I’m bilingual. I speak English, but there’s still one thing I’m not good at: knowing where an English speaker is from by his accent. Don’t get me wrong, I understand most accents, but to the exception of American VS British, it’s not automatically obvious to me where natives are from. And it’s frustrating me.
That’s why, when I watch movies and that I come across one in which an actor is playing a French person, I LOVE it. Because I get to judge if his or her accent is good or bad.
Let’s get down to business, who would I pick as the best French accent I have ever heard ? It was quite a hard choice. But here are my picks.
Feel free to comment them, and shut at me if I forgot your favourite one.
Let's start with the worst French accents
I had to do a bit of research. Not because I haven’t heard any bad French accents, but because I simply don’t remember the actor who did. There’s so many.
3. Joseph Gordon Levitt
The Walk (2015)
Now, that was a bad case of trying to be French. I mean first, the text. Nah, it just doesn’t make sense for a French person to say that.
To be completely fair, his c’est la vie is ok. But his pourquoi is just plain bad.
2. Matt Damon
The Monument’s Men (2013)
Not sure if this one was for real or not…
I mean, he’s not supposed to be a French person so that’s cool. But the French he’s speaking… I simply don’t understand what he’s saying. And I have no idea how Cate Blanchett (I have no idea how to prononce her name ahaha it might be obvious in the audio) recognised her name.
And the last sentence he’s saying. If anyone could enlighten me…
1. Steve Martin
The Pink Panther (2006)
I know… It’s supposed to be bad. But no, he’s still the TOP worst French accent I ever came across. Let’s crown him the King of the worst French accent!
There is simply ZERO sounds he’s saying that sound remotely French…
And now, to the crème de la crème of the French accents
3. Peter Sellers
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
Isn’t funny that the worst French accent and one of the best one are playing the same character? Well, I find it funny, must be my French humour.
Anyway, Peter Sellers is a master of accents. But his role as Inspecteur Clouseau is something else! PARFAIT.
2. Kevin Kline
French Kiss (1995)
Who doesn’t love French Kiss? It’s one the rare movies where it actually looks like we are in France!
Plus, Kevin Kline’s accent is AMAZING.
The phrasing, the words, the accent, the prononciation…. Everything but the moustache. Simply great!
1. David Suchet
Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989-2013)
You know when I fist started watching the Poirot séries, I was watching in French. So, obviously, Poirot didn’t have an accent.
But when I switched to English, it was a shock. A good one. David Suchet’s accent, manners, phrasing,…
Also, I’m a HUGE fan of Poirot… #nerdalert
Ok, he’s supposed to be Belgium. Well nobody’s perfect…
So, what's the deal? How can YOU transform your Matt Damon into a David Suchet?
Simple! It just requires a few mindsets, and simple rules.
Those tips and advice are to be put into action in this week’s goodie : a week of exercices to better your French prononciation. Are you in?
Let's take a look at the mindsets
SPEAK
Yes, bettering one’s pronunciation always requires speaking. You cannot except to become fluent if you don’t open your mouth a minimum.
So, find a language partner, and chat chat chat. (Spoiler: if you say that with a French accent, it sounds like a dance).
LISTEN
Ah, no, it is not contradictory. You know a good conversation goes both ways. If you speak you have to listen too.
But here I’m referring to ACTIVE LISTENING. Yes, it IS a thing. So, what does it mean?
It means you have be aware of what people are saying, and if you did download the Roadmap to Fluent French, you are looking at the last but most important step of the list : CURIOSITY.
Be curious, ask questions. Make people repeat when you didn’t understand. Ask for a quick tutorial on how to prononce a particular sentence or word. And if you are working on your prononciation on your own, with a video or a movie, don’t just let it play and check your phone at the same time. Ouvrez vos oreilles !
DON'T BE AFRAID OF MAKING MISTAKES AND CORRECTING THEM
Because you are going to speak more, you are, inevitably, going to make mistakes. And that’s OK.
But don’t sulk in your corner because you’ve made a mistake. Ask for a correction. You’re HUMAN. And god knows, humans make mistakes
Let's be more specific. How can you make your French sounds more... French?
KISS YOUR U
One the most common sounds English speakers mispronounce is U.
The tip is to kiss. YES, that’s the real French Kiss there. To prononce the ‘u’ sound you have to move your lips forward like if you were going to kiss your grandma. Like this 😚 Now let your lips slightly open, and prononce the ‘u’.
AVOID NASALITY
If you have a very nasal voice, it’s going to be extra tricky for you to prononce French words correctly.
Take the sound ‘ay’ in English (like in say or day). Can you feel it resonating in your nose? Well that’s exactly what you need to avoid when speaking French.
I know it’s easier to say than to do. But it’s a question of feelings. Play with it.
GO EASY ON YOUR CONSONANTS
That’s a big one. Americans I’m looking at you.
You know those extra explosive consonants? Well forget them. They don’t exist in French.
The trick to prononce French consonant is to light it up. Be gentle with it. It might sounds like a cliché, but it’s the key.
AR-TI-CU-LA-TE
Do you know why a French native has this very particular phrasing? That’s because in French, we articulate every syllabe.
And that’s one of the reason why French is not an easy language to sing in. English, on the contrary is VERY good for singing. In French, we simply don’t stress syllabes.
Now, there IS one exception to that: questions. You have to end your questions with a higher tone if you want to be understood.
Tu vas bien. VS Tu vas bien ? (Listen to the audio)
CUT THE CRAP, sorry, THE SOUNDS
You remember day, say, tool, feel,… You hear the long vowels? Cut them out of your French.
The French language is maybe working on longer words than English but the sounds are shorter. There is no long sounds in French. So cut your vowels!
Last one, BE MONOTONE
Monotone doesn’t have to be boring. Monotone, simply means, to keep the same note. And it’s kinda linked with the articulation thing but we’re shooting for sentences here.
Listen to Poirot, his phrasing is rigorously monotone. Mimic him!
Working on your prononciation is important. Because it’s frustrating to know all about French but not being understood… So I’ve compiled a worksheet for you : a week of exercices to better your French prononciation. Download it under the article!
Annnnd that concludes this. I’ll see you next week on the blog, and this week in the newsletter for the curious subscribers. In the meantime, ask your questions, remember to be curious and à la prochaine!
Bisous ! 😘 (see what I did there?)
