This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2138.
Are you making these French pronunciation errors?
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Hi, Lindsay.
How are you today?
Hi, Aubrey.
I'm doing great.
How's everything in your world?
Excellent.
I'm excited for this episode because we're talking about French words we use in English.
Yes.
And you know I speak French.
I love French.
So I'm excited about this.
I know.
French is your jam.
So good stuff.
I have a question for you, though, here to dive in.
How many French words do you think are used in the English language?
What's your guess?
Oh, I would say many, I would guess.
Maybe 50?
50?
25, 30?
47,000, Lindsay.
What?
7,000.
Are you serious?
I'm shocked.
I was too, actually, because I could probably only name 50 off the top of my head.
But it's fascinating because a lot of those words, we don't say with a French accent.
We anglicize them.
We say them sort of with an English accent.
And for many of them, we don't realize that they're actually from French.
Oh, I love that.
I'm so excited.
Okay.
So we're going to learn a bit more today then.
Really good.
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This is just yesterday, this Friday or next Friday, how to clarify calendar dates in English.
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Oh my gosh, that was a really, really good one.
Because I know a lot of our listeners get confused about this next last.
You know it's confusing, even for native speakers.
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Stand someone up, for example.
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Okay.
Should I go ahead and read the question?
This is for you, Aubrey, right?
Yes.
This was emailed directly to me from Mauro, maybe Mauro.
Yeah.
Good.
So the listener says, Mauro says, hi, Aubrey, what's shaking?
I got that from you.
I love it.
As I know, you're awesome in French.
Is there an episode on All Ears English about French words that Americans use in daily life?
AEE rocks.
Thanks, Mauro.
Oh, I love it.
I know.
Such a great question.
I emailed him right away and shared several episodes because we have discussed this before.
You and Michelle did an amazing episode 1458 called.
This Episode Has a Certain Je Ne And you shared a bunch right.
A la carte prefix, je ne sais quoi, like several words that we use in French that we often do sort of pronounce with a French accent.
Oh, I'm glad you found that episode.
Yeah, because I knew we had done one and I was trying to think where was that one?
We also did one on Italian words somewhere in the back, but today we're all about French.
Yeah.
Okay.
And just as a little plug here, many french words are often used in business english, like repertoire and liaison, so i think we should do a follow-up on business english as well, so be sure to hit follow on the business english podcast too.
Good idea, okay.
So then do we have an article we're bringing in today to inform our conversation?
Yes, this is going to be interesting.
Today, our focus is a little different.
We are sharing some French words that are often mispronounced in English from an article that was called 21 French Words English Speakers Might Be Mispronouncing.
This is from Eurolinguist.com.
And this was interesting because I have heard people say like oh, my pet peeve is when people say and then sometimes it'll be a word from French.
I've heard this.
So this was written by Shannon Kennedy.
And we're going to share a couple of words that she's just a few.
You can check out that article if you want to see all of them.
But I kind of wanted to discuss the title here, Lindsay.
What do you think when you hear about mispronouncing, mispronunciation?
I just think it's funny.
It makes me think of yeah, because I'm looking at what we're going to teach and I've definitely heard family members mispronounce these words in this way.
I think that when a word moves over into another language, it's kind of redefined a little bit.
Absolutely.
And that's okay.
I think that English words have been moved over to other languages, maybe French less, maybe Spanish more, for example but the pronunciation changes over there too.
And maybe the meaning changes slightly.
And this is what happens is we have globalization, right?
Exactly.
So it's interesting because we're with regional dialects and accents.
It's kind of tricky to say that there's a right or wrong pronunciation, to call something a mispronunciation.
But there is definitely a sort of standard accepted pronunciation for words, and then anything else would be considered a variant.
But I think it's tricky because I have seen quite a few native English speakers that will have sort of a pet peeve of the way someone pronounces a word because it's different from how they pronounce it.
And this can get a little tricky, right?
Because I just feel like, like we say all the time, connection, not perfection.
So if anyone out there is sort of judging someone else's pronunciation, think about like is there really an incorrect pronunciation?
Yeah, this is a really interesting conversation to be having with you Aubrey, because you are fluent in French.
So you know how to pronounce these correctly.
But you're also a real advocate for speaking with the people.
Like you want to, we've talked extensively on the show.
How do you make your language match who you're around so you get that connection and you don't make people feel alienated?
So I'm interested to see what you think here.
Yes, this is going to be great.
So let's dive into these.
You know, many of our listeners do want to know, like the standard, correct pronunciation, because they may hear all these variants and they're not sure which one to go with.
So I think this will be really useful for you listeners.
And it can be confusing when native speakers pronounce things differently.
So let's dive in with number one.
Okay.
So now I'm afraid to say it because I'm afraid I'm going to say it wrong.
You better introduce the words in French.
This word is voila.
And it just means like, there you go.
There it is.
It's an exclamation.
There it is.
What's the mistake that we sometimes hear?
Or at least what's the variant that we sometimes hear?
And my dad used to say this all the time.
So a native speaker will say, voila.
Exactly, right?
Instead of the V, they'll make it a W. Voila.
And also the L. I think there's a little L thing going on where the L is much more Anglo there.
But I can't really go into too much detail there.
So they'll say, voila, voila.
Sounds like nails on a chalkboard if you know even a little bit of what it's supposed to sound like.
Even if you can't pronounce it correctly, it sounds awful, but it also sounds very... very natural.
Yes.
It's so fascinating because yeah, some people would say like, oh, this is my pet peeve.
It's nails on a chalkboard when someone says this incorrectly.
Having grown up in the Northwest, where we have a regional dialect, we have some variants that are non-standard.
I'm more forgiving, right?
I'm more accepting.
I'm realizing I don't always say things the way the standard accepted pronunciation.
So I'm not really judgmental, but I understand people are.
I just feel like pronunciation is so tricky, especially in the US.
Yeah.
So I feel like today we don't necessarily have like a, this isn't a prescriptive episode, right?
I'll bring it like one way or the other.
We just want to let you know this is kind of a conversation that happens in our language, in our culture.
So do we have a role play just to show this?
Just to show how this is used in a sentence, right?
It definitely standard accepted pronunciation and how it is said in French is, with the V sound voila.
So let's do a little role play here okay oh aubrey, i can't wait to see the cake that you brought.
Voila, all right, so.
So the idea is you are bringing the cake here it is.
I'm sure you're showing it right here.
It is.
I love it so good.
All right okay aubrey, let's move on to number two, that second word, geez.
I didn't even know that this was a french word.
Actually, This next one.
Yes.
Niche is a French word.
And what's really interesting is the variant.
It sounds very different.
It's niche.
And here's what's fascinating.
Growing up, I thought there were two separate words.
I thought niche was spelled N-I-T-C-H.
And it's like a pop out, a cut out in a wall where you could put a plant or a painting or something.
That was a niche.
And then niche I used very differently, right?
Because this noun actually has three meanings.
Some of them I pronounced niche and some I pronounced niche.
Oh, that is so interesting.
Maybe the word you were looking for was like nook.
I like the word nook.
There's a little nook like a breakfast nook, a little space where you could put a table or an item in a house, a little corner.
Is that the word maybe?
But no, it's niche.
It's just niche.
And because I hadn't seen it written, it is the word niche.
And this is one of the definitions of this word is a shallow recess, especially one in a wall, to display a statue or other ornament.
Like you might say, I want to hang a painting in their niche.
But in my regional dialect, we say niche.
If I went to Idaho and tried to call that a niche, people would look at me strange, because we all say niche.
And that's where we talk about speaking for who you want to connect with in person.
You're there.
I would never say niche there.
They would feel so judged.
I would look so pretentious.
But what about for the idea of IELTS is a niche within ESL?
Exactly.
So let's go over these different meanings because this word has three meanings as a noun.
The first one is comfortable or suitable position in life or like in employment.
You might say I'm really happy with my new job.
I think I've found my niche.
Okay.
Okay.
And you would never pronounce that niche.
Niche.
Fascinating.
It's only the cutout in the wall where we say niche.
That's real.
I think a lot of namespeakers are confused about this, to be honest.
Yes, absolutely.
Someone will say niche and like, what are you even saying?
You mean your little nook in the house?
Is that what you mean?
Right.
Number two, a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service.
This is where we mentioned IELTS, right?
She's writing for a very niche audience.
Interesting.
Here we're using it as an adjective.
Right.
Exactly.
Right.
IELTS is a very niche exam.
That means it's very particular.
It's very specific.
And so, yeah, these are... Oh, yes, this is true.
That's true.
We've got it as an adjective there.
So it's an adjective.
It's a noun.
We use it so many different ways.
And then also this part of a house that some people call it a niche.
Some people pronounce this word a niche, some niche.
Fascinating.
Fascinating.
So...
Okay, so in general, any advice here?
I mean, not prescriptive today, right?
We just know that- We are sharing the standard accepted pronunciation in the US, right?
In French this word is pronounced niche and standard US pronunciation is niche for all of these things.
So if you end up moving to the Northwest and you hear everyone else calling this space and a wall, a niche, absolutely you can say that.
But on an exam, in a job interview, you would definitely want to use the standard accepted pronunciation niche.
Love it.
Okay.
Third one, genre.
Ooh, am I saying that right?
That is correct.
You said that perfectly.
That is the French pronunciation genre.
It means a type or class, but it's often pronounced with the harder G, genre, genre.
It's sort of just anglicized that way.
And sometimes people add an extra E to make this three syllables like genre or genre.
Oh, it's hard for me to hear the difference.
So, okay.
The correct French pronunciation is what Aubrey?
Tell us again.
Genre.
Okay.
And what is the quote unquote mistake that native English speakers sometimes make?
Or how do we say it here?
Harder J sound.
Genre.
Genre.
We're sort of just looking at it and saying it with an English accent.
I see.
Okay.
So this one's a little less blatant, right?
The difference, but slightly tweaked for better or for worse.
But we do use this for conversation a lot.
Absolutely.
You might say, what genre of music do you love?
What genre of film do you prefer?
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, do you like the genre, the horror genre, for example?
Do you like horror movies?
Yeah, I don't mind.
I don't love tons of like gore, blood and guts.
I prefer a suspenseful horror film.
What about you?
Yeah, that's what I like too.
But I like rom-coms, a good old rom-com, even an older one.
I like to watch them on planes.
Classic genre.
Nostalgic.
Yeah, for sure.
Okay.
Role play time.
So what are we doing here?
So I'm your new neighbor in this role play.
You're visiting me, your new neighbor.
All right.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Thank you.
Come on in.
Sorry, my house is a mess.
I have four kids.
So voila.
I love the painting in your niche.
Thank you.
And you're playing folk music.
That's my favorite genre.
That is awesome.
It's a bit niche.
So I don't have many friends who like it.
Oh, I wasn't sure if I should have said niche.
So yeah, I think niche is one of the biggest takeaways, where it's so funny for me and from a lot of people from the Northwest.
We're absolutely going to say niche.
We know what you're saying.
But even here in Arizona, most people will say niche for that pop out.
So I've sort of stopped saying it.
And this is one where it becomes a little more glaring, the variance in your pronunciation from your regional dialect.
So I would definitely say niche Lindsay, because I think niche not everyone would know what you mean.
I didn't even know until today that that was a word, like regarding a piece of a, like a Yeah.
Corner in a house.
I thought it was just for a specialization or a corner of the market or a profession.
Interesting.
And it's not even like a corner of your house.
Imagine right here on this wall behind me if it was like a cutout space, but high up on the wall.
And it's meant to be decorative.
It's meant to put a picture in that cutout or like a vase on the little shelf that's created.
And here in Arizona, houses are built with these a ton.
I have a ton of niches of niches here at my home.
It's not like a nook.
It's not like a corner of the house.
It's a cutout of the wall that's meant to be decorative.
They're getting a little dated now.
People are filling them in.
They're like flattening the wall.
Oh, fascinating.
I wonder if it's a, so when was your house built?
How old is your house?
2002.
2002.
Okay.
This might be, because development is new in the Arizona, the Phoenix suburbs, right?
So this might be an aughts era architecture, because here in Denver a lot of the houses are kind of bungalow style and they're older, I think from like just post-World War II or something like that.
But by the way, you mentioned, and we don't have those as much, but you mentioned vase.
That might be another one.
Is that a French word, vase?
I don't know.
Maybe that's another episode for another day.
Most people say vase.
Some people say vase.
I say vase, but I do know there are people that say vase and you are one of them, Aubrey.
I go back and forth.
I go back and forth because I hear both.
I think I grew up saying vase, but I think my partner's family says vase.
So I've sort of adopted that.
Fascinating.
Okay.
Variants, right?
Who's to say who's correct?
We'll come back to it later.
Yeah, that's a good one.
All right.
So let's just go through it briefly.
So what did we do here?
Yeah.
So you're welcoming.
I said, sorry, my house is a mess.
And I said, this is often how I would use voila is to like, be like, okay, it's a mess.
I have four kids.
Voila.
There it is.
There's the mess.
I like that use.
I think it's kind of self-deprecating.
It's funny.
It's here I am.
Right.
This is me being authentic.
Yeah.
I like that actually.
That's creative.
So our listeners guys think about how you could use it in that way.
Just saying, here's my authentic self.
Okay.
Voila, um.
And then i said i love the painting in your niche.
And again, if you are in the pacific northwest and people around you are saying niche fine okay, absolutely yes.
And then you said oh, you're playing folk music, that's my favorite genre and that was pronounced just like the french genre, right?
And then you said that's awesome, it's a bit niche, so i don't have many friends who like it.
And again, that's using that more french pronunciation right, Exactly.
Right.
Niche and meaning like it's a little specific.
Not everybody likes folk music.
So here I am excited to have met this neighbor.
And it's funny thinking through, because I keep saying you know oh, just like the French, but we're still anglicizing, right.
The word genre.
We're still sort of saying the R like we say in the States and French would be genre.
With that R in the back of your throat, like French, but rarely.
You know, most people English speakers don't speak French and so they won't be able to do that French R, so we have to anglicize it a little bit, which is okay.
Of course.
If you think about it, there's no way that we could... And the same on the other side.
If the word cool moves to the Spanish language, it becomes cool, right?
It's always going to happen.
And I think it's okay.
And we love accents.
I love a French accent in English, a Spanish accent in English, right?
Love it.
It's beautiful.
So this is what's tricky.
If we start correcting someone's pronunciation, then people might start feeling self-conscious about their accent.
We don't want that.
As long as our message is clear...
All of the different accents are beautiful and all of the different variants of the pronunciation of these words are fun.
And I think the other takeaway today is bring in, as you are speaking English with native speakers or non-native speakers, bring in words from other languages that you know about.
Like that example of voila, here I am.
It's fun, right?
Don't just stick to English words.
That shows that you're a global citizen, that you're aware of other languages, and I guess it makes you more interesting.
That's what I would say.
Absolutely.
If there are 7,000 French words in it, we should actually be using them.
Oh my gosh, 7,000.
Yes, choose one or two at the very least.
So which one are you going to choose?
Maybe we'll do a little poll today and we'll see which ones are your favorite to use and which ones you're going to implement right away, guys.
So very good stuff, guys.
Go over to YouTube to check out our show.
The show is on YouTube four days a week.
So we'll see you over there.
Awesome.
Thanks.
See you next time, Lindsay.
Bye, Aubrey.
Have a good one.
You too.
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