THE FRENCH ALPHABET
This lesson is about the French alphabet. Learning a new alphabet may seem tricky at first, but if you only give yourself time and make sure you have fun learning, it will seem easier than it is.
The French ABC : Characters and letters
- There are 26 letters in the French alphabet (6 vowels and 20 consonants)
- French is based on the Latin alphabet
- The letters ‘W’ and ‘K’ are not commonly used in French words
- The French language contains 5 diacritics and 2 ligatures (see below)
If you are serious about learning French, use this nice French alphabet wall chart to help you get started. The first thing you should do is familiarise yourself with the letters and how they are pronounced.
Print the file and stick it on a wall in your home – preferably somewhere you will see it everyday (for example, your bathroom mirror, the front of your fridge or your wardrobe door). Also, listen to the Audio file to help you improve your pronunciation.
No pressure – just review and get used to these characters :)
The French ABC : The accents...
So, French language has the same 26 letters as English. However, it also includes letters with diacritics: é (acute accent), è à ù (grave accent), ç (cedilla), â ê î ô û (circumflex), ë ï ü (diaeresis).
Diacritic is a sign which when written above or below a letter indicates a difference in pronunciation from the same letter when unmarked.
They are often omitted on capital letters in French, mainly for technical reasons, but both versions are correct, for ex : "A / À Paris il y a beaucoup de touristes".
The tilde mark (~) above n is occasionally used in French for words and names of Spanish origin that have been incorporated into the language, ex. El Niño.
