French uses the same 26 Latin letters as English, with a set of accented vowels (é, è, ê, ë, à, â, ù, û, ï, ô) and one distinctive ligature, œ (and, more rarely, æ), each serving a real pronunciation or spelling function rather than decoration.
French accents aren't optional styling — é and è represent genuinely different vowel sounds from unaccented e, and the difference can distinguish otherwise identical-looking words (a, "has," vs. à, "to/at"). The circumflex (^) sometimes also marks a historically dropped letter, often an "s" that used to follow the vowel.
Œ (as in "œuf," egg) represents a specific vowel sound and is technically a single letter combining o and e, not just a stylistic joining of two separate letters — it appears in a specific, learnable set of French words.
They change pronunciation — é and è represent genuinely different vowel sounds from unaccented e, and can even distinguish word meanings (a vs. à).
In many cases, it marks a letter — often an "s" — that used to follow the vowel historically but has since been dropped from spelling.
A ligature combining o and e into a single letter, representing a specific vowel sound, as in "œuf" (egg) — not just a stylistic combination of two separate letters.
Yes — Tarc's French course is live and free, starting with reading and pronunciation rules including the letters and sounds on this page.
See also: French Pronunciation · Learn French · German Alphabet