French Diphthongs

French is technically a Romance dialect. So of course, if you try to use Latin as a shortcut, learning those cool vocalizations should be duck soup, right? Well actually, save yourself the effort.

The French would probably complicate the sound patterns if they could anyway, because, well, they can! But in truth, what we know as French is not entirely based on Latin. The give-away is the 20-based counting system (soixante, soixante-dix, quatre-vingt...).

The painful truth, is that French is actually a hybrid of Gaelic and Latin. All Romance tongues have some mix of Gaelic and other languages in their make-up, but French is much more of a hybrid than any of them. If you're a lengua-phile, just take a look at modern Gaelic as spoken in Ireland, Scotland, and even Cornwall, and compare what you hear to French.

So, if you're studying French, you're pretty much studying French. Latin is not nearly the guide it is for, say, Spanish or Italian. Not that it's perfect for those, either.

But there are still tricks to improving your French. One thing that annoys me about much French training, is that diphthongs are rarely mentioned. What are diphthongs?

Diphthongs are pairings of vowels that create a sound unrelated to either. For instance, in French, o and i paired together (as in Loire), is pronounced 'wah.'

If they're learned, you'll cut down on how many of those odd looks you get when speaking to actual French people in their langue. Without them, well, try not to give up. Mastering French pronunciation is a life-long challenge, anyway.

I have counted about a half-dozen French diphthongs.

ae- pronounced 'ay' as in 'aerie'

au- 'oh' as in 'aucun'

ei- 'eh' as in 'Seine' (not pronounced 'Sane,' like not crazy)

eu-'you' as in 'euphorie'

oi-'wah' as in 'oiseau'

ou-'oo' as in 'Louvre'

By the way, notice that the English often spell their words with 'ou' (colour, armour...). That is how this sound is actually supposed to be spelled out. Not that I'm judging!

Hopefully, this and other tips will help the novice Francophile at least comprehend what's being said on the Cine. Other vital details include combining the ever-present article with the word, if the word starts with a vowel. This can change the entire pronunciation of a word (eau-l'eau). Also, pronounce 'i' (ee) as 'ah' when it's before an 'n.'

A famous example of this is the name Vincent, pronounced 'Vihn-cent' in English, and 'Van-san' in French.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nice chevre chaud with a nice Chablis, waiting for me. Ciao!

Well, been a while since I posted. Hopefully, this fresh start will mark a regular habit, albeit not daily, until frankly, the urge suits me, and I actually have content ready to post on a daily, or at least weekly, basis.

The world has been an at times confusing, at other times enervating, but always fascinating thing to watch. The Captain will try to get his claws into enough of it to keep his minions' interest. Rest assured, no food selfies, or other such self-indulgence.

Food is for eating, not filming. At least, the Captain's repast hardly ever remains long enough to put to record. But ah, the feasts of the mind that he can offer you!

Along with his own dawdles, he hopes to present some of his compatriots' content as well, in the links section. Let's see how it goes, through the solar year, and beyond!

Damn the dragons, full steam ahead!