Pronunciation of silent consonants before vowels

Question

Bonjour! I had always thought that conjugations like "voulons" and "voulez" were pronounced differently before vowels vs. consonants. For example, I thought "vous voulez de l'eau" would be pronounced "vu vu-lay de l'oh" but "vous voulez une glace" would be pronounced "vu vu-laise une glace." Similarly, "nous voulons de l'eau" would be pronounced "nu vu-lohn de l'oh" (not sure how best to represent the french nasal N) but "nous voulons une glace" would be pronounced "nu vu-lonz une glace."

I notice in the pronunciation sound guides above, however, that the endings of the words are not pronounced prior to a vowel.

Am I wrong about pronunciation before vowels or are the sound clips incorrect?

Accepted Answer

Hi Jesse,
Indeed you could liaise the -s of 'voulons' or the -z of 'voulez' if it is followed by a vowel but it is an optional liaison and in my opinion it sounds a bit precious and I personally wouldn't in everyday speech.
Hope this helps!