French 4

Vowels in detail
The 4 Questions to ask
yourself regarding any
vowel:
1. Is there a diacritical (accent) mark over the
vowel?

2. What letters follow the vowel?

3. Is the vowel found as a single letter or is it part

of a group?

4. What is the position of the vowel? Initial, medial,

or final?
The single letter a is most
often [a] à is always [a]
Paris
chapelle
chalet
nativité
pardon
caviar
harpe
dame
là
voilà
â = [ɑ]

âge
âme
pâle
mâle
ai (aî, aie, ais, ait, aient)
INTERIOR = [ɛ]
mais
étaient
serait
plaît
faite
comparaître
*EXCEPTION in some forms of the verb faire [fɛ rə] (to do)
it is a schwa:
faisais [fə zɛ]
faisant [fə zɑ] <-nasal :\
*EXCEPTION: when ai is before [z] it may be pronounced
[e]
baiser [be ze]
FINAL ai
When “ai” are the final letters in a word (i.e., not
followed by a silent consonant as in “mais”) then
“ai” is pronounced [e]

gai
serai
ail and aill= [aj]
travail
corail
cailloux
aim, ain
When final or before another consonant [ɛ̃]
faim
ainsi [ɛ̃ si]
daim
grain

When followed by a vowel or by another m or n, do

not nasalize
haine [ɛ nə]
plaine
je t’aime
graine
am, an
When final or before another consonant: nasal [ɑ̃ ]
champ
grand
chantant
cependant
secouant
ambigu
galant
an
When followed by a vowel or another m or n, Do not
nasalize
tamis
manifeste
animer
au and aux usually [o]
au
chevaux

*Exceptions: au before r= [ɔ]

Faure [fɔ re]
aurai [ɔ re]
restaurant [rɛ stɔ rɑ̃]

*OTHER FREQUENTLY USED EXCEPTIONS TO KNOW:

automne [ɔ tɔ nə]
mauvais [mɔ vɛ]
ay usually= [ɛj]
payer
rayon

*COMMONLY USED EXCEPTIONS TO KNOW

pays [pe i]
bayadere [ba ja dɛ rə]
Lafayette [la fa jɛ tə]
é= [e]
été
défau
dictée
élément
è, ê, ë= [ɛ]
père
forêts
sortilège
après
Noël
rêver

*EXCEPTION:
Saint-Saëns [sɛ̃ sɑ̃ s]
e before a single
consonant + vowel= [ə]
cheval
banderille
premier
venez
demain
cheveux
jeter
rayonnement [rɛ jɔ nə mɑ̃ ]
e after a vowel or glide is
usually silent
gaiement [gɛ mɑ̃ ]
payement [pɛj mɑ̃ ]
e before two or more
consonants= [ɛ]
esprit
permettre
elle
nerveux
est
servir
esclave
verse
exile
geste
expert
soutanelle
e before two or more
consonants: EXCEPTIONS
1. e in initial ess or eff is closed [e]
essor
effort

2. e in the prefix re- before two or more

consonants [ə]
refrain
reflux [rə fly]

3. e when followed by m or n (nasal)

e before a final
PRONOUNCED consonant
[ɛ]
avec
hôtel
chef
rappel

PRONOUNCED r’s
hiver
cher
mer
ver
e before a final SILENT s
[ə]
parles
elles
lettres
belles
écloses
noires

**UNLESS in a monosyllable then [e]

des
les
tes
mes
(SOMETIMES transcribed [ɛ] usually sounds like an in-between)
e before a final SILENT t
[ɛ]
goulet
filet
flanchet
bouquet

**EXCEPTION: monosyllable
et [e]
e before a final SILENT r
and most other
consonants [e]
pied
allez
chanter
chercher
importer
donner
rêver
danser
monter
refuser
e before a final SILENT r
and most other
consonants [e]
aller
écouter
poser
bouler
doubler
charger

guerrier
danger
premier
léger
berger
étranger
final e without accent [ə]
le
parle
je
image
fumée
embrumée
eau eaux [o]
beau
beaux
l’eau
ruisseaux
tombeau
nouveau
ei [ɛ]
seine
geignard
seize
cheik

eil, eill = [ɛj]

soleil
appareilles
vermeil
meilleur
veille
sommeil
FINAL ent in VERBS [ə]
or silent
(third person plural: ils, elles)
parlent
semblent
donnent
envolent
songent
plaignent
tournent
échangent
tombent
disent
FINAL ent in nouns and
adjectives [ɑ̃ ]
firmament
patient
excellent
emplacement
eu INTERIOR [œ]

peuple
heure
malheur
seigneur
monseigneur

*creuset [krø zɛ]

*malheureuse [ma lœ rø zə]
eu final (or before final
silent consonant) [ø]
peu
honteux
veut
malheureux
jeu
joyeux
queue
bleu

note: monsieur [mə sjø]

messieurs [mɛ sjø]
ill, il, ille were already
covered (glides)
page 275-277
im, in nasals were
already covered
page 277
o is usually [ɔ]
(3 exceptions on next slide)
comme
orgeuille
estomac
ordinateur
orange
bord
dormir
o=[o] before z, as final sound,
and ô
rose
poser
chose

galop
écho
sanglot
pierrot
kilo
flot

tôt
nôtre
drôle
EXCEPT: hôtel
oeu

MEDIAL: [œ]
coeur
boeuf
oeuf

FINAL SOUND: [ø]

boeufs [bø]!
voeux
oi [wa]

toi
droit [drwa]: BUT *trois [twa]
noir
crois
voici
doigts
vois
voix
ou, où, oû [u]

où
goût
fou
loup
doux
tout
coup
nouvelle
pour
court
sourd
toujours
amour
sourire
*oui
*ouest
oy= [waj]

noyée
royal
foyer
single u, û = [y]
dû
inutile
salut
connu
murmure
union
sud
studio
u before stressed vowel
(anything other than mute e) =
[ɥ]
nuit
puisque
suave
bruit
lueur
suis
*cruelle
*fluide
*guitar
u before final mute e= [y]
revue
vue
ue followed by il, ill, ille [œj]
cercueill [sɛr kœj]
orgueil [ɔr gœj]
 already covered y through
nasals, glides.
page 284