French Phonology

French Phonology

This article mainly discusses the phonological system of standard French based on the Parisian dialect. Notable phonological features of French include its uvular r, nasal vowels, and three processes affecting word-final sounds: liaison, a certain type of sandhi, wherein word-final consonants are not pronounced unless followed by a word beginning with a vowel; elision, wherein certain instances of /ǝ/ (schwa) are elided (e.g. when final before an initial vowel); and enchaînement (resyllabification), in which word-final and word-initial consonants may be moved across a syllable boundary, so that syllables may cross word boundaries.

An example of these various processes is as follows:

• Written: On a laissé la fenêtre ouverte.
• Meaning: "We left the window open."
• In isolation: /ɔ̃ a lese la fǝnɛːtʁ uvɛʁt/
• Together: