French Consonants That Are Difficult for Indonesian to Pronounce

Learning a foreign language is an absolute must in this globalization and digital era. What for? Of course, to make it easier for us to communicate with people from other nations whose language is different from ours. Millennial generation must at least be able to speak English, then followed by other foreign languages. Well, one of the languages ​​that has quite a lot of fans in the world is French. Why French? Because French has been ordained as an international language and is spoken in more than 30 countries. In addition, French is known as a romantic language, so it becomes a magnet for those who are interested in learning it.

Learning a language is not only about learning the language system, but what is equally important is the sound system. The sound system is something that is universal, but each language has a uniqueness that distinguishes it from other languages. Understanding the sound system or what is called phonemes and being able to pronounce certain languages ​​with good and correct articulation will have an impact on the accuracy of meaning or meaning. In the context of French, the correct pronunciation of a sound will greatly affect the understanding of the interlocutor, because different sounds can cause different meanings or meanings. This is quite a scourge for Indonesians who want to learn French because there are several sounds in French that are different and don't even exist in the Indonesian sound system. Of course we have to know how to articulate certain sounds which are quite unique in French.

What sound is difficult for the Indonesian tongue? There are several consonant phonemes that are not found in Indonesian, such as the two voiced consonants, namely / Ʒ / and / ʀ /. The phoneme / ʀ / is the hardest to sound because the phoneme / ʀ / in French is quite different from the phoneme / r / in Indonesian. Both phonemes are both vibrating consonants, namely sounds that occur in the presence of vibrations of the active articulation area. However, the difference is that the phoneme / ʀ / is a vibration of the palate (vibration of the back and throat of the tongue) while the Indonesian phoneme / r / is a vibration of the palate (vibration of the front tongue and palate). Another phoneme that is also quite difficult to produce is the phoneme / Ʒ /. The phoneme / Ʒ / is a sound that is voiced and is realized by forcing air out through a narrow channel formed by pressing the two articulators together, namely the tongue and the palate (fricative voiced palatal). The sound produced from the phoneme / Ʒ / is indeed very close to the sound of the phoneme / z / because these two phonemes are both audible fricative sound but the articulator that produces them is different. If the / Ʒ / sound is produced by pressing the tongue and palate together, the / z / sound is produced by clenching the tongue and teeth.

Those are 2 examples of consonant sounds that are quite difficult for Indonesians to pronounce. However, by continuing to practice correct circulation and often listening to how native speakers pronounce these phonemes, it is not impossible for us to be able to pronounce them properly and correctly, even almost the same as the French themselves. Keep practicing and persevering in giving up is the key to everything.