2

Je voudrais remercier tous ceux qui ont aidé avec l'organisation de l'événement.

How is tous pronounced here? I know that the pronunciation depends on whether tous is a pronoun or an adjective, but I'm not sure what it is here.

user11550
  • 4,503
  • 5
  • 33
  • 76

2 Answers2

5

Here, tous is an adjective agreeing with the pronoun ceux so according to the rule you linked to is pronounced /tu/.

Had it been pronounced /tus/, that would have lead to /tus.sø/.

Compare:

Je veux les miens plus ceux de mon frère (I want mine and those of my brother)

where plus ceux is pronounced /plys.sø/ and:

Je ne vois plus ceux de mon frère (I don't see those of my brother anymore)

where plus ceux is pronounced /ply.sø/.

Pas un clue
  • 11,360
  • 1
  • 21
  • 67
jlliagre
  • 148,505
  • 9
  • 106
  • 237
2

It's always pronounced /tusø/.

Tous is a determiner here (hence feminine form toutes celles /tut sɛl/), but the /s/ is combined to the one at the beginning of ceux, so it would be pronounced the exact same way whether tous were /tus/ or just /tu/.

The only case I can think of where the pronunciation may be different is in Quebec, for speakers who have only the invariable form /tut/ regardless of what standard grammar would have. In that case, you would have /tut sø/ instead (spelled toutes ceux, but toutes ceusse is more likely when you get to that degree of joual), but this is considered nonstandard even for Quebec French.

Circeus
  • 17,352
  • 33
  • 55
  • 1
    I'm from Quebec, and I would personally go with either /tusø/ or /tut sø/ (incorrect, yes), which are both common. /søz/ is a heard a lot less, though it does indeed exist. When a was a teenager, we used to make fun at this through an informal feminine of 2 (une plus une égal deuze). – Pas un clue Apr 07 '17 at 09:23