----- Original Message -----
From: "Andreas Johansson" <andjo@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: French u [y] and ou [u] allophones? (was Re: anti-Sanskritism
and more)
> Quoting Jean-François Colson <bn130627@...>:
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Robert Jung" <RobertMJung@...>
> > To: <CONLANG@...>
> > Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 2:20 AM
> > Subject: anti-Sanskritism and more
> >
> > >
> > > Are the French u [y] and ou [u] allophones of a single phoneme?
> > >
> >
> > Surely not. There are many words for which a swich from [y] to [u]
changes
> > the meaning.
> >
> > For example:
> > - bulle /byl/ (bubble) - boule /bul/ (ball, bowl)
> > - cul /ky/ (ass) - cou /ku/ (neck)
> > - sur /sy:R/ (sour) - sourd /su:R/ (deaf)
> > - du /dy/ (from/of the) - d'où /du/ (from where), doux /du/ (sweet)
> > - pur /py:R/ (pure) - pour /pu:R/ (for)
> > - la mûre /lamy:R/ (the mulberry/blackberry/brambleberry/dewberry) -
l'amour
> > /lamu:R/ (love)
> > - and many others.
>
> French has phonemic vocalic length?
>
> Andreas
>
No. But the vowels are (phonetically) longer in some contexts. And I think
(perhaps I'm wrong) that the /y/ of |sur| is longer for the adjective use (=
sour) than for the prepositional one (= on).
Notice that some dictionaries write explicitally the long vowels in the
transcriptions.
Jean-François Colson
jfcolson@belgacom.net