Vowel Length and Quality
In general, vowels bearing the circumflex accent were historically long (for example, through compensatory lengthening associated with the consonant loss described above). Vowel length is no longer distinctive in most varieties of modern French, but some of the older length distinctions now correspond to differences in vowel quality, and the circumflex can be used to indicate these differences orthographically.
- â → /ɑ/ ("velar" or back a) — pâte vs. patte, tâche vs. tache
- ê → /ɛ/ (open e; equivalent of è or e followed by two consonants) — prêt vs. pré
- ô → /o/ (equivalent to o at the end of a syllable) — hôte vs. hotte, côte vs. cote
The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters "i" or "u" (except in the combination "eû": jeûne vs. jeune ).
The diacritic disappears in related words if the pronunciation changes (particularly when the vowel in question is no longer in the stressed final syllable). For example:
- infâme /ɛ̃fɑm/, but infamie /ɛ̃fami/,
- grâce /ɡʁɑs/, but gracieux /ɡʁasjø/,
- fantôme /fɑ̃tom/, but fantomatique /fɑ̃tɔmatik/.
In other cases, the presence or absence of the circumflex in derived words is not correlated with pronunciation, for example with the vowel "u":
- fût vs. futaille
- bûche vs. bûchette
- sûr and sûrement, but assurer .
There are nonetheless notable exceptions to the pronunciation rules given here. For instance, in non-final syllables, "ê" can be realized as a closed /e/ as a result of vowel harmony: compare bête /bɛt/ and bêta /bɛta/ with bêtise /betiz/ and abêtir, or tête /tɛt/ and têtard /tɛtaʁ/ vs. têtu /tety/.
In varieties of French where open/closed syllable adjustment (loi de position) applies, the presence of a circumflex accent is not taken into account in the mid vowel alternations /e/~/ɛ/ and /o/~/ɔ/. This is the case in southern Metropolitan French, where for example dôme is pronounced /dɔm/ as opposed to /dom/ (as indicated by the orthography, and as pronounced in northern Metropolitan varieties).
The merger of /ɑ/ and /a/ is widespread in Parisian and Belgian French, resulting for example in the realization of the word âme as /am/ instead of /ɑm/.
Read more about this topic: Use Of The Circumflex In French
Famous quotes containing the words vowel, length and/or quality:
“Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man only can utter consonants.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“It was inspiriting to hear the regular dip of the paddles, as if they were our fins or flippers, and to realize that we were at length fairly embarked. We who had felt strangely as stage-passengers and tavern-lodgers were suddenly naturalized there and presented with the freedom of the lakes and woods.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder, and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)