Markings and pronunciation

1 Accents

1.1 The acute accent

The acute accent (´: accent aigu) is used over é as in été. It often indicates that an s is used in the English equivalent:

1.2 The grave accent

The grave accent (`: accent grave) is used over à, è and ù. With è it tends to indicate a lengthened vowel :

With à and ù it tends to be used to differentiate between words, for example:

1.3 The circonflex

The circumflex accent (ˆ: accent circonflexe) is used over any of the vowels. It can indicate a lengthened vowel:

It can indicate that an s is used an English translation:

Or it can be used to differentiate between words:

1.4 The cedilla

The cedilla (ç: cédille) indicates that the c is pronounced like an s. It is only used before a, o and u:

If there isn't a cedilla before these vowels the c will be hard:

1.5 Diaeresis

Diaeresis or two dots over a letter (¨: tréma) indicates that the vowel is to be pronounced separately:

1.6 The œ symbol

The œ symbol is used to indicate a lengthened vowel similar to that in leur:

2 Punctuation

2.1 Terms

2.2 Direct speech

2.2.1  Quotation marks

French quotation marks are « », and not " ":

«Quand est-ce que vous partez à Rome?»

"When are you leaving for Rome?"

There is no need to use inverted commas on either side of a narrative break:

«Jeudi, dit-elle, à 10 heures»

"Thursday" she said, "at 10 o'clock"

2.2.2  Dashes

Dashes are often used instead of quotation marks before separate dialogue utterances, which each occur on a new line:

Il la regarda:
   - Quand est-ce que vous partez à Rome?
   - Jeudi

He looked at her:
   "When are you leaving for Rome?"
   "Thursday"

2.2.3  Colons

Dialogue is introduced by colons rather than commas:

Il dit: «Quand est-ce que vous partez à Rome?»

He said, "When are you leaving for Rome?"

2.3 Other points

2.3.1  Suspension marks

Suspension marks are often used as a replacement for etc.

Ils vendent des jupes, des robes, des vestes, des pantalons...

They sell skirts, dresses, jackets, trousers etc.

2.3.2  Commas and stops with numbers

Note the differences in the French use of commas and stops with numbers:

Le taux de chômage est tombé à 7,8%, soit 2.400.000 chômeurs

The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8%, making 2,400,000 people out of work

3 Enchaînement and liaison

3.1 Definitions

In spoken French syllable sounds tend to run into each other sounds ending one word are often linked to the following syllable if it begins with a vowel . Where the consonant sound is usually pronounced when the word is in isolation, this linking is called enchaînement.

Elle_est dans le jardin

She's in the garden

Where the consonant is usually silent, this linking is called liaison.

Les_enfants ont beaucoup aimé le film

The children really enjoyed the film

Elle est_allée en ville

She's gone into town

Nous_avons dîné chez_eux

We ate at their house

3.2 Words ending d and x

With most words ending d liaison is pronounced like a t:

Mon_oncle, c'est_un grand_amateur de vin

My uncle is a great wine lover

With most words ending x liaison is pronounced like a z:

On_est_allés au musée des beaux_arts

We went to the art gallery

3.3 Restriction to sense groups

Liaison occurs only with words which form part of a sense group. For example, in the sentence below there is liaison between vingt-six and élèves but not between élèves and au:

Le prof a emmené vingt-six_élèves au théâtre

The teacher took twenty-six pupils to the theatre

3.4 The letter h

Liaison occurs before an unaspirated h:

Les_hôtels dans cette ville sont très chers

The hotels in this town are very expensive

But there is no liaison before an aspirated h:

J'aime beaucoup les haricots verts

I really like green beans

Va les chercher en haut

Go and look for them upstairs

3.5 With y

Liaison occurs before the pronoun y:

Je les_y ai envoyés

I sent them there

3.6 No liaison

Note the following cases where there is no liaison:

C'est où?

Where is it?

Vous et elle

You and her

Le onze de France

The French (football) team

Il est onze heures

It's eleven o'clock

Cent un

A hundred and one

4 Elision

4.1 Definition

In written French the final e or a of certain words is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe in front of vowels, an unaspirated h or the pronoun y. The final letter of the following words is elided:

4.2 Lorsque, puisque and quoique

The e is dropped from lorsque, puisque and quoique in front of il(s), elle(s), en, on, un(e):

Lorsqu’on a annoncé la nouvelle, il y a eu de vives acclamations

When the news was announced, there were great cheers

Puisqu'elle avait la grippe, elle n'est pas allée au bureau

Since she had flu, she didn't go into the office

Quoiqu'il soit né en France, il ne parle pas couramment le français

Even though he was born in France, he doesn't speak French fluently

4.3 Si

The i of si is dropped only before il(s):

S'il vous plaît

Please

But

Si on gagne, si elle arrive

If we win, if she arrives

4.4 Je, ce, le and la after verbs

There is no elision where je, ce, le or la follow a verb:

Puis-je entrer?

May I go in?

Ton billet, montre-le au contrôleur

Give it to the inspector

5 Stress

5.1 Word stress v group stress

English and French differ considerably in terms of their stress patterns, the way in which stress is distributed over the syllables of a given word or group of words. English is characterized by word stress, whereby words of more than one syllable contain stressed and unstressed syllables which remain the same whatever the context. For example, in the word government the first syllable is stressed and the final two syllables are unstressed.

French by constrast is characterized by group stress, whereby words of more than one syllable can have stress on the first or last syllable, depending on its position in a given word group. In most contexts stress is applied to the last syllable of a thematic group, making the vowel within that syllable slightly longer:

Il m’a dit qu’il serait là aujourd’hui

He said he’d be here today

However, where emphasis is required the first syllable of a given thematic group can be stressed:

Qu’est-ce qu’il fait froid!

My, it’s cold

5.2 Full value

In English many vowels are pronounced differently depending on whether they are stressed or unstressed. For example in the word government the final syllable –ment is unstressed and the vowel within it is pronounced [ ]. By constrast, in the word mentor, where the ment- is stressed, the vowel within it is pronounced [e]. Indeed, some unstressed vowels disappear altogether, as in police where the unstressed pol- is pronounced pl. This might be compared with policy where the stressed pol- is pronounced pol.

In French all vowels, whether stressed or unstressed, are pronounced with their full value. That is to say the pronunciation does not change, only the time taken to pronounce it and possibly also the tone. Thus the French word gouvernement has four syllables, each being pronounced with its full value.

6 Intonation

Although French intonation patterns are not fixed (they can vary according to the speaker, the circumstances etc.) certain generalizations can be made about them.

6.1 Declarative sentences

In declarative sentences (those presenting a statement rather than a question or command) the basic intonation pattern is the rise-fall, whereby the intonation rises towards the middle of a sentence and then falls towards the end of the sentence. In shorter sentences this pattern will apply to the whole sentence:

The same can apply for longer sentences involving more complex structures:

Alternatively longer sentences can be divided into rhythmic groups, usually coresonding to a noun phrase , relative clause and so on. Here the initial rhythmic groups are characterized by rising intonation whilst the final group has a rise-fall pattern:

6.2 Interrogative sentences

In interrogative sentences (those presenting a question) the basic pattern is rising intonation:

As with declarative sentences, longer interrogative sentences may be divided into rhythmic groups. These groups are usually characterized by the same rising intonation:

6.3 Imperative sentences

Imperative sentences can be soft or hard. In soft imperative sentences, where there is no overt command, the intonation usually follows a rise-fall pattern:

In hard imperative sentences where an overt command is given, there is a falling intonation:

6.4 Exclamative sentences

All the above types of sentence may be expressed in an exclamative manner. In this case the same intonation patterns are used, only they are exaggerated by using greater pitch intervals and greater separation between syllables: