Pronunciation VariationsCurrently working on my pronunciation and am trying to get it right from the get-go because I know how hard it is to overwrite bad pronunciation habits.
My question revolves around the "ai," "ais," "ait," and "aient" letter combinations and if it's pronounced as è or é (or ɛ vs e using IPA). I found this great article on Lawless French (link below) talking about how the distinction is strongest in Parisian French and not so much otherwise (I'm assuming its very regional and depends on ones upbringing). I get the difference between the verb tenses the article talks about (the difference between future, passé simple, conditional, and imperfect).
What I still hear most of the time in words like lait, anglais, frais is speakers preferring the "e" sound, not ɛ. I've even noticed that in verbs ending in ais, ait, aient, (ie. était, avaient) that they tend to lean towards an "e" sound. Both of these cases should be ɛ according to my dictionaries with IPA and the article.
Should i just go ahead and get into the habit of leaning towards the "e" sound in these cases? I'm totally fine with that and I like the sound a little better, but I just want to get into what sounds the most French (again, I understand there is going to be a whole scale of variability here). Just want to build those good habits.
Appreciate any and all feedback!
Here is the link to the article. https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/ai/
Hi,
I'm curious of how to distinguish "Ils les leur envoient." and "Il les leur envoie" while listening? They sound same in pronunciation.
Les villes de lesquelles Je suis venus étaient toutes uniques.
does it work like that?Currently working on my pronunciation and am trying to get it right from the get-go because I know how hard it is to overwrite bad pronunciation habits.
My question revolves around the "ai," "ais," "ait," and "aient" letter combinations and if it's pronounced as è or é (or ɛ vs e using IPA). I found this great article on Lawless French (link below) talking about how the distinction is strongest in Parisian French and not so much otherwise (I'm assuming its very regional and depends on ones upbringing). I get the difference between the verb tenses the article talks about (the difference between future, passé simple, conditional, and imperfect).
What I still hear most of the time in words like lait, anglais, frais is speakers preferring the "e" sound, not ɛ. I've even noticed that in verbs ending in ais, ait, aient, (ie. était, avaient) that they tend to lean towards an "e" sound. Both of these cases should be ɛ according to my dictionaries with IPA and the article.
Should i just go ahead and get into the habit of leaning towards the "e" sound in these cases? I'm totally fine with that and I like the sound a little better, but I just want to get into what sounds the most French (again, I understand there is going to be a whole scale of variability here). Just want to build those good habits.
Appreciate any and all feedback!
Here is the link to the article. https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/ai/
how can I pronounce "dont" correctly, I can't differentiate between it and "dans"?
I do not understand this lesson either. I ask, too, that it be written. I also ask that the columns in the tables be labeled. I don't know what they are trying to say.
Un jeune homme extrêmement doué or un homme jeune et extrêmement doué?
It would be helpful to point out the use of could as well as would. Yes, there is one example using could, but for me at least, this didn't sink in until just now, and I have a high score on this lesson. More examples, plus pointing this out in the body of the lesson would be very useful.
The one example:
S'ils économisaient plus, ils pourraient se permettre des vacances.
If they saved more, they could afford holidays.
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