L’accentuation

In French, stress (l’accentuation) is placed on the final syllable of a word. This is very different from the placement of stress in English which varies according to the word itself. Notice that French stress falls on the last syllable whereas English stress may fall on any syllable (word initial, word medial, or word final). This means that word stress is easily predicted (and learned!) in French.

When words are strung together in French to form sentences, stress is placed on the final syllable of the phrase. In a sense, French speakers treat a phrase like they treat a single word – they place the stress at the end. In English, on the other hand, words retain their individual stress pattern when combined into sentences. Compare the two languages:

Listen and repeat.

L’intonation

Good French pronunciation requires mastery of 3 elements: individual sounds (phonemes), stress placement, and intonation. Intonation refers to the varying pitch levels of speech. Often referred to as the “melody” of a language, intonation is associated with certain sentence types: declarative, exclamative, imperative, and interrogative (questions). Listen to each of the following examples and repeat.

Declarative Intonation

Short declarative sentences typically have a falling intonation.

Longer declarative sentences often have a rise then a fall.

Exclamative Intonation

Exclamative intonation is marked by a sharp fall in pitch.

Imperative Intonation

Imperative intonation is similar to exclamative intonation—that is, a sharp fall at the end.

Interrogative Intonation

Yes/No question are signaled by a sharp rise on the final syllable.

Information questions begin with a high pitch on the question word (où, pourquoi, comment, etc.) and then gradually fall.