Pronunciation of the final e in some words

DaphneB2Kwiziq community member

Pronunciation of the final e in some words

For regarde-les I think I hear a liaison which sounds, to an English person something like regar-delay. 

Similarly for verse-les I think I hear a liaison which sounds like ver-selay.

However I don't hear a similar liaison for téléphone-lui or appelle-les.

Is there a rule for when to  liase the final part of a word ending in the letter e?

Asked 5 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Daphne,

Normally the  'e' at the end of a word is not pronounced ( unless it has an accent) and it is called 'mute'.

You are hearing the examples you cite correctly, the 'e' is still mute , but what you hear is the last consonant.

Sometimes you will hear an extra syllable as some people like to pronounce very precisely but in general, in spoken French particularly in the top half of France you are more likely to swallow up 'e' 's and contract syllables.

e.g.

'Regarde-les' can be four syllables (re-gar-de-les)or three( re-garde-les) depending on who says it.

This can be subject to regional differences so no steadfast rule -

In the case of 'Téléphone-lui' ,  you will normally hear four syllables (té-lé-phone-lui) but in the South of France you will probably hear five of them (té-lé-pho-ne-lui) as they like to pronounce all the possible syllables.

Hope this helps!

Pronunciation of the final e in some words

For regarde-les I think I hear a liaison which sounds, to an English person something like regar-delay. 

Similarly for verse-les I think I hear a liaison which sounds like ver-selay.

However I don't hear a similar liaison for téléphone-lui or appelle-les.

Is there a rule for when to  liase the final part of a word ending in the letter e?

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