As in French, English also has a large amount of
phonemic vowels: up to 16 depending on the dialect (see English vowel chart below).
However, English speakers who are learning French will still have particular trouble with vowels because French has 6-8 phonemic vowels that are not used in English. What this means is that those six to eight vowels are interpreted by English speakers as
allophones of one of the phonemic vowels in English, or simply as a foreign sounds. For example, my brain interprets the vowel /y/ as an allophone of /u/; /ø/ as an allophone of /ə/; and since the French /ɛ/ is raised, /ɛ/ as an allophone of /e/. The French phonemes
/ɑ̃/ and /ɔ̃/ and /œ̃/ and /ɛ̃/ and /œ/ are all interpreted as foreiɡn sounds that my tonɡue is not comfortable with and which my ear sometimes has trouble distinɡuishinɡ.
In this sort of situation ear-training is essential. The tongue will follow the ear, but until the ear hears the differences between these vowels, correct comprehension and pronunciation will always be somewhat of a guessing game.
French Vowel Chart:
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