2. La Prononciation Française : Partie I

3. Les voyelles
English speakers tend to "stretch" or distort vowels giving rise to what are called diphthongs (for a more exaggerated example, think of a southern accent and how the vowel sounds are drawled).
A diphthong is actually a combination of two sounds, a vowel and a glide.
Pronounce the English words I, out, and boy. Do you notice that the vowel actually changes its sound? Try saying each word slowly and note how your jaw moves during the vowel.

4. Unlike English, the vowels in French are never followed by a glide.
You must learn to keep your lips, tongue and jaw still when pronouncing a French vowel, which will result in a pure sound.
If you relax your mouth or jaw, you will produce diphthongized vowels that will give your French an American accent.

5. Say each set out loud and compare the difference:
French (tense) si
qui
Emilie
parti
tout
tôt
chaud
English (relaxed)
sea
key
Emily
party
too
tow
show

6. Let’s explore each vowel one by one:

7. 1) The letter a is pronounced [a] as in “ah”.
maladie
madame
safari
ils battent
là-bas

8. 2) The letter e (without the accent) is pronounced [ə] and is similar to the u sound of knuckle. 
je ce
me que
te de
le ne se

9. 3) The presence of the accent aigu (é) changes the sound of the letter.
This is the sound [e] and it is much like the vowel sound of day (but short and pure and without
the glide). 
été arrivé
armée légal

10. Other letter/vowel combos that produce this same sound are:
-ER -ES
répéter les
téléphoner ses
-EZ -AI
nez j’ai
chez je finirai
je donnerai

11. 4) The letters i and y are pronounced as [i].
  This sound is similar to the vowel of English be.
lit île
stylo ville
ici active
midi

12. 5) The pronunciation of the letter o depends if it’s in an open syllable (ends with a vowel sound – pronounced like the “o” in no) or a closed syllable (ends with a consonant – pronounced like the “o” in love).
open closed
gros donne
mot sol
vos note

13. 6) The letter u is pronounced two ways
6) The letter u is pronounced two ways. If it stands alone it is pronounced [y] as in tu. It is roughly similar to the vowel sound of pew but shorter and without the glide.
menu nu
sûr su
culture bu

14. If the u is in combination with “o” (ou)
it is pronounced [u] as in fou.
où tourner
journal nous
toujours jour

15. Les Virelangues

21. La poule pousse la petite poupée partout.