An Introduction to French Pronunciation
An Introduction to French Pronunciation
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/.