Sound like a French native with FRENCH FLEXY LIPS

Learning should be fun, and this week, after working in a lesson with French people trying to sound English, we realised it works both ways.  With side-splitting fun we repositioned out mouth, our tongue and even the airflow in our throat. 

Through all the laughter we cracked it with two fun phrases to trigger an extremely memorable way. We got to switch languages in a second AND sounding authentic in the second language! 

Of course it had to find its way to you here! 

WARNING - you’re going to enjoy this one but BRACE - you’re going to lose all inhibitions! Here you go...  

• Get your mouth into the “Flexy French Lip” position

• Come out of your “Round English Mouth”

• How to switch between the two with ease.

Your kit to sound like a native French.

If you truly desire to sound a native, there are things you can do. They may look ridiculous at first, but they are extremely useful. If you follow this mini-lesson and apply the tips, you’re going to be able to:

• squeeze and thrust
• find your flexy lips
• go to ventriloquist mode
• lubricate and dribble.

I will explain each point. However, the best you can do is to watch the video in order to pay attention to my lips and other parts of my body to produce the sounds.

Come out of your “Round English Mouth”

Before you dive into your French mastery, you should be aware of what English looks and sounds like.

Have you ever paid attention to a video (with no sound) to observe someone speaking English? Sometimes, you can even guess that the native language of a person is English without talking!

Why? Because people who speak English tend to have a round mouth. In addition, since there are several diphthongs (a sound with 2 vowels), English is a “round” language.

Get your mouth into the “Flexy French Lip” position

Unlike English, French is a flexy. People who speak French seem to do sports! They extend their lips a lot more, not in a round way but vertically and horizontally. 

It’s not a surprise with the French vowels that require more tension.

The one that stretches the most is the u sound.

How to switch between the two with ease.

Let’s compare or to be more exact, contrast the two languages so you can switch from one to another with ease.

English can be described as:

• open mouth
• more open throat
• air in the mouth chamber
• speaking from the diaphragm
• the jaw moves up and down significantly
• the tip of the tongue is often up top

What about French? One could say that French is:

• mouth almost closed
• throat tighter
• air squeezing through
• use throat more
• jaw fairly rigid
• tip of the tongue often down

In conclusion, we have English round mouth versus Flexy French lips.

How to sound like a French native. 

Therefore, if you want to sound like a true French native, you should pay attention to these factors: 

• squeeze and thrust
• find your flexy lips
• go to ventriloquist mode
• lubricate and dribble.

Another tip I have for you is to practice with difficult words to pronounce so it gets easier with the other ones! Aim high and surprise yourself.

Can you imagine if you can produce the hardest French words? The rest will be a piece of cake…

In the next section, we are going to practice with challenging French words. You can do it!

The 5 hardest French words to pronounce.

The first one is to practice the sounds “yyy” and “uu”.

The main word here is:

• rouillé >>> rusty.

In a full sentence, you could see the following:

• Le vélo est rouillé. >>> The bike is rusty. 

As you can see, in each example, it’s just as if the person is trying to justify something…

The following one is to practice the sounds “uu” and the French r.

The main word here is:

• serrurerie >>> locksmith’s shop.

In the context, it’s like this:

• Je vais à la serrurerie pour faire une clé. >>> I’m going to the locksmith’s to have a key made.

Then, you have this word to practice the sounds “e” and the French r and the letter l.

The main word is:

• chocolaterie >>> chocolate shop.

Here’s a full sentence:

• On se retrouve à la chocolaterie pour un café. >>> Let’s meet at the chocolate shop for a coffee.

Have you ever heard of this French meal?

• bouillabaisse >>> a type of fish stew.

Thanks to this word you can practice the sounds “yy” and the “ay”. 

Here’s an example:

• J’ai commandé une bouillabaisse au restaurant. >>> I ordered a bouillabaisse at the restaurant.

Finally, the most complex French word: 

• quincaillerie >>> hardware store.

Not only will you practice your “yyy” sound, but also your nasal “in”.

Try it with this sentence:

• Je dois acheter des outils à la quincaillerie. >>> I need to buy some tools at the hardware store.

How to sound like a French speaker.

First, you saw the main differences between French and English. Now, you are aware that French requires flexy lips and other elements. Be sure to watch the video to see everything in detail and practice with it.

Then, you can also master the last words because if you can say them perfectly the rest will be far easy.

And now:

The following FREE masterclass is available to you to guide you through being able to speak French with confidence.  And if you speak with more confidence, you also hear more easily - really.  Take a peek . . .  https://www.simplyfrenchonline.com head for LEARN and then Masterclass. 

What did you or do you do to sound more French? I’d love to know…