French pronunciation
 

The question on Aix has prompted another one. When I was in France, it seemed to me that Caen and Cannes were both pronounced "kahn". When I tell people that I went to Caen they always think that I went to Cannes. So is there any difference in the pronunciation that is discernable to an English speaker?

I think this could only e done aurally but Caen is like "con" whereas Cannes is like "can"

The n in Caen isn't pronounced because it is nasal. Like bon. Say con but don't finish it. Like Sheila says, Cannes is can.

Oh my, surely a slip up, sue - - and IO was so imprssed with your explanations of "a" posterieur and "a" anterieur.<BR><BR>but surely you don't mean "nasal o" like bon - - but rather "nasal a" - - like "jean valjean" - - many americans have heard a correct pronunciation of this name - - zhaw vahl-zhaw is it how I express it in pseudo phonetic spelling.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

I would liken the pronunciation of Caen to the "a" in the English word "can" but then try to pronounce the word without the "n" --- which to me comes out something phonetic like "cah" where the rather nasal sound of the "a" in can is preserved with even more of a nasal twang, and the phonetic "h" is simply there as a soundless end of the word. Hard to explain in English; guess I've never tried to explain it to someone to whom I couldn't talk. And I agree that Cannes is simply like the English "can." But the vowels in most European languages are more pure than those in our American version of English, especially moreso than the southern accent, in which "can" comes out to be "kay-an." Of course, the Yankees among us have their own version of double sounds for single vowels, so that a word like "fall" turns into "faw-uhll."

Rex, I didn't mean it was a nasal o, merely that it was nasal like the o in bon. For the life of me (at 3am), I couldn't think of a common word with a nasal a (having rejected sans)... Your Jean Valjean example is perfect! I am spending much too much time packing and crossing things off lists!

Hopefully you didn't take it as a whack across the knuckles!<BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR>

So, back to garybear's question: Caen is roughly "caw", with the nasal a[n], where you don't really hear the "n". And Cannes is somewhere between "cahn" and "can".<BR><BR>Is this right?<BR><BR>Was Gary simply mistaken on what he heard? or like so many place names do they really pronounce Caen in defiance of the "rules"?<BR>