French stuff

Marc Verhaegen wrote:

> >>Piotr is right, except for the monosyllabic Louis: there's a
> >>difference between <lui> [lwi] & <Louis> [lui]. Marc
> >
> >Aha, I knew it! As for /lui/, it is monosyllabic but it's
> >pronounced /lyi/ with [y] not [u]...
>
> Yes, you're right.

Is that a belgian thing? In France we definately say /lHi/, where /H/ is the
upside-down <h> in IPA. The same sound as at the start of huit.

Then, gibbsp@... wrote:

> Is the [dz] a representation of the voiced alveolar affricate? If so
> IMHO this is a misconception of Anglophones like you and me on
> hearing the French /d/ and /t/, particularly before /i/. The
> French /d/ and /t/ are almost pure dentals unlike their alveolar
> English counterparts. An anglo incorrectly hears or misinterprets
> the sound (probably the release of air) as affrication.

<giggle> No, he's referring to the Quebecois accent, where /t/ and /d/
become dental affricates before /i/. It's not standard continental French.
BTW, there's very little release of air when pronouncing word-initial stops-
we don't aspirate them like you anglos do.

Dan

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La plus belle fois qu'on m'a dit
"je t'aime"
c'était un mec
qui me l'a dit...
Francis Lalane
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