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French phonology is the sound system of French. This article discusses mainly the phonology of all the varieties of Standard French. Notable phonological features include its uvular r, nasal vowels, and three processes affecting word-final sounds:
- liaison, a specific instance of sandhi in which word-final consonants are not pronounced unless they are followed by a word beginning with a vowel;
- elision, in which certain instances of /ə/ (schwa) are elided (such as when final before an initial vowel);
- enchaînement (resyllabification) in which word-final and word-initial consonants may be moved across a syllable boundary, with syllables crossing word boundaries:
An example of the above is this:
- Written: On a laissé la fenêtre ouverte.
- Meaning: "We left the window open."
- In isolation: /ɔ̃ a lɛse la fənɛːtʁə uvɛʁtə/
- Together: [ɔ̃.na.lɛ.se.laf.nɛ.tʁu.vɛʁt(ə)]