If you know: I thought I read somewhere that Chantilly was pronounced Shanteeyee and that Senlis was pronounced Sanless. Please confirm or correct me. Thx.

For Chantilly, that is correct.

The "n" is not really pronounced in either, and the first vowel sound is identical in both words.<BR><BR>Shaw-tee-yee<BR><BR>and<BR><BR>saw-lee<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

I think "saw-lee" is not understandable for Senlis. YOu have it right as sanless, I think, except the last syllable is pronounced like the English word "lease" -- leese. An "i" in French is pronounced as "ee", and the "s" is pronounced in this city name, from what I've heard. I am in the camp that advising that nasal sounds in French are silent or dropped is wrong, although I guess that is what Rex is doing, as I don't think it will be understandable. They aren't silent at all. To me, it is much more understandable if they were simply pronounced as a regular "n" by non-French speakers if you don't know how to make a nasal French sound, just don't really dwell on the "n" a lot, don't stress it. I've seen that advice on here several times recently, telling people nasal n's or m's in French are silent, and I don't agree. For some reason, this sound will be presented as "ng" in some foreign phrasebooks for English speakers, and I don't think that's really correct, either (except maybe more way down south in France), but it is pronounced pretty much like the English work "song" (the first syllable) if you really don't stress or dwell on the "g" or cut it short before your tongue hits the top of the mouth. I do sort of wonder where this advice of nasal sounds being silent comes from, I've taken a lot of French classes, both in France and the US, and have never heard any teacher say that when explaining pronunciation.

Rex has Chantilly correct - it's essentially Shaw(with a bare hint of an "n" sound) - tee-yee.<BR><BR>But he's wrong about Senlis. The final "s" is pronounced (as in fleur-de-lys). So it's Saw-lees, again with that hint of an "n" sound after the Saw.

I realized that I was taking a chance on advising silent terminal "s" on Senlis. I am sorry I made that mistake. I think that there are many different ways to try to use pseudo-phonetic spelling to represent a "nasal a" sound. I think that "song" is a good example. I would represent "song" as "sawng" - - clearly not "sawg". But it's way lees "n" than "lawn" for example. Somewhere in between is correct for "nasal a".<BR><BR>A point to be made is that the sound is the sound is the same whether it's an "n" or an "m"<BR><BR>Thus Chambord and Chantilly have EXACTLY the same first syllable. Neither really has an "n", nor an "m" sound clearly pronounced.<BR>

I heard a trick to help "non-lingual" English speakers deal with the nasal "n" in French that might be helpful for "Nonlingual." First, telling him/her to say "Shawteeyee" or "Sawless" will result in something unintelligible, esp. if Non- is American.<BR><BR>If you, Non-, are American, think about what it sounds like when you answer a yes-no question with either "uh-hunh" (for yes) or "unh-unh" (for no). That's how you pronounce a syllable like the "Chan--" in Chantilly: "Shaunh-tee-yee." And Senlis is "Sanh-leece".<BR><BR>K?

this website and its links may help<BR>http://french.about.com/library/pron...nciation-n.htm

"Thus Chambord and Chantilly have EXACTLY the same first syllable. Neither really has an "n", nor an "m" sound clearly pronounced."<BR><BR>Actually this is not true.<BR><BR>a followed by m as in Chambord is a short a as in la.<BR><BR>a followed by n is long and more like an o as described above using song and other descriptions.

I think I chose bad examples to illustrate my point. I have tried to say Chambord without any identifiable "m" to it, and it does seem difficult to eliminate it because of the b after. If there is any difference in Champs - - as in Champs de Mars and chant (song) - - then it's a difference I can't hear.<BR>

As for the final "s" in Senlis, some french people pronounce it, others don't. Place names aren't always pronounced correctly by people who don't live there (or nearby). So, it's not surprising that people are confused. I don't know what's the correct way. One would have to ask to a local to know for sure.<BR><BR>And personnally, I would tend to think it would be easier to understand a word when the "n" or "m" is pronounced in the english way, than when it's not pronounced at all. Though it probably depends on the word.<BR><BR>I think I wouldn't understand if someone asked me where is "sawlee", but I'm not absolutely positive about the best way to pronounce it.

AN and AM are pronounced in exactly the same way.<BR><BR>AN and AM are NASAL A's not M's.<BR><BR>AW is not all the same sound as AN and AM...when you say AW the jaw and mouth are wide open. The tongue is almost in the same position for these both these sounds, but the lips are almost together to say AN.<BR><BR>This is a sound you must hear unless you know exactly how to pronounce the A with the little spanish swirl on top as described by the international phonetic language.

How do you pronounce the river Lot in southern France?

Rex has Chantilly correct - it's essentially Shaw(with a bare hint of an "n" sound) - tee-yee.<BR><BR>But he's wrong about Senlis. The final "s" is pronounced (as in fleur-de-lys). So it's Saw-lees, again with that hint of an "n" sound after the Saw.

Why is almost everything I post today coming up twice, but hours apart?

I used to be plagues by this double posting problem - - it was due to leaving the computer right after posting - - then losing my connection with my ISP - - then re-connecting and hitting refresh. Somehow, I have learned how to keep it from happening - - I think I now click on "Europe" at the top of the left hand column.<BR>

to the top<BR>

We attended a wedding in Senlis last year and yes, you do pronounce the "s" at the end. One of the few exceptions to the rule.