silent letters

[linguoboy]

Some people actually still say poêle as [pwɛl]. Like me.

Moé itou! Of course, I speak a crazed variety of the language where the -ent in dorment isn't silent.

"Simplifying" the spelling of a pluricentric language is always a lot more of an undertaking that it seems at first glance.

[mōdgethanc]

Some people actually still say poêle as [pwɛl]. Like me.

So was I until somebody on the Internet (a Frenchman, sans doubt) told me that was wrong and it was [pwal]. I think I'ma go back to the way I said it before.

The <-en-> for <-ent> is a schwa, which is needed in certain situations.

When? I thought it was always silent. Or maybe French is like English in that you can add epinthetic schwas here and there as needed, like " umberella".

[Marah]

It's not a word I pronounce a lot but I think I say [pwɛl].

[Lazar Taxon]

When? I thought it was always silent. Or maybe French is like English in that you can add epinthetic schwas here and there as needed, like " umberella".

I think the best term might be historical-epenthetic. There's an older style of French, still used for classical singing, in which "-e", "-es" and "-ent" endings are pronounced as schwas, and in vernacular speech these can be revived for euphony. But I don't think you can make a schwa in this manner if there wasn't one historically.

[Prosper_Youplaboum]

In the south of France they pronounce schwas almost everywhere there's a "mute" e. They even add schwas sometimes when the word ends with a consonant sound

[i dɔʁmə]

[JackFrost]

When? I thought it was always silent. Or maybe French is like English in that you can add epinthetic schwas here and there as needed, like " umberella".

I think the best term might be historical-epenthetic. There's an older style of French, still used for classical singing, in which "-e", "-es" and "-ent" endings are pronounced as schwas, and in vernacular speech these can be revived for euphony. But I don't think you can make a schwa in this manner if there wasn't one historically.

French does use epinthetic schwas that aren't historical too. The rule of thumb: no more than two consonants in a row (<-str->, etc. are a few exceptions). It's easier to say arc-boutant as /aʀkəbutɑ̃/ than /aʀkbutɑ̃/ for example.

As saying <-ent> as a schwa doesn't happen often in everyday French and I can't think of many situations that would require it. Just the inversion: [...] que disent Strass et Dupont. /kdizə stʀɑs e dypɔ̃/

[Prosper_Youplaboum]

rench does use epinthetic schwas that aren't historical too. The rule of thumb: no more than two consonants in a row (<-str->, etc. are a few exceptions). It's easier to say arc-boutant as /aʀkəbutɑ̃/ than /aʀkbutɑ̃/ for example.

As saying <-ent> as a schwa doesn't happen often in everyday French and I can't think of many situations that would require it. Just the inversion: [...] que disent Strass et Dupont. /kdizə stʀɑs e dypɔ̃/

i say [aʁgbutɑ̃] and [kə dis stʁas e dypɔ̃]

[JackFrost]

I didn't say it'd be impossible for a French speaker to say them like that though.

All I'm saying that French speakers tend to avoid "heavy" consonant clusters in the standard language.

[Prosper_Youplaboum]

Je penser parler français standard et les prononciations que tu as données font pas naturel, à mon avis, même si elles sont pas hyper choquantes
En y réfléchissant, je me rends compte que je dis [aʁgbutɑ̃ ] mais plutôt [saʁkəbute] (s'arc-bouter)
Par contre j'utilise bien un schwa dans "ours blanc" [uʁsəblɑ̃ ]