Unité 1 Leçon 1A, Partie 1

Video and Culture Let’s watch the Lesson 1A video! Salutations (Greetings) In France, people shake hands with friends and acquaintances each time they see one another, and not only to say hello but also when they say good-bye. Among teenagers, boys shake hands with boys. Girls kiss each other on the cheeks two or three times. (This is called une bise). Boys and girls who are close friends also greet each other with une bise. La rentrée (Back to school) French and American students have about the same number of days of summer vacation. In France, summer vacation usually begins at the end of June and classes resume in early September. The first day back to school in fall is called la rentrée. Les prénoms français (French first names) Many traditional French names have corresponding equivalents in English. For boys: For girls: Jean (John) Marie (Mary) Pierre (Peter) Monique (Monica) Marc (Mark) Cécile (Cecilia) Philippe (Philip) Véronique (Veronica) Nicolas (Nicholas) Virginie (Virginia) Often the names Jean and Marie are combined in double names such as Jean-Paul and Marie-Christine. In recent years, names of foreign origin, like Kevin and Laura, have become quite popular.

French Alphabet a = ah b = bay c = say d = day e = euh f = ehf g = zjay h = ahsh i = ee j = zjee k = kah l = ehl m = ehm n = ehn o = oh p = pay q = koo r = air s = ess t = tay u = oo v = vay w = doobleuh vay x = eeks y = ee grehk z = zehd

French Pronunciation French can be a challenge to pronounce but not impossible! Persevere and keep coming back to this practice. Following are a few pointers but irritatingly there are a lot of exceptions (as there are in the English language) but most of the time the following rules apply:

Pronunciation Guide In French, the E at the end of the word is usually not pronounced. (i.e. anglaise, onze, Philippe) Exception: é sounds like AY In French, the S at the end of a word is usually not pronounced. (i.e. Paris, Nicolas, trois) In French, the letter H is silent. (i.e. Henri, Thomas, Hélène) In French, you don’t usually pronounce the last consonant in a word. i.e. trois, Albert, Richard, deux, bien Exception: CaReFuL You DO pronounce the letters CRFL at the ends of words. i.e. Eric, Victor, Lebeuf, Daniel Exception to the exception: ER at the end of a word usually sounds like AY

Pronunciation Continued Liaison Liaison means “link.” When there is a liaison, you pronounce a consonant that is usually silent. Liaison occurs when a consonant that is normally silent is immediately followed by a word beginning with a vowel…(relate to English use of an) i.e. un ami, un italien, un artiste Elision the dropping of a final “e” or “a” when the next word begins with a vowel sound. i.e. l’hôtel, l’amie, l’ami

Activité We will work our way around the room, spelling our first and last names. I’ll go first!