Re: OT: Slightly OT: French as a second language
| From: | Patrick Dunn <tb0pwd1@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Tuesday, November 20, 2001, 8:27 |
|---|
On Tue, 20 Nov 2001, Christophe Grandsire wrote:
> > Really? I love French. Except when there's a really hard word that
> > twists
> > my tongue... like I don't think I can say "sûr" right... for some
> > reason
> > that word's hard to say.
>
> You must have problems with the front rounded high vowel, /y/ in SAMPA and IPA.
> Most English speaking people can put their tongue around it :) . Just try to
> pronounce an /i/ like in 'see', but make a round with your lips, like if you
> pronounced the vowel in 'foot' (I think).
We used to have that sound in English, actually. Died out with Middle
English. A pity, beccause I've always liked it.
It's not quite like the vowel in "foot," to my untrained ear. More like
slurring together the y and the vowel in "you" so that it's one sound. Of
course, you could also try the "make an /i/ and purse your lips," which
works for some people -- although my Old English prof used to do it over
and over, never telling us what she was doing, until one guy finally said,
in frustration, "Okay, so you make the eeee sound and then make a funny
face." She blinked at him a couple times. "Right," she said, giving up.
:)
Replies