French e, è, é, ê, ë – what's the difference?
4 hours ago
- #French pronunciation
- #letter e
- #diacritical marks
- The letter 'e' in French can be pronounced in four ways: /e/ (closed e), /ɛ/ (open e), /ə/ (schwa), or it can be silent.
- Diacritical marks (accents) on 'e' indicate different pronunciations: ë (diaeresis) ensures /ɛ/ pronunciation, è (grave accent) denotes /ɛ/, é (acute accent) denotes /e/, and ê (circumflex) usually denotes /ɛ/ and indicates a historical 's'.
- Examples include Noël (/nɔɛl/), père (/pɛʁ/), and être (/ɛtʁ/).
- The circumflex accent (ê) often replaces a historical 's', helping deduce word meanings, e.g., forêt (forest), fête (festival).