Vowels
Standard French contrasts up to thirteen oral vowels and up to four nasal vowels. Note that the schwa (in the center of the diagram beside this paragraph) is not necessarily a distinctive sound; even though it is often realized as other vowels, its patterning suggests that it is a separate phoneme (see the sub-section Schwa below).
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | y | u | ||
| Close-mid | e | ø | ə | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ (ɛː) | œ | ɔ | ||
| ɛ̃ | (œ̃) | ɔ̃ | |||
| Open | ɑ̃ | ||||
| a | (ɑ) | ||||
Read more about this topic: French Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“These equal syllables alone require,
Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“Playing “bop” is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)