Fake a Convincing French Accent

Many people can fake a British accent, or a German accent, or a country accent, but this article can teach you how to fake a French accent.

Steps

  1. The "r" sound. The first and most important part of a fake French accent is the "r." When you say, for instance, "Rat," you would push your tongue to the back of your throat as if pronouncing a "gee" sound. Your "r" will turn out to be a rolled/groaned "rgr".
    • It is important to relax the soft part of the back of your mouth as well as the tip of your tongue a bit. When you try to force air between your tongue and the back of your palate, expect to hear the sickly sound of loose flesh flapping away.
    • Another way to create an authentic French "r" sound is to replace the "r" with an English "h" sound, but try to really rough it up, almost gargling as you make the "h" sound.
    • In Quebec, the 'r' sound that has been aforementioned,is pronounced like 'ear'. So if this sentence - 'where is the park?', it would be pronounced as 'wh[ear] is the pa[ear]k (or perk)?'
    • In words where the "r" is hard to pronounce, it may sound non-rhotic altogether. For example, "carpenter" can sound like "cahpentergr".
  2. Sustained "e"s. Next, when you say your "e"s, you will make it as long as possible. Example: "recorder" can sound completely transformed as "rgreh-caw-der".
  3. Morphed "i"s. When you say a short "i" sound, you turn it into something more like an "ee". For example, "fish" will sound more like "feesh", but do not make it any longer than you would "fish".
  4. Equal stressing. In French, each syllable has about equal stress (DA-DA-DA-DUM), as opposed to English which tends to be iambic (stress comes second, Da-DUM-da-DUM). So it's good to think a little trochaic to counteract the English tendency (stress comes first, DUM-da-DUM-dum). So instead of "po-[lice]' de-[part]'-ment", think "[poe]'-leece [dee]'-part-[men]'".
  5. "Th" to "dz". The "th"s in words are spoken as a "z." And if you want to be really accurate, shoot for a "dz" sound, like "dzees" for "this".
  6. Stressing the last syllable. In French, always stress the last syllable of a sentence or before you pause with a rising pitch as if asking a question. (E.g. "I am from New York(?).")
  7. Euh. Be sure to throw in lots of gratuitous "euh"s. "Euh" in French is the equivalent of "Ummm" or "Ah..." in English, a place-holder sound people make when they are thinking about what they are going to say next. It is pronounced more or less as it is written here. Hold on to you your "euuhhhhhh" as long as you can and try to start every sentence with at least one good "euuhhhhhhhhhh". (Never ever say "Ummm" or "Ah..." when speaking or faking French!)
    • To better pronounce "euh", start off with an "eh" sound (like in "bed") and slowly slide your way towards the "oh" sound (like in "so") BUT do not ever get there! You must end on a sound about halfway between, but make no hint at the "oh" sound.
  8. Your "H's" should be silent. Instead of how it's 'ow and hospital is 'ospital.
  9. Now, practice practice practice! The more you work on it, the better your accent gets!

Tips

  • Don't worry if you don't get it right the first time.
  • It never hurts to go to French people and ask them how to pronounce a few words!
  • Anchor the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth (as this is how the French are taught to speak). You'll be surprised that this, along with the other tips on this page, will give you a very authentic accent.
  • Try singing 'Do Re Me' in the French accent. It fine tunes your weakest sounds so you can improve on them.
  • In class, ask for a paper that contains pronouncing instructions for the words in it, because that will help.
  • Listen to french accents wherever you can. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE9xrel-voI)
  • Take French language classes.

Warnings

  • Be aware that Canadian French is different than the French you'd hear from France. Some words change like 'sock' becomes 'chausette' in France and 'bas' in Canada; and the accent does the same. Also; Canada's two official languages are English and French, therefore many (but not all) people are fluent in both. Not every person who calls French their first language will have an accent in English.
  • Do not do throttle yourself over the "r" sound, or your throat will begin to hurt.
  • Be aware that in some French-speaking areas, obviously faking a French accent can be seen as an insult if you could be speaking the French language (ex. Quebec and Canadian French)
  • Don't be racist and insult French people with a poor accent.

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