French Language Pronunciation and Phonetics Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Pronunciation and Phonetics deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. Why are m rather than n used before b and p in nasal spellings? Give examples.

   By French spelling convention, before the letters b and p the nasal is written with m instead of n. Examples: "chambre", "temps", "important", "nombre" — all still produce the same nasal vowels.

2. Define liaison in French.

   Liaison is the pronunciation of a normally silent final consonant when the next word begins with a vowel or mute h, linking the two words (e.g., "les amis" → /le‿z‿ami/, the silent s becomes /z/).

3. In liaison, what sounds do a final s, x, or d take on?

   A liaison s or x is pronounced /z/ (e.g., "les enfants", "deux heures"), and a liaison d is pronounced /t/ (e.g., "un grand homme" → /grɑ̃t‿ɔm/). Liaison consonants often change voicing/place from their spelling.

4. Give three cases of COMPULSORY (obligatory) liaison.

   Obligatory liaisons occur: (1) after a determiner + noun/adjective (les_amis, mon_ami, deux_ans); (2) between a pronoun and its verb (nous_avons, ils_ont); (3) after short prepositions and adverbs like "en", "chez", "très", "bien" before a vowel (en_avion, très_important).

5. Give three cases of FORBIDDEN (interdite) liaison.

   Forbidden liaisons: (1) after a singular noun (un enfant / un garçon‖intelligent — no liaison); (2) before an aspirated h (les‖héros, en‖haut); (3) after the conjunction "et" (et‖il); also before/after proper nouns and after interrogative "comment".

6. What is the difference between an "aspirated h" (h aspiré) and a "mute h" (h muet) regarding liaison and elision?

   Both h's are silent, but a mute h behaves like a vowel — it ALLOWS liaison and elision (l'homme, les_hommes). An aspirated h behaves like a consonant — it BLOCKS liaison and elision (le héros, les‖héros, la‖hache).

7. Define elision in French and give the main words affected.

   Elision is the dropping of a final vowel (usually e, a, or i) before a word beginning with a vowel or mute h, replaced by an apostrophe. It occurs with le/la → l', je → j', ne → n', de → d', que → qu', se → s', ce → c', me/te, and "si" → s' only before il/ils.

8. Show how elision applies to "le" and "la" versus "les".

   "le"/"la" elide before a vowel: le + arbre → l'arbre, la + école → l'école. But "les" does NOT elide — instead it triggers liaison: les arbres → /le‿z‿aʁbʁ/. Elision affects only single-vowel words, not those ending in a consonant.

9. Why is "si" special with respect to elision?

   "si" (if) elides ONLY before "il" and "ils": s'il, s'ils. It does not elide before "elle" or other vowels (si elle, si on). This is a fixed exception in French elision rules.

10. Define enchaînement and distinguish it from liaison.

    Enchaînement is the re-syllabification of a normally PRONOUNCED final consonant onto the following vowel-initial word (e.g., "elle est" → /ɛ‿lɛ/, the /l/ links forward). Unlike liaison, no silent consonant is being activated — the consonant was already pronounced.

11. What is vowel enchaînement (vocalic linking)?

    Vocalic enchaînement is the smooth linking of a word ending in a vowel to a word beginning with a vowel, with no glottal stop between them (e.g., "il a été" flows as one continuous stream /ilaete/). French avoids the hard vowel breaks common in English/German.

12. Name the three main French accents that can appear over vowels and give an example of each.

    Accent aigu (´): é, as in "café". Accent grave (`): è, à, ù, as in "mère", "à", "où". Accent circonflexe (ˆ): â, ê, î, ô, û, as in "forêt", "hôpital".

13. What is the function of the accent aigu (´), and on which vowel does it appear?

    The accent aigu appears only on E, giving é, pronounced /e/ (closed e, as in "été", "parler"). It marks a specific vowel quality distinct from unaccented e or è.

14. Contrast the pronunciation effect of accent aigu vs accent grave on e.

    é (aigu) = /e/, a closed e (été). è (grave) = /ɛ/, an open e (mère, très). The accent choice directly changes the vowel sound, unlike the grave on a/u which changes only meaning.

15. Does the accent grave change pronunciation on all vowels? Explain with à and è.

    No. On e, è changes the sound to open /ɛ/ (père). On a and u, the grave (à, où, là) does NOT change pronunciation — it only distinguishes homographs (à "to" vs a "has"; où "where" vs ou "or").

16. What does the accent circonflexe often indicate historically, and does it change pronunciation?

    The circonflexe often marks a lost letter, usually an old s (forêt ← forest, hôpital ← hospital, île ← isle). On a, e, o it may slightly affect vowel quality (ê = /ɛ/), but on i and u it is often purely orthographic/etymological.

17. What is the cédille (ç), where is it used, and what does it do?

    The cédille is the hook under c (ç), used only before a, o, u to force the soft /s/ sound instead of the hard /k/. Example: "français" /fʁɑ̃sɛ/, "garçon" /ɡaʁsɔ̃/. Before e and i, c is already soft, so no cédille is needed.

18. What is the tréma (¨), and what is its function? Give an example.

    The tréma is two dots over a vowel indicating that it must be pronounced SEPARATELY from the preceding vowel, breaking a would-be digraph. Example: "naïf" /naif/ (a and i pronounced separately), "Noël" /nɔɛl/, "maïs" /mais/ vs "mais" /mɛ/.

19. Compare "maïs" and "mais" to show the tréma's effect.

    "mais" (but) = /mɛ/, where ai forms a single vowel. "maïs" (corn) = /ma.is/, where the tréma splits ai into two separate vowels. The tréma changes both pronunciation and meaning.

20. How does French word/sentence stress differ from English?

    French has no strong lexical stress on individual words; instead, stress falls predictably on the LAST syllable of a rhythm group (groupe rythmique). English stresses vary per word and are heavier; French stress is light and phrase-final, giving French its even, syllable-timed rhythm.

21. What is a rhythm group (groupe rythmique) and where does its stress fall?

    A rhythm group is a short cluster of words forming one sense unit (e.g., a noun + its article + adjective) pronounced together. All syllables are roughly equal in length except the FINAL syllable of the group, which receives a slight lengthening/stress.

22. Describe the typical intonation of a French declarative (statement) sentence.

    A neutral statement uses FALLING intonation: the pitch may rise gently through internal rhythm groups and then falls on the final syllable of the sentence, signaling completion (e.g., "Il va à Paris." ↘).

23. Contrast the intonation of a yes/no question asked by intonation alone versus a wh-question.

    A yes/no question formed by intonation (e.g., "Tu viens?") uses RISING intonation — pitch rises on the final syllable. A wh-/information question (e.g., "Où vas-tu?") typically uses FALLING intonation, ending low, similar to a statement.

24. How does intonation distinguish "Tu viens." from "Tu viens?" in spoken French?

    Both have identical words and word order; only intonation differs. "Tu viens." falls at the end (statement). "Tu viens?" rises at the end (yes/no question). Rising final pitch is the primary spoken marker of an intonation question.

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