Pronouncing words ending with eur, e.g vapeur, docteur etc

I notice audio examples in this course pronouncing words like "vapeur" and "docteur" as "vapor" and "doctor", whereas all of the other references (online and other course materials) pronounce these (almost) as "vap-err" and "doct-err". What is the correct way of pronouncing words with "eur" in them like these? Which way is correct? Kind Regards...

I noticed this too, with *fleur* being pronounced like "flor" (rounded at the 'o' rather than joindering the 'u'). It might be a regionalism. I go with the *-e(uh)r* pronuniciation in this case though, mainly because I've watched enough French films to know that they consistently pronounce words like *peur* (fear) and *docteur* like that. :)

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll do the same... :-)

Yes, I have noticed it, I have another French course where fleur, docteur is pronounced with -er. Why such a difference? Kind regards Vladimir

Hello,

I was going to have a listen to the words you mention, but it seems today there is a new interface for the forum and the Phrase Finder is broken.

Maybe I can come back later and see. However, let me suggest that if you go to different countries where they speak French, everybody says the words differently. I have seen some reports on television where even though the people are speaking French, the editor has decided to put subtitles there because the accents are so strong that the French can be hard or impossible to understand. I work with Spanish, French, English, and German speakers that all have some very strong accents when they are speaking French and those that make an effort to get the pronunciation right are much easier to understand than those that say the words in their own accent.

If the word is pronounced clearly enough and it is an issue with the accent, take it as an opportunity to train your brain to understand the word. If the word is really messed up, report it and they will re-record the audio or find another audio to replace it.

-Jason

p.s. Let me try to answer the question as to which is correct.

1) Use the Larousse dictionary online to listen to the word or buy their application.

' http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/fleur/34112?q=fleur#34047'

2) Use Google. Consider that even though their voice is computer generated, it's quite accurate for many words and if you say the word in that way, at least the computer will understand you. For many things today, that is handy for example navigating phone menus in French.

https://translate.google.fr/?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&client=tw-ob#auto/en/fleur

3) Use a good dictionary like Antidote to read the phonetic and sound out the word on your own:

Phonétique
[ f ] fleur, photo, offrir
[ l ] loin, livre, lance
[ ë ] peur, bœuf, jeune
[ r ] rire, aigre, arrêt