GRAMMAR

⭐ The Focus of This Lesson Is Spelling.

Danford D-A-N-F-O-R-D, Robert

"Danford D-A-N-F-O-R-D, Robert"

Being able to spell French words is very useful. Whether it allows you to write the language correctly or to identify French words, knowing the French alphabet and how to spell is essential to surviving in a French-speaking environment.

Knowing the alphabet and spelling of French words will allow you to take note of names, streets, and directions, to recognize proper nouns naming places on signs, and to get information from leaflets and flyers. You will, for example, be able to buy a specific item you need by recognizing the spelling of words on storefronts. Identifying the spelling of words on signs will allow you to orient yourself and reach your destination. Scanning flyers will provide you with activities to do and places of interest to discover, and it will enrich your general culture.

Finally, being able to spell aloud has many practical uses, such as providing information that will make a communication issue clearer, such as your name, as the dialogue illustrates.

⭐ The French Alphabet

The French writing system uses the Latin (or Roman) alphabet of the Roman Empire and adds five accents: four on vowels and one on a consonant (the circumflex accent, acute accent, grave accent, trema accent, and cedilla, respectively) in its writing system. These marks mainly require us to use a specific pronunciation of letters that are accented in a word.

The current French alphabet consists of five vowels and twenty-one consonants. Ideally, each letter represents one speech sound, which, practically, is not always the case in French. We form words by combining letters into syllables and syllables into words.

L'alphabet français ("The French Alphabet")

A a [ha]

B b [bey]

C c [sey]

D d [dey]

E e [oe]

F f [ef]

G g [Ge]

H h [asch]

I i [ee]

J j [jee]

K k [ka]

L l [ell]

M m [em]

N n [en]

O o [o]

P p [pe]

Q q [ku]

R r [rgh]

S s [es]

T t [te]

U u [u]

V v [ve]

W w [dubluh-ve]

X x [eeks]

Y y [ee-greyk]

Z z [zeyd]

🔷 Note: We pronounce most consonants with a "hey" sound, as in the letters -d [dey] or -p [pey].

🔷 Spelling a Name or a Word

While communicating in a noisy environment or during an unclear phone call, it is convenient to spell while adding words starting with the letter previously given for clarity.

To do so, tell the letter and add the word comme, meaning "as," followed by a word starting with the provided letter. The words people use are often first names, domestic animals, fruits, or vegetables.

For example, you can spell the alphabet using the words provided below. Of course, you can modify this list with words you are familiar with.

- a comme Anne

"a as in Ann"

- b comme Béa

"b as in Béa"

- c comme chat

"c as in cat"

- d comme date

"d as in date"

- e comme elle

"e as in she"

- f comme fer

"f as in iron"

- g comme garçon

"g as in boy"

- h comme hibou

"h as in owl"

- i comme île

"i as in island"

- j comme journée

"j as in day"

- k comme képi

"k as in cap"

- l comme Lyon

"l as in Lyon"

- m comme maman

"m as in mom"

- n comme non

"n as in no"

- o comme orange

"o as in orange"

- p comme pomme

"p as in apple"

- q comme quatre

"q as in four"

- r comme Raphaël

"r as in Raphael"

- s comme Sophie

"s as in Sophie"

- t comme Thomas

"t as in Thomas"

- u comme Ursule

"u as in Ursule"

- v comme vache

"v as in cow"

- w comme wagon

"w as in railcar"

- x comme xylophone

"x as in xylophone"

- z comme zoo

"z as in zoo"

⭐ French Accents

The French language uses five accents. We use them mostly for phonetic reasons and also to distinguish words, such as between the two words ou ("or") and où ("where").

1. Cédille accent (¸): We place this accent under the letter -c, appearing as the symbol ç. We pronounce it as if an -s were in front of the vowels -a, -u, and -o; otherwise, we pronounce it as a -k.

2. Aigu accent (´): You will find this accent only over the letter -e to change its pronunciation to [hey].

3. Grave accent ('): We use this accent on the letters -a, -e, and -u. For the -a and -u, the accent distinguishes between words that would otherwise have the same spelling, such as à ("at") and a ("has").

4. Circonflexe accent (ˆ): We can use this accent on -a, -e, -i, -o, or -u. It is the consequence of the language's evolution, as we place it where an -s used to precede a vowel, as in forêt ("forest"). We also use it to distinguish words such as du (contraction of de + le) and dû (past participle of devoir).

5. Tréma accent (¨): This accent appears on the letters -e, -i, and -u. We use it when two vowels are next to each other and we must pronounce the letter -i separately from the previous vowel. For example, we would pronounce the word naïve without the tréma accent as [nay-v].

⭐ Spelling Accents in Words

To spell accents in a word, the custom is just to say the letter followed by its accent, as they are clearly understandable. For example, to spell the word ça ("it") say, c cédille, a comme Anne.

 For Example:

💠 été: e accent aigu, t comme Thomas, e accent aigu

"summer: e aigu accent, t as in Thomas, e aigu accent"

💠 râlé: r comme Raphaël, a accent circonflexe, l comme Lyon, e accent aigu

"complained: r as in Raphael, a circonflex accent, l as in Lyon, e aigu accent"

⭐ Dialogue Focus

In the dialogue, Rob expresses his astonishment about an evident fact related to what Giulia knows with Tu sais bien ! ("You know!") This standard phrase is informal and demonstrates Rob's surprise that Giulia doesn't remember his nationality. You can also use it to show reproach, depending on the intonation you use. To express informally what your interlocutor knows, use the irregular verb savoir ("to know") with the second person singular at the present indicative (equivalent of the simple present) as follows:

""Second person singular: tu sais ("you know").

➖ Cultural Insights ➖

Student Insurance in France

You may fill in a form as done in the dialogue to cover your expense in case of an accident or disease while in France for an extended stay. This is the case for any students completing their education in France.Students in France have the right to benefit from social security. Their status, cost, and mandatory or requested enrollment are ruled according to the situation.

Students benefit from their parents' social security when they are less than twenty years of age. However, for the services, they depend on the student social security regime. Mutual insurance companies administrate their rights and they complete the reimbursement of the government social security to cover 100% of the cost generated in case of heath issues.If a student is between twenty and twenty-eight years of age, the enrollment to the student's social security is mandatory regardless of their parents' regime. The cost for a year to benefit from complementary student insurance is around 200 euros a year.

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