French alphabet: Difference between revisions
Appearance
Content deleted Content added
Line 73: | Line 73: | ||
==Notes== |
==Notes== |
||
* 'W' and 'K' are rarely used except in [[loan words]] or regional words, 'ou' is used to represent the /w/ sound; while 'Q' appears more frequently than in English. |
* 'W' and 'K' are rarely used except in [[loan words]] or regional words, 'ou' is used to represent the /w/ sound; while 'Q' appears more frequently than in English. |
||
* vowels are A, E, I, O, U, sometimes |
* vowels are A, E, I, O, U,Y, sometimes h; |
||
* semi-vowels are Y, rarely W (except regionally, for instance in [[Belgian French|Belgium]]); |
* semi-vowels are Y, rarely W (except regionally, for instance in [[Belgian French|Belgium]]); |
||
* usual [[diacritic marks]] are [[acute accent|acute]] ( ´ ), [[grave accent|grave]] ( ` ), [[circumflex]] ( ˆ ), [[diaeresis]] (called ''tréma'' in [[French language|French]]) ( ¨ ), and the [[cedilla]] ( ¸ ). The only possible combinations are: à â ç é è ê ë î ï ô û ù ü ÿ. Diacritics have no impact on the primary alphabetical order. |
* usual [[diacritic marks]] are [[acute accent|acute]] ( ´ ), [[grave accent|grave]] ( ` ), [[circumflex]] ( ˆ ), [[diaeresis]] (called ''tréma'' in [[French language|French]]) ( ¨ ), and the [[cedilla]] ( ¸ ). The only possible combinations are: à â ç é è ê ë î ï ô û ù ü ÿ. Diacritics have no impact on the primary alphabetical order. |
Revision as of 15:10, 26 November 2008
The French alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. It uses the standard 26 letters. The words in the column "Letter name in French" are sometimes used when discussing the letters (compare English words such as "aich").
Letter names
![]() |
Part of a series on the |
French language |
---|
History |
Grammar |
Orthography |
Phonology |
Letter Letter name Pronunciation Spelling A /ɑ/ a B /be/ bé C /se/ cé D /de/ dé E /ə/ e F /ɛf/ effe G /ʒe/ gé H /aʃ/ hache I /i/ i J /ʒi/ ji K /ka/ ka L /ɛl/ elle M /ɛm/ emme N /ɛn/ enne O /o/ o P /pe/ pé Q /ky/ ku R /ɛʁ/ erre S /ɛs/ esse T /te/ té U /y/ u V /ve/ vé W /dublɛ ve/ double vé X /iks/ ixe Y /igʁɛk/ i grec Z /zɛd/ zède
La nouvelle épellation
In la nouvelle épellation system, the consonant letters were read as follows: be, ke, de, fe, gue, he, je, ke, le, me, ne, pe, ke, re, se, te, ve, we, kse, ze. Though more phonetically based than the traditional system, it never took hold.[1]
Ligatures
Special ligatures exist for some words:
Notes
- 'W' and 'K' are rarely used except in loan words or regional words, 'ou' is used to represent the /w/ sound; while 'Q' appears more frequently than in English.
- vowels are A, E, I, O, U,Y, sometimes h;
- semi-vowels are Y, rarely W (except regionally, for instance in Belgium);
- usual diacritic marks are acute ( ´ ), grave ( ` ), circumflex ( ˆ ), diaeresis (called tréma in French) ( ¨ ), and the cedilla ( ¸ ). The only possible combinations are: à â ç é è ê ë î ï ô û ù ü ÿ. Diacritics have no impact on the primary alphabetical order.
- the tilde diacritical mark ( ˜ ), used only above n, is occasionally used with the French alphabet, for well-known proper names of Spanish origin that have been incorporated in the language (El Niño, ...). Like the other diacritics, the tilde has no impact on the primary alphabetical order.
- Diacritics are not required on capital letters, however they tend to be used more often now than in the past. In Quebec French, however, diacritics on capital letters are never omitted.
See also
References
- ^ Grevisse, Maurice (1980). Le Bon Usage: Grammaire française avec des Remarques sur la langue française d'aujourd'hui (11th ed. ed.). Paris-Gembloux: Duculot. ISBN 2-8011-0242-3.
{{cite book}}
:|edition=
has extra text (help)