French sounds in English

As you know many words in English come from French language. You can check my post about French-English Cognates. The interesting thing is that some words also kept their French pronunciation. That is interesting for us as French learners, because we will use this pronunciation as a model speak a better French!

Take the words and expressions like the montage, déjà vu, rendez-vous, bourgeois, comprise, brochure, filet mignon, chauffeur, lingerie, and encore.

These are often pronounced as the French pronounce it. And it can give you a hint of how some sounds are pronounced or not (faux pas, buffet, coup, and laissez-faire…) Even the liaison appears in words vis-à-vis (pronounced “vee-zah-vee”) and bon appétit (pronounced “baw na-pey-tee”).

If you are a complete beginner, you will find here a list of French words used in English, but with a French accent.

• montage,
• déjà vu,
• rendez-vous,
• bourgeois,
• comprise,
• brochure,
• filet mignon,
• chauffeur,
• lingerie,
• encore.
• faux pas,
• buffet,
• coup,
• laissez-faire.
• vis-à-vis (pronounced “vee-zah-vee”)
• bon appétit (pronounced “baw na-pey-tee”).