French speakers have a head start in English vocabulary, since tens of thousands of English words come from French. Pronunciation is where the two languages part ways. English uses word stress that French lacks, has a dozen vowels where French distinguishes others, and has two sounds, /h/ and th, that French does not have at all. These ten fixes are ordered by how much they affect whether you are understood.
1. Word stress
This is the most important. French speaks in even syllables with a light prominence at the end of each phrase. English words have a fixed stressed syllable, louder, longer and higher, and the other syllables are reduced. A French-style de-ve-lop-MENT is hard for English listeners to recognise; English says de-VEL-op-ment. Cognates are the trap, because the French stress pattern is already in your head: hotel (ho-TEL is correct), chocolate (CHOC-late), comfortable (COMF-ta-ble), photograph (PHO-to-graph) but photographer (pho-TOG-ra-pher). See word stress rules.
2. Vowel reduction and schwa
Unstressed English vowels become schwa, /ə/: banana is /bəˈnɑːnə/, today /təˈdeɪ/. French speakers pronounce the spelled vowels fully, which makes every syllable equally prominent and removes the rhythm listeners rely on. The good news: French e muet is close to schwa, so you already have the sound. See schwa.
3. The H
French has no /h/. Without it, heart sounds like art, hair like air, hate like eight, hold like old. Make /h/ by breathing out through an open mouth, as if fogging a mirror. Avoid the opposite error of adding h to vowel-initial words. Silent h in English is limited to a few words: hour, honest, honour, heir.
4. TH
French speakers usually replace /θ/ (think) with /s/ and /ð/ (this) with /z/: "I sink zat...". Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow. The substitution causes real confusion in pairs like think/sink, thick/sick, mouth/mouse. See th vs s vs t.
5. Short and long vowels
French has one /i/ where English has /iː/ and /ɪ/ (sheep/ship, leave/live, feet/fit), and one /u/ for /uː/ and /ʊ/ (pool/pull, Luke/look). French speakers tend to use the tense French vowel for both. English /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are shorter and more relaxed. See short vowel minimal pairs.
6. Diphthongs
French vowels are pure; many English vowels glide. Go is /ɡəʊ/ (UK) or /ɡoʊ/ (US), not French gault; day is /deɪ/, not French dé. Without the glide, coat can sound like caught, and late like let. See English diphthongs.
7. Final consonants and -ed, -s
French habitually drops final consonants in writing, and French speakers sometimes do the same in English: asked becomes "ask", texts becomes "tex". English final consonants carry grammar, so they must be pronounced. See -ed endings and -s endings.
8. The R
The French uvular R is made at the back of the mouth; the English R is made with the tongue tip curled up or the tongue bunched, and the tip never touches anything. In British English, R is silent after vowels (car, bird); in American English, it is pronounced. Either way, keep it away from the throat.
9. Aspirated P, T, K
French /p t k/ are unaspirated. English /p t k/ at the start of stressed syllables have a puff of air. Without it, pie may sound like buy and time like dime to English ears.
10. Intonation
French phrases often rise at the end of each group, and English speakers may hear this as uncertainty or questioning. English statements generally fall on the last stressed word: I'm going HOME↘. English also uses pitch to mark the most important word in a sentence, which French does with word order (c'est moi qui...).
Where to start
Work first on word stress and vowel reduction, then h and th, then the short vowels. These cover the great majority of misunderstandings between French and English speakers.
Phrases in this drill:
- I think this hotel is comfortable.
- Her husband has a photograph of the house.
- He left his hat in the hall.
- We asked three questions about the theatre.
- The development of the company is important.
Frequently asked questions
Why do French speakers drop the h in English?
Because French has no /h/ sound at all; the letter h is always silent in French. Many French speakers also overcorrect, adding an h before words that start with a vowel: "I hate an happle".
Why do French speakers stress the last syllable of English words?
French has no word stress; it puts prominence on the last syllable of a phrase. Speakers carry this over, so photograph becomes photo-GRAPH and comfortable becomes com-for-TA-ble.
Is the French R a problem in English?
It is noticeable but rarely causes misunderstanding. Word stress, th, h and the short vowels have a bigger effect on how easily you are understood.
Sources and further reading
- Walter, C. (2001). French speakers. In M. Swan and B. Smith (eds.), Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Capliez, M. (2011). Typologie des erreurs de production d'anglais des francophones: segments vs. suprasegments. Recherche et pratiques pédagogiques en langues de spécialité, 30(3), 44–60.
- Fougeron, C. and Smith, C. L. (1993). French. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 23(2), 73–76.
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