Is there any hidden 'W' sound after 'comment' in : Comment est-elle?












1















Comment est-il?



I don't know why, even tho I know that there is no linking 'W' sound in French as there is in English I still hear it between 'comment' and 'est' as if it were (/kɔ.mɑ̃ w ɛt.i.l/) and it has been driving me crazy so I'm wondering if what I hear is correct.



Here is a link to a video where I think the 'W' sound is pronounced when 'comment est-il' is said :
https://youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM



Note: I am not sure about the phonetic transcript. Feel free to correct it if it contains any mistakes.










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

    – LPH
    9 hours ago








  • 1





    Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

    – George M
    2 hours ago
















1















Comment est-il?



I don't know why, even tho I know that there is no linking 'W' sound in French as there is in English I still hear it between 'comment' and 'est' as if it were (/kɔ.mɑ̃ w ɛt.i.l/) and it has been driving me crazy so I'm wondering if what I hear is correct.



Here is a link to a video where I think the 'W' sound is pronounced when 'comment est-il' is said :
https://youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM



Note: I am not sure about the phonetic transcript. Feel free to correct it if it contains any mistakes.










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

    – LPH
    9 hours ago








  • 1





    Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

    – George M
    2 hours ago














1












1








1








Comment est-il?



I don't know why, even tho I know that there is no linking 'W' sound in French as there is in English I still hear it between 'comment' and 'est' as if it were (/kɔ.mɑ̃ w ɛt.i.l/) and it has been driving me crazy so I'm wondering if what I hear is correct.



Here is a link to a video where I think the 'W' sound is pronounced when 'comment est-il' is said :
https://youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM



Note: I am not sure about the phonetic transcript. Feel free to correct it if it contains any mistakes.










share|improve this question
















Comment est-il?



I don't know why, even tho I know that there is no linking 'W' sound in French as there is in English I still hear it between 'comment' and 'est' as if it were (/kɔ.mɑ̃ w ɛt.i.l/) and it has been driving me crazy so I'm wondering if what I hear is correct.



Here is a link to a video where I think the 'W' sound is pronounced when 'comment est-il' is said :
https://youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM



Note: I am not sure about the phonetic transcript. Feel free to correct it if it contains any mistakes.







prononciation






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 9 hours ago







Manar

















asked 10 hours ago









ManarManar

305




305








  • 1





    There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

    – LPH
    9 hours ago








  • 1





    Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

    – George M
    2 hours ago














  • 1





    There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

    – LPH
    9 hours ago








  • 1





    Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

    – George M
    2 hours ago








1




1





There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

– LPH
9 hours ago







There is not the least trace of a w sound after "comment" in either of the sources you mention; I've listened repeatedly; that is very strange. All that can be heard from Google translate is the somewhat blurred pronunciation of "il" (almost "i" instead of "il"). google

– LPH
9 hours ago






1




1





Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

– George M
2 hours ago





Also, while the speaker in that video doesn't have any sort of -strong- accent, I'd guess they were not native speakers. That might be messing with your ear.

– George M
2 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















8














In both the video and Google Translate's pronunciation, I think I understand what you're hearing. It seems to be an implicit glide between the /ɑ̃/ and the /ɛ/ simply as a function of the first being further back: /ɑ/ is open back, whereas /ɛ/ is open-mid front.



If a speaker is not very careful to articulate each sound distinctly (as is normal in spoken language), you can get a "legato" effect. The tongue makes essentially the same motion by moving from back to front as it would make if you were intentionally articulating a /w/.1



However, /w/ is also labial and that feature is absent in both of those unrounded vowels, so it's not a full /w/. At least, that's true of the canonical vowels. One seemingly linguistically informed and France-centred resource claims that many French speakers do actually do some light lip-rounding on the first vowel.



I personally find it hard to tell whether rounding is happening based on your video, but it would better explain your perception of /w/. In any case, if you slow the video down to 0.5x speed, you'll hear more clearly what's happening.





1 The phenomenon of two consecutive vowels is called hiatus. If not resolved, it can lead to just this sort of confusion. One way to resolve it is a brief glottal stop, perceived as a pause between the vowels. Also common in French is liaison, at least where it's syntactically possible.






share|improve this answer


























  • So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago








  • 2





    @Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

    – Luke Sawczak
    9 hours ago



















2














You answered your own question: there is not and there is no reason why there would be. Where did you hear this -- is this some specific accent perhaps?






share|improve this answer
























  • Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

    – Manar
    10 hours ago











  • @Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

    – Luke Sawczak
    10 hours ago











  • In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago












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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









8














In both the video and Google Translate's pronunciation, I think I understand what you're hearing. It seems to be an implicit glide between the /ɑ̃/ and the /ɛ/ simply as a function of the first being further back: /ɑ/ is open back, whereas /ɛ/ is open-mid front.



If a speaker is not very careful to articulate each sound distinctly (as is normal in spoken language), you can get a "legato" effect. The tongue makes essentially the same motion by moving from back to front as it would make if you were intentionally articulating a /w/.1



However, /w/ is also labial and that feature is absent in both of those unrounded vowels, so it's not a full /w/. At least, that's true of the canonical vowels. One seemingly linguistically informed and France-centred resource claims that many French speakers do actually do some light lip-rounding on the first vowel.



I personally find it hard to tell whether rounding is happening based on your video, but it would better explain your perception of /w/. In any case, if you slow the video down to 0.5x speed, you'll hear more clearly what's happening.





1 The phenomenon of two consecutive vowels is called hiatus. If not resolved, it can lead to just this sort of confusion. One way to resolve it is a brief glottal stop, perceived as a pause between the vowels. Also common in French is liaison, at least where it's syntactically possible.






share|improve this answer


























  • So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago








  • 2





    @Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

    – Luke Sawczak
    9 hours ago
















8














In both the video and Google Translate's pronunciation, I think I understand what you're hearing. It seems to be an implicit glide between the /ɑ̃/ and the /ɛ/ simply as a function of the first being further back: /ɑ/ is open back, whereas /ɛ/ is open-mid front.



If a speaker is not very careful to articulate each sound distinctly (as is normal in spoken language), you can get a "legato" effect. The tongue makes essentially the same motion by moving from back to front as it would make if you were intentionally articulating a /w/.1



However, /w/ is also labial and that feature is absent in both of those unrounded vowels, so it's not a full /w/. At least, that's true of the canonical vowels. One seemingly linguistically informed and France-centred resource claims that many French speakers do actually do some light lip-rounding on the first vowel.



I personally find it hard to tell whether rounding is happening based on your video, but it would better explain your perception of /w/. In any case, if you slow the video down to 0.5x speed, you'll hear more clearly what's happening.





1 The phenomenon of two consecutive vowels is called hiatus. If not resolved, it can lead to just this sort of confusion. One way to resolve it is a brief glottal stop, perceived as a pause between the vowels. Also common in French is liaison, at least where it's syntactically possible.






share|improve this answer


























  • So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago








  • 2





    @Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

    – Luke Sawczak
    9 hours ago














8












8








8







In both the video and Google Translate's pronunciation, I think I understand what you're hearing. It seems to be an implicit glide between the /ɑ̃/ and the /ɛ/ simply as a function of the first being further back: /ɑ/ is open back, whereas /ɛ/ is open-mid front.



If a speaker is not very careful to articulate each sound distinctly (as is normal in spoken language), you can get a "legato" effect. The tongue makes essentially the same motion by moving from back to front as it would make if you were intentionally articulating a /w/.1



However, /w/ is also labial and that feature is absent in both of those unrounded vowels, so it's not a full /w/. At least, that's true of the canonical vowels. One seemingly linguistically informed and France-centred resource claims that many French speakers do actually do some light lip-rounding on the first vowel.



I personally find it hard to tell whether rounding is happening based on your video, but it would better explain your perception of /w/. In any case, if you slow the video down to 0.5x speed, you'll hear more clearly what's happening.





1 The phenomenon of two consecutive vowels is called hiatus. If not resolved, it can lead to just this sort of confusion. One way to resolve it is a brief glottal stop, perceived as a pause between the vowels. Also common in French is liaison, at least where it's syntactically possible.






share|improve this answer















In both the video and Google Translate's pronunciation, I think I understand what you're hearing. It seems to be an implicit glide between the /ɑ̃/ and the /ɛ/ simply as a function of the first being further back: /ɑ/ is open back, whereas /ɛ/ is open-mid front.



If a speaker is not very careful to articulate each sound distinctly (as is normal in spoken language), you can get a "legato" effect. The tongue makes essentially the same motion by moving from back to front as it would make if you were intentionally articulating a /w/.1



However, /w/ is also labial and that feature is absent in both of those unrounded vowels, so it's not a full /w/. At least, that's true of the canonical vowels. One seemingly linguistically informed and France-centred resource claims that many French speakers do actually do some light lip-rounding on the first vowel.



I personally find it hard to tell whether rounding is happening based on your video, but it would better explain your perception of /w/. In any case, if you slow the video down to 0.5x speed, you'll hear more clearly what's happening.





1 The phenomenon of two consecutive vowels is called hiatus. If not resolved, it can lead to just this sort of confusion. One way to resolve it is a brief glottal stop, perceived as a pause between the vowels. Also common in French is liaison, at least where it's syntactically possible.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 31 mins ago

























answered 10 hours ago









Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak

10.3k21444




10.3k21444













  • So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago








  • 2





    @Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

    – Luke Sawczak
    9 hours ago



















  • So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago








  • 2





    @Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

    – Luke Sawczak
    9 hours ago

















So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

– Manar
10 hours ago







So if I understood correctly, in the video and Google Transelate's pronunciation there is a /w/ sound but it is not a full /w/ sound though because such sound require the lips and I should be careful ,when saying such sentence, to not say neither a /w/ sound or a half /w/ sound and to use a glottal stop instead or a liaison ,if it's possible.

– Manar
10 hours ago






2




2





@Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

– Luke Sawczak
9 hours ago





@Manar The best way is probably not to think about it at all. If you make those vowels right, you'll get the same effects automatically -- and native speakers won't be listening for it anyway, possibly not even aware of it.

– Luke Sawczak
9 hours ago











2














You answered your own question: there is not and there is no reason why there would be. Where did you hear this -- is this some specific accent perhaps?






share|improve this answer
























  • Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

    – Manar
    10 hours ago











  • @Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

    – Luke Sawczak
    10 hours ago











  • In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago
















2














You answered your own question: there is not and there is no reason why there would be. Where did you hear this -- is this some specific accent perhaps?






share|improve this answer
























  • Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

    – Manar
    10 hours ago











  • @Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

    – Luke Sawczak
    10 hours ago











  • In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago














2












2








2







You answered your own question: there is not and there is no reason why there would be. Where did you hear this -- is this some specific accent perhaps?






share|improve this answer













You answered your own question: there is not and there is no reason why there would be. Where did you hear this -- is this some specific accent perhaps?







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 10 hours ago









Mathieu BouvilleMathieu Bouville

64211




64211













  • Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

    – Manar
    10 hours ago











  • @Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

    – Luke Sawczak
    10 hours ago











  • In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago



















  • Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

    – Manar
    10 hours ago











  • @Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

    – Luke Sawczak
    10 hours ago











  • In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

    – Manar
    10 hours ago

















Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

– Manar
10 hours ago





Maybe as I sometimes hear it and sometimes not. Here in this video, for example, I hear it. youtu.be/V98BvCQrVeM

– Manar
10 hours ago













@Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

– Luke Sawczak
10 hours ago





@Manar Can you add that link to the question please?

– Luke Sawczak
10 hours ago













In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

– Manar
10 hours ago





In addition, when I typed it on 'google transelate' and listened to the audio of it being pronounced I heard the 'W' sound. I even recorded the audio and tried to hear it in a slower speed and still heard it.

– Manar
10 hours ago


















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