Variable Pronunciation in French Words

A number of French words have variable pronunciation. This is due to the environment in which they occur. Let us look at a few examples.

The words six and dix mean six and ten. The pronunciation of these words varies. If they occur in isolation or at the end of a sentence, they are pronounced [sis] and  [dis]. However, when they occur before a vowel as in six enfants/dix enfants (six children/ten children), they are pronounced [siz] and [diz]. When these words are followed by a word which begins with a consonant, they are pronounced [si] and [di] as in six tables/dix tables (six tables/ten tables).

We can choose /sis/ and /dis/ for the underlying representations. The reason is that these forms are not phonetically conditioned. In the case of [si] and [di], we have deletion and in [siz] and [diz] we have voicing assimilation. Here are the rules:

[sis] --> [siz] / _ V
[sis} --> [si]/ _ C

[dis] --> [diz]/ _ V
[dis] --> [di] / _ C

The word les (the) is pronounced [le]. However, when it's followed by a word with an initial vowel, it's pronounced [lez]. This preserves a CV syllable structure and avoids VV. Here is the rule:

[le] --> [lez] / _ V

In isolation the word bon  (good) is pronounced [bõ]. However, when [bõ] is followed by a word with an initial vowel, the pronunciation becomes [bon]. This preserves a CV syllable structure and thus avoids two successive vowels.

Certain French words have more than one pronunciation. The underlying representation is the one which isn't phonetically conditioned. Once the underlying representation has been determined, rules can be created to derive the other pronunciations.