Word of the Week #16 - The Accent In French-Where? - Mastering French Pronunciation w/ Geri Metz

WORD OF THE WEEK #16-The accent in English is anywhere; in French it's very specific.
Bonjour! I'm Geri Metz and this is the "Word of the Week!" A mini video lesson in French Pronunciation!
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Word of the Week # 16 le photographe; la photographie
This week we look at a very important feature of French pronunciation, and that is where the accent goes on a word. Now in English, the accent can go anywhere, and I think that makes English a really difficult language for a foreign speaker to master. Look at these examples: photOgrapher; phOtograph; photogrAphic. No foreigner could possibly know where to put the accent in English without having heard the word spoken first. Also notice that the English accent is an accent of intensity-we hit that syllable with more force than the others, and also with a little raising of the musical tone of the vowel.
In French there is only one place that the accent falls-you never have to wonder. It falls on the last syllable of the last word of a group of words that go together, called a rhythmic group.
Using the example above for a word in isolation, we have le photographe; la photographie; photografique. Notice each syllable is equal and there is no accent until the last syllable. Notice also that the accent in French is just making the last vowel a little bit longer than the others.
But usually words are not in isolation, but part of a group of words. In this case, the accent shifts to the last syllable of the group of words. Example: Ce photographe est très connu en France. Remember: each syllable of equal length, no accent of intensity on any syllable, and a slightly longer vowel on the last syllable of a word or rhythmic group. Become aware of these differences in French, et à la prochaine.

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Bravo, Geri! Love your creative, short lessons! Well done.