>I would say it is a variant of "o" we just called it... "o with a circumflex
>accent" ("o avec un accent circonflex"). The difference between "o" and "ô"
>is normally audible (for a French speaker). The relationship is the same
>than with any other letter which sometimes have accents (e.g. "a" and "à",
>"e" and "è", etc.).
"o" avec un accent circonflexe, with an "e" at the end. From "Petit
Robert" (french dictionnary) the circumflexe is a mark for long vowel
(eg. île for isle (ancient french)) or to avoid confusion between two
words (eg. du and dû). The prononciation of the "ô" is closed (o fermé)
opposed to "o" without accent. But Thierry is right it's a letter with an
accent like à and è not a distinct grapheme.
Bertrand
>The only little thing to know about French and diacritical mark is that when
>doing a sort diacritical mark are evaluated from right to left. (e.g.
>"cote" < "côte" < "coté" vs the English order "cote" < "coté" < "côte" ).
>Cheers,
>Thierry
>How do Francophones view the o-circumflex "ô" in relation to the letter "o"?
>Is it a distinct grapheme, or is it considered a variant of "o"?
>- Peter
