An Introduction to French Pronunciation
An Introduction to French Pronunciation
An Introduction to French Pronunciation
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The Vowel Phonemes 25<br />
However, the conditions in which it is or is not pronounced<br />
constitute one of the major problems in <strong>French</strong> phonetics<br />
and we therefore devote a chapter (see chapter 11) <strong>to</strong> this<br />
particular problem.<br />
4.9.5 <strong>An</strong>other problem associated with /c/ is that of its<br />
phonemic status. There is a case for considering that it is not<br />
in fact a phoneme but merely an allophone of /ø/ or of /œ/.<br />
For practical purposes, however, it seems simpler <strong>to</strong> consider<br />
it as an independent phoneme. (For more on this, see 11.1.1.)<br />
4.10 Back Rounded Vowels<br />
Note that <strong>French</strong> has no back unrounded vowels.<br />
Symbol Definition Examples<br />
u high coup, soupe, rouge<br />
o high-mid dos, grosse, côte, autre, beau<br />
b low-mid folle, fort, bosse<br />
a low pas, pâte, grasse<br />
Some problems connected with the distinction between /o/<br />
and /b/ are discussed in 10.8 below. On /a/ and /a/, see 10.9<br />
below.<br />
4.11 Nasal Vowels<br />
Symbol Definition Examples<br />
h mid front unrounded vin, plein, sainte<br />
j mid front rounded un, brun, humble<br />
f mid back rounded on, dont, long, monte<br />
e low back rounded an, grand, cent, entre
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