Remi Villatel wrote:
>
> YAFPT! Yet Another French Pronounciation Thread! ;-)
>
> I'm french and I can't hear the difference between [E~] and [9~]. Maybe
> because of my local accent? And I'll never use "brun" to talk about shit
but
> "marron" [maRO~]. "Brun" is used only to describe hair and skin. (YMMV) In
> my mouth, "un brin brun" sounds [E~ bRE~ bRE~] and a bit silly. ;-) I
> think that French keeps on evolving and some differences disappear, like
[a]
> vs. [A] and [E~] vs. [9~].
>
Christophe has also testified regarding the two last mentioned changes.
Certainly my vintage 1920s grammar book distinguishes them; and when I was
in France in the 50s, I took great pains to distinguish them, though seldom
successfully, since my friend did not tell me "say [E] and round your lips,
dummy; you talk thru your nose anyway so don't worry about the
nasalization".