An Introduction to French Pronunciation
An Introduction to French Pronunciation
An Introduction to French Pronunciation
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64 The Vowels in Detail<br />
(i) When the spelling is ô, au or eau, the pronunciation is<br />
/o/, e.g. hôte /o:t/, côte /ko:t/, diplôme /diplo:m/, rôle /ro:l/,<br />
paume /po:m/, hausse /o:s/, chaude /ʃo:d/, pauvre /po:vr/,<br />
heaume /o:m/, (la) Beauce /bo:s/ (but note the difference<br />
between the feminine and masculine first names Paule /po:l/,<br />
and Paul /pbl/).<br />
(ii) In -ose, the pronunciation is /o/, e.g. rose /ro:z/, chose<br />
/ʃo:z/, (il) ose /o:z/.<br />
(iii) In -ome, -one, -osse, pronunciation varies from one<br />
word <strong>to</strong> another; the indications given in (iv)–(vi) cover most<br />
words in general use.<br />
(iv) -ome is pronounced /o:m/ in arome (also written<br />
arôme) /aro:m/, home /o:m/, chrome /kro:m/ and its derivatives<br />
monochrome and polychrome, and in a<strong>to</strong>me /a<strong>to</strong>:m/,<br />
axiome /aksjo:m/ and idiome /idjo:m/ (do not be influenced<br />
by the pronunciation of English a<strong>to</strong>m, axiom, idiom), but<br />
/bm / in most other words in general use (and, in particular,<br />
in words in -onome), e.g. <strong>to</strong>me /tbm/, Rome /rbm/ (do not<br />
be influenced by the English pronunciation), astronome<br />
/astrbnbm/, au<strong>to</strong>nome /btbnbm/; note, however, that this<br />
rule does not cover a number of technical or infrequent<br />
terms (e.g. rhizome /-o:m/, majordome /-bm/), which should<br />
be looked up in a dictionary.<br />
(v) -one is pronounced /o:n/ in cyclone /siklo:n/ and zone<br />
/zo:n/ but /bn/ elsewhere, e.g. carbone /karbbn/, ozone /bzbn/,<br />
téléphone /telefbn/.<br />
(vi) -osse is pronounced /o:s/ in the word fosse /fo:s/, and<br />
in words related <strong>to</strong> dos /do/ and gros /gro/, principally (il)<br />
s’adosse /sado:s/, (il) endosse /edo:s/, grosse /gro:s/, but /bs/ in<br />
other words, e.g. bosse /bbs/, brosse /brbs/, colosse /kblbs/,<br />
Écosse /ekbs/.<br />
(vii) Elsewhere the pronunciation is /b/ (long, i.e. /b:/,<br />
before /ʒ, r, v, vr/ – see 12.6), e.g. somme /sbm/, note /nbt/,<br />
vote /vbt/, forte /fbrt/, noble /nbbl/, globe /glbb/, mode<br />
/mbd/, épisode /epizbd/, école /ekbl/, sole /sbl/, poste /pbst/,<br />
philosophe /filbzbf/, (il) vole /vbl/ (in many of these words,<br />
one must beware of being influenced by the corresponding
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