User:CJ Withers/Quebec French (phonology)

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Sons et prononciation / Phonologie

Main article: Quebec French (phonology) -redirect from Quebec French pronunciation


 * Shana Poplack

Voyelles
The phonological framework of Quebec French displays the following distinctive features:

Vowel features
Systematic, i.e. in all unmonitored speech Observable in some but not all unmonitored speech
 * and as phonemes distinct from  and from  respectively
 * ,, as laxed allophones of , ,  in closed syllables
 * Under certain conditions, long vowels in final (stressed) syllables
 * Drop of schwa
 * Variants a for are tensed into  or  whereas  is fronted into
 * Diphthongs as variants to long vowels
 * [we] (written as "oé") as a variant of [wa] and in contrast to

Consonant features
Systematic Observable in some but not all unmonitored speech
 * /t/ and /d/ affricated to [ts] and [dz] before, , and their allophones , ,
 * Drop of liquids /l/ and (written as "l" and "r") in unstressed position with schwa  or unstressed intervocalic position
 * Phonological feminine before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel: une bel avion
 * Trilled "r" - (a disappearing phenomenon, it restricted to speakers over 30 yrs. old originally from areas west of Trois-Rivières)

For detailed information on other topics in phonology in Quebec French, such as prosody, see Quebec French pronunciation.

For phonological comparisons of Quebec French, Belgian French, Meridional French, and Metropolitain French, see French phonology.

Quebec French has more phonemes than Metropolitan French, as and,  and , and  and  are still clearly opposed whereas the latter of each pair has disappeared at least in several parts of France.

Vowels
Quebec French replaces tense vowels with their lax equivalents when the vowels are both short (e.g. not before "r",, and ) and in a closed syllable. This means that the masculine and feminine adjectives petit and petite, and  in France, are  and  in Quebec. The same goes with →  and  →. In some areas, notably Beauce, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and, to a lesser extent, Quebec City and the surrounding region, even long tense vowels may be laxed.

The nasal vowels are slightly different, although native speakers are not generally able to tell between a French and a Quebecer vowel. and are tensed into  (or even ) and, whereas  is fronted into. Also, nasal vowels under stress in a final closed syllable are long and may be diphthongized in colloquial speech.

One letter whose distinct pronunciation is very noticeable in Quebec French is the letter . The normal realization in final open syllable is, which is nowadays strongly marked as colloquial, with being seen as more elevated. Parisian is very formal, and often perceived as pretentious. Inside words, and  often change into  and  although this too is increasingly considered to be colloquial. These variations are found in several European pronunciations and are usually also considered colloquial.

The letters oi, pronounced in Metropolitan French, and, , and  in formal Quebec French, can be realized in six additional different ways in less formal context, including the very famous  found (exclusively) in droit, froid, flexions of noyer and croire, and soit, remnants from one of the founding French dialects.

Another informal archaistic trait from 17th century Parisian popular French is the tendency to open into  in a final open syllable. On the other hand, in grammatical word endings, as well as in the indicative forms of verb être, the is tensed into. This is also usual in France, but failure to tense the in Quebec is usually negatively perceived as pedantic.

Diphthongization
Long and nasalized vowels are normally diphthongized when stressed. For instance père (father),, is in France but  in Quebec. Other cases include:



Diphthongization is considered as marking less educated speech and avoided in more formal contexts. Diphthongization of and  are unaffected by this stigma, however, and usually go unnoticed of most speakers.

Phonological feminine
When followed by a word that is vowel initial the vowel in un and une (the indefinite article) is in a closed syllable and therefore lax. Because Quebec French has vowel harmony, both determiners will be pronounced the same ( → and  → ). This creates the effect that nouns beginning with a vowel are perceived as feminine, and often used so. Hence: une hôpital, une grosse autobus, l'avion est belle.

Metonymies provide interesting evidence of this. For instance, although most adults would probably say that autobus is masculine if they were given reflection time, specific bus routes defined by their number are always feminine. Bus No. 10 is known as l'autobus 10, or more often la 10. Using le 10 in this context, although normal in France, would be strikingly odd in Quebec (especially Montréal), except in some regions, particularly the Outaouais, where it is the standard. (An alternative explanation for this, however, is that bus routes in Montréal are called "lines", and therefore "la 10" is short for "la ligne 10", and not "l'autobus 10", since it is the route being referred to, and not an individual bus.)

There are many differences in informal grammar: for instance, some words have a different gender than in standard French (une job rather than un job). This is partially systematic. For example, just as the difference in pronunciation between chien (masc.) and chienne  (fem.) is the presence or absence of a final consonant, likewise ambiguous words ending in a consonant (such as job ) are often assigned to the feminine. Also, vowel-initial words that in standard grammar are masculine, are sometimes patterned as feminine; since preceding masculine adjectives are homophonous to feminine adjectives (un bel avion; bel = belle fem.), the word is patterned as feminine (une belle avion).

traditionnelles/anciennes

 * 1) ɑ / a
 * 2) e / ɛ
 * 3) œ~ / ɛ~

Relâchées en syllabe fermée

 * 1) I = /
 * 2) Y = /
 * 3) U = /

Vers l’avant et le haut

 * 1) e~
 * 2) a~

Anciennes prononciations régionales

 * 1) wa / wɑ / wɛ / we
 * 2) marde, parsonne; Assaie donc! Le bon perler, Viarge! (vs. farm/ferme; asparagus/asperge)

Phénomènes en disparition

 * 1) le R roulé
 * 2) le S sifflé
 * 3) le X pour ʒ

Syncope

 * 1) schwa
 * 2) perte des liquides L/R (tab', quat', pias')
 * 3) autres voyelles

Épenthèse-métathèse-interversion
exiprès, aréoport, infractus, chousse, pestak, pétak, caramoni, arien, Argarde!

Harmonisation vocalique
quésiment, pièno, mYzIk

Assimilation
éducation, institution, constitution, couper

(de nasalité) - Demande à Marie. C'est de même.

Dissimilation et différenciation
vlimeux (venimeux); bécane (mécanique)