An Introduction to French Pronunciation

The Syllable 43
(v) A cluster consisting of a stop, /f/ or /v/ + /r/ or /1/ is not
split and belongs to the following syllable, e.g. patrie /pa-tri/,
détruit /de-trdi/, tendrement /te-drc-me/, compris /kf-pri/,
secret /sc-krε/, aigrette /ε-grεt/, complet /kf-plε/, doubler
/du-ble/, râcler /ra-kle/, beuglant /bø-gle/, souffrant /su-fre/,
livraison /li-vrε-zf/, gonfler /gf-fle/.
(vi) Most intervocalic groups of three consonants can
be divided on the basis of (iii) and (iv) above, e.g. portrait
/pbr-trε/, construit /kfs-trdi/. Others, all of them having /s/ as
the middle consonant, and occasional examples where /s/ is
the second of four consonants, are usually considered to be
divided thus: abstinent /ap-sti-ne/, substitut /syp-sti-ty/, abstrait
/ap-strε/ (for the pronunciation of b as /p/, see 18.2.4), but for
practical purposes the matter is of no importance since, even
if the division were taken as /aps-trε/, etc., the preceding
syllable would still be closed (see 8.4).
8.3 Syllabification within the Sense Group
As is explained in chapter 7, the basic phonetic unit, in French,
is for many purposes not the word but the rhythmic group.
The principles of syllabification outlined in 8.2 apply within
the group, with the result that a consonant whose corresponding
written form comes at the end of one word belongs phonetically
to the initial syllable of a following word beginning
with a vowel and falling within the same group, e.g. les grands
hommes /le-gre-zbm/, nous avons trop à faire ici /nu-za-vf-tropa-fε-ri-si/.
8.4 Closed and Open Syllables
A syllable ending in a consonant (i.e. which is ‘closed’ by a
consonant) is known as a closed syllable (e.g. the first syllable
of partie /par-ti/, the second syllable of public /py-blik/ and
both syllables of certaine /sεr-tεn/). A syllable ending in a