How do you pronounce les enfants terribles?

Answer 1

It is pronounced "lay zah[n] fah[n]".

For the word les, try to make sure the vowel is pure, short and steady. The vowel in the English lay is actually a diphthong--i.e. a glide from one vowel to another (from "eh" to "ee"). Pronouncing French vowels as diphthongs is one of the hallmarks of an "American accent".

Also, make sure you remember the z sound as I wrote it. This is called a liaison and is a result of the otherwise silent sat the end of the word les being sounded before a vowel.

My "ah[n]" is an indication of the nasal a sound (there is NO consonant n sound). It is similar to the a in the English word want, but like all nasal vowels in French, the sound must pass partially through your nose. You can check to make sure you're doing it right by feeling the front of your nose to see if it's vibrating, or holding your nose to see if that interferes with the sound. Note that the sound ALSO passes through your mouth as normal; otherwise you'll probably sound like a caricature (for this reason they are technically called semi-nasal vowels).

To hear a native speaker say the words, go to the link at

Sources and related links

below.

Answer 2

"Lay s-on-FONT terr-EE-bluh"

You don't usually pronounce the 's' in "les" (it's usually LAY), but since "enfants" starts with a vowel, you say the 's' sound as if it's the beginning of "enfants," thus "lay son-FONT."