Liaisons
Okay, here we go! 🇫🇷
In spoken French, words tend to be attached to each other in such a way that the written division between words is lost.
We call this l’enchaînement or la liaison.
What is l’enchaînement?
There are 2 types. Let's see what they are.
1) If a word ends with a pronounced vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, we tend to move from one vowel to the next without interrupting the voice, in the same breath.
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
Laura attend le bus. (Laura is waiting for the bus.)
Ce film m’a ému. (That movie moved me.)
J’ai lu un livre. (I read a book.)
Emma aura un chien. (Emma will have a dog.)
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2) If one word ends with a consonant sound, and the next word begins with a vowel, we tend to form a syllable with these 2 sounds.
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
Il arrive. (He’s coming.)
Elle est belle. (She is beautiful.)
Ce livre est formidable. (That is a wonderful book.)
Tes frères et sœurs (Your siblings)
Here is some more practice.
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
Le ciel est bleu. (The sky is blue.)
Pourquoi est-ce que tu t’en vas ? (Why are you leaving?)
Son portable a sonné. (His cell phone rang.)
Tu as mangé une pomme. (You ate an apple.)
Il achète une autre imprimante. (He is buying another printer.)
Hugo a eu une bonne note. (Hugo got a good grade.)
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What is a liaison?
It is when the final silent consonant of a word is pronounced with the vowel (or a silent H) of the word that follows it to form a syllable.
Listen to this example:
If I say,
Les fleurs (the flowers)
You don’t hear the S of les. It’s silent.
But when I say:
Les amis (the friends)
You hear lé-za-mi
It’s the liaison.
⚠️ We don’t say “lez l amis”.
Listen here:
The purpose of a liaison is to link the 2 words in a harmonious flow.
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Now, let's go over the pronunciation of liaisons.
S and X are pronounced Z.
Listen to and repeat the examples:
Les avions (planes)
Deux enfants (two children)
D is pronounced T.
Listen to the example and repeat it:
Un grand ami (an old friend)
F from neuf is pronounced V when we do the liaison with ans, heures, hommes and autres.
(years, hours, men, others)
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
Neuf ans = neu-van (nine years)
Neuf heures = neu-veur (9 o’clock)
AIN becomes AI-N and EIN becomes EI-N.
Listen to the following example with AIN and repeat it:
You say prochain, but you say
Le prochain arrêt (the next stop).
Now listen to the example with EIN:
You say plein, but you say
En plein air (outdoors)
ON becomes O-N with a liaison.
Listen to the example and repeat it:
Bon appétit (Have a good meal)
⚠️ The words ON, MON, TON, SON keep their ON sound.
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
On a déjeuné ensemble (We had lunch together)
Son étude (his study)
⚠️ UN and EN keep their sound.
Listen to the examples and repeat them:
Un enfant (a child)
En été (in the summer)
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