Among others, Henriette Walter has reported the existence
of a vowel phoneme with this quality in the regional French
of 'les Mauges', a small area between Angers and Cholet in
north-west France. She and other French writers usually
transcribe this vowel as [ë] ('e' + umlaut).
Walter originally mentioned this vowel in her 1980 book
'Les Mauges. Présentation de la région et étude de la
prononciation', Angers.
In 'Le français d'ici, de là, de là-bas' (1998), she says
the word 'pré' (= field) is variably pronounced with this
vowel, but only by some older speakers. For the, the vowel
contrasts with [e] (e.g. in 'prée', meaning 'communal
field') and [E], as in 'prêt' (= loan; ready). Walter also
says that [ë] is found in the endings for the infinitive,
the past participle & 3 sg imperfect ending (e.g. parler,
parlé, parlait), but not in the imperfect endings for 1 sg,
2 sg, 3 pl, which use [E].
The presence of the vowel in this accent is normally
attributed to the influnce of the local dialect, Gallo (one
of the Langue d'Oïl group of dialects).
Aidan Coveney
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Aidan Coveney
University of Exeter
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