How does the "accent aigu" affect the pronunciation of the letter 'e' in French?

This isn't my territory but since no one else is answering - the acute accent is only used on the letter e. The best I can tell you as far as pronunciation is concerned it gives the 'e' an ay sound. I just realize I don't know how to type an accent in so the word etudiant (with an aigu on the e) is pronounced ay too dyahn, where the word enfant (no accent) is ahn fahn. ecrire (with accent aigu} ay kreer.

Aigu in french means "high pitch". Two of the most important accents in french are the accent aigu wich gives the vowel a high pitch and the accent grave, wich gives a lower pitch. The accent aigu can also be used in the "a" to differentiate the common "a" (On va á la plage) from de "a" of the verb "avoir"

Britney,as mentioned by Frankvan and Lydia , the "accent aigu" on the letter "E" makes it sounds like "ay".For instance "école" is pronounced "aykol"..meaning school.But that,s the only vowel where you may use it on. Sorry guys.There are mainly four(4) accents that are used on the vowels in French."Aigu,grave,circonflexe, and tréma"

Here's a chart where each one may be used.
A: grave,circonflexe,tréma ....à...â...ä
E: aigu,grave,circonflexe,tréma...é........etc....
I:tréma
O:circonflexe,tréma
U:circonflexe,tréma.

[This message was edited by mozart56 on 11-01-03 at 04:22 PM.]

Sorry Lucy, I said Lydia.