An Introduction to French Pronunciation

70 The Vowels in Detail
civilisation /sivilizasjf/ or /sivilizasjf/, and in passion /pasjf/
or /pasjf/, but the pronunciation in /a/ is the more usual.
10.10 The Nasal Vowels
10.10.1 It is sometimes argued that the term ‘nasal vowel’
is inappropriate since, when the vowels in question are being
uttered, the air escapes through the mouth as well as through
the nose, and that the term ‘naso-oral’ is therefore more accurate.
This is true, but the term ‘nasal’ has long been in general
use and there is no good reason not to continue to use it.
The tongue and lip positions of the nasal vowels /h/, /j/,
/f/ and /e/ are, as we shall see in 10.10.2 to 10.10.5, only
approximately the same as those for the corresponding oral
vowels /ε/, /œ/, /b/, /a/.
It is essential to bear in mind – and, if necessary, to make a
conscious effort to observe – the fact that, at the end of a
group (as in c’est bien /sε bjh/ or il est bon /il ε bf/), or before
a consonant (as in sainte /sh:t/, humble /j:bl/, tomber /tfbe/,
lentement /letme/, une grande rue /yn gred ry/), there is no
nasal consonant following the nasal vowel. There is a widespread
tendency among English-speaking (and other foreign)
learners of French to pronounce an [ŋ] (= the English ng)
in words like bon, grand, an [n] in words like sainte, ronde,
monter, grandeur, or an [m] in words like grimper, humble,
tomber, embarras, ample. This must be avoided: the written
nasal consonant, n or m, merely indicates that the preceding
vowel is nasalized. (It is true that very many southern
speakers of French either use a fleeting [ŋ]-type consonant
after a nasal vowel, e.g. grand [greŋ], or even fail to nasalize
the vowel at all before a consonant and so pronounce
demander, tomber, etc., as [dcmande], [tbmbe], etc. This is
all very well if one is speaking consistently with an authentic
southern accent – but for a foreigner who is basically
trying to speak standard French to do so is a different matter
altogether.)