Acute (accent) – accent aigu
Let's Define It!
What's the *acute* accent?
In the French language, the acute accent [accent aigu] is placed above the letter [e] (« é ») in order to distinguish the closed phoneme /e/ from the phoneme /ə/.
I know, I know...If you're not yet familiar with phonemes, IPA characters and symbols, and similar phonetic jargon, you might find this definition confusing to say the least.
So to speak in layman terms, I will just say that the French acute accent on the letter [e] helps you separate and read correctly words such as mangé/mange or donné/donne.
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Let's Pronounce It!
What does it sound like in French?
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Let's Have an Example or Two!
Can a little reinforcement do the trick?
Some contrasting examples:
- tablé / table
- empiré / empire
- désolé/désole
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