Les accents There are five marks that occur with letters in French. All are important for spelling; most are important for pronunciation.

1-La cédille ç appears only under the letter ç When the letter c comes before the vowel letters a, o, and u, it has the [k] sound, as in “car”. The cédille changes that sound to [s] as in “see.”

la cédille ç - Exemple : le cahier ça la carte français la corbeille la leçon le cousin le garçon la cuisine reçu

2- L’accent aigu é is used only over the letter é This accent gives the letter e the long [A] sound, as in “late.”

l’accent aigu é – Exemple: américain l’école café étranger la télé répéter

Lexigene: the mix of 1066 The Norman Conquest (invasion of England by the duke of Normandie-France) brought the Anglo-French communities into close contact.

the English s + consonant = the French é + consonant école school étudiant student époux/se spouse

the English s + consonant = the French é + consonant épier spy état state étranger stranger écharpe scarf écarlate scarlet

3-L’accent grave à, è, ù is used only over the letters à, è, ù

l’accent grave à, è, ù- Exemple: voilà l’élève où l’algèbre déjà très première

4-L’accent circonflexe â, ê, î, ô, û (chapeau = hat) is used over any vowel This accent represents an omitted “s” from the transition from old French to new French.

Lexigene: the mix of 1066 The Norman Conquest brought the Anglo-French communities into close contact.

the English vowel + s = the French vowel with circumflex rôti roast île isle bête beast

the English vowel + s = the French vowel with circumflex château castle pâte paste/batter hôte host fête feast

5-Le tréma ä, ë, ï, ö, ü is used over any vowel This accent shows that two vowels next to each other are pronounced separately.

le tréma ä, ë, ï, ö, ü – Exemple: Noël naïf naïve Joël Joëlle