An Introduction to French Pronunciation

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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.)
The Vowels in Detail 71 The only circumstances in which a nasal vowel can be followed immediately by a nasal consonant are: (i) in a small number of liaison forms such as en été /en ete/, bien aimable /bjhn εmabl/, mon ami /mfn ami/ (see 19.3.6); (ii) in a very limited number of words (and their derivatives) beginning with emm- or en-, principally the following: emmagasiner /emagazine/, emmailloter /emajbte/, emmancher /emeʃe/, emmêler /emele/, emmener /emne/, emmerder /emεrde/, emmitoufler /emitufle/, emmurer /emyre/, enamouré /enamure/, enivrer /enivre/, enneigé /eneʒe/, ennoblir /enbbli:r/, ennuagé /endaʒe/, ennui /endi/; (iii) in the words immangeable /hmeʒabl/, and immanquable /hmekabl/. 10.10.2 /h/ – low-mid front unrounded The vowel /h/ is a more open vowel than its oral equivalent /ε/ – its degree of aperture corresponds more to that of English /æ/ as in the RP pronunciation of cat. /h/ is represented in spelling primarily by in, im, e.g. vin /vh/, important /hpbrte/, by ain, aim, e.g. pain /ph/, faim /fh/, by ein, e.g. plein /plh/, or (especially in the groups ien, yen) by en, e.g. bien /bjh/, (il ) tient /tjh/, moyen /mwajh/, appendicite /aphdisit/, examen /εgzamh/. The spellings ym, yn occur in a few words, especially in the prefixes sym-, syn-, before a consonant, e.g. symbole /shbbl/, sympathique /shpatik/, symphonie /shfbni/, symptôme /shpto:m/, syndicat /shdika/, syntaxe /shtaks/, and in thym /th/. /h/ is also very frequently substituted for /j/ (see 10.10.3). 10.10.3 /j/ – low-mid front rounded Just as /h/ is a more open vowel than /ε/, likewise /j/ is more open than /œ/. It is usually represented by the spelling un, e.g. un /j/, brun /brj/, lundi /ljdi/, emprunter /eprjte/; apart from a few place-names, the only contexts in which it is
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An Introduction to French Pronuncia
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An Introduction to French Pronuncia
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Contents Preface x 1 General Consid
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Contents vii 8.4 Closed and Open Sy
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Contents ix 16.1 The Varieties of F
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General Considerations 1 1 General
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General Considerations 3 material.
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General Considerations 5 standard w
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General Considerations 7 to pronoun
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General Considerations 9 Transcript
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General Considerations 11 We are th
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2 The Production of Speech 13 The P
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Lips T T A Tip T = Teeth A = Alveol
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The Production of Speech 17 (iii) t
Page 29 and 30: 3 The Articulation of French 19 The
Page 31 and 32: 4 The Vowel Phonemes 4.1 Principles
Page 33 and 34: 4.5 Orality or Nasality The Vowel P
Page 35 and 36: The Vowel Phonemes 25 However, the
Page 37 and 38: 5 5.1 General The Semi-Consonants T
Page 39 and 40: 6 The Consonant Phonemes 29 The Con
Page 41 and 42: 6.4 Presence or Absence of Voice Th
Page 43 and 44: The Consonant Phonemes 33 discussed
Page 45 and 46: The Consonant Phonemes 35 IPA symbo
Page 47 and 48: The Rhythmic Group 37 shall call
Page 49 and 50: The Rhythmic Group 39 froid chez vo
Page 51 and 52: 8 The Syllable 8.1 Introduction The
Page 53 and 54: The Syllable 43 (v) A cluster consi
Page 55 and 56: 9 Stress 9.1 Normal Stress Stress 4
Page 57 and 58: Stress 47 He’s fantastically clev
Page 59 and 60: Stress 49 word is sometimes stresse
Page 61 and 62: Stress 51 9.5.4 An utterance such a
Page 63 and 64: 10 10.1 Introduction The Vowels in
Page 65 and 66: The Vowels in Detail 55 to attempt
Page 67 and 68: The Vowels in Detail 57 The pronunc
Page 69 and 70: The Vowels in Detail 59 contrasted
Page 71 and 72: The Vowels in Detail 61 - to substi
Page 73 and 74: The Vowels in Detail 63 jeudi /ʒø
Page 75 and 76: The Vowels in Detail 65 English wor
Page 77 and 78: The Vowels in Detail 67 (iii) in th
Page 79: The Vowels in Detail 69 (iii) (with
Page 83 and 84: The Vowels in Detail 73 /e/ is alwa
Page 85 and 86: The Vowels in Detail 75 10.12.3 The
Page 87 and 88: Mute e 77 when unstressed. This see
Page 89 and 90: Mute e 79 /mc kfpre ty/, ne dites p
Page 91 and 92: Mute e 81 ‘rules’ given below i
Page 93 and 94: Mute e 83 as have actually been hea
Page 95 and 96: Mute e 85 than one word may in cert
Page 97 and 98: Mute e 87 (ii) before onze, onzièm
Page 99 and 100: Vowel Length 89 ‘long’. In real
Page 101 and 102: 12.6 Rule 4 Vowel Length 91 Other v
Page 103 and 104: Vowel Length 93 In the circumstance
Page 105 and 106: The Semi-Consonants in Detail 95 co
Page 107 and 108: The Semi-Consonants in Detail 97 th
Page 109 and 110: The Semi-Consonants in Detail 99 13
Page 111 and 112: The Consonants in Detail: (I) Stops
Page 113 and 114: 14.4 Point of Articulation The Cons
Page 115 and 116: The Consonants in Detail: (I) Stops
Page 117 and 118: The Consonants in Detail: (II) Fric
Page 119 and 120: 16 The Consonants in Detail: (III)
Page 121 and 122: The Consonants in Detail: (III) /r/
Page 127 and 128: 17 Gemination Gemination 117 17.1 L
Page 129 and 130: Gemination 119 with either a simple
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Gemination 121 (i) some words havin
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Consonantal Assimilation 123 18.1.3
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Consonantal Assimilation 125 necess
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Consonantal Assimilation 127 18.3.4
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19 19.1 Origins Liaison Liaison 129
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19.2 The Problem Liaison 131 19.2.1
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Liaison 133 (i) words ending in -t,
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Liaison 135 in such expressions as
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Liaison 137 va/. (The reason why th
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Liaison 139 after an imperative, e.
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Liaison 141 19.6.2 The following, t
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Liaison 143 19.7.4 Between a verb (
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20 Intonation 20.1 Introduction Int
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Intonation 147 Foremost among such
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Intonation 149 But if no syllable (
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20.4 Yes-No Questions Intonation 15
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Dans quelle rue | l’avez-vous ach
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20.7 Level Intonation Intonation 15
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References and Further Reading 157
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160 Index Allemagne 113 allemand 79
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162 Index cent 25, 33, 73, 129, 137
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164 Index différentes 137 différe
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166 Index filtre 91 fini 90 finir 1
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168 Index intention 42 iode 98 iodi
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170 Index mourait 120 mourir 120 mo
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172 Index plâtre 68 plein 25, 42,
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174 Index sciure 98 se 79, 82 sec 5
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176 Index vaciller 95 vague 102 vai
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An Introduction to French Pronunciation

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