Letters with icons. French diacritics

The fluent [ə] corresponds to the letter “e” in an open unstressed syllable and at the end of function words consisting of two letters (for example, je, me, de).

The sound [ə] is often called fluent, because often it is not pronounced. Its pronunciation or omission depends on various factors, which may overlap each other. The omission of this sound is typical for colloquial speech.

Rules regarding pronunciation/omission of [ə] in speech:

1) [ə] is not pronounced if it is next to another vowel or at the end of a word:

Gai(e) ment, il étudi(e) ra, vous jou(e) rez, notr(e) écol(e) .

2) Three consonant rule

• In the official style, the sound [ə] is pronounced when it is surrounded by three consonants, of which two precede it:

Le gouverne ment, l’apparte ment, juste ment, notre famille, l’autre jour.

• If out of three consonants the sound [ə] is preceded by only one, then its pronunciation becomes optional (pronounced at will):

Une place, au re voir.

• If out of three consonants the sound [ə] is preceded by only one, but it is followed by combinations or, the pronunciation of [ə] is mandatory:

Un ate lier, nous se rions, vous fe riez, il ne chante rien.

3) Two consonant rule

If [ə] is surrounded by only two consonants, then it is usually not pronounced either in colloquial or formal speech, but remains in pronunciation only in recitations:

Maint(e) nant, ma p(e) tit(e) soeur, nous v(e) nons.

4) [ə] is usually pronounced in the first syllable of a word or rhythmic group:

De main, le jour, de bout.

5) [ə] is pronounced in colloquial speech if it is slow and emotional:

Vous le dites? (amazement)

Tu ne le connais pas? (disturbance)

Une haine, une hache, le héros.

7) [ə] is pronounced in the words ce ci, ce lui, de hors.

8) If several words with [ə] occur in a row in speech, then one sound out of two is retained in pronunciation: pronounced first, third, etc. However, this principle is violated if stable combinations are encountered in which other pronunciation preferences have developed. Such combinations include:

Je m(e) [Ʒəm]

Je n(e) [Ʒən]

J(e)te [Ʒtə]

C(e)que

Parc(e)que

9) In recitation and singing there is a tendency to pronounce all [ə](if the rhythm requires it).

General patterns of using accents.

The French script has four superscripts; three accents (grave, aigu, circonflexe) and tréma. Let's look at a comparative table of general positional patterns and functions of superscripts (including tréma).

Use of signs with letters and basic letter combinations:

In addition, tréma occurs in graphic syntagms; ouï, uï, ayo, oh. No signs are placed above y, œ, eau. Only tréma can appear above a nasal vowel (coïncider).

Accent circonflexe.

Accent circonflexe can stand over any simple vowel letter: â, ê, î, ô, û or letter combination: aî, eî, oî, eû, oû, oê = , except y, au, eau.

Accent circonflexe is never placed above a vowel preceding two consonants (except indivisible groups: tr, cl, etc.) and the letter x. Exceptions: a) before double ss in the words châssis ‘frame’, châssis ‘chassis’ and in forms of the verb croître; b) in the passé simple of the verbs venir, tenir (and their derivatives): nous vînmes, vous vîntes, etc.

Accent circonflexe is never placed over a vowel followed by another vowel, whether the latter is pronounced or not, for example: crû (m. r.), but: crue (f. r.). Exception: bâiller.

In a combination of two vowels, the accent circonflexe always stands above the second: traître, théâtre.

Accent circonflexe is not placed above the last letter of the word. Exceptions: participles dû, crû, mû, interjections ô, allô and foreign words and names (Salammbô, etc.), onomatopoeia (bê-ê!).

Accent circonflexe is not placed over the e if it is the first letter in the word. Exception: être.

Accent circonflexe is never placed above nasal vowels. Even when accent circonflexe is used in a given root, it disappears if the vowel takes on a nasal timbre:

traîner, entraîner, but: train, entrain; jeûner, but: à jeun. Exceptions: nous vînmes, vous vîntes, etc.

• Accent circonflexe never breaks letter combinations, unlike accent aigu and tréma.

Reasons for using accent circonflexe.

The use of accent circonflexe is explained by a number of factors: etymological (it is placed in place of the disappeared letter), phonetic (to indicate the duration of a vowel in combination with a change in its timbre), morphological (in some types of word formation), differentiating (to distinguish homonyms).

Accent circonflexe is most often used as a sign to replace a letter that has disappeared from pronunciation and writing, primarily s. It is no coincidence that accent circonflexe is not used before s.
Exceptions: châsse, châssis, forms of the verb croître. Dropped before another consonant s could have been preserved in the same root in words borrowed from Latin and other languages ​​after the process of extinction s had ceased. In Russian borrowings this s can also be represented. Therefore, as a way to check the spelling of [ˆ], it is recommended to compare it with other words of the same root, where s is preserved, or with the corresponding Russian words (alternating s -ˆ):

fête - festival - festival; bête - bestial - beast, etc.

• In more rare cases, [ˆ] replaces another one that has disappeared
  consonant, besides s:

p: âme< anima; t: rêne < retina; d: Rhône < Rhodanus.

• In a number of words [ˆ] appeared instead of a vowel that was gaping, that is, before another vowel. The disappearance of this vowel caused the length of the remaining one, which is indicated by the sign [ˆ]:

mûr< meur < maturum; sûr < seur < securum;

role< roole < rotulam; вge < eage < etaticum.

And in modern spelling [ˆ] is placed instead of the omitted e muet in a number of cases of word production and inflection.

• 4. Disappearance s led to a change in the sound of the previous vowel. The loss of the vowel in gaping had a similar effect. The remaining vowel received longitude (the so-called historical longitude), and its timbre also changed: in is pronounced closed [α:], ô - closed [o:], ê - open [ε:]. This gave reason to interpret [ˆ] as an indicator of a change in the sound of a letter, and in a number of words it was introduced in order to convey the corresponding shade of the pronunciation of a vowel, regardless of etymology, for example: cône, grâce, interjections ô, allô. Longitude is not always preserved, mainly in the stressed syllable; as a rule, such a [ˆ] stands above a stressed vowel (most often above o), in other words of the same root the vowel becomes unstressed and loses its length, [ˆ] can disappear, cf.: cône - conique; grâce - gracieux, etc.

Phonetic [ˆ] is often found in words of Greek origin to designate [ε:], [o:], [α:]. However, when using it, you cannot rely solely on pronunciation, since in many cases such pronunciation of the vowel is not marked with a [ˆ]. So, they write cône, diplôme, arôme but: zone, cyclone, although in all words it sounds [o:].

In the use of [ˆ], two contradictory trends collide. On the one hand, the morphological tendency forces us to use [ˆ] in all words of a given root, regardless of the pronunciation tête [ε:] - têtu [e]), on the other hand, the phonetic tendency forces us to put and omit [ˆ] depending on the pronunciation in one and the same root (cône - conique). The struggle between these two tendencies leads to frequent deviations and inconsistencies in the use of the sign [ˆ]. In many cases [ˆ] is retained or omitted only due to tradition. In addition, in modern pronunciation, the differential features of phonemes expressed by the sign [ˆ] are weakened: [ε] coincides with [e], â and a, ô and o are neutralized (especially in an unstressed syllable).

The arbitrary nature of the use of [ˆ] in a number of cases gave rise to its use without connection with etymology and pronunciation by analogy or, conversely, as a distinctive sign (differentiation of homonyms). Sometimes [ˆ] is preserved in words with a “solemn sound”: chrême, châsse, baptême. In other cases, it is used for ornamental purposes in borrowed words to emphasize their “exoticism”: pô, stûpa.

Accent circonflexe in verb forms, inflections, suffixes.

I. Accent circonflexe is written in the following verb forms.

1. In the forms of the 1st and 2nd l. pl. including passé simple of all verbs:

nous parlâmes, dîmes, lûmes, eûmes, vînmes; vous parlâtes, dîtes, lûtes, eûtes, vîntes.

Exceptions: nous haïmes, vous haïtes (here tréma emphasizes the separate reading of a - i, which [ˆ] cannot show) and according to tradition in nous ouïmes, vous ouïtes.

In forms of the 3rd l. units part imparfait du subjonctif of all verbs: qu’il parlât, qu’il dot, qu’il eût, qu’il vоnt; [ˆ] here is of historical origin (from parlast, etc.). Exception: qu'il haït.

In verb forms ending in -aître, -oître (naître, connaître, paître, paraître, croître and their derivatives). In two cases before t:

1) in the infinitive: naître, accroître and, therefore, in futur and conditionnel: il naîtra, il naîtrait;

2) in the 3rd l. units part présent de l’indicatif: il naît, il accroît. In these verbs [ˆ] replaces the dropped s. Before s [ˆ] disappears: je nais, tu nais, but: il naît, etc.

4. In the forms of the verb croître ‘to grow’ as opposed to the verb croire ‘to believe’.

Présent de l'indicatif Impératif

croire: je crois, tu crois, il croit crois

croître: je croîs, tu croîs, il croît croîs

croire: je crus, tu crus, il crut, ils crurent

croître: je crûs, tu crûs, il crût, ils crûrent

Imparfait du subjonctif

croire:que je crusse, tu crusses, il crût, nous crussions, vous crussiez, ils crussent

croître: que je crûsse, tu crûsses, il crût, nous crûssions, vous crûssiez, ils crûssent

Note. The derived verbs accroître, décroître have [ˆ] only in the 3rd l. units part présent de l’indicatif: il décroît - according to the general rule of verbs ending in aître, -oître.

5. In the 3rd l. units part présent de l’indicatif of verbs plaire (déplaire, complaire), gésir, clore - pepper, t (instead of the dropped s): il plaît, il déplaît, il complaît, il gît, il clôt.

Note: il éclot is currently written without accent circonflexe.

6. In the participe passé of some verbs:

crû (croître) - in contrast to cru (croire) and cru (adj and m); dû (devoir) - in contrast to du (article contracté and partitif); mû (mouvoir) - according to tradition, instead of a dropped vowel in gaping (< теи).

In the plural and feminine forms the accent circonflexe disappears: crus, crue; dus, due; mus, mue.

Note. [ˆ] is not used in derived verbs: accru, décru, indu, ému, promu; however they write redû (redevoir), recrû p. p. and s m (recroître) but: recru (de fatigue).

Accent circonflexe is used in the following cases when forming words.

In the suffix of adjectives and nouns -âtre (expresses the incompleteness of the attribute): noirâtre ‘blackish’, marâtre ‘stepmother’.

7. In the suffix of adjectives -être: champêtre ‘field’ (cf.: terrestre ‘earthly’).

8. At the end of the names of the winter months of the Republican calendar (in 1793-1805): nivôse, pluviôse, ventôse.

The French alphabet consists of 26 letters and is based on the Latin alphabet. In addition to the usual letters, the French language also uses special spelling signs. About them - immediately after the alphabet.

In French, there are such concepts as diacritics and ligatures.

Diacritic is a subscript, superscript or intrascript sign used to change or clarify the meaning of other signs denoting sounds.

The following diacritics are used in French:

1) é (accent aigu(axant aigu)) is the most common diacritic in the French language, but is placed only above the letter "e" to indicate sound [e] but only in an open syllable:été, répéter.

2) è, à, ù (grave accent(aksan grav)) - over the last two does not affect the sound quality and plays only a semantically distinctive role.

Above the letter "e" is placed in a closed syllable, followed by "e mute" if the syllable ends:

for one consonant: le pè re; la crè me;

to a group of indivisible consonants: une rè gle;

to a letter combination pronounced as one consonant sound: une bibliothè que.

In some words, it is placed over the "e" before the letter "s" in the final open syllable (with the final "s" not pronounced): un congr es, tr es.

Exception: do not put any sign above the “e” before double consonants and before x:p ell e, tromp ett e, сirconfl ex e, m ex icain.

3) ê, â, ô, î, û (accent circonflexe(aksan sirconflex)): - in the first three cases it affects the pronunciation of vowels, in the last two it is written according to tradition instead of letters that disappeared during the historical development of the language;

4) ë, ï, ü, ÿ (trema(trema)) - shows that in this case there is no formation of a diphthong or other sound;

5) ç (cedille(sediy)) - placed only under “s”, shows that the letter is read as [s] regardless of the letter following it.

Ligature is a sign formed by merging two or more graphemes. There are two ligatures used in French: œ And æ . They are digraphs, i.e. They convey one sound, but in writing they consist of two graphemes.

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How to type in French so that all the superscript and subscript characters so commonly used in French are written? I can recommend several methods. The first one is suitable for those who only type in Word. The second and third are for those who use other applications, for example, Skype.

1. Keyboard shortcuts in Word

The required axans and sedias can be configured by assigning special keyboard shortcuts. For example, when you press the Ctrl key and the letter “e” at the same time, type “é”. To assign keyboard shortcuts, you need to click on the “Insert” button on the top panel of Word and select the “Symbol” option

In the “Symbol” window that opens, find and select the desired French letter, for example é. At the bottom of the page, click on the “Keyboard Shortcuts” button:

In the window that opens, in the “New keyboard shortcut” field, enter a convenient combination, for example “Ctrl” + “e” (you don’t need to write Ctrl, just press the two indicated keys at the same time). At the bottom of the page you need to click on the “Assign” button.

Now in any Word document, when you simultaneously press two keys - “Ctrl” + “e” - you will see é! The main thing is not to forget which keys to press.

2. Install the French keyboard layout

If you actively use not only Word, but also other applications, I advise you to install the French keyboard layout. To do this you need:

1. Click on the “Start” button, go to the “Control Panel” of the computer and select the “Regional and Language Options” button.

2. Select the “Languages ​​and keyboards” tab, click on the “Change keyboard” button.

3. Find the “Add” button

4. And in the window, select the input language – “French (France)” and the keyboard layout – “French”. Click "Ok".

You can switch to/from the French keyboard in the same way as you do with the English keyboard.

French keyboard layout - AZERTY

Don't forget about the special "French" keyboard layout, which is not the same as the English one:

Canadian keyboard layout

To install, the same manipulations are required as for French, but we select, accordingly, “French (Canada)”.

3. Entering codes in combination with Alt

Alt character codes are typed by holding down the Alt key and a numeric combination on the numeric keypad.

French alphabet and correct French pronunciation- the basis of the foundations of this melodic language, french alphabet- topic of the article. Good news for those who studied English - french alphabet exactly the same as English. In order to learn french alphabet we will need two things: first, himself french alphabet, secondly, the name of each letter. Today there is an opinion that a language learner does not need to learn the French alphabet in order to avoid confusion between the name of a letter and its pronunciation. However, I highly recommend learning the French alphabet now as the first step in the amazing journey that is learning the French language. Learn the French alphabet - it will be very useful for you when using dictionaries! Your French pronunciation may not be perfect. If you have French-speaking friends, ask them to recite the French alphabet for you. So, a few lessons are behind you and you are about to have your first conversation with a native French speaker. What will we talk about? Surely we will talk about what you and your interlocutor do, where you come from and of course what your name is. And already at the first contact you may need a clear knowledge of the French alphabet. And if this is not idle communication, and at the same time filling out personal data, this percentage increases. A special feature of the French alphabet is the fact that the letters w, k and ligatures Æ æ used only in foreign words and proper names. The French alphabet is complemented by the ç sign (cedille), and 3 diacritics written above the vowels: acute (accent aigu), gravis (accent grave) and circumflex (accent circonflexe). The fact is that in the French alphabet not all letters of a word are pronounced, for example, the word beaucoup ( a lot of) consisting of 8 letters in writing, is pronounced [boku]/, that is, in its sound embodiment it has only 4 sounds. Of course, a native speaker knows how to spell a familiar word, but you, as a beginner, may have to ask how this word is spelled (Pouvez-vous épelez, s’il vous plaît?/ Spell it please). The spelling of an unfamiliar geographical name, first name and especially last name will probably be unknown to your French interlocutor and then be prepared to answer the above question. In this case, only one thing is needed from you - a clear knowledge of the French alphabet. The French alphabet is a regular Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters. In addition to these familiar letters, the French also use letters with diacritics and ligatures (see below).

Letters of the French alphabet with transcription

French alphabet with pronunciation

Listen to alphabet français (French alphabet audio)

Song "French Alphabet"

Diacritics

A diacritic is a superscript, subscript, or intraline character used to change or clarify the meaning of other characters denoting sounds.

3) accent circonflexe(Axan Sirconflex): ê, â, ô, î, û - in the first three cases it affects the pronunciation of vowels, in the last two it is written according to tradition instead of letters that disappeared during the historical development of the language;

4) trema(diaeresis): ë, ï, ü, ÿ - shows that in this case there is no formation of a diphthong or other sound;

5) cedille(sediy): ç - placed only under “s”, shows that the letter is read as [s] regardless of the letter following it.

Ligatures

A ligature is a sign formed by merging two or more graphemes.

Two ligatures are used in French: œ And æ . They are digraphs, i.e. They convey one sound, but in writing they consist of two graphemes.

Written letters of the French alphabet

Rules for reading French

French alphabet

Letter reading table:

In addition to letters from the French alphabet, a number of letters with various superscript and subscript marks are used:

Reading rules, pronunciation

1. The stress in a word always falls on the last syllable.

2. The words at the end are not readable: “ e, t, d, s, x, z, p, g” (except for some exceptions), as well as letter combinations “ es, ts, ds, ps”: rose, nez, climat, trop, heureux, nid, sang; roses, nids, cadets.

3. The endings of verbs are not read “ -ent ”: ilsparlent.

4. At the end of the word “r” after “e” is not readable (- er): parler.

Exceptions: in some nouns and adjectives, for example: hiver , cher [ʃ ɛ: r] mer ,hier , fer ,ver .

5. The end of the word is unreadable “ c” after nasal vowels: unbanc.

6. Letter “ l” always reads softly.

7. Voiced consonants are always pronounced clearly and are not deafened at the end of a word (about phonetic assimilation in French). Unstressed vowels are pronounced clearly and are not reduced.

8. Before the consonant sounds [r], [z], [Ʒ], [v], stressed vowel sounds acquire length: base.

9. Double consonants are read as one sound: pomm e.

10. Letter “ s” between vowels gives the sound [z]: ros e .

• In other cases – [s]: ves te.
• Two "s" ( ss) are always read as [s]: class e.

11. Letter “ x” at the beginning of a word between vowels is read as: ex otique [ɛ gzotik].

• When not at the beginning of a word, the letter “x” is pronounced [ks]: tax i.
  
• In cardinal numbers it is pronounced as [s]: Six, dix .
• In ordinal numbers it is pronounced as [z]: Six ième, dix ième .

12. Letter “ c” is read as [s] before “i, e, y”: c irque.

• In other cases it gives the sound [k]: c age.
• “ç ” is always read as the sound [s]: garç on .

At the end of the word the letter “ c ”

• In most cases it is pronounced as [k]: parc.
• Not pronounced after nasal vowels - ban c and in some words ( porc, estomac [ɛstoma], tabac).

13. Letter “ g” is read as [Ʒ] before “i, e, y”: cag e.

• In other cases, the letter gives the sound [g]: gallop.
• Combination “ gu”before a vowel is read as 1 sound [g]: gu erre.
• Combination “ gn” is read as the sound [ɲ] (similar to Russian [н]): lign e.

Exceptional cases of reading the letter combination gn.

14. Letter “ h” is never read: home, but is divided into h silent and h aspirated.

15. Letter combination “ ch” gives the sound [ʃ] = Russian [ш]: ch at [ʃa].

16. Letter combination “ ph” gives the sound [f]: Ph oto.

17. Letter combination “ qu” gives 1 sound [k]: qu i.

18. Letter “ i” before a vowel and the combination “ il” after the vowel at the end of the word are read as [j]: mie l, ail.

19. Letter combination “ ill” reads like [j] (after a vowel) or (after a consonant): family e.

Exceptions: ville, mille, tranquille, Lille and their derivatives.

20. Letter combination “ oi” gives a semivowel sound [wa]: troi s.

21. Letter combination “ ui” gives the semivowel sound [ʮi]: hui t [ʮit].

22. Letter combination “ ou” gives the sound [u]: cou r .

If after the letter combination “ ou” is a pronounced vowel letter, it is read as [w]: jouer [Ʒ we].

23. Letter combinations “ eau ”, “au” give the sound [o]: beau coup, au to.

24. Letter combinations “ eu ”, “œu” and the letter e(in an open unstressed syllable) are read as [œ] / [ø] / [ǝ]: neu f, pneu, re garder.

25. Letter “ è ” and the letter “ ê ” give the sound [ɛ]: crè me, tê te.

26. Letter “ é ” reads like [e]: té lé.

27. Letter combinations “ ai" And " ei” are read as [ɛ]: mais, beige.