French basics for short phrases and pleasantries.

[Imperfacundus]

https://clyp.it/1iumtty2

Here I've replaced all the é's with the vowel from 'sit'. To me at least it sounds much more similar to parler, français, échapper, than to parli, franci, ichappi.

I imagine it's a lot easier to say that vowel than to attempt to subtract half the diphthong of 'day'.

 

[Hawkwood]

Préparé.

Merci.

 

[Hawkwood]

Ah, really? It's very apparent to me! Perhaps it's because you're used to hearing it yet more apparent in English "prepare".

What do you mean?

Just that the accents on the two vowels between 'a' would suggest a less forceful approach or delivery when sounding the middle syllable of the word.

 

[Imperfacundus]

Préparé.

Merci.

Here you're saying sort of prèparéi.

Let's do an experiment, if you want. Pronounce both the é and the er of préparer using the vowel from 'sit', let's see how it sounds.

 

[Pacifica]

https://clyp.it/1iumtty2
Here I've replaced all the é's with the vowel from 'sit'. To me at least it sounds much more similar to parler, français, échapper, than to parli, franci, ichappi.

To me it sounds more like "parle, France, échappe" with the "e's" pronounced. I don't think you did exactly the sound in "sit".

I imagine it's a lot easier to say that vowel than to attempt to subtract half the diphthong of 'day'.

That may be, yes. But on the other hand, IF you succeed in doing the latter, you'll get something much more correct than with the former.

 

[Pacifica]

Just that the accents on the two vowels between 'a' would suggest a less forceful approach or delivery when sounding the middle syllable of the word.

No, accents have nothing to do with stress or no stress. They only indicate different vowel qualities (usually; sometimes they're only orthographic).

 

[Hawkwood]

Here you're saying sort of prèparéi.

Let's do an experiment, if you want. Pronounce both the é and the er of préparer using the vowel from 'sit', let's see how it sounds.

Merci.

 

[Hawkwood]

No, accents have nothing to do with stress or no stress. They only indicate different vowel qualities (usually; sometimes they're only orthographic).

So what is the actual difference between a stress and an accent? Length over attack?

 

[Hawkwood]

These little subtleties in sound are going to be overcome by mimicking. It's just so difficult to think the right sound at, I suppose it comes with exposure to the language and obviously a keen ear.

 

[Imperfacundus]

To me it sounds more like "parle, Françe, échappe" with the "e's" pronounced. I don't think you did exactly the sound in "sit".

As you can see from the chart, the vowel of 'sit' is also close to ø, the vowel from peut.

Anyway, here. It's hard to force myself to pronounce the words slightly incorrectly because my tongue is in ''French mode'' and keeps defaulting back to actual é or ø. But here, this should be it https://clyp.it/sxu1os4w

That may be, yes. But on the other hand, IF you succeed in doing the latter, you'll get something much more correct than with the former.

To you 'ay' consists of two easily separable elements, because you're familiar with é and with y. But they're not so easy to separate if the only é you know of is only found in diphthongs.

Actually I had the same problem, because the only examples of é I knew before French were 'ay' in English and 'ye' in Russian (sometimes a palatalized consonant+e, but doing that palatalization in French sounds bizarre). And a really helpful way to get rid of it was taking that 'i' from sit and modifying it a bit.

 

[Pacifica]

Merci.

It sounds almost right to me in the first "é", less so in the second. Anyway, keep in mind the comparison with the vowel in "sit" is only an approximation.

So what is the actual difference between a stress and an accent? Length over attack?

Stress, when talking about the phonetical phenomenon highlited in this sentence, can also be called accent. But accents can also mean diacritical signs such as these: ´`^ and while some languages use these to indicate stress, they may be used to indicate other things as well, and this is the case in French, where they have nothing to do with stress.
http://latindiscussion.com/forum/latin/notre-conversation-orale-en-français.28347/page-6#post-358235

 

[Imperfacundus]

Yeah the é of préparer was close, but you made the er into more of an 'eee' sound instead of repeating the vowel you made for pré.

 

[Pacifica]

Anyway here. It's hard to force myself to pronounce the words slightly incorrectly because my tongue is in ''French mode'' and keeps defaulting back to actual é or ø. But here, this should be it https://clyp.it/sxu1os4w

It sounds like some rather weird mixed sound, lol, but it comes somewhat close to "é" at times, yeah.

To you 'ay' consists of two easily separable elements, because you're familiar with é and with y. But they're not so easy to separate if the only é you know of is only found in diphthongs.

Yeah, I imagine. I'm still giving that comparison in hopes people may perhaps get it in the end nonetheless.

 

[Hawkwood]

Thanks.

 

[Imperfacundus]

I more or less said the right 'sit' vowel in parler and bavarder (the latter one is better) but it's a bit off for français and probably comes closer to françeu. Lol. But you see the idea.

 

[Hawkwood]

Yeah the é of préparer was close, but you made the er into more of an 'eee' sound instead of repeating the vowel you made for pré.

I'll try again. Pax flys through that word so it's hard to catch it.

 

[Pacifica]

I'll try again. Pax flys through that word so it's hard to catch it.

I'll do it again more slowly. Just wait a minute.

 

[Pacifica]

*flies

 

[Hawkwood]

Merci.

 

[Hawkwood]

*flies

F### (horrors). Merci.