Questions tagged [voyelles]

Au sens de l'orthographe : les lettres a, e, i, o, u, y. Au sens de la phonétique : les sons i, y, e, ɛ, ø, œ, a, u, o, ɔ, ɑ, ɔ̃, ɑ̃, ɛ̃, œ̃.

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13 votes
7 answers
5k views

Does French have the English "short i" vowel?

I'm wondering about the "short i" vowel that exists commonly in American English in words like "India, tick, lid". Note, this vowel seems a bit unstable in English and gets merged with others in the ...
24 votes
10 answers
7k views

« Patte » contre « pâte » : qui fait encore la différence ?

La différence de prononciation entre patte (voyelle a antérieure) et pâte (voyelle a postérieure) tend à disparaître, nous dit-on. C'est vrai qu’elle n’est pas très marquée chez beaucoup de locuteurs, ...
19 votes
1 answer
1k views

Words ending on i/u, spoken with (IPA) [ɪç] – is there a system?

I noticed that sometimes words ending on i or u are spoken with an additional breathing sound, comparable to the german 'ch' in diminutives. I.e. (presumed IPA notation) aussi /o.si/ -> [o.sɪç] ici ...
0 votes
1 answer
122 views

Prononciation de "fais" et de "faisons"

Je viens de me rendre compte que la prononciation de "ai" dans le mot "fais" est différente de celle dans le mot "faisons". fais: /fɛ/ faisons: /fə.zɔ̃/ Jusqu'à présent ...
5 votes
1 answer
253 views

Pourquoi les anglophones remplacent-ils le phonème /ɛ/ par /e/ si souvent?

Beaucoup d'apprenants anglophones remplacent le phonème /e/ par la diphtongue anglaise /eɪ/. C'est évidemment parce que le phonème n'existe pas en anglais isolément. Cependant, je ne comprends pas ...
13 votes
6 answers
28k views

Why the pronunciation of "Monsieur" as "Missieur"?

The French word Monsieur meaning Mister, looks like it should be pronounced MON-sieur, giving effect to the O and N. But I hear it pronounced more like MISS-sieur. Why is that? Is it that I am ...
30 votes
3 answers
15k views

Pourquoi certains « e » se prononcent-ils « a » ?

Femme, évidemment, solennellement, fréquemment, différemment, et il y en a sûrement de nombreux autres. Y a-t-il une raison derrière ces e prononcés a, et qui doivent rendre fou les personnes ...
2 votes
2 answers
792 views

The pronunciation of French "e"

Does this table for French “e” pronunciation look OK to you? Please definitely point out any errors! The same contents as of this table are also found at the end of this question on this page. ...
17 votes
4 answers
5k views

Prononciation de « in » et « im »

Est-ce qu'il y a une règle pour savoir s'il faut prononcer /ɛ̃/ ou /in/ ? J'ai l'impression que si le n est suivi d'une voyelle, c'est /in/, est-ce que c'est aussi simple que ça ?
2 votes
5 answers
4k views

Is there a difference in pronunciation for un, a, à, as and et, es and est?

I'm listening to the storyteller while I'm reading my book in French. I cannot hear any difference between un, a, à and as But is there a difference in pronunciation? I have the same question for et, ...
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Difference in pronunciation of /ø/, /ə/, and /œ/

I have been trying to improve my French pronunciation and I came across some vowels that sound the same when I say them: the close-mid front rounded vowel (/ø/), the open-mid front rounded vowel (/œ/),...
2 votes
1 answer
159 views

Is "e" always pronounced like /e/ before ss?

I've mistakenly used /ə/ rather than /e/ in essayer, professeur, essentiel. Is "ess" always /es/?
5 votes
2 answers
256 views

Pronunciation of u

All books and dictionaries (notably Wiktionary) that transcribe french pronunciation by means of IPA transcribe the pronunciation of “u” as /y/. But the transcription uses /.../ as opposed to [...]. ...
0 votes
3 answers
134 views

Pronunciation of "commerce"

I have read in TLFi, Word Reference and in Wiktionary that "commerce" is pronounced /kɔ.mɛʁs/. However, I hear an /o/ instead of an /ɔ/ in the corresponding audios in both WR and Wiktionary ...
11 votes
4 answers
929 views

Why is "dessin" pronounced like "déssin"?

One of the things that I appreciate as a French learner is that words in French are so easy to pronounce. Unlike in English, where letters can be pronounced many different ways, and you have no way of ...
0 votes
2 answers
480 views

French and English pronunciation of [ε]

[ε] in the French language sounds like a double vowel, close to the English [ei], how should I pronounce it correctly? Besides, a French [ε] sound sounds obviously different from an English [ε]. Can ...
2 votes
3 answers
690 views

La différence entre "deux ans" et "douze ans"

Lorsque quelqu'un prononce « il y a deux ans », ça ressemble à « il y a douze ans. » Comment distinguer l'un ou l'autre ?
12 votes
3 answers
4k views

Are “tué” and “tu” and “tout” pronounced the same?

I'm pretty confused by how to make someone understand I am trying to say tué, tu or tout. Examples: J'ai tué mon ami. (I killed my friend.) Tu es mon ami. (You are my friend.) J'ai tout, mon ...
13 votes
2 answers
350 views

Mots pour la prononciation des voyelles

Dans plusieurs langages, la différence entre voyelles de type é et è est donnée par les mots correspondants à ouvert et fermé. J'ai remarqué que les Français que j'ai rencontrés ne connaissent pas de ...
0 votes
2 answers
298 views

Prononciation des mots "beau" et "bon"

Dans un extrait de "La phonétique" de Bertil Malmberg, l'auteur indique que: Ainsi les mots beau et bon, fait et fin ne se distinguent l'un et l'autre que par la présence ou l'absence de résonance ...
0 votes
0 answers
145 views

Why does French have so many vowels? [duplicate]

I am interested in historical phonetic development process which resulted in French having so many vowels in comparison to other Romance languages, and even more than Latin, which I believe had only 6 ...
9 votes
2 answers
3k views

Aren't all schwas sounded like /ø/?

As I have described in the title, I find that the /ə/ sound doesn't exist in Parisian accent. When I asked how to pronounce “Monsieur” to a French native speaker, he tried very hard to correct my IPA ...
2 votes
1 answer
96 views

Differences in vowel charts

I'm a beginner. My challenge is identifying and distinguishing the vowels in the first place, not academically analyzing them. I went to print off a vowel chart for reference, and I found some ...
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

How is /a/ pronounced before n/m in French?

Collins dictionary says that "panneau" is pronounced [pano] and "art" [aʁ]. However, the [a] in "panneau" does not sound like the [a] in art, but rather more nasal. Am I listening that right? If so, ...
3 votes
2 answers
743 views

Pronunciation of “au” in restaurant

I thought that AU in French was always pronounced /o/, but Collins dict (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/restaurant), Word Reference dict (https://www.wordreference.com/...
0 votes
1 answer
657 views

Pronunciation of i at the beginning of a word in French [duplicate]

Is it always/almost always the case the i at the beginning of a word followed by n in French is pronounced like the "nasal I" such as in cinq, and I before m at the beginning of a word pronounced like ...
5 votes
3 answers
375 views

Pronunciation of “freiner”

In Quebec French, is the [ɛ] long or short in the word (il) freine? In other words, does this word rhyme with saine [sɛn] or scène [sɛ:n]? (And out of curiosity, how would those few French people who ...
4 votes
1 answer
440 views

Pronunciation of E in je, le, ce, ne, que

Is the E in the end of monosyllabic words like je, le, ce, ne and que pronounced [ø] , [œ] or [ə] ? It seems I hear different sounds, depending on the sentence and on the speaker. Examples: le ...
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

Pourquoi le français parisien a-t-il perdu pour la plupart la distinction entre /e/ et /ɛ/?

Pourquoi le français parisien a-t-il perdu pour la plupart la distinction entre /e/ et /ɛ/? C'est-à-dire la différence entre «Je le ferai» et «Je le ferais», «poignée» et «poignet», ou plus simplement ...
1 vote
1 answer
185 views

Dénasalisation du õ

A l'école j'ai appris à dénasaliser la voyelle õ dans le cas de certaines liaisons comme bò-n ami, tò-n oncle, etc. Cependant, on me fait souvent la remarque en me disant que j'ai une prononciation "...
2 votes
1 answer
183 views

Voyelles orales ou nasales

La transcription de la phrase bon anniversaire est-elle /bɔ̃nanivɛʀsɛʀ/ ou /bɔnanivɛʀsɛʀ/ ? La transcription de en examen est-elle /ɑ̃negzamɛ̃/ ou /anegzamɛ̃/ ?
4 votes
3 answers
359 views

Pronunciation exercises to learn nasalization

My eleven year old son is learning French in school. Picking up words, phrases, and grammar is easy for him, but he cannot pronounce nasal vowels. He just doesn't know how to create those sounds. ...
10 votes
4 answers
15k views

Why isn't “tu es” written “t'es”?

I know that when a word ends with a vowel and the next word starts with a vowel, then we would replace the first character by a ' character. For example: je ai → j'ai Why is then "tu es" written ...
0 votes
1 answer
491 views

Should I pronounce 'e' in the ending?

I know that it is kind a like basics, but as I learned, e in the ending is not pronouncing, but I've listened Stromae's song "formidable" where he actually pronounces 'e' on the ending. Which variant ...
2 votes
1 answer
76 views

Searching for French noun with very specific criteria [closed]

I am writing a book of humor and I would be happy to send a free copy to the person who sends the best response. I am looking for a French feminine noun that has one acute accent. The word cannot ...
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

“Quelle école”: is there two vowels in a row and how to pronounce them?

Today my teacher said that you are able to say "quelle école". I don't understand how this is done because there are two vowels in a row. When I asked her, she wasn't able to explain the details. ...
4 votes
3 answers
862 views

Prononciation de « fête » au Québec : diphtongaison ou allongement de voyelle ?

Au Québec on prononce le mot fête plutôt différemment de (vous) faites. Dans l'article Wikipédia au sujet du français québécois, on indique : Les voyelles longues (marquées /ː/) sont diphtonguées ...
4 votes
2 answers
296 views

Prononciation différente des « u » de « club » et « rugby »

Je me demande pourquoi le u de ces deux mots ne se prononce pas identiquement. Plus précisément, pourquoi rugby est francisé tandis que club se prononce presque comme en anglais.
0 votes
1 answer
76 views

Le son [a] aujourd'hui

Femme, flamme, poêle, âme. Le son [a] est-il le même dans ces mots à nos jours ou existe-t-il encore la différence entre a postérieur et a antérieur ? Les écoliers en appennent-ils à l'école primaire ...
4 votes
2 answers
531 views

Explication de la prononciation de « atome »

Pourquoi le « o » de « atome » se prononce-t-il comme dans « icône » alors que celui-ci ne porte pas d'accent circonflexe ?
1 vote
3 answers
501 views

Does air escape through the mouth for nasal vowels?

The definition of a nasal vowel is A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. For French nasal sounds, how ...
16 votes
4 answers
3k views

Variations sur l'utilisation de [e] et [ɛ]

On a remarqué la richesse en voyelles du français. Mais il est bien connu que certains accents perdent certaines des différences. Je ne fais pas la différence entre [ɑ] et [a]. D'autres m'agacent en ...
2 votes
5 answers
2k views

What is the difference in pronunciation of "quand" and "con"?

I know that there is a liaison between the final "d" in "quand" and a following vowel, but is there a difference for each word in isolation?
0 votes
1 answer
416 views

Is the pronunciation of "tu" "toosh?"

I thought "tu" was pronounced like English "to," but in this link, it's pronounced like "toosh." Does the audio sound like recorded by a native speaker of French? Which is correct and natural? In ...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Pronouncing ɛ̃: are there variants?

I'm confused by ɛ̃, as in pain, vin, cinq, etc. Often, and that's what I'm taught, you are told to pronounce it as the a in "and". cinq (first pronunciation) However, sometimes it is pronounced ...
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

Prononciation de « u » proche de « ou »

J'ai toujours pensé que « u » est prononcé /y/ (dans l'alphabet phonétique international — le même son que la lettre allemande ü). Mais j'écoute une radio française et certains gens y prononcent « u » ...
1 vote
0 answers
259 views

Prononciation of "en", "an", "in", "un" and "ain" [duplicate]

I'm a totally beginner in French. For some reason I can't figure out the pronunciation rules. Especially for the vowels. It's almost as confusing as Korean language :( To me "en" and "an" sound the ...
3 votes
1 answer
684 views

Phonologie vs phonétique : /ʁɔz/ vs [ʁoz]

Wikipédia indique ici que le mot « rose » est noté phonologiquement /ʁɔz/. Le Wiktionnaire semble en désaccord ici. Est-ce une erreur de Wikipédia ? Sinon, pouvez-vous expliquer pourquoi la ...
7 votes
1 answer
288 views

Prononciation : « air » vs « aire »

Dans un commentaire d'Air Canada dans cette vidéo: Ces gestes vont clairement à l'encontre de nos procédures lorsque des bagages sont enregistrés à la porte embarquement: ces procédures stipulent ...
2 votes
1 answer
553 views

How do you know when the /ə/ drops and when it doesn't?

According to my textbook (my teacher isn't clear in her elaboration of my question), 'the /ə/ never drops out if that would result in three or more consonant sounds together. You would see this in ...