Vowel Sounds I
([e], [ε], [ә])
The schizophrenic e
The letter e is the most difficult vowel to master simply because it can represent a wide variety of vowel phonemes.
The letter e has four main “personalities”:
| Usually Written | IPA |
Sounds Like |
My name for it |
Orthographic Equivalents |
e |
ә |
uh like duh |
the dumb e |
e- beginning words |
é |
e |
a in ace |
the smart e |
er, ez, ai (in verbs) |
è |
ε |
e in bed |
the deaf e |
-ai-, -ais, -ait, -è-, -ê-, -et- |
e |
n/a |
mute |
the mute e |
-e, -es, -ent |
The sound [e] is much like the vowel sound of day. The letter é is always pronounced [e].
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The letter combinations er, es, and ez at the end a word are pronounced [e].
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In addition, the letter combination ai at the end of a verb is pronounced [e].
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English speakers tend to pronounce [e] with a diphthong, a slightly wavey sound caused by movement in the tongue. In French, the [e] sound is tense -- pronounced with little tongue movement. Observe...
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The [ε] sound is identical to the vowel sound of pet. The letters ê, è and e are normally pronounced [ε].
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In most of France, ai at the end of a word is pronounced [ε] (except with verbs as we already mentioned). In addition the ending ai plus any consonant, et endings, and the es ending when an accent appears over the e are pronounced [ε] as well. When [ε] comes at the end of a sentence, it sounds much more like [e] and to the untrained ear might sound exactly like [e]. To most French speakers, the difference is real and important.
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On the left are words with endings that are pronounced [ε]. On the right the endings are pronounced [e].
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Overlap: [e] or [ε]
The letter combinations ai and ei are pronounced at times as [e]
and at times as [ε]. If ai or ei
are found within a syllable that ends in a vowel sound (an open syllable)
the pronunciation is [e]...
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If they are found within a syllable that ends in a consonant sound (a closed syllable) the pronunciation is [ε]...
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The [ә] sound is similar to the u sound of knuckle. The letter e of these short one syllable words is pronounced as [ә].
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The [ә] sound also occurs in the first syllable of Monsieur and the nous form of the verb faire in the present tesne.
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The mute ‘e’
The mute ‘e’ is an ‘e’ found primarily at the ends of words in French and doesn’t have a sound. My alternative name for it is the ventriloquist because as well talk about further in a moment, most consonants at the ends of words are silent. However, when an ‘e’ follows a silent consonant, then the ‘e’ give’s it’s voice to the preceding consonant. We often see this in the feminine versions of nouns and adjectives as well as verbs. Remember that the mute ‘e’ can also be written as ‘es’ or ‘ent’ in verbs.
vert à verte grand à grande une porte Louis à Louise
il étudie ils finissent
Sometimes an e [ә] will become mute if it is not being used to avoid a cluster of three consonants.
Try to decide which of the underlined e should or should not be pronounced:
Le savetier et le financier.
Je ne sais pas ce qu’il a.
Il ne vient pas seulement samedi mais également mercredi.
Vous le voulez vraiment dans cet appartement?
Vous n’avez pas de chance avec votre partenaire.
Je ne sais pas ce qu’il a, il est complètement brisé.
C’est probablement le bras droit.
Nous allons rapidement parvenir à la porte blanche.
Je ne pars pas, et il ne part pas non plus.
L’appartement appartient au gouvernement, sa propriété est doublement assurée.
Ils vont chez le docteur; ils chanteront pour le docteur.
La fenêtre? La grande fenêtre?