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Les lettres silencieuses ā When Letters Hide
š¤« Les lettres silencieuses ā When Letters Hide
In English we pronounce almost every letter we write. In French, final consonants love to hide. Say Ā«grandĀ» and the d disappears. Say Ā«petitĀ» and the t vanishes. But say Ā«ils parlentĀ» and the -ent ending completely vanishes ā even though it looks like it should rhyme with Ā«tentĀ». This is the single biggest Read-Aloud trap on Paper 2 Speaking. Get the silent-final rule into your muscle memory and you'll sound authentically French from the very first sentence of your exam.
The Silent-Final Rule ā and When It Breaks
In French, when a word ends in a consonant, that consonant is almost always silent in natural speech. This applies to d, t, s, x, z, p, g at the end of a word.
Earn the mark scheme marks
š” Read-Aloud Tips & Common Errors
- Before your Read-Aloud, scan the text for any ils/elles + verb combinations ā the -ent ending is silent every single time, no exceptions.
- Look for liaison opportunities: les / des / mes / tes / ses + vowel will always require linking the [z] sound.
- The word et (and) does NOT trigger liaison ā Ā«et une amieĀ» is [e yn ami], not [e tyn ami].
- The h aspirĆ© in words like Ā«le hibouĀ», Ā«la honteĀ» blocks liaison: Ā«les hibouxĀ» = [le ibu], not [le zibu].
- Practise reading aloud with a pencil: mark every final consonant as S (silent) or P (pronounced) before you speak.
ā Common error: Reading Ā«ils parlentĀ» as "eel par-LENT" (pronouncing the -ent).
ā Correct: [il paŹl] ā the -ent adds no sound at all. It sounds identical to Ā«il parleĀ».
Why it costs marks: The AQA examiner's mark scheme for Paper 2 Read-Aloud specifically penalises mispronounced verb endings. Pronouncing the -ent is one of the most frequently flagged errors ā it immediately signals that the student has not internalised French phonology, and it will reduce your pronunciation mark even if every other word is correct.