Provocateurs are people who provoke and secateurs are devices which cut (garden plants).
French words ending with e u r are pronounced err, rhyming with amateur. You might think this is obvious, but I've heard speakers in Singapore pronounce the words which end in e u r like manure, or demure. the first letter, the e, is the one which drives the pronunciation. Amateur.
agent provocateur - agent working to provoke reaction by a political enemy
amateur - novice, somebody who does something as a hobby, not as paid work. (Important in competitions where you must maintain amateur status by not taking paid work.)
chauffeur - professional driver (also used humorously, eg "I chauffeur the children to school and ballet lessons.")
provocateur - person who provokes, or sets out to provoke, to get a reaction
raconteur -a speaker telling or recounting long, amusing stories
secateur - heavy scissors for cutting garden plants, usually with a safety catch and heavy curved blades
c o i f f e u r - smart hairdresser
c o n n o i s s e u r - expert, usually one who seeks out the luxurious or best foods, antiques or goods.
Let's make up a sentence using several to practise the pronunciation.
The agent provocateur set out with the secateurs and instructed the chauffeur to driver to the coiffeur. Fortunately he was an amateur.
Angela Lansbury B A Hons, CL, ATG, English and French teacher, tutor, speech coach.
French words ending with e u r are pronounced err, rhyming with amateur. You might think this is obvious, but I've heard speakers in Singapore pronounce the words which end in e u r like manure, or demure. the first letter, the e, is the one which drives the pronunciation. Amateur.
agent provocateur - agent working to provoke reaction by a political enemy
amateur - novice, somebody who does something as a hobby, not as paid work. (Important in competitions where you must maintain amateur status by not taking paid work.)
chauffeur - professional driver (also used humorously, eg "I chauffeur the children to school and ballet lessons.")
provocateur - person who provokes, or sets out to provoke, to get a reaction
raconteur -a speaker telling or recounting long, amusing stories
secateur - heavy scissors for cutting garden plants, usually with a safety catch and heavy curved blades
c o i f f e u r - smart hairdresser
c o n n o i s s e u r - expert, usually one who seeks out the luxurious or best foods, antiques or goods.
Let's make up a sentence using several to practise the pronunciation.
The agent provocateur set out with the secateurs and instructed the chauffeur to driver to the coiffeur. Fortunately he was an amateur.
Angela Lansbury B A Hons, CL, ATG, English and French teacher, tutor, speech coach.
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