An Introduction to French Pronunciation

Consonantal Assimilation 125
necessarily mean (though it may – see 18.2.4) that the
corresponding voiceless fortis (say, /t/ or /ʃ/) is substituted
for a voiced lenis (in the cases in point, /d/ and /ʒ/). It is
possible that what is uttered in such circumstances is neither
a voiceless fortis nor a voiced lenis but a voiceless lenis – i.e.
a consonant that is voiceless but has the weak articulation
(in terms of expenditure of energy and breath) that is
normally characteristic of a voiced consonant. Such sounds
can be represented by the symbol for a voiced consonant
with a subscript [ ˚ ], the usual indication of voicelessness, e.g.
/n/, /|/.
18.2.3 The type of regressive assimilation in question is
particularly common in contexts in which /d/ for de or /ʒ/ for
je occurs before a voiceless stop or fricative, e.g.:
(un) coup de pied [ku n pje] je parle [| parl]
(un) morceau de pain [mbrso n ph] je peux [| pø]
(un) coup de fil [ku n fil] je prends le train [| pre ltrh]
(le) chemin de fer [ʃmh n fε:r] je trouve [| tru:v]
tout de suite [tu n sdit] je te dis [| tc di]
(le) droit de chasse [drwa n ʃas] je comprends [| kfpre]
(le) rez-de-chaussée [re n ʃose] je fais attention [| fε atesjf]
je suis là [| sdi la]
je savais [| savε]
The loss of a mute e likewise gives rise to pronunciations
such as médecin /mensh/, au-dessous /onsu/, là-dessus /lansy/.
18.2.4 The type of assimilation referred to in 18.2.3 is very
frequently carried further, especially in rapid speech, to the
extent that the voiceless lenes /n/ and /|/ become the normal
voiceless fortes /t/ and /ʃ/, e.g.:
tout de suite /tut sdit/ je peux /ʃ pø/
chemin de fer /ʃmh t fε:r/ je trouve /ʃ tru:v/
médecin /metsh/ je te dis /ʃ tc di/
là-dessus /latsy/ je suis là /ʃ sdi la /