french accents

13 oct. 2017 08:47 - language-swap

Niveau confirmé

It can be very difficult for a foreigner to write French. Indeed, there are a lot of accents that are not to be forgotten in order to write right.
There are four different accent the é, the è, the ê and the ë. They mark the difference of pronunciation of the letter.

The acute accent (é) is only put on the letter -e. Then, you can hear the sound [e]
Examples:
école (school) – santé (health) – écureuil (squirrel)

The grave accent (è) is generally put on the letter -e. Then, you can hear the sound [ɛ]. However it can also be put on the vowels -a and -u.
Examples:
une flèche (arrow) – après (after) – planète (planet) – où (where) – là (there) –

The circumflex accent (ê) is generally put on the letter -e. Then, you can hear the sound [ɛ]. However it can also be put on the vowels -a, -u, -i, -o.
Examples:
tête (head) – mêler (mix) – gâteau (cake) – tôt (early) – flûte (flute) – traîner (to drag)

The so-called “trema” which is -ï or -ë is generally put on the letter -i and indicates that two following vowels have to be pronounced separately.
Example:
Héroïque (heroic) – naïf (naive) – Noël (Christmas)