Improving your French Accent

frenchmadesimple
Feb 3, 2018
3 min read

Quite a few of our Students already have a solid vocabulary and grammar knowledge in French.

However, when it comes to speak with a French person, they can't be understood. That happens when you learn from books and not with a Native Teacher.

French pronunciation can be tricky for an English speaker. Some nasal sounds don't exist at all in any other language (in-en-on).

So how can you improve that and ensure you can understand and be understood when you speak with a French person?

1. Only copy neutral French accents

Within France, there are about 6 major different accents. Some are difficult to understand even for a French native person!

For instance, people from the region "Le Nord" have a "Ch'ti" accent and are barely understandable by the rest of the country. So much so that a movie portrays that aspect called "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis". So don't copy their accent! Watch the hilarious trailer of the movie "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis":

Another strong accent, is the one from the region "La Provence" (Marseilles area). Although this accent is really strong and the people from that region have their own vocabulary, they can be easily understood by the rest of the country. However, I would not advise to copy their accent either as it would sound strange coming from a foreigner.

Neutral accents are located in the center (Clermond-Ferrand), Britain (Brest), the East (Strasbourg) and the Lyon and Nantes regions. Paris is fairly neutral although someone from Bordeaux would notice that person is from Paris (Posh accent).

Other French speaking countries have a very strong local accent as well.

The Quebec Province in Canada is probably the worst accent to copy! Not only can we not understand them at all but on top of that, they have their own vocabulary that just does not make sense in France or mean something totally different. Dangerous territory! :-)

Belgium and African countries also have accents hard to understand for a French person living in France.

2. Listen to French medias

It is very important to listen to French speaking radios, TV programs or watch French movies to hear how French sounds in neutral and natural conversations. If you are lucky enough to have a French friend, ask them to speak French with you. If you don't know anyone native, listen to a program.

I would not advise to listen to "Slower French" conversations. It will not help you in the long run as no one talks slow in everyday life and there is no benefit to start with a slower speech speed. You will save time by taking French lessons with a Native teacher and listen to normal speed conversations.

One of the good medias out there is RTL. You can find their Podcasts HERE.

It is a good Radio that also video tape their programs so you can have both audio and video or just audio. Their journalists have a neutral accent and don't speak too fast.

3. Read aloud in French After listening to native French speak, whether it is an audio source or a face-to-face conversation, practice your reading to put your accent to the test. It will also also strengthen your grammar and vocabulary. By the way, as a general advice, every single time you encounter a word you don't know the meaning of, don't ignore it! Look for it in a dictionary! ;-)