s | A French 's' sound is made in a very similar way to an English 's' sound, by bringing the front part of the tongue very close to the ridge behind the teeth, causing friction as the air escapes. However, many English speakers use the very tip of the tongue, whereas in French it is common to use the part of the tongue just behind the tip (called the "blade" of the tongue). | ||
a | The French 'a' vowel is pronounced with the tongue far forward in the mouth and the mouth quite wide open, but not quite as open as for a typical English 'a' vowel. | ||
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. | ||
y | The French 'u' vowel is pronounced with the tongue almost as far forward and close to the roof of the mouth as it will go (as for an 'i' vowel), but with the lips rounded. Aim to 'hold' your lips in position to avoid pronounce the vowel is a 'glide' or diphthong. The phonetic symbol [y] can be slightly confusing: it represents the 'u' vowel, and not the sound at the beginning of the English word "yes". |