The Pronunciation of French in the Cathedral Period (842-1150)56

The pronunciation of French during the Carolingian and early Capetian periods (842-1150) was very different from that of Modern French. The most notable differences were in the vowels, which were all pronounced much more openly and distinctly. For example, the letter "a" was pronounced as in the English word "father", and the letter "e" was pronounced as in the English word "bet". The consonants were also pronounced more clearly, and there was no silent "e" at the end of words.

The following table shows some of the main differences between the pronunciation of French in the Cathedral period and that of Modern French.| Phoneme | Cathedral Period | Modern French |
|:---|:---|:---|
| a | father | a |
| e | bet | e |
| i | see | i |
| o | boat | o |
| u | boot | u |
| b | b | b |
| d | d | d |
| f | f | f |
| g | g | g |
| h | h | silent |
| j | j | zh |
| k | k | k |
| l | l | l |
| m | m | m |
| n | n | n |
| p | p | p |
| r | r | r |
| s | s | s |
| t | t | t |
| v | v | v |
| z | z | z |

These changes in pronunciation were due to a number of factors, including the influence of Latin, the changing social and political landscape of France, and the development of new sounds in the language.

The influence of Latin was particularly strong in the early Cathedral period. Many Latin words were borrowed into French, and these words often retained their original pronunciation. For example, the Latin word "Caesar" was pronounced as [ˈtʃeːsar] in French, while the Old French word for "emperor" was pronounced as [ˈɛmpərʊr].

The changing social and political landscape of France also played a role in the development of French pronunciation. The Carolingian and early Capetian periods were a time of great political and social change. The Frankish empire was divided into smaller kingdoms, and the power of the monarchy declined. This led to a decline in the use of Latin as the language of government and culture. As a result, French became the dominant language of France, and it began to develop its own distinctive pronunciation.

The development of new sounds in French was also a factor in the changing pronunciation of the language. The most notable of these new sounds was the "schwa", which is a vowel sound that is similar to the sound of the letter "e" in the English word "the". The schwa was originally a diphthong, but it gradually became a monophthong in French. This change in pronunciation led to the development of many new words, such as the word "le" (the), which was originally pronounced as [ˈlɔɪ].

The pronunciation of French in the Cathedral period was a complex and ever-changing phenomenon. The changes that occurred during this period were due to a number of factors, including the influence of Latin, the changing social and political landscape of France, and the development of new sounds in the language. These changes laid the foundation for the pronunciation of Modern French, which is still spoken today.

2024-11-15

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