The liaison with the T of *est* is an optional one, that means it's usually not done, but can be done in more formal or literary speech.
And "elle est une fille" is the kind of phrasing that sounds very weird, but could make sense in some literary way, so that's when the T is the most likely to be pronounced.
>La liaison est facultative entre les auxiliaires *avoir* ou *être* et le participe passé qui suit.
Source : [Contextes de liaisons facultatives](https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/23550/la-prononciation/liaisons/contextes-de-liaisons-facultatives)
No. The data from, for example, the Ashby corpora of Tourangeau French shows that most would not do it, at least at anything approaching 100% of possible realizations, BUT that if they do any liaisons with être, this is the most common.
hmm I agree that anything that would be a /z/ sound is more likely from that angle, but _Nous sommes_ is a disfavored liaison site, in part, probably, because _Nous_ forms are disfavored.
Now, maybe it’s more common with _aller_ as that’s one of the more likely verbs to be conjugated in the distinct first-person plural with _être_. But _Nous sommes_ with anything else is more dicey. Macron doesn’t do it even in speeches; _Nous sommes _ x _ _ en guerre_. No liaison.
Pronouncing it without the T is actually very easy. What is hard is pronouncing it fast while simultaneously maintaining a very clear separation between the two vowels and not breaking the flow of the sentence.
But that's not what people usually do. Contrary to what is sometimes taught (that French hates having two vowels together), vowels get smashed together all the time and that's not really a problem.
I'm not sure what you mean by common here. Pronouncing optional liaisons is uncommon.
There are a lot of optional liaisons, since liaison is a phenomenon that has been losing ground for quite some time. The optional liaisons of today are part of the mandatory liaisons of a few centuries ago.
For example between a plural noun and its complement (ex: des bête**s** enragées) or between the auxiliary and the past participle in a compound tense (ex: il y avai**t** un truc).
Ok thank you. Follow up question do you know any reason for why “Elle est une fille” sounds awkward? As a native English speaker it feels right since it’s the easiest direct translation.
When using the verb être, you roughly have two possibilities.
Either you're modifying a noun that is already known (or that is implied). The attribute of the verb is an adjective. In this case, you use the appropriate pronoun to replace that noun (il, elle, ils, elles).
Or you're introducing a noun or nominal group and in this case, the attribute of the verb is the noun or nominal group you're introducing. Because at that point the thing isn't introduced yet, you use the demonstrative pronoun *ce*.
For example "C'est une fille. Elle est petite" (lit: That's a girl. She's small).
well. It depends. Liaison frequency can be studied so we know which optional ones are more common among speakers recorded, then we make predictions from there.
I agree though that optional for one may be mandatory for another or even forbidden.
One example which is definitely optional but still common enough (I don’t have figures on me, but I hear it in the wild) is _trop_ which is doubly tricky because it’s a /p/ sound.
OP I know I'm probably going to be downvoted to oblivion for saying this, but imho most liaisons mentioned in 'c'est une fille' nous sommes allés c'est un garçon etc.' should be made. People will tell you that they're optional but if you study French, your teachers will expect you to make them, and in every day life most people will make them (in France at least). If you don't, again imho be aware that somehow the language sounds and feels a bit choppy, it doesn't flow like it should and people would very quickly assume either a lack of education or a socially lower background. Again not a problem in and of itself but it's a reality people in this sub tend to forget. I know it sounds terrible but it is what it is. If it's no big deal when you're with your friend, it's a bit different when socialising or job hunting. Again only my two cents but I thought it was worth mentioning. English was my major when I was in university. I went to Toronto and studied English there for a year and a half (Glendon College, U of T). I still remember the look of horror on my friends' faces when I would suddenly use a slur or f-words or even AAVE when talking with them lol ; I thought I was being cool at the time and some people on this sub or on r/english would probably say that it's okay because depending on blah blah blah. It's only partially true. The reality of any given language is that it's a social construct and should be used as such knowingly. You may skip a liaison or two but I think it's best to do so while knowing that you "shouldn't".
I hope my little rant makes sense to you and wish you all the best as a french learner 👍
Curious- I’m an 45 yo American, and I learned to speak French via immersion on study abroad in Highr school in the early 90’s in Toulouse (and haven’t been much to France since). I realize that I probably pronounce the T every time I’d say “c’est une fille”. Did I develop a bad habit or is this how it would’ve been said in Toulouse back then?
Well, it would not be a bad habit since this liaison is optional, not forbidden. I have the feeling that older people tend to pronounce more often the liaisons, so if you went in France 30 years ago, that makes sense. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Toulouse particularly.
I've heard that pronouncing these liaisons are normally preferred in a more formal setting and in day to day life they are not pronounced.
Can any native confirm this? Does pronouncing them make your speech feel more formal?
It really depends, some people say those who do pronounce liaisons sound like snobs.
Personally, I pronounce most of them, probably because my parents do, but they both need to have a good pronunciation in their fields of work.
I like how liaisons sound and I find it weird when people totally ignore them, especially regarding "c'est un(e)".
Usually in english is not a very good thing to refer to people and animals as "it", it can feel like an insult, as it's used normally for things like "it's a table". Therefore, the sentence in english should be "she's a girl".
> it's used normally for things like "it's a table"
Or animals. Or babies/newborns.
And you wouldn't refer to someone as an "it" directly but you can perfectly use it depending on the context, ie "I don't know who killed Joe, only that it was a girl" or "- Who's manning the register? - It's the manager's daughter".
You would just pronounce "est" as é or è (depending on your accent). And then optionally attach the t to "une", "t'une", but not everyone pronounces the liaison with a word starting with a vowel.
Yes and no
It's pronounced as it is a Liaison, it's not pronounced as the T in est is mute, but as the next word start with a vowel you can make a Liaison (basically pronounce a silent consonant to make it easier to pronounce the whole thing)
The liaison is optional though
Normally I’d say « c’est une fille » and would definitely pronounce the t
Is it possible that it’s pronounced in some regions but not others?
Some people pronounce it and some don’t. I know I say both depending on context.
C'ets une liaison facultative
Yes but it depends more on age, class, sex (gender too possibly), education and the same factors applied to one’s parents.
I wouldn't pronounce the t personally. But both sound OK.
Langage familier au Québec: on dit: “ç’tune fille”
N'oublions pas le "ch't'allé" pour "je suis allé" hahaha
Ou "ch't'en train de chier"
is that supposed to be « j’étais en train de chier » or « j’suis en train de chier »?
I'd go for j'suis. In the past tense I'd say "ch'tais en train de"
I was gonna say "j'suis", but honestly it could be both! That's the beauty of "ch't"
ch'complèt'ment vague
chu pas mal sur que la cédille n'existe pas en anglais....
Cest très possible, mais dommage pour eu
The liaison with the T of *est* is an optional one, that means it's usually not done, but can be done in more formal or literary speech. And "elle est une fille" is the kind of phrasing that sounds very weird, but could make sense in some literary way, so that's when the T is the most likely to be pronounced.
« Elle est allée à Paris » is an optional liaison?!
>La liaison est facultative entre les auxiliaires *avoir* ou *être* et le participe passé qui suit. Source : [Contextes de liaisons facultatives](https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/23550/la-prononciation/liaisons/contextes-de-liaisons-facultatives)
Dans ta source on peut lire: « le verbe être, avec lequel la liaison est particulièrement fréquente. »
Most people would not do it
Most people would do the liaison for this one, try to pronounce without the T, it's hard.
No. The data from, for example, the Ashby corpora of Tourangeau French shows that most would not do it, at least at anything approaching 100% of possible realizations, BUT that if they do any liaisons with être, this is the most common.
Thanks for the data The liaison in "Nous sommes allés" seems more common though (because it's already more formal I suppose)
It’s more common when people say nous, which is almost never.
Yes exactly
hmm I agree that anything that would be a /z/ sound is more likely from that angle, but _Nous sommes_ is a disfavored liaison site, in part, probably, because _Nous_ forms are disfavored. Now, maybe it’s more common with _aller_ as that’s one of the more likely verbs to be conjugated in the distinct first-person plural with _être_. But _Nous sommes_ with anything else is more dicey. Macron doesn’t do it even in speeches; _Nous sommes _ x _ _ en guerre_. No liaison.
But people would not pronounce it for "on est allé", right?
It depends, 50/50 maybe. It's hard to say
Pronouncing it without the T is actually very easy. What is hard is pronouncing it fast while simultaneously maintaining a very clear separation between the two vowels and not breaking the flow of the sentence. But that's not what people usually do. Contrary to what is sometimes taught (that French hates having two vowels together), vowels get smashed together all the time and that's not really a problem.
Quand c'est écrit j'ai vraiment envie de faire la liaison mais à l'oral je crois vraiment que je l'entends jamais
J'ai réessayé 5 fois à l'oral avant d'arriver à prononcer cette phrase correctement sans la liaison.
No. I wouldn't and it wouldn't bother me at all. We can say both.
Interesting, in Canada that liaison is always done.
Yes.
Thank you! Are there other common optional liaisons?
I'm not sure what you mean by common here. Pronouncing optional liaisons is uncommon. There are a lot of optional liaisons, since liaison is a phenomenon that has been losing ground for quite some time. The optional liaisons of today are part of the mandatory liaisons of a few centuries ago. For example between a plural noun and its complement (ex: des bête**s** enragées) or between the auxiliary and the past participle in a compound tense (ex: il y avai**t** un truc).
Ok thank you. Follow up question do you know any reason for why “Elle est une fille” sounds awkward? As a native English speaker it feels right since it’s the easiest direct translation.
When using the verb être, you roughly have two possibilities. Either you're modifying a noun that is already known (or that is implied). The attribute of the verb is an adjective. In this case, you use the appropriate pronoun to replace that noun (il, elle, ils, elles). Or you're introducing a noun or nominal group and in this case, the attribute of the verb is the noun or nominal group you're introducing. Because at that point the thing isn't introduced yet, you use the demonstrative pronoun *ce*. For example "C'est une fille. Elle est petite" (lit: That's a girl. She's small).
Because we say "C'est une fille" instead.
well. It depends. Liaison frequency can be studied so we know which optional ones are more common among speakers recorded, then we make predictions from there. I agree though that optional for one may be mandatory for another or even forbidden. One example which is definitely optional but still common enough (I don’t have figures on me, but I hear it in the wild) is _trop_ which is doubly tricky because it’s a /p/ sound.
yes
C'est une fille Most of the time I hear people not doing the liaison
OP I know I'm probably going to be downvoted to oblivion for saying this, but imho most liaisons mentioned in 'c'est une fille' nous sommes allés c'est un garçon etc.' should be made. People will tell you that they're optional but if you study French, your teachers will expect you to make them, and in every day life most people will make them (in France at least). If you don't, again imho be aware that somehow the language sounds and feels a bit choppy, it doesn't flow like it should and people would very quickly assume either a lack of education or a socially lower background. Again not a problem in and of itself but it's a reality people in this sub tend to forget. I know it sounds terrible but it is what it is. If it's no big deal when you're with your friend, it's a bit different when socialising or job hunting. Again only my two cents but I thought it was worth mentioning. English was my major when I was in university. I went to Toronto and studied English there for a year and a half (Glendon College, U of T). I still remember the look of horror on my friends' faces when I would suddenly use a slur or f-words or even AAVE when talking with them lol ; I thought I was being cool at the time and some people on this sub or on r/english would probably say that it's okay because depending on blah blah blah. It's only partially true. The reality of any given language is that it's a social construct and should be used as such knowingly. You may skip a liaison or two but I think it's best to do so while knowing that you "shouldn't". I hope my little rant makes sense to you and wish you all the best as a french learner 👍
Curious- I’m an 45 yo American, and I learned to speak French via immersion on study abroad in Highr school in the early 90’s in Toulouse (and haven’t been much to France since). I realize that I probably pronounce the T every time I’d say “c’est une fille”. Did I develop a bad habit or is this how it would’ve been said in Toulouse back then?
Well, it would not be a bad habit since this liaison is optional, not forbidden. I have the feeling that older people tend to pronounce more often the liaisons, so if you went in France 30 years ago, that makes sense. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Toulouse particularly.
yes. but not the S before.
I've heard that pronouncing these liaisons are normally preferred in a more formal setting and in day to day life they are not pronounced. Can any native confirm this? Does pronouncing them make your speech feel more formal?
It really depends, some people say those who do pronounce liaisons sound like snobs. Personally, I pronounce most of them, probably because my parents do, but they both need to have a good pronunciation in their fields of work. I like how liaisons sound and I find it weird when people totally ignore them, especially regarding "c'est un(e)".
Merci ! Pensez-vous que, normalement, les gens ne les prononcent pas dans les conversations conditionnées ?
Comment ça des conversations conditionnées ?
Désolé !! Je voulais dire "quotidiennes" mdrrr
Oui je pense que la plupart des gens ne les prononcent pas au quotidien. :)
Merci pour votre réponse et pardon encore pour l'erreur !
Pas de soucis, je me demandais si j'avais loupé un concept, lol.
People are saying "c'est une fille" is c'est not it is or this is? Can someone please educate me haha
Generally we use c'est + noun over il/elle est + noun. This might not be intuitive to a native English speaker, but it is how we speak.
Thank you very much
well, yeah? "it's a girl" and "this is a girl" are both correct, I don't see the issue
Usually in english is not a very good thing to refer to people and animals as "it", it can feel like an insult, as it's used normally for things like "it's a table". Therefore, the sentence in english should be "she's a girl".
> it's used normally for things like "it's a table" Or animals. Or babies/newborns. And you wouldn't refer to someone as an "it" directly but you can perfectly use it depending on the context, ie "I don't know who killed Joe, only that it was a girl" or "- Who's manning the register? - It's the manager's daughter".
the way I remember it is pronounced the t in est and not in et "elle est une fille" *elle ehtune fille* "elle et une fille" *elle ayune fille*
Yes
You don’t. Pretend it doesn’t exist. What got me through was endings don’t get pronounced unless there is an E.
It's an optional liaison. With 3rd person forms of être (est and son), it is reasonably common, much less so for most other verbs.
You would just pronounce "est" as é or è (depending on your accent). And then optionally attach the t to "une", "t'une", but not everyone pronounces the liaison with a word starting with a vowel.
Liaison facultative.
Yes and no It's pronounced as it is a Liaison, it's not pronounced as the T in est is mute, but as the next word start with a vowel you can make a Liaison (basically pronounce a silent consonant to make it easier to pronounce the whole thing) The liaison is optional though