Test: Module 01 — Introduction: Sounds, Alphabet, and First Words¶

Instructions: Answer all questions. Write your answers directly below each question in the provided > Answer: block. Do not modify the questions. Bonus questions are optional and can raise your score above 100%.

Total Points: 37 pts (Easy: 5 × 1pt + Medium: 5 × 2pts + Hard: 4 × 3pts + Expert: 2 × 5pts) Bonus Available: 6 pts

Section 1: Easy Questions (1 pt each)¶

Q1. What is the function of the cédille (ç) in French? Give one example word that contains it.

Q2. Name the four French nasal vowels and give one example word for each.

Q3. Which conjunction in French never takes a liaison, even when followed by a vowel-initial word?

Q4. What is the difference between tu and vous in French? Give a concrete example of a situation where you would use each.

Q5. What does the French mnemonic "CaReFuL" refer to in pronunciation?

Section 2: Medium Questions (2 pts each)¶

Q6. Explain the difference between élision and liaison in French. How are they different in their triggers, their mechanism, and their written representation?

Q7. The French vowel /y/ (written as u) does not exist in English. Describe in detail how to produce this sound. What is the common English-speaker error when attempting this vowel, and what does it sound like to a French native speaker?

Q8. Consider the phrase les enfants ont mangé. Identify every instance of liaison or elision, state whether each is obligatory or not, and write the full phrase in a phonetic representation (use approximate IPA or describe the sounds).

Q9. A French word is spelled temps (time/weather). How is it pronounced? Explain why each letter does or does not contribute to the pronunciation, identifying any accent marks, silent letters, or nasal vowels.

Q10. Explain the social and grammatical significance of the tutoiement (switching from vous to tu with someone). What does it signal, who typically initiates it, and what are the consequences of getting it wrong in France?

Section 3: Hard Questions (3 pts each)¶

Q11. The French word bonne is the feminine form of the adjective bon (good). Explain the phonological change that occurs between bon /bɔ̃/ and bonne /bɔn/. This change illustrates a key rule about French nasal vowels — state that rule precisely.

Q12. Below is a short French text with liaison opportunities. For each slash mark (/), decide: is this a case of obligatory liaison (O), optional liaison (opt), or forbidden liaison (F)? Then write the correctly linked phonetic form for each obligatory case.

Les / étudiants / arrivent. Ils / ont / étudié. Marie / et / Antoine / attendent.
Un / ancien / ami / est / là. Mes / enfants / ont / onze / ans.

Q13. Describe the three categories of French h behavior (note: there are actually two h types but three relevant behaviors for liaison/elision). Use three different example words, one for each behavior, and explain the rule.

Q14. Translate the following informal exchange into a formal equivalent, changing all vocabulary, pronoun forms, and register markers accordingly. Then identify every change you made and explain why each change was necessary.

Informal:
A: Salut ! T'as le temps ?
B: Ouais, ça va. Et toi ?
A: Ouais. À plus !
B: Ciao !

Section 4: Expert Questions (5 pts each)¶

Q15. French is described as a "syllable-timed" language, while English is "stress-timed." Explain what this distinction means, what its phonological consequences are for a French learner who is a native English speaker, and give three concrete examples of how this difference manifests in French speech (you may refer to specific vocabulary from this module).

Q16. The French nasal vowel system creates an interesting asymmetry: un /œ̃/ and in /ɛ̃/ are both front nasals, but many contemporary French speakers in France have merged /œ̃/ into /ɛ̃/, producing only three nasal vowels rather than four. Discuss: (a) what evidence in French spelling reveals that there were historically two distinct sounds; (b) whether a learner should bother learning the distinction; © how regional variation (France vs. Quebec vs. Belgium) affects this question. Ground your discussion in the vocabulary from this module.

Bonus Questions (variable pts)¶

Bonus 1. (+2 pts) The word vingt (twenty) has an interesting liaison history. In isolation, vingt is pronounced /vɛ̃/. But in the phrase vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, the pronunciation can vary. Research or reason through: how is vingt pronounced in vingt et un vs. vingt-deux vs. cent vingt? Explain the pattern.

Bonus 2. (+2 pts) The process of denasalization is illustrated by the bon / bonne pair. Find three more minimal pairs where a nasal vowel in the masculine form denasalizes in the feminine (or another derived form), and show the IPA of both forms.

Bonus 3. (+2 pts) French has two words that sound identical but are spelled differently: ou /u/ (or) and où /u/ (where). This is an example of where the accent mark serves a purely grammatical disambiguation function with no phonological effect. Find two more such pairs in French where an accent mark changes meaning but not pronunciation. Explain the grammatical role of each word in the pair.