French for British Speakers
Your personalised pronunciation map based on the British English accent. 29% of coached French sounds transfer directly from your accent.
5
Direct Transfer
Sounds you already make
8
Small Adjustment
Close — needs a tweak
4
New Sounds
Focus practice here
Your accent gives you a 29% head start — 5 sounds you already make
Sounds That Transfer Directly (5)
You already make these French sounds in your British accent. Recognition, not learning.
French oi
This one's free. French 'oi' = 'wa'. Your RP 'wa' in 'watch' or 'water' maps directly. Say 'mwa' and you've nailed 'moi'...
French è (open e)
Your 'bed' vowel maps directly to French 'è'. Say 'bed' — you're already making the right sound. Hold it slightly longer...
French a (front vs back)
RP has a natural advantage here. Your 'bath' vowel (the long 'ah' in 'bath', 'grass', 'father') maps directly to French ...
French j / ge (soft g)
Direct transfer. The 'zh' in 'pleasure' and 'measure' is the French 'j' sound. No adjustment needed....
French semi-vowel /j/ (yod)
Direct transfer. RP actually uses /j/ more than American English — you say 'tyoon' for 'tune' and 'nyoo' for 'new', keep...
Sounds That Need Adjustment (8)
Close to sounds in your accent — small modifications will get you there.
French r
Like Australian English, you're non-rhotic — you don't pronounce 'r' after vowels. This helps because you won't fight th...
French eu/oeu
Your 'bird' and 'nurse' vowel is in the right neighbourhood — a central vowel. Add firm lip rounding while keeping your ...
French gn
RP speakers actually have an advantage here — you naturally use the 'ny' sound in words like 'news' (nyooz) and 'tune' (...
French é (closed e)
Your RP 'ay' in 'say' starts very close to the French 'é'. Just clip the diphthong — say the first half of 'say' and sto...
French schwa (e muet)
RP uses schwa extensively — the final vowel in 'letter', 'butter', the 'a' in 'about'. Your schwa is well-practiced. The...
French open o vs closed o
RP has a clear distinction between 'lot' (open, rounded) and 'goat' (diphthong). For French open 'ɔ', your 'lot' vowel i...
French dental l
RP has the same light/dark 'l' distinction as other English accents, but the dark 'l' tends to be less extreme than Amer...
French h (silent vs aspirated)
RP carefully preserves 'h' in standard speech, which makes the French silent 'h' feel unnatural. You need to suppress it...
Genuinely New Sounds (4)
No equivalent in British English. These deserve your focused practice time.
French u
Say 'ee' as in 'see', hold your tongue there, then round your lips firmly like you're saying 'oo' in 'goose'. The French...
Nasal vowels (an/en, in, on)
RP English has less natural vowel nasalisation than American or Australian English, so this will feel more foreign. Star...
French semi-vowel /ɥ/
Think of 'w' and 'y' fused together — your lips round like 'w' but your tongue sits forward like 'y'. Say the French 'u'...
French nasal 'un' /œ̃/
Start from the French open 'eu' (as in 'peur') — your 'bird' vowel with lip rounding. Now add nasalisation: let air flow...
Your British Advantages
Non-rhotic (clean transition to French r)
Bath/cat vowel distinction maps to French a/â
Pure vowel quality in many positions
Palatalisation in 'news/tune' bridges to gn and yod
/e/ in 'say' starts close to French é
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is French for British English speakers?▾
What French sounds do British speakers already make?▾
What are the hardest French sounds for British speakers?▾
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