Lesson 0.
01 - Introduction
Introduction
See also: w:French language
French is a Romance language descended from Latin which developed as a result of Celtic and Frankish
influences in Gaul (now France). Being a Romance language, it is closely related to Portuguese, Spanish,
Italian, and Romanian, as well as many other languages. There are over 87 million native French speakers
and an additional 68 million non-native speakers in the world.
History
Further information: w:History of the French language
During the Roman occupation of Gaul, the Latin language was imposed on the natives. This Latin language
eventually developed into what is known as Vulgar Latin, which was still very similar to Latin. Over the
centuries, due to Celtic and Germanic influences (particularly the Franks), la langue d'oïl was developed. A
dialect of la langue d'oïl known as le francien was the language of the court, and thus became the official
language of what was to become the Kingdom of France, and later the Nation-State of France.
From medieval times until the 19th century, French was the dominant language of diplomacy, culture,
administration, trade and royal courts across Europe. Due to these factors, French was the lingua franca of
this time period.
French has influenced many languages world wide, including English. It is through French (or more
precisely Norman, a dialect of la langue d'oïl) that English gets about one third of its vocabulary.
Extent of the Language
Main article: w:La Francophonie
Main article: w:French colonial empires
In modern times, French is still a significant diplomatic language: it is
an official language of the United Nations, the Olympic Games, and
the European Union. It is also the official language of 29 countries and
is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Tunisia, French is spoken all around the
world.
Morocco, Senegal, Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, the Congo,
Algeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Gabon, the Seychelles,
Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, Djibouti, Cameroon, Mauritius, and Canada
(mostly in the province of Québec, where it is the primary language, but it is also used in other parts of the
country. All consumer product packages in Canada are required by law to have both English and French
labels).
Allons-y! Bonne chance!
Lesson 0.02 - Learning French
Reasons to learn French
As mentioned earlier, French is a major diplomatic language. You are bound to find speakers almost
anywhere in the world. In addition to these societal reasons, there are hundreds of famous French novels and
nonfiction works in a wide variety of subjects. Because much can be lost in translation, the best way to read
these works is in the original language.
Advice on studying French
Main article: How to learn a language
French tends to have a reputation among English speakers as hard to learn. While it is true that it poses
certain difficulties to native English-speakers, it may be noted that English is also considered 'difficult' to
learn, and yet we learned it without the benefit of already knowing a language. In fact, the French language
can be learned in only 10 months
(http://web.archive.org/web/20071211081522/http://en.wikinerds.org/index.php/Learning_French_in_10_months
, if only for the specific purpose of passing a standardized test, such as the Test d'Evaluation de Français.
According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, in order to reach the level of
'Independent User' (after completing Level B2), you must complete 400 hours of effective learning (so if
you study 4 hours a week, every single week of the year, you would need two years to achieve it). Any way
you look at it, learning any new language requires a long-term commitment. Remember, that like any skill, it
requires a certain amount of effort. And it is likely that if you do not practice your French regularly, you will
begin to forget it. Try to make French practice a part of your routine; even if it's not daily, at least make it
regular.
Also remember that you are learning a new skill. Try to master the simple stuff before moving on to the
more complex concepts. We all have to add and subtract before we can do calculus. French is a complete
language. While this course can teach you to read and write in French, these are only half of the skills that
make up fluency. A written document cannot teach much about listening to and speaking French. You must
train all of these skills, and they will reinforce one another. For listening and speaking, find a native speaker
to help you.
The very best way to learn French is to visit France or another French-speaking country. This allows you to
start with a clean slate, as babies do. However, since most of us are unwilling or unable to take that step, the
next best option is immersion. If you are serious about learning French, a period of immersion (during which
you live in a Francophone culture) is a good idea once you have some basic familiarity with the language. If
you can't travel to a French-speaking country, then try listening to French-language programs on the radio,
TV, or the Internet. Rent or buy French-language movies (many American and U.K. movies have a French
language option). Pay attention to pronunciation. Grab a French speaker you meet and talk to him or her in
French. Listen, speak, and practice. Read French newspapers and magazines. Google's news page, which
links to French-language news stories, is an excellent source that will enrich your vocabulary.
Book organization
This book is divided into one set of preliminary lessons, the page you are reading now, and four increasingly
complex lesson levels. The introductory lessons will teach you pronunciation and phrases. In the first level,
you will learn basic grammar, including pronouns, the present indicative, most common present tense, and
several irregularly-conjugated verbs. In the second level, the passé composé, the most common past tense, is
given, along with many other irregular verbs. In the third level, you will learn several more tenses and
complex grammar rules. The fourth level (still in development), will be conducted in French and will focus
on French literature and prose writing. For more on course structure, and information on how you can help
improve this book, see the lessons planning page.
Lesson 0.03 - The Alphabet
Introduction
French Grammar • Print version • audio (info •101 kb • help)
The French Alphabet L'alphabet français
Characters Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii
Pronunciation ah bay say day euh eff jhay ash ee
Characters Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr
Pronunciation ghee kah el emm enn oh pay ku air
Characters Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Pronunciation ess tay oo vay dubla-vay eeks ee-grehk zed
In addition, French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents)
and é (acute accent). A circumflex applies to all vowels: â, ê, î, ô, û. A tréma (French for dieresis) is also
applied: ë, ï, ü, ÿ. Two combined letters are used: æ and œ, and a cedilla is used on the c to make it sound
like an English s: ç. More information on accents will be found in the next section.
Letters and examples
French Grammar • Print version • audio (info •101 kb • help)
The French Alphabet L'alphabet français
name in French
letter pronunciation
(in IPA transcription)
Aa like a in father /a/
Bb like b in may"be /be/
before e and i: like c in center
Cc /se/
before a, o, or u: like c in cat
Dd like d in dog /de/
Ee approx. like u in burp** /ə/
Ff like f in fog /ɛf/
before e and i: like s in measure
Gg /ʒe/
before a, o, or u: like g in get
aspirated h: see note below*
Hh /aʃ/
non-aspirated h: not pronounced***
Ii like ea in team /i/
Jj like s in measure /ʒi/
Kk like k in kite /ka/
Ll like l in lemon /ɛl/
Mm like m in minute /ɛm/
Nn like n in note /ɛn/
closed: approx. like u in nut
Oo /o/
open: like o in nose
Pp like p in pen* /pe/
/ky/ see 'u'
Qq like k in kite
for details
force air through the back of your throat
Rr near the position of gargling, /ɛʀ/
but sounding soft
like s in sister at beginning
Ss of word or with two s's /ɛs/
or like z in amazing if only one s
Tt like t in top /te/
Say the English letter e,
Uu /y/
but make your lips say "oo".
Vv like v in violin /ve/
Depending on the derivation of the word,
Ww /dubləve/
like v as in violin, or w in water
either /ks/ in socks,
Xx /iks/
or /gz/ in exit
Yy like ea in leak /igrək/
Zz like z in zebra /zɛd/
Final consonants
In French, certain consonants are silent when they are the final letter of a word. The letters p (as in 'coup'), s
(as in 'héros'), t (as in 'chat'), d (as in 'marchand'), and x (as in 'paresseux'), are generally not pronounced at
the end of a word. They are pronounced if there is an e letter after ('coupe', 'chatte', 'marchande', etc.)
Dental consonants
The letters d, l, n,s, t, and z are pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the lower teeth and the middle
of the tongue against the roof of the mouth. In English, one would pronounce these letters with the tip of the
tongue at the roof of one's mouth. It is very difficult to pronounce a word like 'voudrais' properly with the d
formed in the English manner.
b and p
Unlike English, when you pronounce the letters 'b' and 'p' in French, little to no air should come out of your
mouth. In terms of phonetics, the difference in the French 'b' and 'p' and their English counterparts is one of
aspiration. (This is not the same as the similarly-named concept of 'h' aspiré discussed below). Fortunately,
in English both aspirated and unaspirated variants (allophones) exist, but only in specific environments. If
you're a native speaker, say the word 'pit' and then the word 'spit' out loud. Did you notice the extra puff of
air in the first word that doesn't come with the second? The 'p' in 'pit' is aspirated [pʰ]; the 'p' in 'spit' is not
(like the 'p' in any position in French).
Exercise
1. Get a loose piece of printer paper or notebook paper.
2. Hold the piece of paper about one inch (or a couple of centimeters) in front of your face.
3. Say the words baby, and puppy like you normally would in English. Notice how the paper moved
when you said the 'b' and the 'p' respectively.
4. Now, without making the piece of paper move, say the words belle (the feminine form of beautiful in
French, pronounced like the English 'bell.'), and papa (the French equivalent of "Dad").
If the paper moved, your pronunciation is slightly off. Concentrate, and try it again.
If the paper didn't move, congratulations! You pronounced the words correctly!
Aspirated vs. non-aspirated h
In French, the letter h can be aspirated (h aspiré), or not aspirated (h non aspiré), depending on which
language the word was borrowed from. What do these terms mean?
Ex.: the word héros, (hero) has an aspirated h, because when the definite article le is placed before it,
the result is le héros, and both words must be pronounced separately. However, the feminine form of
héros, héroïne is a non-aspirated h. Therefore, when you put the definite article in front of it, it
becomes l'héroïne, and is pronounced as one word.
Remember that in French, an h is NEVER pronounced, whether it is aspirated or not aspirated!
The only way to tell if the h at the beginning of a word is aspirated is to look it up in the dictionary. Some
dictionaries will place an asterisk (*) in front of the entry word in the French-English H section if the h is
aspirated. Other dictionaries will include it in the pronunciation guide after the key word by placing a (')
before the pronunciation. In short, the words must be memorized.
Here is a table of some basic h words that are aspirated and not aspirated:
aspirated non-aspirated
héros, hero (le héros) héroïne, heroine (l'héroïne)
haïr, to hate (je hais or j'haïs...) habiter, to live (j'habite...)
huit, eight (le huit novembre) harmonie, harmony (l'harmonie)
Exercise
1. Grab a French-English dictionary and find at least ten aspirated h words, and ten non-aspirated h
words
2. On a piece of paper, write down the words you find in two columns
3. Look at it every day and memorize the columns
Punctuation
From Wiktionary:
French Vocabulary • Print version • audio (info •608 kb • help)
Punctuation La ponctuation
esperluette, et
& , virgule { } accolades ~ tilde
commercial
arobase, a
' apostrophe = égal % pourcent @
commercial, arobe
* astérisque $ dollar . point
point
«» guillemets ! + plus
d'exclamation
barre oblique
\ > supérieur à # dièse
inverse
point
[ ] crochets < inférieur à ?
d'interrogation
moins, tiret, trait
: deux points - _ soulignement
d'union
; point virgule ( ) parenthèses / barre oblique
The punctuation symbols in French operates very similarly to English with the same meaning. The only
punctuation symbol not present in French would be the quotation marks; these are replaced by the guillemets
shown in the table above.
The two stroke punctuation marks (such as ;, :, ?, !) may require a non-breaking space before or after the
mark in question. For purposes of this textbook, this style will be used to maintain consistency with other
projects on WikiMedia - however, the location and context at which you will use French may have different
spacing rules. The following resources are an example of available materials for further reading:
Lexique des règles typographiques en usage à l'Imprimerie nationale, ISBN 9782743304829,
Imprimerie nationale
Wikipédia:Conventions typographiques
(http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipédia:Conventions_typographiques#Espaces)
French Style Guide (http://www.cprp.ca/guide.php?category_name=autres-ressources/#english) ,
Nova Scotia Department of Education (for Canadian French)
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EXERCISE • Translator (http://translate.google.com/translate_t) • Exercise Appendix • Print version
• E: 0.03 1 - Punctuation - State the Word
