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'o' has two (or more) possible pronunciations: o and ɔ (open and closed), while "au" has only one: o "Bordeaux" is pronounced the same as "Bordo" would be, and
by seszett 3y ago
'o' has two (or more) possible pronunciations: o and ɔ (open and closed), while "au" has only one: o
"Bordeaux" is pronounced the same as "Bordo" would be, and "eaux" is the same as "ô" or "au".
The rules for "o" are a bit complicated but it's mostly always open before two consonnants, like in "dehors" and the first occurence in Bordeaux.
It depends a lot on local accent, but "cosse/Causses" have different "o" sounds in the standard pronunciation, while pose/pause have the same closed sound.
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y agoThanks for correcting my spelling :) ... and my accent <_< I pronounce "Bordeaux" like in "eaux" but I guess I haven't heard it pronounced very often. I grew up in Greece and I speak French from an early age and haven't lived long in France so there's nuances I miss probably.
- seszett 3y agoBordeaux should be pronounced like eaux so that part is correct :) I just mean that Bordo would be the same, it's all closed o sounds. In the north and the south east (Toulouse, not Bordeaux) people tend to only use the open o sound though (especially obvious since Toulouse's nickname is la ville rose which should be a closed o) but that's not standard. Interesting that you're from Greece, I have met quite a few Greeks who speak rather good French and it's always fun to notice how much of French comes from Greek.