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| There have been '''French words in English''' since the time of [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]. For example, he imported those that end in -'''sion''' or -'''tion''' (though he often also spelt them -cion or -cioun). More recent additions are '''ménû''', '''machìne''' (-sh-), '''façàde''' (*fəssàd), '''crèpe''' and '''elìte''' (the accents, ''which are not the same as the ones used in French'', show stress and pronunciation, see [[English phonemes]] for the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] and [[English spellings]] for a table). English more-or-less French pronunciation is typified by the proper names *Cítron, *Përzho and *Rénno for '''Cítroen''', '''Pëugeot''' and '''Rénault'''. Pronouncing French words too Frenchly sounds pretentious in an English context. Why say '[[Stephane Grapelly|Stephàne Grapellỳ]]' when it is so much easier to say *Stéfən Grəpélly? '''[[Boulogne|Boulŏgne]]''' (*Bə-lŏin, as opposed to French 'Bû-lónyə') and '''[[Paris|Páris]]''' (with s sounded) have anglicised pronunciations, as do the painters '''[[Edgar Degas|Dègàs]]''' (*Dâygà for 'Dəgá' - the name was originally de Gas) and '''[[Auguste Renoir|Rénoir]]''' (*Rénwà instead of *Rənwàr - the anglicised pronunciations are generally spurned by those anglophones who have learnt French, but even they would not normally in an English context pronounce the final r in Renoir); by contrast the more recently famous country '''[[Niger|Nigèr]]''' has a French-style pronunciation, *Nì-zhãir - in contrast to '''[[Nigeria|Nigêria]]''' (*Nîjêria) and the river '''Nîger'''.
| | <font color="darkred"><big><center>''See the tab above for an extensive '''CATALOG''' of French words in English.'' </center></big></font> |
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| But many more French words and phrases are less assimilated than those above, and they are often written, like other foreign words, in italics. They can retain their written French accents in (especially British) English. None of these accents should be regarded as compulsory in English, but they are often used.
| | There have been '''French words in English''' since not long after the Norman Conquest. [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]] imported those that end in -'''sion''' or -'''tion''' (though he often also spelt them -cion or -cioun).<ref>The latter is not used nowadays, while -'''cion''' occurs only in a few words, such as '''suspícion'''</ref> More recent additions are '''ménû''', '''machìne''' (-sh-), '''façàde''' (*fəssàd), '''crèpe''' and '''elìte''' (the accents, ''which are not the same as the ones used in French'', show stress and pronunciation, see [[English phonemes]] for the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] and [[English spellings]] for a table). English more-or-less French pronunciation is typified by the proper names *Cítron, *Përzho and *Rénno for '''Cítroen''', '''Pëugeot''' and '''Rénault''' (* before a word indicates a respelling). So fond of French words is the English language that some expressions that are identical or nearly so in English will receive a French-style pronunciation used in a French context: '''''cohabitation''''' (*coabitassión), a situation where the president and prime minister come from different parties, cf. '''cohabitâtion''', living together; '''''Front National''''' (*Fronassionál), to contrast with the UK's '''Nátional Frònt'''. |
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| ===List of French words===
| | Pronouncing French words too Frenchly sounds pretentious in an English context. Why say '[[Stephane Grapelly|Stephàne Grapellỳ]]' when it is so much easier to say *Stéfən Grəpélly? '''[[Boulogne|Boulŏgne]]''' (*Bə-lŏin, as opposed to French 'Bû-lónyə') and '''[[Paris|Párís]]''' (with s sounded) have anglicised pronunciations, as do the painters '''[[Edgar Degas|Dègàs]]''' (*Dâygà for 'Dəgá'—the name was originally de Gas) and '''[[Auguste Renoir|Rénoir]]''' (*Rénwà instead of *Rənwàr—the anglicised pronunciations are generally spurned by those anglophones who have learnt French, but even they would not normally in an English context pronounce the final 'r' in 'Renoir'); by contrast the more recently famous country '''[[Niger|Nigèr]]''' has a French-style pronunciation, *Nì-zhãir - in contrast to '''[[Nigeria|Nigêria]]''' (*Nîjêria) and the river '''Nîger'''. Being a [[syllable-timed language]], French has no [[tonic accent]], so when a new French word appears in the news, it may receive several pronunciations, as with [[Alassane Ouattara]]'s name at the beginning of 2011, in which it seems equally acceptable, and perhaps equally unsatisfactory, to stress any one of the three A's (or indeed any two of the six, though the first name usually receives a light stress on the final A, typical of French speech). |
| This is a list of words that may retain their French written accents, or be written in italics, or have a strange or little-known pronunciation in English, in any combination. The accents in the pronunciation column show stress and pronunciation (see [[English spellings]] for a table). The equals sign (=) introduces a word that has the same pronunciation (no other kind of connection is implied), and an asterisk (*) is placed before a respelling.
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| {|class="wikitable"
| | But many more French words and phrases are less assimilated than those above, and they are often written, like other foreign words, in italics. They can retain their written French accents in (especially British) English. None of these accents should be regarded as compulsory in English, but they are often used (as are also the cedilla in '''curaçao''', probably from Portuguese, and the umlaut in the German '''doppelgänger'''). |
| |-
| | |
| !Spelling, French accents optional
| | ==Index== |
| !Pronunciation<ref>Ideally, final -n nasalises the preceding vowel, but some just pronounce the n.</ref>
| | |
| |-
| | [[/Catalogs#A|A]], [[/Catalogs#B|B]], [[/Catalogs#C|C]], [[/Catalogs#D|D]], [[/Catalogs#E|E]], [[/Catalogs#F|F]], [[/Catalogs#G|G]], [[/Catalogs#H|H]], [[/Catalogs#I|I]], [[/Catalogs#J|J]], [[/Catalogs#K|K]], [[/Catalogs#L|L]], [[/Catalogs#M|M]], [[/Catalogs#N|N]], [[/Catalogs#O|O]], [[/Catalogs#P|P]], [[/Catalogs#Q|Q]], [[/Catalogs#R|R]], [[/Catalogs#S|S]], [[/Catalogs#T|T]], [[/Catalogs#U|U]], [[/Catalogs#V, W, X, Y, Z|V, W, X, Y, Z]] |
| |-íz (= '''ís''')
| |
| |-êez (= '''êase''')
| |
| |-
| |
| |à deux
| |
| |*à-dë
| |
| |-
| |
| |agent provocateur
| |
| |ázhonprovoca-të(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |aileron
| |
| |âileron
| |
| |-
| |
| |à la carte
| |
| |*àlà-càrt
| |
| |-
| |
| |à la mode
| |
| |*àlà-môde
| |
| |-
| |
| |apéritif
| |
| |*aperitêef
| |
| |-
| |
| |arrière-ban
| |
| |*árié(r)-bán
| |
| |-
| |
| |arrière-pensée
| |
| |*árié(r)-pànsây
| |
| |-
| |
| |arriviste
| |
| |árì-vêest
| |
| |-
| |
| |aubergine<ref>British English; egg plant in American.</ref>
| |
| |*ôberzhêen
| |
| |-
| |
| |blancmange
| |
| |*bləmànzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |bête noire
| |
| |*bét-nwà(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |bidet
| |
| |*bêedây
| |
| |-
| |
| |bizarre ''strange''
| |
| |bí-zà(r), cf. bazàar ''shop'', bə-
| |
| |-
| |
| |blasé
| |
| |*blà-zây
| |
| |-
| |
| |bon mot
| |
| |*bón-mô
| |
| |-
| |
| |bon ton
| |
| |*bón-tón
| |
| |-
| |
| |bon vivant
| |
| |*bon-vìvàn
| |
| |-
| |
| |boulevardier
| |
| |*boôlə-vàrdiay
| |
| |-
| |
| |bouleversement
| |
| |*boôlə-vérsmón
| |
| |-
| |
| |boutonnière
| |
| |*boôtoni-ére
| |
| |-
| |
| |bureau de change
| |
| |*bûrodə-shónzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |café
| |
| |cáfè
| |
| |-
| |
| |canapé
| |
| |cánapè
| |
| |-
| |
| |canard
| |
| |cánard
| |
| |-
| |
| |carte blanche
| |
| |*càrt-blànsh
| |
| |-
| |
| |cause célèbre
| |
| |*côze-celébrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |c'ést la vie
| |
| |*sâyla-vêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |c'ést la guerre
| |
| |*sâyla-gãir
| |
| |-
| |
| |chacun à son goût
| |
| |*shákən-ason-goô
| |
| |-
| |
| |chapeau, chapeaux ''plural''
| |
| |*sháppo, *sháppôz
| |
| |-
| |
| |chaperon
| |
| |*sháperôn
| |
| |-
| |
| |charabanc
| |
| |*shárabang
| |
| |-
| |
| |charade
| |
| |BrE *shəràd, AmE *shərâde
| |
| |-
| |
| |charivari
| |
| |BrE *sharivàri, AmE *shivarêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |château, châteaux ''plural''
| |
| |*shátto, *sháttôz
| |
| |-
| |
| |chauffeur
| |
| |*shô-fër
| |
| |- | |
| |cherchez la femme, chercher la femme
| |
| |*shérchèla-fám | |
| |-
| |
| |cinema
| |
| |cínemà, *cínemə
| |
| |-
| |
| |cinemathèque
| |
| |cínematek
| |
| |-
| |
| |cinemaphotograph
| |
| |cínema phôtograph
| |
| |-
| |
| |cinema verite
| |
| |cínema *véritè
| |
| |-
| |
| |Cítroën ™
| |
| |*Sítrən
| |
| |-
| |
| |cliché
| |
| |*clêeshây ([[American English|AmE]] stresses 2nd syllable)
| |
| |-
| |
| |clientèle
| |
| |*cleeontél
| |
| |-
| |
| |comme ci, comme ça
| |
| |*comsêe-comsà | |
| |-
| |
| |commune
| |
| |cómmune
| |
| |-
| |
| |compère
| |
| |cómpére ''host'', cf. compãre ''contrast''
| |
| |-
| |
| |concierge
| |
| |*cóncìërzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |confit
| |
| |cónfì
| |
| |-
| |
| |confrère
| |
| |cónfrére
| |
| |-
| |
| |coup d'état
| |
| |*coôdây-tà
| |
| |-
| |
| |coup de grace
| |
| |*coôdəgràss
| |
| |-
| |
| |coup de théâtre<ref>'Theatre' outside this phrase has no accents and is pronounced *thêeətə(r).</ref>
| |
| |*coôdətay-átrə | |
| |-
| |
| |coupé
| |
| |coûpè
| |
| |-
| |
| |courgette<ref>British English; zucchini in American.</ref>
| |
| |*cŏr-zhét | |
| |-
| |
| |cortège
| |
| |*cŏr-tézh
| |
| |-
| |
| |crème
| |
| |créme
| |
| |-
| |
| |crèpe
| |
| |crèpe
| |
| |-
| |
| |crochet
| |
| |*crôshây
| |
| |-
| |
| |croissant
| |
| |*quàson
| |
| |-
| |
| |croquette
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |croquignole
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |croquis
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |croupier
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |croustade
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |crouton
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |curé
| |
| |*cyûrây
| |
| |-
| |
| |curetage
| |
| |*cyùretàzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |curette or curet
| |
| |*cyurét
| |
| |-
| |
| |demimonde, demimondaine
| |
| |démimonde, demimondâine | |
| |- | |
| |debâcle
| |
| |debàcle
| |
| |-
| |
| |débris
| |
| |BrE *débrêe or *dèbrêe, AmE *dəbrêe
| |
| |- | |
| |début
| |
| |*dèbyû or *débyû
| |
| |-
| |
| |débutant
| |
| |*dèbyûtàn or *débyûtàn
| |
| |-
| |
| |déclassé
| |
| |declássè
| |
| |-
| |
| |déjà vu
| |
| |*dèzhà-vû
| |
| |-
| |
| |deluxe, de luxe
| |
| |*də-lúxe, də-lûxe | |
| |- | |
| |de rigueur
| |
| |*dərigër - hard g
| |
| |-
| |
| |dernier cri
| |
| |*dãirny-ãir-crêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |derrière
| |
| |Dérry ãir
| |
| |-
| |
| |détente
| |
| |*daytànt
| |
| |-
| |
| |demimondaine
| |
| |*démimon-dâne
| |
| |-
| |
| |discothèque
| |
| |*díscoték
| |
| |-
| |
| |double-entendre
| |
| |*doôblon-tóndrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |douche
| |
| |*doôsh
| |
| |-
| |
| |eau-de-Cologne
| |
| |*ôda-Colône
| |
| |-
| |
| |eau-de-vie
| |
| |*ôda-vêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |éclair
| |
| |eclãir
| |
| |-
| |
| |éclat
| |
| |*è-clà
| |
| |-
| |
| |élan
| |
| |*è-làn
| |
| |-
| |
| |émigré
| |
| |émigrè
| |
| |-
| |
| |en attendant
| |
| |*onətóndón
| |
| |-
| |
| |en bloc
| |
| |ón blóck
| |
| |-
| |
| |en clair
| |
| |ón Clãir
| |
| |-
| |
| |en face
| |
| |*onfáss
| |
| |-
| |
| |en famille
| |
| |*onfamì
| |
| |-
| |
| |en fête
| |
| |*onfét
| |
| |-
| |
| |en masse
| |
| |ón máss
| |
| |-
| |
| |en passant
| |
| |*onpásson
| |
| |-
| |
| |en plein
| |
| |*onplán
| |
| |-
| |
| |en poste
| |
| |*onpóst
| |
| |-
| |
| |en prise
| |
| |*onprêez
| |
| |-
| |
| |en rapport
| |
| |*onrá-pŏ(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |en route
| |
| |*ón-roûte
| |
| |-
| |
| |en suite
| |
| |*onswêet
| |
| |-
| |
| |enfant terrible
| |
| |*ónfànté-rìbl
| |
| |-
| |
| |engagé
| |
| |*ongázhây
| |
| |-
| |
| |entrée
| |
| |*óntrây
| |
| |-
| |
| |esprit de corps
| |
| |*esprêedə-cŏ(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |exposé
| |
| |*expôzây, cf. expôse
| |
| |- | |
| |fait accompli
| |
| |*fétəcóm-plêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |façade
| |
| |*fassàd
| |
| |-
| |
| |fête ''festival''
| |
| |= fâte ''destiny''
| |
| |-
| |
| |fiancé ''man'', fiancée ''woman''
| |
| |*fì-ànsây | |
| |-
| |
| |flânerie
| |
| |*flánə-rìe
| |
| |-
| |
| |flâneur
| |
| |flanëur
| |
| |-
| |
| |folie à deux
| |
| |*folìà-dë
| |
| |-
| |
| |fondant
| |
| |*fóndàn
| |
| |-
| |
| |frisée, frisé
| |
| |*frìzây | |
| |-
| |
| |frisson
| |
| |frìsson
| |
| |-
| |
| |frottage
| |
| |*frótàzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |fuselage
| |
| |*fûsilàzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |fusilier, fusileer
| |
| |fusilêer | |
| |-
| |
| |gaffe ''mistake''
| |
| |= gáff ''blow, fishing''
| |
| |- | |
| |garage
| |
| |AmE *garàzh BrE *gáràj or the despised *gáríj
| |
| |-
| |
| |garçon
| |
| |*gà(r)són
| |
| |-
| |
| |garde-manger
| |
| |*gà(r)dmàn-zhây
| |
| |-
| |
| |gâteau, gâteaux
| |
| |*gáttô, *gáttôz | |
| |- | |
| |genre
| |
| |*zhónrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |herbes de Provence
| |
| |honi soit qui mal y pense
| |
| |*ónny-swà-kêe-málly-pànss
| |
| |-
| |
| |hors d'œuvre
| |
| |*ŏ(r)-dëvr
| |
| |-
| |
| |ingénue
| |
| |*ánzhé-nû
| |
| |-
| |
| |jeu d'esprit
| |
| |*zhëdé-sprêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |jeunesse dorée
| |
| |*zhənéss-dórây
| |
| |-
| |
| |joie de vivre
| |
| |*zhwàd-vìvrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |laissez-faire
| |
| |= lây sây fãir
| |
| |-
| |
| |largesse
| |
| |*larzhéss
| |
| |-
| |
| |lavabo
| |
| |lavàbo
| |
| |-
| |
| |lavage
| |
| |*lavàzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |lavaliere or lavalliere ''pendant''
| |
| |*lavalìer
| |
| |-
| |
| |lavalier or lavaliere ''microphone''
| |
| |*ləválier
| |
| |-
| |
| |le mot juste
| |
| |*ləmô-zhûst
| |
| |-
| |
| |littérateur
| |
| |literatë(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |louche
| |
| |*loôsh
| |
| |-
| |
| |machine
| |
| |*məshêen
| |
| |-
| |
| |madame ''brothel'', Madame ''title''
| |
| |madáme, cf. mádam ''shopping'' | |
| |- | |
| |maisonette
| |
| |maizonét
| |
| |-
| |
| |maître d'hôtel
| |
| |*métradô-tél, mâitradô-tél
| |
| |-
| |
| |marque ''type''
| |
| |= màrk ''write'' = Màrk ''person''
| |
| |-
| |
| |marquee
| |
| |= màrr kêy
| |
| |-
| |
| |matinée
| |
| |mátinèe
| |
| |-
| |
| |mélange
| |
| |*mây-lànzh
| |
| |-
| |
| |ménage à trois
| |
| |*ménàzhà-twà
| |
| |-
| |
| |menu
| |
| |*ményu
| |
| |-
| |
| |Messrs. (abbreviation of ''Messieurs'')
| |
| |*méssers
| |
| |-
| |
| |métier
| |
| |*mâytiây
| |
| |-
| |
| |Monsieur
| |
| |*Məsyə(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |mot juste
| |
| |*mô-zhûst
| |
| |-
| |
| |naïve
| |
| |*nî-yêeve
| |
| |-
| |
| |naïveté<ref>There is also the anglicisation '''naìvity''', *nà-ìvity.</ref>
| |
| |*nî-yeevì-tây | |
| |-
| |
| |nom de plume
| |
| |nóm de plûme
| |
| |-
| |
| |œuvre
| |
| |*ëvr
| |
| |-
| |
| |outré
| |
| |oûtrè
| |
| |-
| |
| |nouveau riche
| |
| |*noôvô-rêesh
| |
| |-
| |
| |pain-au-chocolat
| |
| |pánnoshoko-là
| |
| |-
| |
| |parvenu
| |
| |*pà(r)vən(y)û
| |
| |-
| |
| |passé
| |
| |pássè
| |
| |-
| |
| |pâté
| |
| |pátè
| |
| |-
| |
| |pied-à-terre
| |
| |*pyédà-téə(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |pláteau, pláteaux ''plural''
| |
| |*pláttô, *plátôz; in both, the second syllable is stressed in AmE
| |
| |-
| |
| |poseur
| |
| |*pô-zë(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |protégé
| |
| |*prôtezhây
| |
| |-
| |
| |Provençal
| |
| |*Provonssàl
| |
| |-
| |
| |provocateur
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |puisne ''judge''
| |
| |= pûny ''small''
| |
| |-
| |
| |quiche
| |
| |*kêesh
| |
| |-
| |
| |raclette
| |
| |*rác-lét
| |
| |-
| |
| |raconteur
| |
| |*rácon-të(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |raison d’être
| |
| |*râizon-détrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |rendezvous
| |
| |*róndâyvoô, róndivoô
| |
| |-
| |
| |renifleur
| |
| |*rəníflë(r), *rənì-flë(r), *réniflë(r)
| |
| |-
| |
| |rentier
| |
| |*ràntêeây
| |
| |-
| |
| |résumé <ref>The second accent (not usually both) is often used to avoid confusion with '''resûme'''.</ref>
| |
| |*rézyumây, *râyzyumây, cf. resûme (*rizyûme)
| |
| |-
| |
| |risqué
| |
| |*rískây, *rêeskây
| |
| |-
| |
| |rôle
| |
| |rôle ''part'' (= rôll ''over, eat'')
| |
| |-
| |
| |rosé (wine)
| |
| |*ro-zây
| |
| |-
| |
| |roué
| |
| |roûè (*roôwây)
| |
| |-
| |
| |savoir-faire
| |
| |*sávwà-fãir
| |
| |- | |
| |savoir-vivre
| |
| |*sávwà-vìvrə
| |
| |-
| |
| |séance
| |
| |*sâyónce
| |
| |-
| |
| |sobriquet
| |
| |sóbrikây
| |
| |-
| |
| |soixante-neuf
| |
| |*swàsont-nëf
| |
| |-
| |
| |soubrette
| |
| |*soûbrét
| |
| |-
| |
| |soufflé
| |
| |*soûflây
| |
| |-
| |
| |soupçon
| |
| |*soûpsón
| |
| |-
| |
| |sous vide
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |table d’hôte
| |
| |*tàbla-dôte
| |
| |-
| |
| |tábleau, tábleaux ''plural''
| |
| |*táblô, *táblôz
| |
| |-
| |
| |tête-à-tête
| |
| |*tétà-tét
| |
| |-
| |
| |touché
| |
| |*tooshây
| |
| |-
| |
| |tour de force
| |
| |toûr de fŏrce
| |
| |-
| |
| |Tour de France
| |
| |Toûr de Frànce
| |
| |-
| |
| |tourniquet
| |
| |toûrnikây
| |
| |-
| |
| |triage
| |
| |trîage
| |
| |-
| |
| |troûsseau
| |
| |*trûsô (either stressed)
| |
| |-
| |
| |valìse
| |
| |*vəlêez
| |
| |-
| |
| |vermouth
| |
| |BrE *vërməth, AmE *vr-moôth
| |
| |-
| |
| |vis-à-vis
| |
| |*víza-vêe, vêezà-vêe
| |
| |-
| |
| |voilà
| |
| |*vwà-là
| |
| |-
| |
| |}
| |
|
| |
|
| ==Notes== | | ==Notes== |
| {{reflist}} | | {{reflist}}[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]] |
| | |
| ==See also==
| |
| *[[English alphabet]]
| |
| *[[English spellings]]
| |
| *[[Spelling pronunciation]]
| |
| *[[Letter (alphabet)]]
| |
| *[[Alphabet]]
| |
| *[[Writing system]]
| |
| *[[Orthography]]
| |
| *[[Written language]]
| |
| *[[Writing]]
| |
See the tab above for an extensive CATALOG of French words in English.
There have been French words in English since not long after the Norman Conquest. Chaucer imported those that end in -sion or -tion (though he often also spelt them -cion or -cioun).[1] More recent additions are ménû, machìne (-sh-), façàde (*fəssàd), crèpe and elìte (the accents, which are not the same as the ones used in French, show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes for the IPA and English spellings for a table). English more-or-less French pronunciation is typified by the proper names *Cítron, *Përzho and *Rénno for Cítroen, Pëugeot and Rénault (* before a word indicates a respelling). So fond of French words is the English language that some expressions that are identical or nearly so in English will receive a French-style pronunciation used in a French context: cohabitation (*coabitassión), a situation where the president and prime minister come from different parties, cf. cohabitâtion, living together; Front National (*Fronassionál), to contrast with the UK's Nátional Frònt.
Pronouncing French words too Frenchly sounds pretentious in an English context. Why say 'Stephàne Grapellỳ' when it is so much easier to say *Stéfən Grəpélly? Boulŏgne (*Bə-lŏin, as opposed to French 'Bû-lónyə') and Párís (with s sounded) have anglicised pronunciations, as do the painters Dègàs (*Dâygà for 'Dəgá'—the name was originally de Gas) and Rénoir (*Rénwà instead of *Rənwàr—the anglicised pronunciations are generally spurned by those anglophones who have learnt French, but even they would not normally in an English context pronounce the final 'r' in 'Renoir'); by contrast the more recently famous country Nigèr has a French-style pronunciation, *Nì-zhãir - in contrast to Nigêria (*Nîjêria) and the river Nîger. Being a syllable-timed language, French has no tonic accent, so when a new French word appears in the news, it may receive several pronunciations, as with Alassane Ouattara's name at the beginning of 2011, in which it seems equally acceptable, and perhaps equally unsatisfactory, to stress any one of the three A's (or indeed any two of the six, though the first name usually receives a light stress on the final A, typical of French speech).
But many more French words and phrases are less assimilated than those above, and they are often written, like other foreign words, in italics. They can retain their written French accents in (especially British) English. None of these accents should be regarded as compulsory in English, but they are often used (as are also the cedilla in curaçao, probably from Portuguese, and the umlaut in the German doppelgänger).
Index
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Notes
- ↑ The latter is not used nowadays, while -cion occurs only in a few words, such as suspícion
