French Phrase Book and Dictionary Based on the
BBC French Phrase Book by Carol Stanley and Philippa Goodrich,
Carol Stanley and Philippa Goodrich 1990 Published by BBC Active, an imprint of Educational Publishers LLP, part of the Pearson Education Group, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE. Print version: Philippa Goodrich and BBC Worldwide Ltd 2005
ePub version: Philippa Goodrich and Educational Publishers LLP 2013
Illustrations Joanna Kerr @ New Division 2005
BBC logo BBC 1996
BBC and BBC ACTIVE are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The right of Philippa Goodrich to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright owners or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Pearson accepts no responsibility for the content on any website for which a link is provided in this title, or for any use of personal data by the third party operating such a website.
The links are provided as is with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. ISBN: 978-1-406-67617-4 Managing Editor: Joanna Kirby
Project Editor: Josie Frame
Index Editor: Paula Peebles
Designer: Elizabeth Burns
Concept design: Pentacor Book Design
Cover design: Two Associates
Cover photo Mike Busselle/ALAMY
ePub conversion: Reality Premedia www.bbcactivelanguages.com
how to use this book
This book is divided into colour-coded sections to help you find the language you need as quickly as possible. You can also refer to the . Along with travel and language tips, each section contains:
| YOU MAY WANT TO SAY language youll need for every situation |
| YOU MAY SEE words and phrases youll see on signs or in print |
| YOU MAY HEAR questions, instructions or information people may ask or give you |
Youll find , a list of basic, all-purpose phrases to help you start communicating straight away. Many of the phrases can be adapted by simply using another word from the dictionary. For instance, take the question Pour aller laroport? (How do I get to the airport?).
If you want to know where the beach is, just substitute la plage (beach) for laroport to give Pour aller la plage? . The . We welcome any comments or suggestions about this book, but in the meantime, have a good trip Bon voyage!
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contents
pronunciation guide
pronunciation
You dont need perfect pronunciation to be able to communicate its enough to get the sounds approximately right. A pronunciation guide is given with the phrases in this book; the system is based on English sounds, as described below. Many French consonants are pronounced in a similar way to English. The main differences are with c , g , h , j , ll , q , r , w . Consonants at the end of words are not normally pronounced, except when followed by another word beginning with a vowel, for example: vous (
voo) but vous avez (
vooz avay).
French vowels dont vary as much as English ones, but the way theyre pronounced is affected if: (1) theres a written accent; (2) theyre followed by an n or m ; (3) theyre in a combination of vowels. Vowels followed by n or m have a nasal sound say them through your nose and mouth at the same time. The n or m itself is not pronounced. In the pronunciation guide the nasal sound is shown by the symbol .
stress
French words are pronounced with almost equal stress on every syllable, so no stresses are shown in this book.
consonants
FRENCH CONSONANTS | APPROX ENGLISH EQUIVALENT | SHOWN IN BOOK AS | EXAMPLE | |
---|
b | b in but | b | bain | ba |
c (followed by e or i) and | s in sat | s | citron a | seetraw sa |
ch | sh in shut | sh | chambre | shobr |
c (otherwise) | c in can | k | comme | kom |
d | d in dog | d | douane | doo-an |
f | f in feet | f | franais | frosay |
g (followed by e or i ) | s in measure | j | gentil | jotee |
gn | ni in onion | ny | oignon | unyaw |
g (otherwise) | g in got | g | grand | gro |
h | always silent | herbe | erb |
j | s in measure | j | je | juh |
k | k in kit | k | kilo | keelo |
l | l in look | l | livre | leevr |
ll (preceded by ei, ai and sometimes i ) | y in yet | y | fille | feey |
ll (otherwise) | ll in hello | l | valler | alay |
m | m in mat | m | main | ma |
n (but see Vowels below) | n in not | n | nous | noo |
p | p in pack | p | pche | pesh |
qu | k in kit | k | que | kuh |
r | rolled in the back of the throat | r | rouge | rooj |
s (between vowels) | z in zoo | z | chose | shohz |
s (otherwise) | s in set | s | sortie | sortee |
t | t in tin | t | table | tabl |
v | v in vet | v | vin | va |
w (except in English words like weekend) | v in vet | v w | wagon | vagaw |
x (at end of word) | usually not pronounced (except in the words six and dix , when it sounds like the s in say; it is not pronounced when these words are followed by a word beginning with a consonant) | - | deux | duh |
x (otherwise) | x in six | x | taxi | taxee |
y | y in yet | y | payer | payay |
z | z in zoo | z | douze | dooz |
vowels
FRENCH VOWELS | APPROX ENGLISH EQUIVALENT | SHOWN IN BOOK AS | EXAMPLE | |
---|
a, , |