French Phonology.
Vowels : There are 16 vowel sounds in French: [a], [ɑ], [e], [ɛ], [ə], [i], [o], [ɔ], [y], [u], [œ], [ø], plus the nasalized vowels [ɑ̃], [ɛ̃], [ɔ̃] and [œ]. ̃ Nasals : The velar nasal [ŋ] occurs only in final position in borrowed (usually from English) words : building, camping, smoking. The palatal nasal [ɲ] is most frequently found in intervocalic position or at the end of a word (e.g. cygne, montagne). Consonants : French has 20 consonant letters, which do not always produce the same sounds, depending on their immediate environment or sound combinations. This is illustrated in the figure below. The standard rules are as follows. Final consonants: The final single consonants s, x, z, t, d, n and m, are normally silent. The final consonants c, r, f and l, however, are normally pronounced. When the following word begins with a vowel, a silent consonant may be pronounced, to provide a liaison or "link" between the two words. Some liaisons are mandatory, whereas s...