I'm studying like mad with my Pimsleur CDs and am signed up for classes at Alliance Francaise in Paris this Sept. Now, I would like to tell the cab driver, who will take us from Gare de Nord to our hotel, the address in French. The hotel is on Rue de Four. How do you pronounce "Four" in French?

Thanks for all your help!!
Kathy

Muc

The "ou" sound in four is like the "ou" in "your".

Actually, with all due respect, there are a couple of different ways of pronouncing "your," and one of them - one that resembles "yore" - would be incorrect. The vowel in "four" in French is a long "oo" - just like "ooh" or "soothe." Hope this helps.

O.K. so four would sound like foooo? Would the r be pronounced?

Many thanks
Kathy

quote:

Would the r be pronounced?

Yes it would be! I don't know the content of those Pimsleur CDs, but I'm sure the word 'bonjour' comes up in one of the early lessons. The 'our' bit of 'Four' sounds just the same as it does in 'bonjour'.

Jonathan

Thanks, Jonathan.

Oh, thanks both of you! You're so helpful. Yes, bonjour comes up very often. jour and four will be the same except for the first letter.

Thanks again!
Kathy

O.K. here I am again! This time I'd like to pronounce my apartment landlord's name correctly when I meet (or call) him for the first time.

His name is Thierry.

Thanks for all your help
Kathy

T-Airee. Merge the 1st two vowels as a dipthong. And accent on the last syllable.
But in general, a forum like ours is not suitable for conveying pronunciation.
The way I conceptualize the pronunciation for you is purely based on my own regional accent, which must differ from yours.

AinP, I actually think that is a clever transliteration. It works for me, the hard-core IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) devotee!

According to the Transliteration System that Steve and I set up for the French Language Lessons, it would probably be: Tee-eh-ree, with the accent on the last syllable. But AinP is right - the first two syllables are really elided very quickly, as if they were one syllable. Hope this helps.

O.K. let me see if I've got this. I sound it out and, to me , it sounds like "Terry" with the accent on the "Y" instead of how we pronounce it with the accent on the "e" Is this close?

Thanks much
Kathy

Uh, try T-Yeah-REE, accent on the last syllable.

Or perhaps, Tear-uh-REE? With the first two syllables tightly together and the accent on the third syllable. So that, in effect, it almost sounds like just two syllables, and roll the second R.

It's a great name, it makes me think of that gorgeous French actor Thierry Lhermitte (Le diner de Cons; Le Divorce.)


Cheers,
Sandra

Thanks, everyone for all your help! I'm having more fun with this! I will take everyone's suggestions and try them out on my landlord and see which one he likes.

Kathy