The Sounds of French: An Introduction

by Bernard Tranel

• ISBN13: 9780521315104
• ISBN10: 0521315107
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1987-12-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Tranel's textbook is principally addressed to English speakers who want to improve their French pronunciation. It describes the difficulties typically encountered, explains why they occur and suggests ways to improve them. In addition, from a more theoretical perspective, the book provides readers with a fundamental understanding of the way French sounds are produced and how they behave according to general linguistic principles. Perfect for both relative beginners and more advanced students, Tranel's book draws on contrastive analysis, general phonetics, traditional knowledge, and more modern developments in phonology, historical linguistics, and orthography. Intended for classroom use, the book will appeal to teachers because of its wide scholarship and firm grasp of instructional principles, while students will welcome Tranel's clear style and organization.

Table of Contents

Preface

Special note to English speaking students learning French

Organization of the book

The language of reference

Acknowledgments

Part I. Introductory Concepts: 1. Orthography, pronunciation, and phonetic notation

2. Basic notations of phonetics

Part II. Vowels and Glides: 3. Vowel systems

4. Distribution of vowels

5. Nasal vowels

6. E

7. Glides

Part III. Consonants: 8. Consonantal systems

9. L and R

10. Double consonants and final consonants

11. Liaison

Part IV. Suprasegmentals: 12. Stress and intonation

Part V. Appendices

Bibliography.