French Pronunciation & Accents
Geo-social Applications of the Natural Phonetics & Tonetics Method
Luciano Canepari
University of Venice
This book applies the principles of Natural Phonetics & Tonetics to describe the pronunciation of French, including intonation, in a precise way never found in earlier treatises. It includes an introduction to the Natural Phonotonetics Method, which can be used for any other language, as well (without the sadly known limitations of official IPA).
The vowels, consonants, structures, and intonation of French, including liaison and the unstable e phoneme, are fully described and transcribed, with many examples of words, sentences, and conversations, in addition to the intonationally integrated IPA sample passage ‘The North Wind and the Sun’, and some lofty texts.
Different types of French pronunciation are fully described: international, neutral, traditional, mediatic. In addition, the neutral, mediatic and broad pronunciations currently used in France, Belgium, and Switzerland are extensively treated.
Further chapters describe (with clear phonic maps) the 61 regional accents found in: France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, and other parts of the world.
Other chapters provide 7 traditional dialects, 23 foreign accents of French, 4 diachronic stages, 26 concise language phonopses for easier comparisons.
A mini-phono-dictionary contains about 2000 words, chosen among the most problematic ones for pronunciation and the use of liaison. Extensive lists of homophones and numbers are also provided.
Contents:
1. Foreword
2. Pronunciation & Phonetics
3. The phono-articulatory apparatus
4. The classification of sounds
5. Vowels & vocoids
6. Consonants & contoids
7. The consonants of international French
8. Structures
9. Intonation
10. Some texts in phonotonetic transcription
11. Neutral French pronunciation
12. Traditional French pronunciation
13. Mediatic French pronunciation
14. Midi: normalized general southern pronunciation (‘Marseilles')
15. Switzerland: neutral & mediatic pronunciation
16. Wallonia (Belgium): neutral & mediatic pronunciation
17. Quebec: neutral Canadian pronunciation
18. Quebec: mediatic & broad Canadian pronunciation
19. Belgium & north-eastern France
20. Northern France
21. Gallo-Romance area
22. Southern France (and Monaco)
23. Other French-speaking areas
24. Some foreign accents
25. Some dialects
26. Some diachronic stages
27. Mini-phono-dictionary
28. Homophones
29. Numbers & letters
30. Liaison: examples for practice
31. ‘Unstable e': examples for practice
32. Phonopses of 26 languages
33. Annotated bibliography
ISBN 9783862887910 (Hardbound). LINCOM Studies in Phonetics 21. 428pp. 2017.
