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Read more about Sons & Lettres: A pronunciation method for intermediate-level French

Sons & Lettres: A pronunciation method for intermediate-level French

(7 reviews)

Stephen Walton

Copyright Year: 2018

Publisher: Portland State University Library

Language: English

Formats Available

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CC BY-NC

Reviews

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Reviewed by Nicholas Shangler, Associate Professor of French, Marshall University on 12/11/23

The text offers a good overview of the pronunciation of French words and sounds. As another reviewer notes, it lacks a glossary or index which might help students locate material more quickly, but otherwise is fairly complete. read more

Reviewed by Anne Perriguey, Instructor, University of Idaho on 5/25/22

The textbook Sons et Lettres and the accompanying web exercises provide an excellent explanation of the pronunciation of French words with practice to hone one’s listening and speaking skills. It is very easy to use thanks to a clear layout and a... read more

Reviewed by Peter Eubanks, Professor of French, James Madison University on 3/30/22

The text provides a solid and comprehensive introduction to the basics of French pronunciation. There is no index or glossary, but the appendices at the end of the book are very helpful. read more

Reviewed by Monica Vidal, Lecturer, Leeward Community College on 2/26/22

Professor Walton does an exemplary job of explaining how students could greatly improve their pronunciation of French spoken in France by showing how to interpret spellings and pronunciations together. He includes descriptions of basic building... read more

Reviewed by Lindsy Myers, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Missouri - Kansas City on 12/14/18

This textbook purposefully and carefully selected components of French pronunciation that are accessible and useful to an audience of intermediate learners. With the very specific goal of recognizing and eventually producing the most common... read more

Reviewed by Christine Knapp, Lecturer and Director of Basic French, Wayne State University on 12/7/18

The explanations in the text are very detailed and clear, and several useful comparisons are made between English and French pronunciation. There is a website link provided in the introduction that includes computer-graded activities for... read more

Reviewed by Kiki Kosnick, Assistant Professor of French, Augustana College on 11/18/18

Sons et lettres provides a thorough overview of French pronunciation and clear presentation of the relationship between graphemes and phonemes. The introductory section synthesizes key differences between French and English and reviews the main... read more

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Fiches d'exercies
  • Section 1: Voyelles orales
  • Section 2: Voyelles nasales
  • Section 3: Consonnes

Ancillary Material

  • Portland State University Library
  • About the Book

    Sons et lettres provides a set of classroom materials to train students to hear and produce the sounds of French and to recognize the regular spellings used to represent those sounds in print. The materials are inspired by a desire to help students feel more confident about their French pronunciation and more at home saying the many French words, familiar and unfamiliar, which they encounter in their studies, in French media and in their travels. In our experience, students are not given sufficient preparation to successfully decipher and pronounce French words. These materials are intended to fill that gap and to clear away the confusion that English speakers often feel when they see French words with seemingly mysterious combinations of letters.

    About the Contributors

    Author

    Stephen Walton, PhD, is an assistant professor of French at Portland State University in Oregon, where he teaches courses in French language, literature and phonetics. He supervises the 2nd-year French curriculum, for which this book was developed, and trains 2nd-yearteaching assistants. His research and teaching interests include Francophone literature of West Africa and the Caribbean, French poetry, 19th-century French literature, and language pedagogy. His publications include articles on Paul Eluard and on Baudelaire and Aimé Césaire. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the US Department of Education for the incorporation of technology in the language curriculum at PSU.

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