French phonology

Vowels of Parisian French, from Collins & Mees (2013:225–226).
Many speakers merge /œ̃/ with /ɛ̃/ and /a/ with /ɑ/. In the latter case, the outcome is an open central [ä] between the two (not shown on the chart).

Open vowels

The phonemic contrast between front /a/ and back /ɑ/ is sometimes not maintained in Standard French, which leads some researchers to reject the idea of two distinct phonemes.^[16] However, the distinction is still clearly maintained in other dialects such as Quebec French.^[17]

While there is much variation among speakers in France, a number of general tendencies can be observed. First of all, the distinction is most often preserved in word-final stressed syllables such as in these minimal pairs:

tache /taʃ/ → [taʃ] ('stain'), vs. tâche /tɑʃ/ → [tɑʃ] ('task')

rat /ʁa/ → [ʁa] ('rat'), vs. ras /ʁɑ/ → [ʁɑ] ('short').

There are certain environments that prefer one open vowel over the other. For example, /ɑ/ is preferred after /ʁw/ and before /z/:

trois [tʁwɑ] ('three'),

gaz [ɡɑz] ('gas').^[18]

The difference in quality is often reinforced by a difference in length (but the difference is contrastive in final closed syllables). The exact distribution of the two vowels varies greatly from speaker to speaker.^[19]

Back /ɑ/ is much rarer in unstressed syllables, but it can be encountered in some common words:

château [ʃɑto] ('castle'),

passé [pɑse] ('past').

Morphologically complex words derived from words containing stressed /ɑ/ do not retain it:

âgé /ɑʒe/ → [ɑˑʒe] ('aged', from âge /ɑʒ/ → [ɑʒ])

rarissime /ʁaʁisim(ə)/ → [ʁaʁisim] ('very rare', from rare /ʁɑʁ/ → [ʁɑʁ]).

Even in the final syllable of a word, back /ɑ/ may become [a] if the word in question loses its stress within the extended phonological context:^[18]

J'ai été au bois /ʒe ete o bwɑ/ → [ʒe.ete.o.bwɑ] ('I was in the woods'),

J'ai été au bois de Vincennes /ʒe ete o bwɑ dǝvɛ̃sɛn/ → [ʒe.ete.o.bwad.vɛ̃.sɛn] ('I was in the Vincennes woods').

Mid vowels

Although the mid vowels contrast in certain environments, there is limited distributional overlap so they often appear in complementary distribution. Generally, close-mid vowels (/e, ø, o/) are found in open syllables, and open-mid vowels (/ɛ, œ, ɔ/) are found in closed syllables. However, there are minimal pairs:^[21]

• open-mid /ɛ/ and close-mid /e/ contrast in final-position open syllables:

  allait [alɛ] ('was going'), vs. allé [ale] ('gone');

• likewise, open-mid /ɔ/ and /œ/ contrast with close-mid /o/ and /ø/ mostly in closed monosyllables, such as these:

  jeune [ʒœn] ('young'), vs. jeûne [ʒøn] ('fast', verb),

  roc [ʁɔk] ('rock'), vs. rauque [ʁok] ('hoarse'),

  Rhodes [ʁɔd] ('Rhodes'), vs. rôde [ʁod] ('[I] lurk'),

  Paul [pɔl] ('Paul', masculine), vs. Paule [pol] ('Paule', feminine),

  bonne [bɔn] ('good', feminine), vs. Beaune [bon] ('Beaune', the city).

Beyond the general rule, known as the loi de position among French phonologists,^[22] there are some exceptions. For instance, /o/ and /ø/ are found in closed syllables ending in [z], and only [ɔ] is found in closed monosyllables before [ʁ], [ɲ], and [ɡ].^[23]

The phonemic opposition of /ɛ/ and /e/ has been lost in the southern half of France, where these two sounds are found only in complementary distribution. The phonemic oppositions of /ɔ/ and /o/ and of /œ/ and /ø/ in terminal open syllables have been lost in all of France, but not in Belgium, where pot and peau are still opposed as /pɔ/ and /po/.^[24]

Nasal vowels

The phonetic qualities of the back nasal vowels are not very similar to those of the corresponding oral vowels, and the contrasting factor that distinguishes /ɑ̃/ and /ɔ̃/ is the extra lip rounding of the latter according to some linguists,^[25] but other linguists have come to the conclusion that the main difference is in tongue height.^[26] Speakers who produce both /œ̃/ and /ɛ̃/ distinguish them mainly through increased lip rounding of the former, but many speakers use only the latter phoneme, especially most speakers in northern France such as Paris (but not farther north, in Belgium).^[25][26]

In some dialects, particularly that of Europe, there is an attested tendency for nasal vowels to shift in a counterclockwise direction: /ɛ̃/ tends to be more open and shifts toward the vowel space of /ɑ̃/ (realised also as [æ̃]), /ɑ̃/ rises and rounds to [ɔ̃] (realised also as [ɒ̃]) and /ɔ̃/ shifts to [õ] or [ũ]. Also, there also is an opposite movement for /ɔ̃/ for which it becomes more open and unrounds to [ɑ̃], resulting in a merger of Standard French /ɔ̃/ and /ɛ̃/ in this case.^[26][27] In Quebec French, two of the vowels shift in a different direction: /ɔ̃/ → [õ], more or less as in Europe, but /ɛ̃/ → [ẽ] and /ɑ̃/ → [ã].^[28]

Schwa

When phonetically realised, schwa (/ə/), also called ⟨e⟩ caduc ('dropped ⟨e⟩') and ⟨e⟩ muet ('mute ⟨e⟩'), is a mid-central vowel with some rounding.^[21] Many authors consider it to be phonetically identical to [œ].^[29][30] Geoff Lindsey suggests the symbol ⟨ɵ⟩.^[31][32] Fagyal, Kibbee & Jenkins (2006) state, more specifically, that it merges with /ø/ before high vowels and glides:

netteté /nɛtəte/ → [nɛtøte] ('clarity'),

in phrase-final stressed position:

dis-le ! /di lə/ → [di.lø] ('say it'),

and that it merges with [œ] elsewhere.^[33] However, some speakers make a clear distinction, and it exhibits special phonological behavior that warrants considering it a distinct phoneme. Furthermore, the merger occurs mainly in the French of France; in Quebec, /ø/ and /ə/ are still distinguished.^[34]

The main characteristic of French schwa is its "instability": the fact that under certain conditions it has no phonetic realisation.

• That is usually the case when it follows a single consonant in a medial syllable:

  rappeler /ʁapəle/ → [ʁaple] ('to recall'),

• It is most frequently mute in word-final position:

  table /tabl(ə)/ → [tabl] ('table').

• Word-final schwas are optionally pronounced if preceded by two or more consonants and followed by a consonant-initial word:

  une porte fermée /yn(ə) pɔʁt(ə) fɛʁme/ → [ynpɔʁt(ə)fɛʁme] ('a closed door').

• In the future and conditional forms of -er verbs, however, the schwa is sometimes deleted even after two consonants:

  tu garderais /ty ɡaʁdəʁɛ/ → [tyɡaʁd(ə)ʁɛ] ('you would guard'),

  nous brusquerons [les choses] /nu bʁyskəʁɔ̃/ → [nubʁysk(ə)ʁɔ̃] ('we will precipitate [things]').

• On the other hand, it is pronounced word-internally when it follows more pronounced consonants that cannot be combined into a complex onset with the initial consonants of the next syllable:

  gredin /ɡʁədɛ̃/ → [ɡʁədɛ̃] ('scoundrel'),

  sept petits /sɛt pəti/ → [sɛtpəti] ('seven little ones').^[35]

Pronouncing [ə] as [œ] is a way to emphasise the syllable. For instance, pronouncing biberon ('baby bottle') [bibœʁɔ̃] instead of [bibəʁɔ̃] is a way to draw attention to the e (to clarify the spelling, for example).

In French versification, word-final schwa is always elided before another vowel and at the ends of verses. It is pronounced before a following consonant-initial word.^[36] For example, une grande femme fut ici [yn(ə) ɡʁɑ̃d(ə) fam(ə) fyt‿isi], would be pronounced [ynə ɡʁɑ̃də famə fy‿t‿isi], with the /ə/ at the end of each word being pronounced.

Schwa cannot normally be realised as a front vowel ([œ]) in closed syllables. In such contexts in inflectional and derivational morphology, schwa usually alternates with the front vowel /ɛ/:

harceler /aʁsəle/ → [aʁsœle] ('to harass'), with

[il] harcelle /aʁsɛl/ → [aʁsɛl] ('[he] harasses').^[37]

A three-way alternation can be observed, in a few cases, for a number of speakers:

appeler /apəle/ → [aple] ('to call'),

j'appelle /ʒ‿apɛl/ → [ʒapɛl] ('I call'),

appellation /apelasjɔ̃/ → [apelasjɔ̃] ('brand'), which can also be pronounced [apɛ(l)lasjɔ̃].^[38] for [e], TLFi, s.v. appellation for [ɛ].}}

Instances of orthographic ⟨e⟩ that do not exhibit the behaviour described above may be better analysed as corresponding to the stable, full vowel /œ/. The enclitic pronoun le, for example, always keeps its vowel in contexts like donnez-le-moi /dɔne lə mwa/ → [dɔnelœmwa] ('give it to me') for which schwa deletion would normally apply, and it counts as a full syllable for the determination of stress.

Cases of word-internal stable ⟨e⟩ are more subject to variation among speakers, but, for example, un rebelle /ɛ̃ ʁəbɛl/ → [ɛ̃ʁœbɛl] ('a rebel') must be pronounced with a full vowel in contrast to un rebond /ɛ̃ ʁəbɔ̃/ → [ɛ̃ʁœbɔ̃] or [ɛ̃ʁbɔ̃] ('a bounce').^[39]

Length

Except for the distinction still made by some speakers between /ɛ/ and /ɛː/ in rare minimal pairs like mettre [mɛtʁ] ('to put') vs. maître [mɛːtʁ] ('teacher'), variation in vowel length is entirely allophonic. Vowels can be lengthened in closed, stressed syllables, under the following two conditions:

• /o/, /ø/, /ɑ/, and the nasal vowels are lengthened before any consonant: pâte [pɑːt] ('dough'), chante [ʃɑ̃ːt] ('sings').
• All vowels are lengthened if followed by one of the consonants /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ʁ/ (not in combination), or by the cluster /vʁ/: mer/mère [mɛːʁ] ('sea/mother'), crise [kʁiːz] ('crisis'), livre [liːvʁ] ('book').^[40], Tranel (1987:49–51) However, words such as (ils) servent [sɛʁv] ('(they) serve') or tarte [taʁt] ('pie') are pronounced with short vowels since the /ʁ/ appears in clusters other than /vʁ/.

When such syllables lose their stress, the lengthening effect may be absent. The vowel [o] of saute is long in Regarde comme elle saute! In which it is final but not in Qu'est-ce qu'elle saute bien!.^[41] In the latter case, the vowel is unstressed because it is not phrase-final. An exception occurs, however, with the phoneme /ɛː/ because of its distinctive nature, provided it is word-final, as in C'est une fête importante which fête is pronounced with long /ɛː/ despite being unstressed in that position.^[41]

The following table presents the pronunciation of a representative sample of words in phrase-final (stressed) position:

In the examples above, the final [ə] (shown in parentheses) is elided when preceding a vowel-initial word; similarly, it is deleted when preceding a word beginning with a consonant cluster. Also, if the following word begins in a consonant cluster and the first consonant is distinct from the final consonant of the previous word, the second last syllable of the previous word is long. Otherwise, the syllables are separated by a schwa and the vowel of the second last syllable is short.

Elision

The final vowel (usually /ə/) of a number of monosyllabic function words is elided in syntactic combinations with a following word that begins with a vowel. For example, compare the pronunciation of the unstressed subject pronoun, in je dors /ʒə dɔʁ/ [ʒə.dɔʁ] ('I am sleeping'), and in j'arrive /ʒ‿aʁiv/ [ʒa.ʁiv] ('I am arriving').

Glides and diphthongs

The glides [j], [w], and [ɥ] appear in syllable onsets immediately followed by a full vowel. In many cases, they alternate systematically with their vowel counterparts [i], [u], and [y] such as in the following pairs of verb forms:

nie [ni]; nier [nje] ('deny')

loue [lu]; louer [lwe] ('rent')

tue [ty]; tuer [tɥe] ('kill')

The glides in the examples can be analysed as the result of a glide formation process that turns an underlying high vowel into a glide when followed by another vowel: /nie/ → [nje].

This process is usually blocked after a complex onset of the form obstruent + liquid (a stop or a fricative followed by /l/ or /ʁ/). For example, while the pair loue/louer shows an alternation between [u] and [w], the same suffix added to cloue [klu], a word with a complex onset, does not trigger the glide formation: clouer [klue] ('to nail') Some sequences of glide + vowel can be found after obstruent-liquid onsets, however. The main examples are [ɥi], as in pluie [plɥi] ('rain'), [wa], and [wɛ̃].^[42] They can be dealt with in different ways, as by adding appropriate contextual conditions to the glide formation rule or by assuming that the phonemic inventory of French includes underlying glides or rising diphthongs like /ɥi/ and /wa/.^[43][44]

Glide formation normally does not occur across morpheme boundaries in compounds like semi-aride ('semi-arid').^[45] However, in colloquial registers, si elle [siɛl] ('if she') can be pronounced just like ciel [sjɛl] ('sky'), or tu as [tyɑ] ('you have') like tua [tɥa] ('[he] killed').^[46]

The glide [j] can also occur in syllable coda position, after a vowel, as in soleil [sɔlɛj] ('sun'). There again, one can formulate a derivation from an underlying full vowel /i/, but the analysis is not always adequate because of the existence of possible minimal pairs like pays [pɛi] ('country') / paye [pɛj] ('paycheck') and abbaye [abɛi] ('abbey') / abeille [abɛj] ('bee').^[46]. The words pays and abbaye are more frequently pronounced [pei] and [abei].}} Schane (1968) proposes an abstract analysis deriving postvocalic [j] from an underlying lateral by palatalization and glide conversion (/li/ → /ʎ/ → /j/).^[47]

Stress

Word stress is not distinctive in French so two words cannot be distinguished on the basis of stress placement alone. In fact, grammatical stress is always on the final full syllable of a French word (the final syllable with a vowel other than schwa). Monosyllables with schwa as their only vowel (ce, de, que, etc.) are generally unstressed clitics but rarely may receive stress.^[29]

The difference between stressed and unstressed syllables in French is less marked than in English. Vowels in unstressed syllables keep their full quality, regardless of whether the rhythm of the speaker is syllable-timed or mora-timed (see Isochrony).^[48] Moreover, words lose their stress to varying degrees when pronounced in phrases and sentences. In general, only the last word in a phonological phrase retains its full grammatical stress (on its last syllable unless this is a schwa).^[49]

Emphatic stress

Emphatic stress is used to call attention to a specific element in a given context such as to express a contrast or to reinforce the emotive content of a word. In French, this stress falls on the first consonant-initial syllable of the word in question. The characteristics associated with emphatic stress include increased amplitude and pitch of the vowel and gemination of the onset consonant, as mentioned above.^[50]

• C'est parfaitement vrai. [sɛpaʁfɛtmɑ̃ˈvʁɛ] ('It's perfectly true.' No emphatic stress)
• C'est parfaitement vrai. [sɛ(p)ˈpaʁfɛtmɑ̃vʁɛ] (emphatic stress on parfaitement)

For words that begin with a vowel, emphatic stress falls on the first syllable that begins with a consonant or on the initial syllable with the insertion of a glottal stop or a liaison consonant.

• C'est épouvantable. [sɛte(p)ˈpuvɑ̃tabl] ('It's terrible.' Emphatic stress on second syllable of épouvantable)
• C'est épouvantable [sɛ(t)ˈtepuvɑ̃tabl] (initial syllable with liaison consonant [t])
• C'est épouvantable [sɛˈʔepuvɑ̃tabl] (initial syllable with glottal stop insertion)

Intonation

French intonation differs substantially from that of English.^[51] There are four primary patterns:

• The continuation pattern is a rise in pitch occurring in the last syllable of a rhythm group (typically a phrase).
• The finality pattern is a sharp fall in pitch occurring in the last syllable of a declarative statement.
• The yes/no intonation is a sharp rise in pitch occurring in the last syllable of a yes/no question.
• The information question intonation is a rapid fall-off from high pitch on the first word of a non-yes/no question, often followed by a small rise in pitch on the last syllable of the question.

See also

• History of French
• Phonological history of French
• Varieties of French
• French orthography
• Reforms of French orthography
• Phonologie du Français Contemporain
• Quebec French phonology

References

Sources

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• Berns, Janine (2013), "Velar variation in French", Linguistics in the Netherlands, 30 (1): 13–27, doi:10.1075/avt.30.02ber 
• Casagrande, Jean (1984), The Sound System of French, Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, ISBN 0-87840-085-0 
• Chitoran, Ioana; Hualde, José Ignacio (2007), "From hiatus to diphthong: the evolution of vowel sequences in Romance", Phonology, 24: 37–75, doi:10.1017/S095267570700111X 
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to French pronunciation.

• Foreign Service Institute's freely downloadable course on French phonology from their extensive Language Materials:
  • Introduction to French Phonology (audio)
  • Introduction to French Phonology (student & teacher texts)
• Large collection of recordings of French words
• mp3 Audio Pronunciation of French vowels, consonants and alphabet
• French Vowels Demonstrated by a Native Speaker (youtube)
• French Consonants Demonstrated by a Native Speaker (youtube)