Pronunciation of "ai"

Question

I'm really confused, so I thought in prnounciation "ai" = "ay" as in "way."But it's being pronounced with J'ai with "i" as in "ice." What's going on?

Accepted Answer

Hi Claire, 
I have changed the audio files on the examples given in the lesson which you will agree are better and more akin to what is said in France.
Bonne Continuation!

Answer

Neither of the possibilities you mention capture what I hear when a French speaker says j'ai. In fact, the audio links in the lesson don't at all sound like the i- "ice" to me. If I were to come up with an English analog, I would say it is like the e- in "enemy", maybe drawn out a bit to lengthen the sound.

Whatever you choose, the sound in the audio is a pretty darn good rendition of what it really ought to sound like. Best to take this as a template.