Lack of phonetic transcriptions in French & Audio Dictionaries with Prononciations?

Question

When I was learning English, every dictionary that I ever came across with, had a *phonetic transcription*, so I could easily understand how the word is pronounced. For example, phonetic transcription for a word **knee** would be **[ni:]**. I just started to learn French and I am really surprised by the lack of phonetic transcriptions for such a hard-to-learn language. How am I supposed to know the pronunciation, when half of the letters are silent?Are there any good sources on the web, where I could look up phonetic transcription for any word? It really makes me uncomfortable when I don't know how the word is pronounced.**UPDATE** After a year of intensive French learning, I could say that transcriptions are really useless. The pronunciation rules are complex, but quite strict. The only problem I still encounter from time to time is with `liasons`, `enchaînements`, and `h muet/aspiré`. But that comes with experience. Other than that, I like it so much, that there's no need to look up a new word in a dictionary in order to find out how to say it. Another awesome feature of French is that the stress is always placed on the last syllable.

Answer 1

What is your native language ? This could be in part why you are having problems with the phonetic transcriptions ? That said, I do not believe in phonetic transcriptions and avoid using them in class when teaching, as I end up getting these phonetic spellings on exams, etc.

The general rules of prononciation are these :

double L makes the "yuh" sound, as in Spanish (except for ville, where we pronounce the double L)

ex. brouille (disagreement) = brew-y (English phonetics)

Please note that the French R is produced in a manner similar to when you gargle water, mouthwash - a tip I give my students.

don't pronounce the last letter of a given word - there are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but this is a good start. While holding your nose with your fingers (to create a good nasal sound), try pronouncing these words.

ex. tort = tohr

brun = bruh

choque = shock

raison = raysoh

Keep practicing - you will get there. Listen to as much French as possible, and it will start to come naturally.

J'espère que ça te aidera !