Practice the postalveolar fricative consonants, ʃ vs ʒ
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| This is the /ʃ/ sound. And this is the /ʒ/ sound. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Doria, and this is French Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| First is ʃ. This is the ʃ sound in chien, chez, acheter, and other words. |
| ʒ is the ʒ sound in gentil, jour, girafe and other words. |
| ʃ and ʒ are called "fricatives" because they are pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel in the mouth, causing friction as the air passes through it. |
| The French ʃ is similar to the English sh sound as in "shoe," but in French, the ʃ is often softer and produced further forward in the mouth. |
| ʃ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ |
| ʃ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ |
| Compared to the English ʒ as in "measure," the French ʒ is more voiced, with a stronger vibration of the vocal cords. This makes the French ʒ sound fuller and more resonant. Try saying ʒ as in "measure," but make sure your vocal cords vibrate strongly. |
| ʒ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʒ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʒ |
| ʒ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʒ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʒ |
| The difference between these two sounds is about whether your vocal folds vibrate or not. |
| /ʃ/ is voiceless, and /ʒ/ is voiced |
| When you pronounce /ʃ/, like in boucher, |
| your vocal cords do not vibrate. |
| When you pronounce /ʒ/, like in bouger, |
| your vocal cords do vibrate. |
| So, Listen to the difference and repeat after me. |
| ʃ ʒ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ ʒ (enunciated). |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ ʒ |
| ʃ ʒ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ ʒ (enunciated). |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ʃ ʒ |
| So try to focus on whether your vocal folds vibrate or not when you pronounce these two sounds. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| boucher/bouger |
| (space for repetition) |
| boucher/bouger |
| léché/léger |
| (space for repetition) |
| léché/léger |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound that's voiced? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ʒ |
| (1) |
| ʒ |
| And the voiceless sound? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ʃ |
| (1) |
| ʃ |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the voiced sound, and which has the voiceless sound? |
| boucher/bouger |
| (1) |
| boucher/bouger |
| (1) |
| Bouger has the voiced sound, and boucher has the voiceless sound. |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| léché/léger |
| (1) |
| léché/léger |
| (1) |
| Léger has the voiced sound, and léché has the voiceless sound. |
| Let's try one more. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| marche/marge |
| (1) |
| marche/marge |
| (1) |
| Marge has the voiced sound, and marche has the voiceless sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. Which words have the voiced sound, and which have the voiceless sound? |
| (1 sec pause) |
| Le boucher refuse de bouger son camion. |
| bouger, boucher |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Jean marche à travers le champ pour aller à la maison. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Jean, champ |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| Les enfants jouent à chou-fleur. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| chou, jouent |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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