Intonation in Spoken Language

While vocabulary and grammar are essential, equally essential (but less emphasized) is intonation, pronunciation, and other conventional ways the language — outside of the textbook — is actually spoken.

In French, a textbook will introduce the following phrases:

  • Je ne sais pas.
    I don’t know.
  • Je ne peux pas.
    I can’t / I am not able.

“Je” is pronounced like the “-ge” in “corsage”. “Sais” is said like “say”, and “pas” like “pa”.
-ge ne say pa

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