Questions tagged [prononciation]
La prononciation d'un mot est la façon de le dire oralement.
412
questions
8
votes
2answers
1k views
How are defunct spellings pronounced when read aloud?
Older French texts often use defunct spellings, such as -oi instead of -ai in verb conjugations or spellings that contain consonants that were later dropped, like in doubter. When these texts are read ...
3
votes
1answer
184 views
Paris accent with their three nasal vowels
I've noticed that northen French accent, especially in paris, have 'only three' nasal vowels, which are /æ̃/,/ã/(very much rounded than I thought), and /ɔ̃/. Is this quite correct or am I ...
3
votes
2answers
126 views
Will the -s at the end of “très” be always pronounced?
I have been thinking that if a word beginning with a vowel (a, i, u, e, o) follows right after a word ending in a consonant then this consonant will be pronounced.
Example.
Je suis une personne.
...
2
votes
4answers
133 views
The 'o' in 'Politique' and 'Science Po'
As a native English speaker, I hear and speak the 'o' in the French 'Sciences Politique' and 'Sciences Po' very differently.
I am always a little confused by the abbreviation 'Sciences Po' because I ...
1
vote
2answers
86 views
Difference in pronunciation between -ai and -ais/-ait
I always have the impression that -ai and -ais/-ait are pronounced differently, such that -ai = é while -ais/-ait = è. However, I've recently been told that they make no practical difference, which to ...
1
vote
0answers
26 views
Le français parlé à Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon reflète-t-il des nuances ou diffère-t-il du français en France, et similairement aux autres COM ou non ?
Il n'y a pas de langue régionale à Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, le
français est la seule langue parlée. [...] [...] Le long de
la hampe sont reproduits de haut en bas les drapeaux des trois
...
1
vote
2answers
69 views
Differences in pronunciation in dictionaries
Why there are differences in pronunciations descriptions in dictionaries? For example "heureux":
Larrouse: [ɶrø]
Wordreference: [øʀø]
Le Grand Robert: [œʀø]
Le Petit Robert: [øʀø]
These ...
1
vote
2answers
116 views
How to pronounce 'Il est bel et bon' (Passereau)
My choir is singing a jolly french song: 'Il est bel et bon', by Pierre Passereau. It was published in 1534 in Paris.
The words are:
Il est bel et bon, commère, mon mary
Il estoient deux ...
0
votes
2answers
71 views
IPA spelling of 'possible' in French seems to be in conflict with how its pronounced
French word 'possible' -> [pɔsibl]. The IPA is written this way but all the audio examples I've heard use the regular IPA /o/ rather than /ɔ/. Anyone know why that is? I'm coming from an English ...
2
votes
3answers
90 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 ?
6
votes
2answers
626 views
femme - why pronounced but not spelt as “famme” [duplicate]
I'm learning the French pronunciation rules, and noticed that the word femme doesn't follow common rules (where it should have been pronounced /fem/, not /fam/). I'm aware of a special rule where an E ...
4
votes
2answers
101 views
Veux-tu des « pétacles » avec tes « peutates » pilées ?
Veux-tu des patates (pommes de terre) ? Veux-tu des
pétacles/petaques/pataques ? Veux-tu des peutates (pilées) ?
Le mot pétacle semble être un québécisme et on nous dit qu'avec pilées, c'est ...
1
vote
2answers
101 views
When to pronounce the letter “e” closed (/e/), and when to pronounce it open (/ɛ/)?
Are there any rules to help one know when to pronounce the letter "e" open and when to pronounce it closed? For instance, could I have known, when seeing the word agression for the first time, that it ...
3
votes
0answers
97 views
Prononciation de l'ancien français
Je cherche des ressources qui donneraient la prononciation des mots d'ancien français, par exemple, sous forme d'IPA.
Je sais que l'ancien français a une prononciation relativement phonétique, mais ...
2
votes
2answers
216 views
“Il l'a fait” vs. “Il la fait”
"Il l'a fait" vs. "Il la fait"
The first sentence means, "He has made it." The second means, "He makes it." If you're having a verbal conversation with someone, is there any way to tell which one ...
4
votes
3answers
162 views
Pronunciation of “oi” in French lyric diction
Where can I find a reminder of the rules for pronouncing "oi" in French lyric diction? I need to sing the word "voix", so I looked it up on Wiktionary, which unhelpfully gives both pronunciations ("/...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Pronunciation of “faisons” in French lyric diction
In French lyric diction (poetry and art song), is the first vowel in "faisons" /œ/, as it is in everyday pronunciation?
4
votes
2answers
393 views
How to pronounce correctly [b] and [p]? As well [t]/[d] and [k]/[g]
Due to my first language being an Asian one, I had lots of difficulties with the prononciation of French words (which is the cause of much joking) such as "but", "pute", "cadeau", "gateau", etc.
...
1
vote
2answers
70 views
pronunciation of “excuser”
The Word Reference dictionary and Wiktionary say that the correct pronunciation of the verb "excuser" is [ɛkskyze] with a open E at the beginning (as in hiEr), but I hear a closed E (/e/) in the ...
5
votes
2answers
88 views
«L’Est-e du Québec», «un film-e d’horreur»: des E euphoniques?
Si je désire parler de l’Est du Québec, avec mon accent québécois qui affrique les du, je prononce :
lèss-dzu-kébèk
Je remarque que le T final du terme Est disparaît, même si je le conserve ...
4
votes
2answers
88 views
Évolution de la prononciation du nom du Christ au sacre québécois « criss(e) »
Le sacre québécois criss(e) vient du nom du Christ. Mais le sacre a perdu le son /t/ que les francophones de France prononcent quand ils disent le nom de la personne [kʁist].1
Les Québécois ...
2
votes
3answers
90 views
Comment dit-on « hum hum, ça va » ?
J'ai lu la phrase « hum hum, ça va » (comme réponse à « Comment vous trouvez ma cuisine ? ») dans mon livre de français. Comment on la dit ?
Sur wikitionnaire, « hum » se prononce [œm] ou [ɔm] (comme ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
« Code golf », l'emprunt intégral : précisions sur l'emploi ?
Le « code golf » est une forme de compétition de « programmation récréative durant laquelle chaque participant s'efforce d'implémenter un algorithme donné en produisant un programme le plus court ...
6
votes
1answer
106 views
Prononciation du prénom Anne
Aujourd’hui au Québec, on prononce [an] le prénom Anne, comme probablement dans la majorité de la Francophonie. Cependant, quand on parle de Sainte-Anne (la personne ou un lieu nommé d’après elle), il ...
0
votes
0answers
64 views
“81” pronunciation—pronounce the “t” ou non? [duplicate]
I googled the pronunciation of “81” in French and got what I’m 81% sure is an incorrect pronunciation (see attached image) since there’s no “et” in the number like the pronunciation suggestion implies....
0
votes
2answers
140 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 ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
Do I have to learn /o/ or /ɔ/ separately?
I thought that French has only /ɔ/ sound, which is a bit more relaxed sound then /o/sound. But when I try to find the pronunciation symbols for my vocabulary book, both of the rounded vowels appear.
...
2
votes
1answer
96 views
Prononciation du s final en “ils/elles” même sans liaison
Dans une école primaire (classe CE1), on m'a dit que lorsque les écoliers pratiquent la conjugaison, l'institutrice a dit de prononcer le s final de "ils/elles".
Par exemple :
ilS parlent/ elleS ...
2
votes
1answer
204 views
Do French kids have difficulty learning their spellings?
What I'd like to know is that whether French kids aged about 4 or 7 have difficulty reading or writing French than other kids with the different languages. They can speak fluent French of course, but ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the name Bergson pronounced like Berksonne?
The English Wikipedia says the name of the philosopher Henri-Louis Bergson is pronounced [bɛʁksɔn] in French, instead of [bɛʁgsɔ̃]. What is the historical/cultural reason behind this pronunciation? ...
-1
votes
3answers
334 views
How am I supposed to understand spoken French? [closed]
I've been learning French and reading and writing it is easy. But understanding spoken French is hard because many consonants are not pronounced, and they speak so fast, blurring the entire sentence ...
19
votes
3answers
3k views
Why is the second S silent in “Sens dessus dessous”?
The expression "sens dessus dessous" is pronounced as "sans dessus dessous" or "sang dessus dessous". But I have yet to find another sentence where "sens" is pronounced that way. I always find it ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
propos - pronunciation
Word Reference dict (https://www.wordreference.com/fren/propos) and Collins dict (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/propos) say that the pronunciation of "propos" is /pʀɔpo/ ,...
1
vote
1answer
168 views
Prononcer ge et gue
Évidemment, je connais les règles de prononciation du g suivi par une voyelle.
Existe-t-il des exceptions ?
C'est-à-dire, y a-t-il des mots où gui se prononce comme gi (ou l'inverse), gue comme ge,...
8
votes
2answers
2k 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
Le yod indu en français populaire et autres particularités du français québecois au subjonctif présent du verbe être?
Les verbes qui ont un yod [j] à certaines formes connaissent
l'alternance [...] un y quand le [j] est présent, un i sinon.
[...] La langue populaire tend à introduire un yod indu à la finale
[.....
3
votes
1answer
84 views
b a ba, /beaba/ or /bøaba/?
A teacher I had made a point of pronouncing le b a ba /ləbøaba/ and sounded the letter b the way it is sounded when reading is taught to young children, /bø/ and not /be/, as you would sound /ʀø/ ...
5
votes
2answers
524 views
How the name “craqueuhhe” is read
Can anybody kindly tell me how this name is read: a craqueuhhe, a kind of necrophageous vampire from France. I know how to read the beginning craqueu- Is the ending pronounced -hhe?
Thanks in advance.
0
votes
1answer
81 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Tendances dans la prononciation du redoublement graphique des consonnes du mot « grammaire » ?
En ce qui a trait à la prononciation du mot grammaire (/gʁa.mɛʁ/
ou /ɡʁam.mɛʁ/), je lis au TLFi que :
Le redoublement graphique de la consonne est en effet le signe d'une
ancienne nasalisation de ...
4
votes
3answers
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
2answers
340 views
Pronunciation of “œuf” in “deux œufs kinder” and “bœuf ”in “deux bœufs bourguignons” as an exception to silent /f/ in the plural
Say you wanted to buy some Kinder eggs in a store and had to ask for them and say :
Je vais vous prendre deux œufs kinder.
What would you actually say?
/døzøkindɛr/
or
/døzœfkindɛr/.
Likewise, ...
3
votes
2answers
253 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/...
4
votes
1answer
178 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 ...
6
votes
4answers
392 views
Problem with the pronunciation of sequences of “in”, “a” and “un” vowel sounds
I have come across the following sentence lately:
Je mets fin à un conflit.
How am I supposed to pronounce ɛ̃ (fin), a (à) and œ̃ (un) after one another? Is there a way to go about it? Should I ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
When there is a /dl/ or /tl/ in the transcription, do you pronounce the /d/ or /t/ sound?
I've watched a video according to which we place our tongue in the back of the upper teeth while pronouncing both /t/, /d/ and /l/ sounds. So while pronouncing /dl/ or /tl/ we only need to position ...
4
votes
4answers
145 views
Is dépêcher a pronunciation exception?
I was taught that ê is pronounced /ɛ/, but the ê in dépêcher seems to be pronounced as /e/. Curiously, the ê in "je me dépêche" clearly sounds as /ɛ/.
Is "dépêcher" an exception of that ...
1
vote
1answer
146 views
Why French dicts do not contain the distinct pronunciations of words in Canada and France (as UK and US pronunciations in English dicts)?
English is pronounced differently in each country where it is spoken. The two most popular accents are the ones from UK and US. The most widely taught UK English accent is called Received ...
5
votes
2answers
141 views
Pronunciation of “déjeuner”
Is the pronunciation of "déjeuner" region-dependent?
Collins dict says the correct pronunciation is /deʒœne/
Wiktionary says it could be /deʒœne/ or /deʒøne/
1
vote
4answers
263 views
Why is the nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ transcribed as it is if it is closer to [ã]?
I am struggling to pronounce the /ɛ̃/ phonem, used in words such as "matin" and "chien". I initially tried to just make a /ɛ/ and let air come from the nose when I speak, but that does not sound like ...
