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An Introduction to French Pronunciation

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142 Liaison<br />

but note (i) in conversational usage this liaison is frequently<br />

not made, (ii) there is no liaison in après eux /aprε ø/ (but<br />

après elle(s) /aprεz εl/). (On envers, avant, selon, see 19.4.2.)<br />

19.7 No Liaison<br />

19.7.1 Liaison must be avoided in conversational usage (and<br />

in some cases does not occur even in a highly formal style) in<br />

such contexts as the following:<br />

19.7.2 Between a noun and a following adjective, e.g.<br />

(le) gouvernement espagnol /guvεrncme εspabl/, (un) objet<br />

intéressant /bbʒε hterεse/, (un) repas excellent /rcpa εksεle/,<br />

(un) palais imposant /palε hpoze/, (un) cas exceptionnel /ka<br />

εksεpsjbnεl/, (un) coup affreux /ku afrø/, (des) amis américains<br />

/ami amerikh/, (des) enfants intelligents /efe htεliʒe/, (des)<br />

livres intéressants /livr hterεse/, (des) objets utiles /bbʒε ytil/,<br />

(des) personnes opiniâtres /pεrsbn bpinja:tr/, (des) châteaux<br />

imposants /ʃa<strong>to</strong> hpoze/.<br />

Note however that, in the plural only, the liaison forms<br />

are sometimes used in a formal style of delivery and are<br />

compulsory in a few set expressions such as (les) États-Unis<br />

/etaz yni/ and (les) Nations Unies /nasjfz yni/. In the singular,<br />

the liaison form should never be used except in a very few<br />

fixed expressions, the most common of which is accent aigu<br />

/akset egy/.<br />

19.7.3 Between a noun subject and its verb, e.g. ce cas est<br />

difficile /sc ka ε difisil/, le gouvernement a décidé /lc guvεrncme<br />

a deside/, l’étudiant achète (un livre) /letydje aʃεt/, les enfants<br />

étaient là /lez efe etε la/, mes parents ont (une belle maison)<br />

/me pare f/, nos amis arrivent /nbz ami ari:v/, les oiseaux<br />

apparaissent /lez wazo aparεs/.<br />

This also applies when the verb group (as defined in 19.5.3)<br />

begins with y or en, e.g. l’étudiant en trouve /letydje e tru:v/,<br />

nos voisins y travaillent /no vwazh i travaj/.

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