Pronunciation clarification

Johanna S.B1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Pronunciation clarification

Listening to the pronunciation of verbs like appeler in the first and second person plural, I don’t here any separate syllable in the verb where the single “l” is. , as in vous appelez, or nous appelons. It’s as if the “e” is simply omitted and the word is pronounced like “ applez” and “applons”. This is much more obvious with the female voice than the male. Could you clarify the pronunciation please?

Asked 3 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

The letter "e" in words is often swallowed in everyday spoken French.

acheter --> ach'ter
Je vais t'appeler --> j'vais t'app'ler
Je t'appelle --> J't'appelle

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Just to add to Chris's answer - the letter e is pronounced differently when it's followed by a double letter. As it says in the lesson:

Of course, the pronunciation is affected: -ell- is pronounced [ell], whereas -el- is [ull].

You can omit the "e" when it has an "ull" sound, but not when it has the "ell" sound.

Johanna S. asked:

Pronunciation clarification

Listening to the pronunciation of verbs like appeler in the first and second person plural, I don’t here any separate syllable in the verb where the single “l” is. , as in vous appelez, or nous appelons. It’s as if the “e” is simply omitted and the word is pronounced like “ applez” and “applons”. This is much more obvious with the female voice than the male. Could you clarify the pronunciation please?

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