The Letter h
Make sure you pronounce the h sound at the beginning of words. The h is always pronounced in English except in these common words: hour, honest, honor, herb, heir, exhaust, vehicle, and ghost.
| common mistake: |
should be: |
| “she as” |
“she has” |
| “uman” |
“human” |
Word Contrasts for Practice
Make sure you pronounce the words in each pair differently:
| no /h/ |
/h/ |
| 1. art |
heart |
| 2. air |
hair |
| 3. ate |
hate |
| 4. angry |
hungry |
Native French speakers also have a tendency to insert an /h/ sound where there shouldn’t be one.
| common mistake: |
should be: |
| “he his” |
“he is” |
| “he’s hat home” |
“he’s at home” |
| “hi hate” |
“I hate” |
Practice Sentences
- Henry hardly ever has a headache.
- Perhaps he hasn’t heard of the hypothesis.
- Have you ever eaten homemade Hungarian food?
- I hope his habit doesn’t make him an alcoholic.
- The horror movie had a horrible ending.
The Final s
In French, the s at the end of words is almost always silent. Make sure that you clearly pronounce all of the s endings when speaking English.
| common mistake: |
should be: |
| “one of my uncle” |
“one of my uncles” |
| “a few problem” |
“a few problems” |
Confusing th with /s/ or /z/
Review the exercises for these sounds in Chapter Four. Be especially careful with words that have a th and s sound near each other, such as thousand and south.
Word Contrasts for Practice
Make sure you don’t pronounce these pairs of words the same:
| |
/s/ |
/th/ |
| 1. |
mass |
math |
| 2. |
pass |
path |
| 3. |
seem |
theme |
| 4. |
all so |
although |
The /r/ Sound
When it appears at the end of a word or before another consonant, the /r/ sound may pose some difficulties for the native French speaker. Review the explanations and exercises for the /r/ sound in Chapter Four. Make sure you pronounce the final /r/ at the end of words.
| typical mistake: |
should be: |
| “mo” |
“more” |
| “fa” |
“far” |
| “motha” |
“mother” |
| “ha” |
“her” |
Word Pairs for Practice
Make sure you don’t pronounce these pairs of words the same:
| no r |
r |
| 1. foam |
form |
| 2. moaning |
morning |
| 3. pot |
part |
| 4. tone |
torn |
| 5. cone |
corn |
The /l/ Sound
Make sure you don’t quickly release the tip of your tongue for the l at the end of words. This will cause you to over-pronounce the /l/. The American /l/ sound is softer and longer than the French, and the tip of the tongue is more relaxed. Review the exercises for the American /l/ sound in Chapter Four.
Pronouncing ing
Over-pronouncing ing is another common mistake French speakers make. Be sure not to release the /g/ sound in words that end with ing, such as going and doing. Review the rules for this sound in Chapter Four.
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