Re:A Visa for founders, engineers and investors willing to j...
by magic_beans on Monday January 16, 2017 @03:43PM
(#13412840)
You are absolutely correct -- French speakers DO use their mouths differently than English speakers. Once I learned this in my Linguistics courses, my accent improved immeasurably.
The mouth is much more pursed, there are more sibilants, sounds either come from the very back of the throat or the very tip of the tongue.
When I was first learning French 22 years ago, my teacher, an older woman who'd grown up and studied in France, shared a funny little joke about French women: their wrinkles start from the lips and spread outward across their face. This was said because they keep their lips far tighter, nearly pursed, than one does when speaking English. I've noticed and paid attention to how the French use their mouths when speaking ever since. It's been immensely helpful.