20 ms·

In French most vowel and other letter combinations are pronounced in a consistent way, unlike English, so do you have examples?

yoran 7y ago
I'm a native French speaker and French spelling is very irregular. There are tons of unspoken letters and the accents make it even more complex, especially the "accent circonflexe" (^) which is usually silent. Some examples: - temps (time): the "p" and "s" are completely silent - oignon (onion): pronounced as "ognon" (the "i" is silent) - asseoir (sit down): pronounced as "assoir" (the "e" is silent) - poids (weight): the "d" and "s" are silent. "poi" (pea) is also a word. - most words ending on "ou" take an "s" in plural, e.g. "verrou" becomes "verrous", except for certain words like "hibou", which becomes "hiboux" in plural. - the noun "dépôt" takes the "^" accent, yet its derived verb "déposer" does not.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  > - oignon (onion): pronounced as "ognon" (the "i" is silent) Heh, as is the "g" as well. The best way to explain the pronunciation to English speakers is "say onion but with a French accent". The "g" is the most confusing part of the spelling to native English speakers as a "g" is never silent in English.
baby 7y ago
Well I guess this is anecdotal evidende. I speak both fluently and find French way more irregular. I've never heard someone saying that French is consistent. You're perhaps thinking of spanish? People usually talk about German when they think of consistency.
- bonzini 7y ago
  French writing is hard, because the same pronunciation can be spelled in many different ways (for example he vs. j'ai). To find the right one you need to know the grammar. The French also have some kind of spelling bee competition as far as I remember. On the other hand, reading French is easy. There is no such thing as the English -ough suffix.
- _ZeD_ 7y ago
  as a counter argument: have you ever known of spelling bee in France?
  - jobigoud 7y ago
    Spelling tests are a full part of the curriculum and there are championships. Look for "dictée".
  - baby 7y ago
    Like the other comment is saying, it's pretty much part of your education (dictee) up until high school IIRC. It's really really hard. Actually I don't think I know anyone in France who can write correctly, even in casual chat.
rand84545 7y ago
queues

yoran 7y ago

I'm a native French speaker and French spelling is very irregular. There are tons of unspoken letters and the accents make it even more complex, especially the "accent circonflexe" (^) which is usually silent. Some examples: - temps (time): the "p" and "s" are completely silent - oignon (onion): pronounced as "ognon" (the "i" is silent) - asseoir (sit down): pronounced as "assoir" (the "e" is silent) - poids (weight): the "d" and "s" are silent. "poi" (pea) is also a word. - most words ending on "ou" take an "s" in plural, e.g. "verrou" becomes "verrous", except for certain words like "hibou", which becomes "hiboux" in plural. - the noun "dépôt" takes the "^" accent, yet its derived verb "déposer" does not.

CydeWeys 7y ago
> - oignon (onion): pronounced as "ognon" (the "i" is silent) Heh, as is the "g" as well. The best way to explain the pronunciation to English speakers is "say onion but with a French accent". The "g" is the most confusing part of the spelling to native English speakers as a "g" is never silent in English.

baby 7y ago

Well I guess this is anecdotal evidende. I speak both fluently and find French way more irregular. I've never heard someone saying that French is consistent. You're perhaps thinking of spanish? People usually talk about German when they think of consistency.

bonzini 7y ago
French writing is hard, because the same pronunciation can be spelled in many different ways (for example he vs. j'ai). To find the right one you need to know the grammar. The French also have some kind of spelling bee competition as far as I remember. On the other hand, reading French is easy. There is no such thing as the English -ough suffix.
_ZeD_ 7y ago
as a counter argument: have you ever known of spelling bee in France?
- jobigoud 7y ago
  Spelling tests are a full part of the curriculum and there are championships. Look for "dictée".
- baby 7y ago
  Like the other comment is saying, it's pretty much part of your education (dictee) up until high school IIRC. It's really really hard. Actually I don't think I know anyone in France who can write correctly, even in casual chat.

rand84545 7y ago

queues