The spelling of "groleau" can be explained by its phonetic transcription, /ɡʁɔlo/. The word is pronounced with a silent "eau," which is a common feature in French spelling. The "g" is pronounced as a voiced velar stop, the "r" is pronounced with a uvular trill or fricative, and the "l" is a voiced alveolar lateral approximant. The "o" is an open-mid back rounded vowel, while the final "o" is pronounced as a close-mid back rounded vowel. Overall, the spelling accurately reflects the sound of the word in French.