English words that are supposed to be pronounced in the French way (not by the Americans)
This list is a collection of some words that are part of English, but which are intended to be pronounced as the French do. These do not include words that are clearly French (and used in English text) and sometimes written in italics (like sang froid, menage a trois and even noir). An accent symbol most likely indicates that it is a French word, as in métier (in this list without an accent mark) or risqué or soupçon.
| 1 | fracas, penchant, impasse, askance, macabre | last consonant is understressed (or silent) and the last vowel is long |
| 2 | dossier, chevalier, metier, attache, sachet | the last e is long as in ray or bay |
| 3 | abattoir, memoir | oi is pronounced ua as in guava |
| 4 | entrepreneur, detente, ensemble, impasse | the en is pronounced aan, em/im is pronounced aam |
| 5 | silhouette, pirouette, boulangerie, brouhaha | the ou is pronounced as u as in put |
| 6 | mannequin, marquee, parquet, briquette | qu is pronounced as k |
| 7 | menagerie, lingerie, boulangerie | ge is with a soft g |
Some words could appear in more than one list. For example, entourage will appear in lists 4, 5 and 7.
Additions to this list welcome - pl write to me.