Schwa[edit] When phonetically realised, schwa (/ə/), also called e caduc ('dropped e') and e muet ('mute e'), is a mid-central vowel with some rounding.[22] Many authors consider its value to be [œ],[37][38] while Geoff Lindsey suggests [ɵ].[39][40] Fagyal, Kibbee & Jenkins (2006) state, more specifically, that it merges with /ø/ before high vowels and glides: netteté /nɛtəte/ → [nɛ.tø.te] ('clarity'), atelier /atəlje/ → [a.tø.lje] ('workshop'), in phrase-final stressed position: dis-le ! /di lə/ → [di.ˈlø] ('say it'), and that it merges with /œ/ elsewhere.[41] However, some speakers make a clear distinction, and it exhibits special phonological behavior that warrants considering it a distinct phoneme. Furthermore, the merger occurs mainly in the French of France; in Quebec, /ø/ and /ə/ are still distinguished.[42] The main characteristic of French schwa is its "instability": the fact that under certain conditions it has no phonetic realization. That is usually the case when it follows a single consonant in a medial syllable: appeler /apəle/ → [ap.le] ('to call'), It is occasionally mute in word-final position: porte /pɔʁtə/ → [pɔʁt] ('door'). Word-final schwas are optionally pronounced if preceded by two or more consonants and followed by a consonant-initial word: une porte fermée /yn(ə) pɔʁt(ə) fɛʁme/ → [yn.pɔʁ.t(ə).fɛʁ.me] ('a closed door'). In the future and conditional forms of -er verbs, however, the schwa is sometimes deleted even after two consonants[citation needed]: tu garderais /ty ɡaʁdəʁɛ/ → [ty.ɡaʁ.d(ə.)ʁɛ] ('you would guard'), nous brusquerons [les choses] /nu bʁyskəʁɔ̃/ → [nu.bʁys.k(ə.)ʁɔ̃] ('we will precipitate [things]'). On the other hand, it is pronounced word-internally when it follows more pronounced consonants that cannot be combined into a complex onset with the initial consonants of the next syllable: gredin /ɡʁədɛ̃/ → [ɡʁə.dɛ̃] ('scoundrel'), sept petits /sɛt pəti/ → [sɛt.pə.ti] ('seven little ones').[43] In French versification, word-final schwa is always elided before another vowel and at the ends of verses. It is pronounced before a following consonant-initial word.[44] For example, une grande femme fut ici, [yn ɡʁɑ̃d fam fy.t‿i.si] in ordinary speech, would in verse be pronounced [y.nə ɡʁɑ̃.də fa.mə fy.t‿i.si], with the /ə/ enunciated at the end of each word. Schwa cannot normally be realised as a front vowel ([œ]) in closed syllables. In such contexts in inflectional and derivational morphology, schwa usually alternates with the front vowel /ɛ/: harceler /aʁsəle/ → [aʁ.sœ.le] ('to harass'), with il harcèle /il aʁsɛl/ → [i.laʁ.sɛl] ('[he] harasses').[45] A three-way alternation can be observed, in a few cases, for a number of speakers: appeler /apəle/ → [ap.le] ('to call'), j'appelle /ʒ‿apɛl/ → [ʒa.pɛl] ('I call'), appellation /apelasjɔ̃/ → [a.pe.la.sjɔ̃] ('brand'), which can also be pronounced [a.pɛ.la.sjɔ̃].[46] Instances of orthographic ⟨e⟩ that do not exhibit the behaviour described above may be better analysed as corresponding to the stable, full vowel /œ/. The enclitic pronoun le, for example, always keeps its vowel in contexts like donnez-le-moi /dɔne lə mwa/ → [dɔ.ne.lœ.mwa] ('give it to me') for which schwa deletion would normally apply (giving *[dɔ.nɛl.mwa]), and it counts as a full syllable for the determination of stress. Cases of word-internal stable ⟨e⟩ are more subject to variation among speakers, but, for example, un rebelle /œ̃ ʁəbɛl/ ('a rebel') must be pronounced with a full vowel in contrast to un rebond /œ̃ ʁəbɔ̃/ → or [œ̃ʁ.bɔ̃] ('a bounce').[47]