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By first language

English pronunciation for French speakers

French and English share an enormous vocabulary and almost none of the same th, ch or short-vowel machinery. The famous French–English confusions are all here: they are famous because the sounds genuinely do not exist in French, not because anyone is careless.

French also brings gifts: zh (as in vision) is the everyday French j, and English asks for nothing new there.

Nunzio never asks and never guesses where you are from — the app only compares the sounds you made against the sounds the sentence wanted, and this page would be exactly as true or as irrelevant for any one person. It is a reading map of where English and French usually meet, not a verdict about you.

Where the two maps differ

th” as in think, when it comes out as “s” as in sun

No French word needs θ, so think naturally lands on sink. The tongue tip peeks between the teeth and the air keeps flowing.

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th” as in this, when it comes out as “z” as in zoo

The voiced th of this is made in the same place as the soft th — tongue between teeth — where French z buzzes behind them.

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ch” as in chair, when it comes out as “sh” as in shoe

French ch is soft (as in chanson). English chair starts with a tiny t before the sh — one burst, then the hiss.

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j” as in jump, when it comes out as “zh” as in vision

The mirror image: English jump starts with a d before the zh. French j alone gives you vision, not jump.

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ih” as in ship, when it comes out as “ee” as in sheep

French i is one crisp vowel; English ship and sheep demand two. The short 'ih' is laxer than any French i.

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a” as in apple, when it comes out as “eh” as in ten

Apple's vowel is wider than French è — the jaw drops further than French ever requires of a front vowel.

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ay” as in day, when it comes out as “eh” as in ten

English day glides from e toward ee; French é holds perfectly still. The glide is the whole difference between late and let.

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Which of these are actually yours? That is the part no list can know.

Nunzio records you reading a sentence and scores every sound in it on your phone — nothing is uploaded — then names the one worth your next ten minutes. No list, no guessing: your recording. Nunzio — Accent Coach is coming to the App Store and Google Play.