hiatus and enchainement vocalique  by sara_m   9. Dec 2020

does enyone know what is the difference between "hiatus" and "enchainement vocalique" in french?
Marie-Jeanne   9. Dec 2020

Yes, I can try to explain: A "hiatus" can be inside one word, for example: "éolienne", "réussir".
An"enchaînement vocalique" is never inside one word, but always between 2 or more words, for example:"le cinéma allemand", "j'ai eu un problème".
The problem is that a "hiatus"can exist on the fringe of two words pronounced without stopping, such as in "il a oublié".
In a hiatus, the difference is in the pronounciation: you must pronounce the vowel sounds without a stop between them.
In the "enchaînement vocalique" there is a glottal stop before the second vowel sound. (ie in front of "allemand" and in front of "oublié" in the 2 examples. The main difference is to be heard in pronouncing the successive vowels.
I hope this is clear for you! All the best for your French language learning!
Marie-Jeanne

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