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Spelling a word involves going from the way it is said, to the combination of letters used to represent it's sounds and overall pronunciation.
You are writing to enable someone reading to say it correctly. Ideally, you know how the word is spoken normally. If not, you need to know, or work out, how to spell it properly.
This is particularly difficult for a number of reasons, and you will need to use information from the context, including meaning and grammar.
To make it clear what sounds are being used, I have shown IPA symbols, sometimes with English approximations. The IPA sounds in a word are grouped together within two forward slashes, and each syllable break is shown with a dot. So, ‘petit’ is shown by /pə.ti/.
Problems
These can be summarised as:
Sounds to Letters
A single sound can be represented in a number of different ways - see the table in Letters and Sounds.
Consonants are not too difficult, and are fairly similar to the English system. However, there are alternatives, for example there are four ways of writing down the IPA /s/ sound ‘s’ (ce, ça, sans, ramasser). Once your reading has progressed though, incorrect spellings such as ramaçer will just look wrong.
Vowels are much more problemmatic, with 74 + different forms of sound-letter configurations. Within this, a single sound can be represented by many different letters. For example the 'ay' sound /e/ can be written using at least 10 possible forms:
(gai, blé, parler, parlais, parlait, parlez ,les ,et , fée, années)
Accents
As English doesn’t really use any accents, we are just not geared up to perceive this information. But, accents can significantly alter the ways in which letters are sounded, so you have to be aware of how they do this.
A common option for the ‘ay’ sound /e/ is an é ( e acute). However, whether this is actually present will depend on the underlying principles which govern how the accents match with the way French is spoken.
Missing and changing sounds
For various reasons to do with speech patterns in French, many consonants are not sounded at the end of words (e.g. très).
The letter 'e' can also be mute, again particularly at the end of words (e.g. comme ), as well as at certain positions within words (e.g. celui ) .
New letters can also appear/change (e.g. payer becomes je paie ) and letters sometimes alter their accents and sounds in certain circumstances (e.g. je lève , but nous levons ).
How to manage
all of this
There are principles which cover all of these situations, and being aware of them will make you much more confident with your writing.
However, as Krashen argues, we mainly develop such knowledge from the use of languages. They haven’t been designed by linguists, they have evolved (and continue to evolve), often in subtle and complex ways which cannot be captured by even the most complex of rule systems.
To a very great extent, reading leads, and determines writing and spelling. If you can read (and talk) fluently, but despite this you write down a word incorrectly, it will simply look and sound wrong to you.
You will also develop unconscious rules. When a native talker changes a grave over the è in Je gère, to acute in Nous gérons, it’s simply because it sounds right to do so.
Alternatively, you can employ a rather more complex pair of rules to do with initially the penultimate e being grave as it is followed by a consonant sound with the verb's final e being mute, then becoming two syllables (from /ʒɛʁ/ to /ʒe .ʁɔ̃/), where the first syllable ends in a sounded 'e'.
But, this isn’t really how the human brain works.
Having said that, it can still be reassuring to know that you are doing the right thing. It is also interesting (and somewhat pleasing, I must admit) to know that a lot of what underlies French pronunciation/spelling is simply the drive towards musicality.
Information Sources
There are a range of different forms of information. For an English speaker, most of the difficulties arise from which vowel + accent, should be used for a particular sound. The largest section is therefore given over to this.
Word Familiarity
One of the key ways of knowing how a word is spelled is simply that you have seen and used it a lot.
The first most common 12 French words make up about 12% of all words used. The first 100 make up about 50%.
You can read, listen to, and practice the pronunciation of high frequency words here.
The first 12 are:
le/la, de, être, un, à, et, avoir, il, que, ne, en, se
You could in fact successfully apply spelling rules to these. For example the silent consonant at the end of et /e/, and the unaccented 'e' letter in le /lə/ and de /də/. You will learn/have learned these very early on, and they will act as a foundation for future spelling of other words.
Grammar
There are a range of rules which govern how sentences are structured, and how words are formed within them. If you understand the meaning of what is going on, then the appropriate grammatical principles can guide you.
For instance, you could be writing about something in the past, and in the sense of it continuing for some time. You should know that in ‘I was working in London’, the verb will end in -ais, and NOT the many other ways in which this sound ‘ay’ /e/ can be written.
Je travaillais à Londres /tʁa.va.je/
Quite often the ends of adjectives and some verbs will have to agree with the number and gender of what they are referring to. Many of these modifications are silent (see below), and the grammar will thefore guide you in spellings. For instance Elles sont allées compared with Il est allé.
There are also specific letter patterns which come from rules, such as the plural of –al being –aux. When applied to cheval (horse), this will therefore give you chevaux /ʃə.vo/, and NOT the quite similar sounding cheveux /ʃə.vø/ (as in hair).
Some words are sounded in the same or similar way, yet have different grammatical functions. Different spellings are often to used to distinguish these. For example dès (from), and des (some).
Accents
Firstly, there are some high frequency words with accents. In the first 100 words there are relatively few:
Learn these words (including the different forms of the verb être) and you will know how to spell half of all words with accents!
But, to actually get any content over, you have to use a wide range of things like nouns and verbs, so you will need a more general approach.
é - the e acute accent
The é covers more than half of all accents. The problem is that it’s sound (ay) /e/ can be made by a number of other forms. It’s therefore the most import of all accents to get right in terms of spelling. The é can happen in various places, and can be affected by different things.
However, the main principle is:
If there is a final e sounded at the end of a syllable, this is normally an é
The key thing is therefore to identify the syllables in words. French does this differently from English, and when possible is based on a Consonant + Vowel, as in ma /ma/. French speech uses various ways to try to maintain this, to produce a regular rhythm.
There are some basic ways of determining where syllable breaks occur, which are detailed here.
ENDS OF WORDS
Most final ‘ay’ sounds /e/, not just é (see below) are at the end of words, and are from the past tense of –er verbs. In this case the last syllable is mostly a consonant sound, followed by the ‘ay’ sound /e/.This is therefore written with an é - for example J'ai donné.
This form is also used as adjective – for example Un pays divisé (from diviser).
There can be additional silent letters. These mainly involve an ‘e’ for female gender, or ‘s’ for a plural, and can be worked out from the grammatical context - for example Elles sont allées.
Some ‘ay’ sounds come from just -er verbs, as they stand. For example Pour sauver les banques. Again, you can only tell if this is the appropriate form and spelling from the context.
Anything else which ends with an ‘ay’, and is not an –er verb, is still most likely to be an é, so it’s always worth trying this first. For instance, with words such as compétitivité, liberté, parité, malgré.
There are of course other possible ‘ay’ sounding endings. Most of them are based on –er verbs and have endings with –ai, -ais, -ait, -ez. These can be predicted from the form of the verb.
EARLIER IN WORDS
Following the above principle, the majority of ‘ay’ sounds are when a syllable ends in an é /e/
télévision /te.le.vi.zjɔ̃/
When the word starts with an e, which is a syllable in itself, then it is very likely to be an é. This is effectively still following the main rule, as it is the end of a syllable.
épargner /e.paʁ.ɲe/
écologie /e.kɔ.lɔ.ʒi/
A strong 'e' sound such as the é at the beginning of a word is also available to form a more complete syllable by joining with a consonant sound from the previous one. This is a key way in which the rhythm is maintained – see Linking words.
L'état, c'est moi, /le.ta/
EXCEPTIONS
1) An 'r' before an 'e' at the start of a word can have a variable sound. However, there is a tendency for it to be re- before a consonant, and for it to be ré- before a vowel.
recevoir /ʁə.sə.vwaʁ/
réussir /ʁe.y.siʁ/
The 'r' sound /ʁ/ goes quite naturally with the 'e' 'uh' sound /ə/, as they are both at the back of the mouth/throat. This may be a pull away from the normal pronuciation system.
2) You don’t get an é shown at the start of a word, when it is followed by a repeated consonant - even though the pronunciation is é. This is as though it is partially borrowing the start of the double consonant.
ecclésiastique /e.kle.zjas.tik/
effrayer /e.fʁɛ.je/
ellipse /e.lips/
errer /e.ʁe/
essayer /e.sɛ.je/
3) Also, you don't get é followed by an x - as this is really two consonant sounds together (gz) The 'e' then has another sound (g) joined to it. This means 'e' isn't the last sound in the syllable.
exemple /ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/
4) Finally, you don't use the é where the sound is quite weak. In these situations, it is often omitted in normal speech. When pronounced, it is usually covered by the e sound 'uh' /ə/, and it is written this way.
dehors /də.ɔʁ/
dehors /dɔʁ/ As pronounced in normal speech
There ARE further exceptions, but these are quite rare, and are often related to the original basis of the word, and how it has evolved. The simplest advice here is to initially try out the 'ay' sound/spelling, and if this just sounds wrong, then fall back on an unaccented e /ə/.
è - the e grave accent
You often get a simple ‘e’ sound /ɛ/ (as in the word red), which means that there is a grave accent è.
This happens particularly when there is a silent ‘e’ in the next syllable. As ‘e’s are typically muted at the end of words, this means that the è very often happens in this penultimate position.
collège /kɔ.lɛʒ/
They can however happen within words, again before a silent ‘e’.
fièrement /fjɛʁ.mɑ̃/
You get additional cues for the è from grammar, as certain forms of verbs change the syllabic structure.
Nous pétons /pe.tɔ̃/ 2 syllables. There is an é as it is the last sound in the first syllable.
BUT
Ils pètent /pɛt/ 1 syllable - there is a silent e following.
You also get an è /ɛ/ sound at the end of words, when followed by an s (silent as it is at the end), and NOT a plural. This can be a cue to the spelling.
après /a.pʁɛ/
dès /dɛ/ (compare with des, which is also /dɛ/ )
près /pʁɛ/ (note that this has an identical sound to prêt /pʁɛ/) – see below for ^ accents
abcès /ap.sɛ/
à, ù - the a grave accent
This doesn’t change the sound much, so the best way is to know the 4 key words in which it is used, mainly to distinguish them from the non-accented words which have different meanings
à /a/ (at) To distinguish it from il a (he has)
là /la/ (there) To distinguish it from la (the [female])
où /u/ (where) To distinguish it from ou (or)
déjà /de.ʒa/ (already)
â, é, î, ô, û - the circumflex accent
The circumflex goes on all of the main vowels, but only has a small effect on pronunciation ( just lengthens the sound a bit for â, ô, and û ). This means it's difficult to tell when it should be used.
Much of it’s previous use was historical, from a time when a lot of additional letters were dropped, and the circumflex was used to signal where this had happened (as in forêt, previously forest).
Therefore, if you get a word that is similar to the English form, but has a sound missing, then it could have a ^ above the vowel. See below for more on this.
Most of the accents on u and i have now been dropped - they were the least used circumflex vowels, and also had no effect on pronunciation. The key useage with the ones that have been retained is to distinguish from other non-accented words.
dû (past tense of devoir) du (some)
mûr (ripe) mur (wall)
sûr (sure) sur (on)
For ô, there is the case of le nôtre and le vôtre, meaning ours and yours. When these phrases come up, it is therefore a cue for those spellings.
As for the remaining ô, â and ê words, you just have to learn them. Luckily they are not that many and the shape of the accent gives a memorable look to the words.
ë, ï, ü - the trema accent
This is quite rare and the main use is to emphasise the separate existence of a particular vowel when it is alongside another one.
Noël /nɔ.ɛl/
ambigüité /ɑ̃.bi.ɡɥi.te/
As the sound of the vowel is unusually emphasised, it is not too difficult to spot (hear) this for the purposes of spelling
ç - the cedilla accent
This is only used with c and softens the sound, in situations where it would normally be hard – pronounced as k before hard vowels (the ones at the back of the throat) – a, o, u
ça /sa/
So, if you hear a soft c /s/ in front of a hard vowel, it’ll be written with a cedilla.
Missing Sounds
These are typically at the end of words, but there are also muted sounds within words (logement).
Final Sounds
In this case you also have the gender which will alert you to what is happening.
You also get silent e, es, ent at the end of –er verbs. You should know these from the appropriate use and formation of the verb.
J'aime /ɛm/
Tu aimes /ɛm/
Ils aiment /ɛm/
Sounds within words
Missing sounds within words sometimes involve an 'e', for instance entièrement. With such words you should be alerted by the pattern of the word - as the è /ɛ/ often indicates there is a silent 'e' in the next syllable. You also often get a hint of the missing sound with a slight 'uh' sound /ə/
The pattern 'consonant + silent e + ment' is also quite common, and when you hear things like -tment, -rment, -sment you will become alerted to the missing sound/letter.
When an 'e' is not sounded, the consonant gets pushed back to finish off the previous syllable.
samedi /sam.di/
Sometimes there are just too many consonant sounds together, and something must be separating them. This usually an e, and it fits between two consonants which don't naturally go together.
lentement /lɑ̃t.mɑ̃/
enveloppe /ɑ̃.vlɔp/
médecin /mɛd.sɛ̃/
H muet
The h is not sounded by itself, and it’s mainly at the front of words. It can sometimes be detected by the fact that one form (the h aspiré) does not allow liaisons and elisions – for instance
Je hais /ʒə/ /ɛ/
So, if you hear something like je, te, le/la with a vowel starting the next word, and without a link between the words, there is very likely an 'h' there.
Unfortunately, some ‘h’s do use liaisons and elisions.
It can also occur less frequently within words, and again, you have know that the word without the 'h' doesn't exist.
Where does the word come from?
The identification of some silent letters can also be helped by the etymology (origin and history). For example plutôt comes originally from plus + tôt. If you know the tôt element, then you'll be aware of the missing t. You can often find out such interesting stuff on Wiktionary.
Same Spellings
It is estimated that at least a quarter of the words used in the English language are similar to the French equivalent words. Pronunciations may differ, but if a French word sounds a bit like an English one, it is reasonable to look for similarities in spelling. A lot of words are actually identical – these are technically known as ‘cognates’ – and there are a number of lists of these online. However, you do have to apply the normal use of accents to give a French pronunciation.
Accents signalled by missing letters
After the Normans invaded England, we took up a lot of their language, as it was the dominant, high status way of communicating. Since then, the languages have evolved a bit, so the French for ‘school’ was originally escole – they dropped the ‘s’, and emphasised the e with an accute accent. In England, we kept the s, and dropped the initial ‘e’ – this seems to be all down to the different ways in which syllables are formed in the two countries.
école /e.kɔl/
Also, as already mentioned above, at a certain time when ‘s’s (and some other letters) were being dropped in France, they signalled this with a circumflex. Some of these words often retain their similarity to the English forms, and you just have to put on the accent (just as the old French monks did). For an 'e', this could also be represented by an é (as école above), but this happens mainly at the start of words, whereas the ê is always within words.
forêt ⇨ forest
hôpital ⇨ hospital
hâte ⇨ haste
The circumflex can also be used in some verbs, although these tend to be rather formal and less common - find out more.
Some forms of pronunciation and spelling indicate that the English and French words will be the same or very similar. As always, work out the different pronunciations and matching accents.
-tion words are almost always the same
-ty words are often –té words in French.
-ence words are mostly the same
-ble words are often the same
-ance words are sometimes the same
Some words are also ‘borrowed’ from English (much to the disgust of the Académie Française), so have much the same spelling. However, they can have a French pronunciation which might throw you off, as well as a somewhat different meaning. It can be quite unnerving when you hear people use these expressions, particularly if they are trying to pass it off as a cool thing to do. Unfortunately, it actually sounds hopelessly naive. Imagine what we must sound like to them, when we use French phrases with a bad accent!
Le footing ⇨ Jogging
Le weekend ⇨ The weekend
Les baskets ⇨ Trainers
Le relooking ⇨ Makeover
Le cheese ⇨ Cheeseburger
Le smoking ⇨ Smoking Jacket (tuxedo)
Does it all Work?
Well, Yes and No.
In the spirit of enquiry, I put this all to the test with 2 samples of synthesised French Speech, and some free writing. From work I have done with reading and spelling tests and comparing the levels of the same words, spelling seems to be on average about 2 yrs more difficult than reading.
Le Suicide Français by Eric Zemmour RA 16.3 yrs approx C1. Spelling Age 18.3 yrs
Although I was able to cope with most of the text, I was not able to understand some sections where the pronunciation was somewhat ambiguous. This passage was certainly hard for me, but that was what I was aiming at.
Overall, I made 9% spelling errors, and despite knowing the 'rules', most of my mistakes were accents on the e.
Harry Potter à l'École des Sorcières J K Rowling RA 11.4 yrs. approx B2. Spelling Age 13.4 yrs
I had less difficulties with the text, but still stumbled in one place.
Overall I made 8% errors, again with mainly errors on accents, but also with wrong double consonants and gender mistakes.
Free Writing
This was much easier, as I knew what I wanted to say, and could select words and phrases which I was already comfortable with. Despite this, the readability of what I ended up with was reasonable at 13.5 yrs, which means a spelling age of about 15.5 yrs. This is between B2 and C1, which is where I reckon I generally am.
I still made 3% errors, but now these were almost entirely down to gender agreements.
Conclusions
Even knowing spelling rules doesn't mean that you can always apply them, particularly when the language load is quite high.
However, had I applied the spelling principles covered in this section, I would have got almost all of the words correct.
Whilst doing free writing, I hardly thought about any rules, and simply used phrases which came easily to me.