Free French for Beginners by Getaway Guides Page A

very easy for native English-speakers to learn French in a matter of months. After all, these have given their tongues enough practice on how to roll about inside the mouth when pronouncing French words.
    The similarity between these 2 words and a hundred or so other words can be attributed to the fact that the French and English alphabets both have the same basic letters. However, there are some variations on how each letter is pronounced, which is especially true with the consonants (this will be discussed further in succeeding chapters).  Some letters are pronounced in a uniquely French fashion, while others such as the letter ‘z' are pronounced in the same way that other major English-speaking countries pronounce them.
    The French Alphabet
    The French alphabet is listed as follows along with its corresponding pronunciation:
    Aa – [ɑ ]
    Bb – [be]
    Cc – [se]
    Dd – [de]
    Ee – [ə ]
    Ff – [εf]
    Gg – [ʒ e]
    Hh – [[ aʃ ]
    Ii – [i]
    Jj – [ʒ i]
    Kk – [ka]
    Ll – [εl]
    Mm – [εm]
    Nn – [εn]
    Oo – [o]
    Pp – [pe]
    Qq – [ky]
    Rr – [εr]
    Ss – [εs]
    Tt – [te]
    Uu – [y]
    Vv – [ve]
    Ww – [dub lə ve]
    Xx – [iks]
    Yy – [i g ʀ ɛ k]
    Zz – [zεd]
    Note that the letter ‘z’ is pronounced as ‘zed’ in the same way that it is pronounced in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and other countries that use English as its primary language.

Chapter 2: The Role of Syllables in the French Language
     
    In any language, syllables are always a necessary part of proper pronunciation. This is because syllables indicate the proper grouping, as well as the natural divisions, of the letters in every word. Syllables specifically affect the following aspects of pronunciation:
    •                      Rythm
    •                      Poetic meter
    •                      Stress pattern
     
    Rhythm and Word Stress
    Generally, all of the syllables in French words are stressed equally.  It is common to hear English speakers put a stress on the 1 st syllable which is certainly uncommon in French words.  You can offset this minor error by trying to add a light stress at the last syllable of the word.
    The rhythm of French sentences is established by cutting the sentence into relevant sections, and then putting a stress on the last syllable of every section.  The stress on the last syllables is typified by a minor increase in intonation.  Because of these stresses on the last syllables, the “beat” of French sentences is fairly regular.[transferred from Chapter 2 of the original book]
    When dividing French words into syllables, the vowels that fall in each syllable should not be reduced into grunting ‘uh' and ‘i' sounds. This reduction may be common when speaking in English, but would be detrimental to the proper pronunciation of French syllables.
    It should also be noted that French pronunciation has so-called open syllables. These are the syllables that end in vowel letters, specifically the letter ‘e' and the letter ‘a'. The pronunciation of open syllables often depends on the group of letters that come before andafter that syllable, as well as its placement within the group of letters that form the word. Often, the ‘e’ in an open syllable is pronounced as /ə / though most native French speakers drop it completely on words that are used in daily life.
    Examples:
Ressembler – there are three syllables: re-ssem-bler. Note that the first syllable ends in the letter ‘e’ while the second syllable has a consonant after the ‘e’. This means that the ‘e’ in re-is pronounced as /ə / while the second ‘e’ is pronounced as a nasal vowel. So the pronunciation of the whole word would be / ʀ ə - s ɑ ̃ -ble/.
Maternel /ma t ɛ ʀnɛ l/– on this example, the open syllable ends with the letter ‘a’ instead of ‘e’, but it is followed with two closed syllables that both have the letter ‘e’ as its only