Differences between French and English Vowel Sounds

University student Matthew (Matt) Kafker has a strong interest in linguistics and foreign languages. When he was attending Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, Matt Kafker was an excellent language student who won accolades for his progress in the French language.

English speakers learning French can improve their pronunciation and listening skills by learning the phonetic differences between the two languages. Distinctive features of French vowels include a lack of diphthongs and the presence of nasal vowels. 

English speakers tend to over-pronounce diphthongs, a sound that is a combination of two vowels when only one vowel is present. French vowels are generally pronounced as they appear. For example, in the French word “sot” (crazy), the final letter “t” is dropped, and the “o” is pronounced sharply.

Further, English does not contain any nasal vowels, while French has four. When forming a nasal vowel, air passes through the mouth and nose simultaneously. 

Unlike English, in which only consonants are nasalized and do not alter a word’s meaning, French nasal vowels are distinct phonemes. For instance, the French words fine (delicate) and fin (end) are only differentiated by the nasal and oral pronunciation of the “i.”