Le Premier Livre
Nasal Sounds
10. ou, like oo in too: tout, ou, sous, nous.
11. eu, œu, closed; no English equivalent.
With the lips rounded in position for whistling, try
to pronounce the e in the when said rapidly with the following word, the boy.
(a) eu at the end of a word or when followed by
a silent consonant: feu, peu, deux, mieux.
(b) œu at the end of a word or when followed by
a silent consonant: vœu, nœud.
12. eu, œu, open, like u in fur. Eu and œu have this
sound when followed by r and generally when followed by any other sounded consonant in the same syllable: leur, seul, peur, cœur, sœur, bœuf, œuf.
N S
The nasal sound is the sound of a vowel followed by n or m. However, the n or m is not to be pronounced. The nasal sound has no exact equivalent in English.
There are four nasal sounds:
1. a nasal: an, am, en, em.
Somewhat like the an in want with the sound cut
short: dans, jambe, enfant, temps.
2. i nasal: in, im, ain, aim, ein, eim, yn, ym.
Somewhat like the an in rang without the sound
of g and with the sound cut short: fin, simple, main, faim, plein, Reims, syntaxe, sympathie.