Combien d'accents en français? Focus sur la France, la Belgique et la Suisse

Two experiments are reported, an accent identification test and a survey aiming at mapping pronunciation variants in European French. The results of the first experiment show that French varieties spoken in Quebec and Paris (supposed to represent the norm) are identified best, before the Maghrebian accent. In Europe, southern accents are rather well distinguished from northern French, Belgian and Swiss accents. In the second experiment, which focuses on the quality of mid vowels and the pronunciation of final consonants, a clear North-South divide is shown. The pronunciation of some words also distinguishes Belgian and Swiss accents. Despite a certain discrepancy between production and perception, we hypothesise that 8 accents may be considered in European French: North, East, West, South-East and South-West of France, Corsica, Belgium and Switzerland

Crowdsourced mapping of pronunciation variants in European French

This study aims at renewing traditional dialectological atlases to provide a mapping of pronunciation variants by using crowdsourcing. Based on French spoken in France, Belgium and Switzerland, it focuses on mid vowels whose quality may be open or close and shibboleths such as final consonants which may be maintained or deleted, as a function of speakers' background. Over 1000 subjects completed a questionnaire in which they were asked which one of the two possible pronunciations was closer to their most usual pronunciation. Their responses for 70 French words are displayed in the form of maps. This graphical layout enables the general public and phoneticians to readily visualise where phonological constraints such as the “loi de position” are violated

Crowdsourced mapping of pronunciation variants in European French

International audienceThis study aims at renewing traditional dialectological atlases to provide a mapping of pronunciation variants by using crowdsourcing. Based on French spoken in France, Belgium and Switzerland, it focuses on mid vowels whose quality may be open or close and shibboleths such as final consonants which may be maintained or deleted, as a function of speakers’ background. Over 1000 subjects completed a questionnaire in which they were asked which one of the two possible pronunciations was closer to their most usual pronunciation. Their responses for 70 French words are displayed in the form of maps. This graphical layout enables the general public and phoneticians to readily visualise where phonological constraints such as the “loi de position” are violated