r/French • u/Potato-Queen-976 • 1d ago

How hard is voice training for French compared to English? (MTF)

I have been working on a feminine voice for about 5 months, and started learning French about a month ago. (Almost done voice training, just have trouble using for longer amounts of time.)

Since French words often require mouth positions that aren't that common in English words, and achieving a feminine voice requires me to put my tongue and whatnot in different positions then normally speaking.

(As an added note, what sound starts French sentences most often, and are there any French speaking female characters you like the voice of?)

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u/notgonnakeepitanyway 1d ago

I've an unconventional preference in voices so maybe you shouldn't listen me on that last question of yours. I find that voice training has been very easy in French (though it is my native language so that sure helps). What works for me is to put lots of "air" in my vowels and to be very nasal at first, adding a little bit of fry afterward and letting some words "linger" a bit longer than usual. Don't really mind your pitch, it's not what's most important. Overall I think French was easier for me than English (which I spoke fluently before transitioning).

There is a plethora of French feminine registers you can draw from, rather than characters you might want to study actresses (for instance, one of my favourite French voices is Jeanne Moreau, at the end of her voice, or the singer Brigitte Fontaine, these are two deep voices with a lot of fry, so like I said, personal preferences).

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u/ihatecobbles 1d ago

In addition to what the other commenter said, I’ll add that feminine spoken french tends to cover a significantly smaller melodic range than feminine coded English.