How to pronounce ation properly in French

Are you inadvertently reinforcing your English way of pronouncing French? 

Are you reading to yourself in your head with your English accent? It’s ok - it’s what we do! 

So, I am making a series on really short mini-lessons to help you quickly overcome simple pronunciation errors. 

In this mini-lesson, you’ll see

• How to pronounce “-ation” in French properly

• How to position your mouth to sound more French

• How to manage the air flow

Same spelling but a different pronunciation.

Did you know that when the spelling is the same we tend to say it as we know it? Although natural, we should, on the contrary, be extra cautious.

And it’s what happens with all words ending with “ation”. Everything is different!

Indeed, the “a” is “ahhh”, the “sh” is more “sss” and the “un” is the French nasal sound.

Be sure to watch the video to hear it.

The intonation matters as well.

In addition, the intonation or music of the language varies. In English the stress is on the “a” whereas in French it’s on the last syllable.

As a reminder, for the nasal sounds you never say the letter n since it’s embedded in the sound itself.

Here are some examples to practice with: 

• natation  >>> swimming
• équitation  >>> horse riding

• félicitations  >>> congratulations

• attraction  >>> attraction

• information  >>> information

• confirmation  >>> confirmation

• vérification  >>> vérification

To conclude, whenever you come across a word that looks like English, take your time to analise the sounds. Review each individual French sound and the combinations like “on”, “eau”, “ou” etc.

Do your best to remember that the last syllable is usually stressed in French.

If you wish you practice pronunciation and more my French Language accelerator will help you just do this.

Here are additional material for your pronunciation and speaking:

How to pronounce French words ending with "tion" and "sion"

Ditch chatrooms and start speaking REAL French!

What are your biggest difficulties concerning your pronunciation in French? I’d love to know.