Phones describe a minimal unit of sound, spelling has to do with how we represent those phones that we hear and recognize through listening in written language. French has multiple phonological difference that I have recognized and attempted to learn: there is the uvular r, nasal vowels, and three different processes that include--> liaison- word-final consonants are not pronounced unless followed by a word beginning with a vowel, elision-instances when the mid central vowel is omitted, and enchainement or resyllabification- word final and word initial consonants may be moved across a syllable boundary. What I have had the most trouble with thus far is the uvular r and guttural r which are very common in Paris and north western France.
amuʀ- amour
ʀjɛ̃- rien
lez‿amuʁø- les amoureux
I think that what has been most helpful in mimicking these sounds is following phonetic alphabet videos and mimicking the mouth positions and sounds. I have found that by the end of these exercises I physically can feel it in my mouth because some of the muscles I use for these sounds aren't used in my everyday english. Also I have been listening to music where some of these systems are in place. One song in specific that I have been listening to for example to capture that throaty r sound is "Non, Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf. These songs are really helpful for me to capture the song and some how having the music and melody helps me hear the sounds better, especially because they elongate the sounds sometimes so I can hear it more closely. One difficulty I have is the speed of listening exercises to really capture those sounds and that is why I think songs, especially ballads help me. I feel like the process of liaison has become more easily understood with practice, especially just in vocabulary practice because so many plurals of nouns follow this rule.
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