Spelling the sound [
]
The spelling of a sound may be influenced by several factors:
•
syllable structure:
open
or
closed
•
environment
•
the position of the sound within a word: initial, middle, final
•
a combination of two or more of the above
Conversely, how letters and letter groupings are pronounced may depend on different factors:
•
syllable structure:
open
or
closed
•
environment
•
the position of the letter within a word: initial, middle, final
•
a combination of two or more of the above
How to spell it?
The sound [
] can be represented by two different vowel groupings:
•
"eu"
seul, peuvent, veulent
•
" oeu"
soeur, coeur, oeuf
How to sound it?
As you know, the letter groupings representing the sound [
] can also represent
the sound [
]. So how do you know which sounds how? By applying the "loi de position".
This rule is based essentially on syllable structure, i.e., on the position of the sound
within the syllable:
The sound [
] is found in
closed
syllables:
seul, peuvent, veulent, soeur, coeur, oeuf
The only exception is when the final consonant is /z/, in which case the sound is
[
] : heureuse, amoureuse