# US Pronunciation of French words ending in é **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844 "2011-05-31T13:42:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/1 "2011-05-31T13:42:43Z")
While writing a haiku in Haiku Madness in the Games Room, I joked that Americans always stress a final é in French words. It’s hard to be precise in 17 syllables, of which 5 are supplied by the previous writer. So that joke is an over-statement but there is a real issue, which I’d like guidance on. I remember a comedian who said that terrorists do not need to see passports, if they want to pick an American from passengers on a plane. Just ask each passenger to say “cliché” and “attaché”. He claimed Americans will say “clee-SHAYYY” and “ah-tah-SHAYYY”, with heavy stress on the SHAY, with the sound drawn out. Everyone else will stress the syllable before it (“CLEE-shay”, "ah-TAH-shay), or will not stress any syllables. Of course the American population is very large and varied, and no rule applies to them all. However, I have noticed that many Americans do this. I have rarely come across this pronunciation variant anywhere else. When I have met it, it is was usually people (particularly Russians) who learnt English from Americans. Is there a particular reason for this to appear in North America? Do French speakers from Louisiana or Quebec pronounce their words this way? I must stress that I am focusing on a pronunciation, where the emphasis is heavily on the last syllable with é, with the pronunciation drawn out into an AYYYYY sound. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/2 "2011-05-31T14:03:19Z")
> [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > Is there a particular reason for this to appear in North America? Yes - yes, there is a reason. It’s that having a vowel _anything like_ English “short e” in an [open syllable](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllable#Coda) at the end of a word is a violation of American English [phonotactics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonotactics). It’s broadly the same reason many Latin American speakers will pronounce English _beef_ like English _biff_. See also how Japanese speakers have adopted many English words through a Japanese-phonotactic filter (e.g. _sutoraiku_ means “strike” as in baseball). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/3 "2011-05-31T14:03:53Z")
Perhaps it is because to Americans, the accent diacritic is not used in English except in dictionaries to indicate emphasis on that syllable. Non-French speaking Americans do not all realize that the mark indicates the pronunciation of the vowel rather than emphasis on the syllable (in fact, standard French does not place emphasis on any syllable the way that English and many other languages do). ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/4 "2011-05-31T14:06:10Z")
One violation to that rule I can think of (and I don’t even know if this is a French word or not) is the name “Beyonce,” which everyone pronounces “bee-YAWN-say” with the emphasis on the middle syllable. But that’s a proper name, so maybe the rules are different. Not sure how relevant this is to the OP, but I thought it was worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/5 "2011-05-31T14:12:34Z")
As explained by CookingWithGas, it’s because Americans think some syllable should be stressed, and may know enough Spanish to think that’s what the accent mark is instructing them to do. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/6 "2011-05-31T14:23:39Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > As explained by CookingWithGas, it’s **because Americans think some syllable should be stressed** , and may know enough Spanish to think that’s what the accent mark is instructing them to do. What I bolded is correct. However, I wouldn’t say “think should be stressed” as though American speakers are making willfull errors. English phonotactics _requires_ that at least one syllable of a multi-syllable word be stressed – this is never an error when speaking English. When pronounced _in spoken English dicourse_ as (borrowed) English words, _cliché_ and _attaché_ ARE properly pronounced to rhyme with _day_. I disagree, though, that the orthography drives the pronunciation. The same phenomenon occurs in words from different languages where there is no orthographic accent on a final “e”, such as _edamame, grande, per se, amore,_ and _pianoforte_ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/7 "2011-05-31T14:24:50Z")
Huh. I speak decent French, but I would still have said that a stand-alone word ending in -é has ultimate accent. A sound file to prove me wrong and the OP right: [http://www.cnrtl.fr/morphologie/cliché](http://www.cnrtl.fr/morphologie/clich%C3%A9) [http://www.cnrtl.fr/morphologie/attaché](http://www.cnrtl.fr/morphologie/attach%C3%A9) (The sound files are hard to activate, but they’re there.) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/8 "2011-05-31T14:34:11Z")
Now that that’s settled, why do so many folks pronounce cache as _cashay_? An attempt to sound worldly? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/9 "2011-05-31T14:36:23Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Now that that’s settled, why do so many folks pronounce cache as _cashay_? An attempt to sound worldly? I was just going to mention that. And many people mispronounce Porsche. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/10 "2011-05-31T14:38:47Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Now that that’s settled, why do so many folks pronounce cache as _cashay_? An attempt to sound worldly? They are confusing _cache_ (stash) with _cachet_ (specialness) by means of _caché_ (hidden; not used in English). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/11 "2011-05-31T14:39:56Z")
They probably think that’s how cachet is spelled. Easy to do seeing how most people pronounce cliché. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/12 "2011-05-31T14:53:03Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > They are confusing _cache_ (stash) with _cachet_ (specialness) by means of _caché_ (hidden; not used in English). Beautiful explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/13 "2011-05-31T14:57:42Z")
Am I to understand, then, that the British pronounce cliché as something other than cli-SHAY? ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/14 "2011-05-31T14:59:18Z")
Don’t get me started on crudités. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/15 "2011-05-31T15:03:05Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Don’t get me started on crudités. Rhymes with “Luddites,” n’est-ce pas? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/16 "2011-05-31T15:17:34Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Am I to understand, then, that the British pronounce cliché as something other than cli-SHAY? I think the sounds are the same but perhaps with less emphasis on the second syllable. That’s the feeling I am getting from reading this, but frankly I have no idea how Americans pronounce it (in general). I do know that hearing an American say naïveté makes my teeth hurt though. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/17 "2011-05-31T15:26:45Z")
British speakers have their own issues with French borrowings (e.g. a “fillet” of beef 😃 ). Properly pronounced in British English all, but none pronounced in a particularly Gallic manner. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/18 "2011-05-31T15:34:06Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Am I to understand, then, that the British pronounce cliché as something other than cli-SHAY? Yes, in Ireland and in the United Kingdom it is pronounced with either no stress, or with the stress on the first syllable - like CLEE-shay. That is closer to the French pronunciation. An American speaking French oftens stands out because of the way he stresses a final é or indeed any French word ending with a similar sound - that is ending in any of the French variants on what we write as “ay”. This happens even when he is highly fluent in the language. That is why I wondered about it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/19 "2011-05-31T15:45:50Z")
> [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > An American speaking French oftens stands out because of the way he stresses a final é or indeed any French word ending with a similar sound - that is ending in any of the French variants on what we write as “ay”. **This happens even when he is highly fluent in the language**. > > That is why I wondered about it. This is the nature of human speech, and in no way unusual. This is why adult second-language learners invariably have noticeable accents when speaking their non-native language. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844/20 "2011-05-31T16:05:38Z")
> [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > Yes, in Ireland and in the United Kingdom it is pronounced with either no stress, or with the stress on the first syllable - like CLEE-shay. That is closer to the French pronunciation. You are incorrect. Per [_The French language today: a linguistic introduction_](http://books.google.com/books?id=pya2KY8upAUC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=french+stress+syllable&source=bl&ots=2zlF5rfNHc&sig=iobZiBKaJljqh9FJBKwJ8DtHj0A&hl=en&ei=ThDlTY6VDoi4tgev6vneCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=french%20stress%20syllable&f=false) > [@](#): > > Another feature of French is that not only are the syllables of roughly equal duration, but, in order to indicated sense group boundaries, French uses rhtyhmic stress, placed on the last syllable of a word or group . . . . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-pronunciation-of-french-words-ending-in-e/583844.md?page=2)