/e/ and /ɛ/
The vowels /e/ and /ɛ/ are characterized by the following features:
/e/ is mid-closed, front, unrounded and oral, e.g.: aller [ale] , mangé [mãʒe] , fée [fe] , léger [leʒe] .
/ɛ/ is mid-open, front, unrounded and oral, e.g.: belle [bɛl] , mettre [mɛtʁ] , est /ɛ/ , vienne [vjɛn] .
As you can see, these vowels are identical, except that the tongue is a little higher for /e/ than it is for /ɛ/.
Articulation of /e/ and /ɛ/
Like all French vowels, /e/ and /ɛ/ are short and tense. When articulating, avoid adding a /j/ or an /i/ at the end. While English does have similar vowels, they are not the same. Compare, for example, the following word pairs.
Word pair |
French |
English |
"ses/say" |
[se] |
[sei] |
"très/tray" |
[tʁɛ] |
[tɺei] |
"les/lay" |
[le] |
[lei] |
As these examples suggest, it is important to ensure that you do not produce a diphthong when articulating these French vowels. Keeping the vowel short and tense should help ensure a correct pronunciation.
The problem of pronouncing English [ei] is particularly challenging in French words where /ɛ/ is followed by /j/, e.g.: abeille [abɛj] . While this is similar to the English diphthong, French uses a short semi-consonant at the end.
Distribution
The vowels /e/ and /ɛ/ tend to follow the Loi de position, i.e.: /e/ is always found in open syllables (aller = [ale]) and /ɛ/ is often found in closed syllables (belle = [bɛl]). However, there are exceptions. These exceptions involve the presence of /ɛ/ in open syllables. For the most part, spelling conventions will help (see below).
Spelling of /e/
The vowel /e/ is represented by the letter(s) "e" or "ai" in certain contexts. Namely:
a) words written with "é", e.g.: allé [ale], fée [fe]. This is true for all word positions.
b) words ending in a silent consonant other that "T" or "N", e.g.: manger [mãʒe], nez, [ne], pied [pje], etc.
c) in the conjunction et [e] (meaning "and")
d) in verb forms ending in "ai(e)", e.g.: j'ai [ʒe], j'irai [ʒiʁe].
e) "e" followed by a double letter, e.g.: dessert [desɛʁ], effet [efɛ].
Spelling of /ɛ/
The vowel /ɛ/ is represented by the letter(s) "e" or "ai" in certain contexts. Namely:
a) "e" in closed syllables, e.g.: belle [bɛl], mettent [mɛt].
b) words written with "è" or "ê", e.g.: très [tʁɛ], bête [bɛt].
c) "ai" + a silent non-nasal consonant letter, e.g.: j'irais [ʒiʁɛ], il parlait [ilpaʁlɛ].
d) in nouns and adjectives ending in "ai(e)", e.g.: mai [mɛ], vrai [vʁɛ].
e) "e" + "t", "st" or "ct", e.g.: jouet [ʒwɛ], billet [bijɛ], respect [ʁɛspɛ].
The following table summarizes the main spelling conventions for /e/ versus /ɛ/ in final open syllables:
Vowel |
Context |
|
accented |
ai (word final) |
ai + silent consonant |
e + word ending in -t |
e + word ending in other consonant |
/e/ |
é, e.g.: allé [ale] |
verb, e.g.: j'ai [ʒe] |
|
|
nez [ne], mes [me], pied [pje], aller [ale], clef [cle] |
/ɛ/ |
è, ê |
noun, e.g.: mai [mɛ] |
allait [alɛ], mais [mɛ] |
jouet [ʒwɛ], aspect [aspɛ] |
|
Exception |
|
|
|
et = [e] |
|
When the letter "E" is used in non-final open syllables, the vowel used is usually "unstable E" (see here for more information).
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)
- The verb form est is pronounced [ɛ]; the conjunction et is pronounced [e].
- Make sure you do not diphthongize either of these vowels, especially at the end of a word.