Syllable and Word Division in French and English

Author(s): James L. Barker

Source: Modern Philology, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Feb., 1922), pp. 321-336
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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SYLLABLE AND WORD DIVISION IN FRENCH AND

ENGLISH
of their
Consideredfromthe pointof view of the mechanism
two
of
kinds
consonants:
"initial"
Englishpossesses
production,
and "final"; whereasin Frenchthereis but one, "initial." Of
in determining
what consequenceis this difference
the formation
and divisionofsyllablesand words?
of the articulative
In English,becauseofthe continuity
effort,
withina consonant.
the syllableor worddivisionoccursfrequently
ofeasy,thereare twoz sounds:one,theimploIn thepronunciation
whilethepositionforz is beingassumed;theother,
sion,is produced
the explosion,whilethe tongueis leavingthe same position. In
such cases,one of the soundsis muchweakerthanthe other,and
ofit.
usuallywe are notobservant
ortheexplosion
willbe strong
isdetermined
theimplosion
Whether
In
s
the
accent.
the
is
of
with
the
(=
position,
z)
pronounced
by place
thef is pronounced
the secondor accentedsyllable; in difference,
withthe firstor accentedsyllable. The plainlyaudibleimplosion
is determined
or explosion
by theaccentedsyllable.
of pronunciation
in
In like manner,owingto the continuity
of
consonants
are
with
a
combinations
remarkable
produced
English,
or sit down,the d of
economy of movement. In head department,

head or the t of sit is producedwhilethe tongueis assumingand

or the
holdingthepositionofclosureford or t; thed ofdepartment
and leavingthesameposition.
d ofdown,whilethetongueis holding
to the accentedsyllableis
In such cases,the consonantbelonging
to the unaccentedsyllableis weak,and
strong;the one belonging
at timesscarcelyaudible.
doesnotcharacterize
theproduction
Thiseconomyofmovement
In
de
ofFrenchconsonant
groups.
ftte l'independance
pronouncing
americaine
(Fig. 1), thereis a cessationin the expulsionof breath
just beforethe tongueassumesthe positionforthe t; afterthe
againsttheteethand palate,theexpiratonguehasassumedposition
inthemouthis maintained
the
air
is
an instant
effort
resumed;
tory
[MODERN

PHILOLOGY,

February, 19221

321

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N
M

Nl

..

...
__I

N
M

T
FIG.

am4ric
1.--fit de i'indpendance

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N
N

Fla. 2.--beUedame. (French)

T
FIG. 3.--belledame. (American)
N

FIG. 4.-ne'td.

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(English)

324

JAMES L. BARKER

underpressurebehindthe tongue,and, as the tongueleaves the

is released;thesimultaneous
positionagainsttheteeth,thispressure
downward
movement
ofthetongueand theresultant
explosion
may
be notedon the tracingby theupwardmovement
ofthelineofthe
mouth(M) and thedownwardmovement
of the tongue(T). Folthe
of
the
the
lowing explosion
tongueagaintakesthe same posit,
tionford, and d is thenpronounced
mute
by meansofthefollowing
e. Both the t and d are initial; thet off~teand the d of de (Fig.
ofthetongueas are the
1) are not producedby a singlemovement
t and d ofsitdown,or theI and d in theAmerican
of
pronunciation
belledame(Fig. 3), or of the two t's in nettet6
(Fig. 4), but a sepaof thetonguemaybe notedin the line T, foreach
ratemovement
consonant.
If the end-consonant
and the beginning-consonant
are both
voicedor bothmute,the tongueleaves the positionof closureof
theend-consonant
to permitoftheexplosionoftheconsufficiently
to a neutralpositionwhichwouldpermit
sonant,butdoesnotreturn
the ampoule'to refillwithair, and, on its explusionas the tongue
assumespositionforthe beginning-consonant,
producea separate
curve.2
distinctive
Thus in the Frenchpronunciation
of the I and d in belledame
in
the
two
t's
or
of
nettet6
(Fig. 5), or thetwoI's in qu'elle
(Fig. 2),
two
dit
l'a
(Fig. 6; cf.qu'ellea, Fig. 7),
separatecurvesdo not appearin thetracingforthelineT, but the time is that of a double
articulation.
of consonant
The treatment
groupsin Englishand Frenchproin Englishas manyconsonants
is radicallydifferent:
nunciation
as

zooo*"C?

1 The size of the ampoule,or rubberbulb,is indicatedby the

accompanyingfigure.

2 The experiments
reproducedin thisarticleweremade withthe appareilinscripteur
at the laboratoryofexperimental
phoneticsdirectedby Abb6 Rousselotat the Collogede
Prance.
The upperline, N, gives the vibrationsof the larynxtaken throughthe nose; the
secondline, M, the vibrationsfromthe mouth; the lowerline, T, the movementof the
XIV (1916), 414.
tongue. For furtherdetail,cf.my formerarticle,ModernPhilology,

For a description of the appareil inacripteur,cf. Rousselot, Principes de Phongtique,

I, 61-101, or his Precia de Prononciation frangaise, p. 14.

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T ,

FIG. 5.--net't.

II

(French)

FIG. 7.--qu'ellea dit. (French)

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N
M

FIG. 8.-store; restaurant.(Parisian)

T
FIG.

9.-store; restaurant.(M. Lote)

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SYLLABLE

AND WORD

DIVISION

IN FRENCH

AND

ENGLISH

327

possible are pronouncedwith the accented syllable; in French,the

wholegroupis placed withthe second syllable,or, wheremechanical
make this impossible,the firstconsonantis pronounced
difficulties
as an initial consonantwith the firstsyllable,and the remainderof
the consonantgroupis pronouncedwiththe second syllable.
In Mr. Paillard's Parisian pronunciationof storeand restaurant
(Fig. 3), the line of the tongue,T, presentsthe same sort of curve
forst in bothwords; s and t are pronouncedinitiallyalso and belong
withthe secondsyllable,Mr. Paillard pronouncingthewordre s'tora,
the spacingrepresenting
the place of syllabledivision.
In Mr. Lote's pronunciation(Fig. 9), one may note the similarityof curve forst of both words,and, in addition,that Mr. Lote
takes more time for the pronunciationof st in storethan for st in
restaurant;were the word divided into syllables between s and t,
s and t would occupy more time in restaurant(because of the pause
for the syllable division) than in store,where the pronunciationis
continuous.
The curve ofthe line T for st in Figures 8 and 9 is characteristic of "initial" consonants;' the curveof the line T forst in Figure
10 (Eng. restaurant)is typicalof finalconsonants. In thepronunciation of the English word,the consonantstendto be pronouncedwith
the accentedsyllable; s is finalor producedwiththe precedingvowel
and the syllable division occurs between the implosion and the
explosionof the t.
In the Frenchwordextase(Fig. 11), the movementof the tongue
as indicated by the line T produceda separate curveforeach of the
consonantsof the group k s t. The pronunciationmay be figured
e k' s'ta z'; k, as shownby the sudden curve,is an initial consonant
pronouncedby means of the explosion (') and not by means of the
precedingvowel e; s and t are initialconsonants; s withits separate
explosion produces the effectof vocalization; t is pronouncedby
means of the vowel a. As indicated by the spacing, the syllable
1 As I have shown in my former article (p. 419), all end-consonants in French, if
analyzed with respect to the manner of their production, are not final at all, but initial,
that is, produced by means of a following explosion. In English words the end-consonants
are normally final or produced by means of the preceding vowel, while the vocal organs
are assuming and maintaining the position characteristic of the consonant; initial consonants occur in English at the end of a word as a result of a phonetic necessity only,
brought about by an accidental combination of consonants.

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Fxa. 10.-rest. (English)

-leii

(French)
FIG.11.--exstase.
N
M

T
Fai. 12.-ecstasy. (English)

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N
1M

t\I

L~c-

//I

FIG. 13.-Fr. extension.(AbbdRousselot)

<M
T

N_

FIG. 14.--Eng.etension. (F. DurantFox)

T
FIG. 15.--Fr. obstacle. (Lote)

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Q
\

330

JAMES L. BARKER

withthesecond
divisionoccursafterk, and s and t are pronounced
syllable.
In Englishecstasy(Fig. 12), k and s are pronouncedwith the
is continuous,
the
firstsyllable,t withthesecond; thepronunciation
fromone conconsonantpositionsare not held,and the transition
buta single
sonantpositionto theotheris so rapidthatk s tpresents
curve. Ecstasyis dividedinto syllablesthus,eks ta si.

In Abb6 Rousselot'spronunciationof extension(Fig. 13),

thefirstcurveofthelineT is k,thesecond,s't; in thepronunciation
ofthe Englishwordextension
(Fig. 14) by Mr. F. Durant Fox, of
the Universityof London,thereis but one curve for all three
consonants.
Mr. Lote's pronunciation
o b' s'ta k'le figures
of Frenchobstacle
obs
Mr.
and
Jackson's
American
ta
kel,
pronunciation
(Fig. 15),
oftheEnglishwordobstacle
(Fig. 16).
in the
Figures17 and 18 presenttypes of the pronunciation
two languagesof the groupstr, pr, kr, etc. In English(Fig.
fromt to r is so rapidthat the two consonants
18), thetransition
offerbut a singlecurveand froma comparison
of the linesT and
t
ofthe and theproduction
ofther,in partoftheir
M, theexplosion
are simultaneous.In Figure17,thereare two distinct
duration,
in the lineM
curvesfort and r; the explosionof thet, registered
a
the
of
curve
precedes production the r. The
by slightupward
be
Englishpronunciation
may indicatedtras,and theFrench,t'ras'.
in treatment
At theendofwords,thedifference
oftheconsonant
groupis no lessmarked. In Frenchth&dtre
(Fig. 19), by comparing
the curvesof t and r intrace(Fig. 17),onemaynotetheseparation
of t and r and theircharacteristic
"initial" curves(cf.my former
thattheyareinitialis shownbythevibraarticle,p. 417). Likewise,
tionsin thelinesN and M afterr,marking
thevoicedexplosionby
meansofwhichr is pronounced.In Figure20, note the low,flat
curveofthefinalt; r is also a finalconsonant
pronounced
by means
ofan indistinct
vowelpreceding
it (cf.so-calledvocalicm,1,etc.,in
the Germaniclanguages). In Figure 20, theateris purposely
accentedon thesecondsyllableand dividedthus,theat er; French
thedtre
(Fig. 19) is pronouncedthed t're.

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L~

N
*II*CM6?4?)V*CECNL
--Y
V

~1

~~-~I

1-

C~?C4"

T
FIG. 16.-Eng. obstacle. (American)

N
Mk

T
FIG. 17-tras. (French)
N

Tt

ca

Fia. 18.--tra. (English)

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N
M

Sa

TI
FiG. 19.--thdtre. (French)

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M
T

N
2M

II

FIG. 20.--a) theater.

(English) b) the- ter.(Am

N
M

IVL

FIG. 21.-Fr. temple. (Abb6Rousselot)

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334

JAMES L. BARKER

In Figure 21, French temple is pronouncedtd p'le, and in

Figure 22, English templeis pronounced tem pel; the pronunciation of the English word is continuousand the syllable division
occursbetweenm and p. However,one lip-positionservesforboth
consonants: the implosionis m, the explosion,p.
Diphthongsproperabound in English and even singlevowelsare
all moreor less diphthongized. These diphthongsare distinguished
by the continuousarticulative effortand the gradual shiftingof
positionof the vocal organs,characteristicof English pronunciation
in general. French,on the contrary,possessesno diphthongsat all
in the English sense of the term; thus in oui, the u positionis taken
held an appreciablelengthof time,thena quick transition
definitely,
is made to the i position which is held in turn withoutchange in
position of the vocal organs. In English we, the position of the
vocal organs is ever changingduringthe pronunciationof both w
and e. French effortsto imitatethe English pronunciationof they,
though,etc., do not affordexamples ordinarilyof a gradual change
of positionof tongue,jaw, etc., but ratherthe pronunciationof two
distinctvowels witha rapid transitionbetweenthem.
Like French, English makes certainliaisons or linkings,but in
a wholly differentmanner. In French, a consonantbetweentwo
vowels does not "link" the vowels together,but is pronounced
entirelywiththe secondvowel. A consonantat the end of the final
word of a breath-groupor of a sentenceis pronouncedby means of
an explosion (or indistinctvowel whichmay be voiceless) following
it; if there is no pause between the word to which the consonant
belongs and the next word beginningwith a vowel, then a separate
indistinctvowel or explosion is unnecessaryfor the pronunciation
of the end-consonant;the consonantutilizesthe beginningvowel of
the followingword,thus il a is pronouncedi la; ils ont, i l'zd, etc.
The termlinkingis descriptiveof the English pronunciationof when
ever,not at all, and similarword groups. One may figurethe pronunciation,hwennevverand notta tal.
Because of the constantchange of positionof the vocal organs
requiredin the productionof "final" consonants,a drawlin English
is only a normalpronunciation"slowed down"; whereas,owingto
the absence of final consonants in French, positionsare held and

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.C.YY

T --

M
T

FIo. 22.-temple. (English)

-I-

?c

Y
FIG.

Bdle?
23.-vous connaissez

(Abb6Rousselot)

T
Bdle? (Fox)
FIG. 24.--vousconnaissez

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JAMES L. BARKER

336

are rapid; no Frenchman

transitions
ofthe
drawls,the mechanism
does
not
it.
permit
language
in generalmovement
Thisdifference
maybe bestappreciated
by
comparingAbb6 Rousselot's(Fig. 23) and Mr. Fox's (Fig. 24)
of Vous connaissezBdle? The respectivecurves
pronunciation
for k indicate that Mr. Fox pronouncedwith more energy
thanAbb6Rousselot,but in the tracingof Abb6 Rousselot'sprothereare distinctcurvesforn and s, forwhichcurves
nunciation,
are veryslightor even lackingin Mr. Fox's pronunciation.In
thereis gradualchange,and positionsof
Mr. Fox's pronunciation
are not heldbut are onlypointsof passage
vowelsand consonants
on thepathto thenextposition,
which,on beingreached,is likewise
Abb6Rousselottakes
onlya pointoftransition.On the contrary,
holdstheman appreciablelengthof time,and
positionsdefinitely,
makeshistransitions
effort.
duringthe cessationofthearticulative
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

JAMESL. BARKER

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