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I know the e muet is usually considered silent. That being said, it is still often pronounced in songs and poetry (famously, in the Marseillaise). This is completely contrary to the situation in English, where silent e’s are never, ever pronounced. That makes me wonder: Just how silent are those silent e’s in French? Can they still be pronounced in emphatic speech, and do native speakers of French still perceive the e muet as being there, just with a very short pronunciation?

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    silent e's are sometimes pronounced in English poetry, albeit more usually the silent e in -ed (usually spelt -èd when pronounced) than a final silent e
    – Tristan
    Nov 3, 2020 at 9:40
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    @Tristan With perhaps a few exception, I’d say -èd is the only silent e that is ever pronounced in English. Even in the most archaising of poetry, pronouncing the e in house, come, ones, etc., would be not only unusual but utterly bizarre. Nov 5, 2020 at 18:19
  • @JanusBahsJacquet yeah, other silent -e's aren't pronounced. There is the pronounced -e when trying to affect an olde worlde feel, but as this is used on words without a silent e, as well as those with it it's best not analysed synchronically as pronouncing the silent e, but as a separate suffix
    – Tristan
    Nov 6, 2020 at 10:08

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