2 – Me voici!
Prononciation – L’élision et la liaison
Elision and liaison
1. Preparation
In chapter 1, we have already come across elisions and liaisons:
Elisions:
| “je” becoming ” j’ ” in front of a word starting with a vowel | j’aime – Les pronoms sujets | |
| “de” becoming ” d’ ” in front of a word starting with a vowel | je suis d’ Austin – Je me présente | |
| “le” and “la” becoming ” l’ ” in front of a word starting with a vowel | l’escargot s’appelle Édouard – Les articles définis |
Liaisons:
| the letter “s” becoming a [z] sound between a subject pronoun and its verb starting with a vowel | vous êtes – verbe “être” | |
| the letter “s” becoming a [z] sound between an article and its noun starting with a vowel | les amis et des amis – Les articles définis & Les articles indéfinis |
Below are the general rules for both elisions and liaisons.
2. Forms
Elisions
Vowels which are replaced by an apostrophe in the writing system are said to be elided. Elision occurs in the context of a following vowel sound. In French, only the letter “e” is elided.
| l’enfant – Je suis d’Austin. – J’écoute la radio. – L’ami d’Alice |
Other words, such as “que” and “ne” will also be elided.
Liaisons
Liaisons can be:
- a [z] sound with the letter “s” in front of a word starting with a vowel
- a [t] sound with the letter “t” in front of a word starting with a vowel
- a [n] sound with the letter “n” in front of a word starting with a vowel
Liaisons often occur between:
| an article or number and its noun: | trois enfants ([z] sound) un escargot ([n] sound) |
|
| a subject pronoun and its verb: | vous êtes ([z] sound) | |
| an interrogative word and the follow verb: | Comment allez-vous? ([t] sound) |
3. Listening comprehension
Listen to the following examples and take note of where the elision is made. Listen a second time and repeat.
Model: Comment_allez-vous?
- Vous habitez en Europe?
- Ils écoutent les informations à la télé.
- Elles adorent les italiens et les espagnols.
- Vous êtes d’où?
