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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 n aax S 6 F PR AUT LI M l: c AI A TREATISE ON THX PRONUNCIATION or THK FRENCH LANGUAGE, Oft A SYNOPSIS OP RULES FOR PRONOUNCING THE FRENCH LANGUAGE, WITH PRACTICAL IRREGULARITIES, EXEMPLinSD. - 8SC0KD IDITIOK. IMLARGED AND IMPBOTID. BY JEAN B. MEILLEUR, M. D. AUTHOR or A TREATISE ON CHEMISTRY, AND OF A NEW ENG- LISH GRAMMAR, FOR THE USE OF THK CANADIAN YOUTH ; MEMBER OF SEVERAL LEARNED SOCIETIES ; AND FORMERLY LECT'TRER ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE FRENCH LAN- CUA0E;N DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, HANOVER, N.H., &C. &C. « If on* understand the French, it is no great recomnendation to kirn ; but, if he do not, it ia a shame." JWontveal : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN LOVBLL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET, AND FOR SALE AT THE DIFFERENT BOOK STORES. 1841. the sour thus ". A •^*. FRENCH ALPHABET. The sound or articulation of each individual letter of the French Alphabet, constitutes its very name; and the sound of each letter of this alphabet may be represented thus; — A — aw. B — hey, C—sey, D^dey. E—ey. G — zjey. /— ee. J— zjee. K — kawt L-^U. M^ JV- mn. 0^0. P-pey. Q^kuh. R'—CTTm S — ea$. T'-tey. V-^ vey. X — eex. y — ugreck, Z — ztd. emm. Ir roi duj isr up( the! coil PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ir one asks mc to tell liitn, at once, what are the main parts of th« following Treatise, I will answer, that it contains, first, an intro- duction, which consists of general considerations upon the mechan- ism and the philosophy of language ; second, some consideration* upon the vowels, separately, as tlie artificial means of representing the inarticulate vocal sounds ; third, short considerations upon the consonants, collcclivtly, as the artificial means of representing the articulate rocal sounds ; fourth, analytical considerations upon all the letters of the French alphabet, disposed and treated each in an alphabetical order, as the whole collection of the artificial means of representing both the articulate and inarticulate vocal sounds, or words, in language, the conventional signs of our thoughts and ideas, principally applied to the pronunciation of the French ; fifth, an appendix, containing a few easy rules to enable the learner to distinguish the genders of the French substantives. But, to be more explicit, I must enter into the details mentioned in the subsequent explanation. The following Treatise is an analysis of the French alphabet, which was at first published, in the States, in 1825, at the repeated request of my former pupils, as an nbrege of ^ty lectures on the pronunciation of the French language, publicly c^< iiaplified by my- self, on the black board. The principles of the French Grammar, and the construction and analysis of phrases and sentences, were taught after the same man- ner. So that, the black board was used as a book of reading, pro- nouncing, analysing, and construing the French^ common to all attending pupils, from which they took notes. Much could be justly said in favour of this mode of teaching languages and many other branches of useful learning ; for, it pos- sesses, over all others, several well marked advantages. Therefore, I have made great exertions to induce the teachers of this country to adopt it generally, and to make a constant use of the black board, in the course of their lessons, especially when, as a member of the Provincial Parliament, 1 had an opportunity of visit- ing the elementary schools of the county of I'Assomption, which, before the union of the two Canadas, I had the honoir to repr«fcnt< A J VI. •\ I' I il As a Trustee of I'Assomptiun College, I had another opporlu- nit jT of exercising the same influence, and the teachers of that re- spectable Institution make a very extensive use, in their respective classe!<, of the black board, which is a simple and commodious means by which the demonstration of principles is easily made to the eye, which conveys the impressions, thus nccivcd, directly to the mind, upon which they are deeply engraved and much more lasting. But, to return to our subject, I have to observe, that, as the pre- face to the Hrst edition is published along with this one, it would be useless to make many particular remarks upon the fulloiving Treatise, except that it is now preceded by an Introduction, which was not published with the first, and that tiiis edition is enlarged and much iniprovcd> Therefore, I hope that this edition will meet with as good suc- cess as the first did j fur it was exhausted in the short space of a few weeks after its appearance. The Introduction to this edition is a systematical! exposition of general fdcts, as a mere mention of the mechanism and performance of speech, andof tlie principles and philosophy of Iangua2;e, in gene- ral, approximated, by compilation, and particularly applied to the French. Thus, this edition has the merit uf conveying both general and particular knowledge, which may be interesting and useful to the young reader. The definition and division of language, as the expression of our thoughts and ideas ; the division and nature of the signs of lan- guage, instinctive or artificial j the definition and division of vocal sounds, as the elements of artificial language ; the definition and division of letters, as conventional means to represent vocal sounds in language ', the signs of the modifications of letters, as means of altering sounds j the source and division of word?, as con- stituting speech, verbal or written ; the origin and use of writing, as the art of representing words, or vocal sounds ; the origin and progress of printing, as the art of representing words in artificial language, are as many subjects of instruction, which are briefly taken into consideration, and give to this edition a neir claim to the attention of those who may be desirous to acquire general notions on language, and a practical knowledge of the French, found on the demonstration of principles and facts of a ge- ntral and particular application. VII. lothcr opporlu- hers of that re- .heir respective d conitnodiotis easily made to irtdj directly to nd much more hat, as the pre* lie, it would be the following Juction, which lion is enlarged h as good sue- bort space of a 1 exposition of ul performance ua2;e, in gcnc- applicd to the g both general and useful to ression of our e signs of lan- ision of Tocal definition and vocal sounds ers, as means rd?, as con- e of writing, the origin ng words in ctionj which edition a netr to acquire ledge of the xcts of a ge- These, the preceding facts, and the fact that the Canadian youili arc now more than ever iiiduccif, by tlic force of circumbtancus aiul personal inttrcst, to iearti the Knglish, and to become more familiar and firm in lUo knowledge of the general principles of tlic Trench, are as many [»ro:riinent things wliith, wiien taken into due consi- deration, sliuulJ prompt the teachers of these two languages to adopt this elementary work as one of those whici) may easily serve the double pirpose of exercising, in English, their Trench pupils, upon the rule") and practical irregularities of their vernacular tongue, and in Trench, their English pupils who devote a share of their time to the study of this languagf. Tor, in spile of the tflforts of some fanatical politicians to proscribe the Trcneh, and to prevent its use in this country, its true knowledge will always be eagerly sought fjr, by all philologists, as a fertile source of useful and agreeable learning. The English may forcibly become the language of busi- ness and oiriciality ; but the Trench shall still continue lobe, as eve, the language of science and polite literature. A thorough knowledge of these two useful languages is, then, as important as it is now most generally desired by the mixed popula- tion of this country, nay of the w hole of the inhabitants of America ; and my principal aim in publishing this edition of the following Treatise, is to facilitate the general obtaining of this important ob- ject to the present generation, of both origins. I, therefore, submit it to thcm,wilh a due degree of confulence, hoping that its general u?e may be an ea?y means of acquiring a useful and agreeable know- ledge, which, long before, has been so appreciated as to become ge- neral and fashionable in learned and polite society. As several English words are daily introduced in the French, I have purposely taken for txample those which seem now to be ad- opted in that language, especially by the people of this country, with a view to facililate a more easy and more regular intercourse in the transaction of business, by a uniformity of terms and expres- sions, technical as it were, which have become of a common and general acceptation among persons of both origins. In tlie mention of those English words, which are adopted and in use in French, 1 have directed the learner to pronounce them, ns much as possible, according to their primitive articulation, because it generally better indicates and preserves their original sense and meaning, and I hope this significant mode of pronouncing these Vlll. ■M n'ordi will be docmod more convenient and becoming, at it is more natural and uniform. To facilitate the utterance of sounds, the sounds of the simple Towels have been divided and represented by a figured orthography, and, in the mean time, by some English words of an easy articula- tion ; and the sound of compound vo\y^s and of the various conibina* tions of letters,giving rise to inarticylateisHfCal sounds, have been al- so divided, and assimilated to some sound of the simple vowels, and represented by some simple sounds, the bases of all sounds, articu- late or inarticulate. A knowledge of the genders of the French substantives being very important and very dilHcult to obtain, I hope to render a great service to the learner, by giving a few general rules, to enable him to distinguish them easily and property, in an appendix published herewith to that cfTcel, to which 1 now take the liberty to refer him, merely reminding him that there are but two genders in French j namely, the masculine and feminine, each of which is, by imitation, given to inanitnatc as well as to animate objects of the creation. J. B. MEILLEUR, M. D. Montreal, September, 1841. , aa it is more PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. I have not much to sajr to establish the merit of this Synopsis ; suf* fice it to remark that it contains much ma,ttcr in as concentrated a size as it could possibly admit ; and although I readily acknowledge the assbtance I have received from several worki*, yet the French scholar will easily perceive that it is not altogether destitute of some useful originality, and that it has cost more labourj and is better calculated to instruct the learner that) to make sliow, is literally true. Every one will be sensible that an alphabetical order has been attempted in all the proceedings, which, for this reason among many others, renders it, in my humble opinion, more systematical than any other production of this kind. The rules of pronunciation have been much simplified and reduced in number ; so that a perfect command of them can be easily ob« tained. Several, however, have been added, which are founded on experience, and exemplified in the pronouncing Dictionary of the French Academy, which 1 have rhirdy followed in the subsequent pages. And, ss briefness has been a principal object, all the rules have been illustrated by few, and generally short words, without corresponding English translation, it being easy for the learner to turn to a dictionary, for their respective meanings. I am fully aware that much more could be said concerning the rules and practical irregularities to be observed in reading or speak- ing the French ; but I hope the following are amply sufficient to en- able the learner to read and speak correctly, that most polite and elegant language. And if this analysis is found calculated to facilh tatc the labour, and accelerate the progress of the student, at a time when this language becomes so fashionable, and begins to be con- sidered a valuable part of a liberal education, in this country as well as in Europe, I shall deem myself well rewarded. This Synopsis is an extract from the treatise on (he pronunciation of the French, which constitutes a part of a work yet in manuscript, entitled The French Instructor. Here, I am happy to im- prove this opportunity to express publicly my gratitude towards those who have subscribed for its publication, and particularly towards my enlightened friends, who have been so zealous in procuring sub- scribers. Nor can I pass in silence their anxiety repeatedly ex* ( pressed for Ihe app^rance of the said work. But the number of subscribers being as yet too small to ensure the expense of publish- ing, and the professional studies in ivhich I have been necessarily engaged, engrossing mjr time, have been my principal reasons for delaying. As among the French Teachers of this country, many are either too indolent or too ignorant to teach the French language by its true principles, I am aware that some of them may bring up some objection against the use of this system of rules, as they generally ore ready to do against anyone whatever; but the learner must not suffer himself to be imposed upon, and to be compelled, as parrots are, to learn the utterance of words, by a mere servile imitation of sounds ; for, when left to himself, the knowledge which he may thu4 tediously acquire, will soon vanish away like the meteors of Ihe day, because he has no fixed principles to help his judgment and support his memory ; whereas, if he learn the French by, at least its elementary principles, besides being much more agreeable to him, he will be able, by private study and daily observations, to apply Iha knowledge he has nrqnired, and even to improve it much/ without foreign help. Many candid persons, convinced, by their own expe- rience, can, and do assent to either of these assertions. Nor must the learner suffer himself to be deceived by the false and captious representation, which may be made to him, that it is very ditficult, nay almost impossible, for one to become familiar with so many rules ; for, with the assistance of an intelligent and accurate Teacher, an attentive student may, in the course of a few weeks, make himself master of all the principal rules of the true pronunciation of tha French language—" labor pertinax omnia rmct/.'* J. B. M. , I' INTRODUCTION. f It being customary to have an introductory discourse to the study of every important branch of learning, I will avail myself of the opportunity to generalize a little upon the following, with the hope of rendering it more useful, even more agreeable, to the Reader, as, in this manner, it may be much better illustrated, and more clearly un- derstood. As our subject is concerning language, a question may naturally arise, — " What is Language ?" Language (from the French langue, and this from lingua, the tongue,) in its proper and general sense, means the expre>sion, or enunciation of human thoughts and ideas, by the use of articulate sounds of the human voice. Language, however, has usually been extended to comprehend all the means of expressing our feelings and sensations, our wants and needed, our thoughts and ideas, by sensible signs. Taken in this extended sense, language may properly be distinguished and divided into two general kinds ; that is, first, into natural or instinctive ; second, into artificial or conventional langunge, as the sensible signs, by which the enunciation is made, may be immediately suggested by nature, or formed by human skill and invention. The signs made use of to express our thoughts and ideas, are [then divided into natural and artiticiol signs of language. The natural signs of language are those which are ira- jmediately suggested by nature, and by which the inward |thoughts and feelings can be externally enounced. The natural signs of language are of three classes; that lis, first, the modifications of the features of the face; second, the variations of the limbs, the motions of the head, and the outward gestures of the body ; third, the Imodifications or various tones of the voice. The natural signs, or those of instinctive language, are linterpreted without reasoning ; neither the rude savage Inor the polished citizen are at a losa for their signification land meaning. 12 INTRODUCTION. !li Natural signs, however, are chiefly applicable to emo- tions and feelings, although they may be occasionally made use of to express, also, the dictates of understand- ing and of conscience. The natural signs constitute a primitive and uniform language, to which, according to circumstances and in- stinct, recourse may be had in every society, whenever conventional signs are unattainable, or inadequate to the particular occasion. The different modulations, or the various tones of the voice, approach to, but are by no means of the same nature, with the articulate sounds, which form the mate- rials of artificial or conventional language. Hence,sound8 are divided into two general classes ; that is, into inarti- culate and articulate sounds, of which I will take a brief notice hereafter more particularly. The inarticulate sounds, or the different modulations of the voice, are uttered only under the influence of passion or emotion ; they are taught by nature and learned from her, and require no instruction to explain their respective meaning. From their near relation to words, they, how- ever, have obtained a place in grammar, and are com- monly stated as one of the parts of speech, under the general denomination of interjections, r^s, for the French, ah ! eh ! oh ! ha ! hi ! ho ! &c. The inarticulate sounds undoubtedly mingle, more or less, in all impassioned discourse, and often contribute to the force and effect of eloquence. Still, they can only be recorded as the natural and instinctive expressions ofj feelings. Man, destined to be a member of society and of social intercourse, and his possession of powers and faculties, as a rational being, rendering a much more extended mode .of communication necessary, than could be accomplished by natural signs, was at first induced or impelled to have recourse to a secondary mode of communicating his wants and feelings, by the fabrication and use of words, or arti- culate sounds, the conventional signs of our thoughts and ideas. INTRODUCTION. 13 The liuman voice is to formed and constituted, as to be susceptible of articulate modulations to an endless va- riety, and the power to ascertain, at least to a certain ex- tent, these modulate sounds, are possessed by all men whose organs of speech and mental faculties are entire. The voice is an appreciable sound, resulting from the vibrations which the air, expelled from the lungs, meets with, in passing through the tracheal tube and glottis. From this articulate sound is produced articulated speech, which may be defined articulated voice. All animals furnished with pulmonary organs, have a voice ; for, it is sufficient for the production of this sound, that air, collected in any receiver, be driven out, in a tube, with a certain force, and that it meets, on its pas- sage, with elastic, sonorous, and vibrating parts. The • cs, I wind instruments are constructed and phieedxon that*^'^*''*^'^ principle of acousticks, and the principal instrument of the voice Is the larynx, a sort of cortilagenous box, placed at the upper part of the tracheal tube, vulgarly called the Iwind-pipe. Therefore, in order to speak, we need not [only the organs of speech^properly so called, but also those |of respiration. Respiration is that function of the lungs by which at- lospherical air is alternately received into them and emitted from them, through the tracheal and broncheal ^ubes, by the constant exertion of those particular mus- cles which, in the anatomical language, are called the intercostal muscles, and the diaphragm, which separates, )y two branches, the middle from the lower part of the [horax or cavity of (he animal body, which is commonly ;alled the chest. Thus, the word respiration is a generic nan)e, implying Inspiration, or the ingress of air into the lungs, and expi« Uion, or the egress of air from the lungs, and this alter- late reception and emission of air goes on during the life >f the animal, from the first moment of its existence to the ist, by passing through the apertures of the mouth and lose. All animals, furnished with lungs, express their wantf| ' r !| 14 INTRODUCTION. ^ I'! in ! I their affections and aversions, their pleasures and ])aini^, either by articulate or inarticulate tsounds, peculiar to each apecies. < -i •'■■ ■]. ; i • » The different articulate or inarticulate sounds are pro- duced by straightening the glottis, or the aperture of the larynx, on whose diameter, elasticity, mobility, lubricity, and the force with which the air is expelled, the softness and smoothness, or the shrillness and roughness of the' voice depend. But the modifications of the voice, in pro- ducing articulate sounds, or musical sounds, in singing,! depend, likewise, in a great degree, on the various mo- tions of the epiglottis, or the cover of the opening of the I larynx and wind-pipe; for the epiglottis is to the glottis] what the key of a clarionet is to the meatus of that in- strument. The inferior animals are, by these physical means, en- abled to express themselves, though not by articulate! sounds, in such a manner as to be perfectly intelligible to every one of the species. But on man alone, nuture has! bestowed the faculty of speaking articulate language, orol| expressing his thoughts and ideas, his various wants and feelings, by a regular, extensive, and established combi-' nation of articulate sounds. To have extended to the brute animals the faculty of| cxprei^sing thoughts and ideas, wants and feelings, by ar- ticulate language, would not, it is probable, have been off any particular service to them ; for, though some animals! can be taught to articulate syllables, or sounds, and evenj sentences ; yet, from a defect in their intellectual facul- ties, none of them seem to have a proper and correct idea of the particular meaning of the sounds they utter, a: parrots, 8tc. Speech is performed by organs very different in theirl anatomical structure, in their phisiological functions and! uses, and afford a very complicated physical machineryJ In speaking, the mouth, the throat, the tongue, the palate| the lips, the nose, the jaws, the teeth, together with the ijfiuscles and bones of which these organs are composed,! INTRODUCTION. 15 are all more or less employed in the production of perfect articulate sounds. This combination of organs, properly called the orjjans of speech, we are taught to use when so young, that \\v are hardly conscious of the laborious task, and far less of the manner by which we pronounce different letters, syllables, or word:?. i . The mode of pronouncing letters, syllables and words may, however, be learned by attentively observing the functions or motions of the different organs of speech emr ployed by thj spe'jker. By this means, we are enabled to correct various defect? or impediments of speech, and even to teach the deaf and dumb to speak ; for dumbness is seldom the effect of imperfection in the organs of speech, but generally arises from a want*of hearing, rather than from a want of perfect organization, and it is impossible for deaf men lo imitate sounds which they do not hear, except they are taught to ui?e their organs by vision antl by touching, as is done in the schools taught to obtain for them that desirable object. Artificial language, which we learn altogether by the imitation of articulate sounds, verbal or written, distin- guishes men, more than any other circumstance, from the brute animals. The proper use of it, likewise, forms the chief difference between one man and another ; lor, by the proper choice of appropriate words and expressions, in language, one man proves a superiority of intellect, of knowledge, of genius, of delicacy and ta&te, nriarked by everything that is better, while others express, by their language, nothing but awkwardness and clumsiness, in communicating borrowed and confused ideas. s In an idiot, or parrot, language marks only the mo?;t abject degree of dulness and stupidity. It plainly shews the incapacity either to produce a regular chain of think- ing or reasoning, though both of them are endued with organs capable of expressing, by articulate sounds, what passes within their respective minds. But, animals of the brute creation are not all to be judged after the parrot ; for some of them possess a great II 16 INTRODUCTION. 1,!^ !M .1 ilegree of intellect, of cunning, and even of reasoning, wliich are exercised by the perception and comparison of objects, which lead them to distinguish the specific dif- ference existing between the various external causes of their daily sensations. For, sensation discovers the fact of existences ; and the fact of existences is a primitive fact, and the most important of all facts, as it is the pri- mary foundation of all human certitudes or truths. The degree of intellect which leadd the brute animal, and directs him in its voluntary actions, is universally at- tributed to instinct. But, instinct is a mere sensation of wants, which induces and prompts the brute individual to act, and seek for satisfaction, which could not be pro- cured without the exercise of some degree of discernment and judgment. ., . - Discernment and judgment presuppose perception, knowledge, and reason, which result from the functions of the organs of sense, of the intellect, and of volition. The organs of sense and volition are endued with nerves, which constitute them what they are, and render them sensible to the impressions made upon them by the operation of external objects. Thus, the organs of sense receive the various impressions of the ambient objects, the nerves transmit them to the sensorium, the mind per- ceives the external objects of sensations^ and perception is effectuated. Butthe mind, having perceived things or objects, and obtained a knowledge of their existence and nature, does not remain inactive and stationary ; it thinks and reflects upon them; compares and judges them ; and thus takes place a complex operation of the intellectual faculties, which constitute thought, or thinking, and reasoning. From the preceding premises, or observations, it (oilows that perception, reflection, and comparison are the ele- ments of reasoning, and judgment the consequence of it ; all that which presupposes reason, which may be defined to be the property of the mind, \t-hich enables the indivi- dual endued with that important faculty, to lay down principles, make comparisons, establish diffierencee, and INTRODUCTION. il f reasoning, •mparison of specific dif- b1 causes of krers the fact 5 a prinnitive it is the pri- jths. ute animal, liversally at- sensation of ndividual to not be pro- iiscernment perception, functions of lition. ndued with and render hem by the ns of sense ent objects, mind per- erception is )jects, and jature, does ind reflects thus takes |l faculties, ining. 5, it loilows the ele- [ence of it ; be defined Ithe indivi- lay down •ncee, and uraw consequences, ( r conclusions, as may be ileenied useful or necessary, to demonstrate and fix the similarity or dissimilarity, or distinction of objects, in their appear- ance, or nature, founded on observation and factp. Now, it is an undeniable fact, that animals of the brute creation are sensible, impressionable, able to make con- nections and distinctions, and remember similarity and (Jisgimilarity between the ambient objects of their physi- cal sensations, which they certainly could not do, with- out previous impression, perception, comparison, and judgment. We may, then, safely conclude that animals, of the brute creation, are more or less endued with a spe- cies of mind and a kind of reason, the principle and the cause of a certain intellect, which place tiiem, indeed, much below men, but above all the rest of creation. The essential difference, then, between man and the brute, lies not on the positive or negative fact, (or, on the existence or non-existence) of the intellect, in an exclii- sive manner, in the one, or in the other being. The dit- lerence is not in the absolute negation of the intellect, in the brute animals, but only in the degree of their intellect, a degree which, in all probability, constitutes the first, and, perhaps, the only efficient cause of the great difference in their respective power of articulating vocal language. 'i'he difference in the degree of the intellect, depends on the difference of the organization, and of the functions of the organs of sense and volition, in the living animal ; and the power of executing articulate vocal sounds, is in a degree proportional to that of the intellect. In children, the intellect, reason, reasoning, and judg- ment increase and strengthen in proportion to the growth, to the state of health, and to the cultivation of the or- gans of sense and volition ; and the power of ar- ticulating vocal sounds is in a reciprocal degree to that of the faculty of reasoning and judging. Hence it ii observed, that children become the more able to speak in proportion as the simultaneous developement of the organs of seneej of voliUon, and of the intellect, reason and judgment, are the more advanced and perfect. B2 18 ll! INTRODUCTIOX. Man having been created in the likeness of the Ai« mighty, and destined, by Him, to predominate over tho whole nature and over himself, as a Sovereign, so as to represent, as it were, in a visible manner, the invisible God, upon earth, possesses a superiority of organization, of intellect, of reasoning, of judging and of articulating vocal language, which enables him to communicate his thoughts and ideas in a comparatively easy manner, without hav- ing recourse to art, or to the mechanical means which constitute the written artificial language. Moral sensations ate subsequent to physical sensations, and man, whose senses are generally much more delicate and sensible, and whose mind is much more intelligent and impressionable, is much more easily aOected, and has moral sensations much more acute and accurate than the brute, and, for this reason, makes the best actor and the best imitator. t >' ■' Ventriloquism, and the production of such a great va- riety of articulate and inarticulate vncal sounds, so ably executed by some men, are dependent on the power of imitation, which Mr. Alexandre proved to us, last win- ter, to such an extensive and perfect a degree, fo as greatly to amaze and astonish the crowded spectators. The ventriloquists speak low or aloud, as from a distance, or as being present; and imitate ihe inarticulate vocal sounds of the different species of the brute creation, and sometimes whisper to themselves, &c., so as to serve re* markably well their purpose, and the curiosity of the $pectitori». To whisper is to articulate very weak vocal soundi^, which, in truth, deserve not the appellation or name of speech, since they scarcely exceed the sounds which al- ways accompany the pas:^age of air in expiration. But, let us return more immediately to our main sub- ject. The vocal sounds arise from a vibratory and tremulous motion made by the stroke or percu!i«ion of the pulmo- nary air on an elastic and sonorous tube, called the tra- ^hfal tube, and communicated to the atinospherica] airj INTRODUCTIO.f. 19 our ordinary surrounding medium, which being put in motion, carries the impression forward to the ear, and there procures its sensation. Thus, in a generic sense, to constitute the apprcciab'o existence of sound, it requires the percussion of two or more bodies, the undulation of the ambient atmcsjherical air, and a sensible and hearing ear. Thus, in the production, appreciation and crgnisance of sound, the ear receives the impression of the ambient air in motion, the nerves transmit it to the sensorium, and the mintl perceives the thirg signified by the sound. For, if words have all their possible extent of power, tliree eflecls arise in the mind of the hearer; the first is tho sound ; the second is the picture, or the representaiion of the thing signified by the sound j the third is the affec- tion of the mind, produced by one or by both of the fore- going. But, compound abstract words, as honour, jus- tice, libeity, and the like, produce the first and the last of these three effects, and not the second. Simple abstract words are used to signify some one simr/le idea, without much adverting to other words which may chance to attend that idea, as blue, green^ h<4, cold, and the like ; whereas, these are capable of effecting all three of the purposes, or intended effects of words, as the aggregate words, or generic names, man, horse, bird, &c. in a higher degree significant ; for, each name implies a general notion of the species compre- hended by the genu?. Such words represent the picture of the object signified by the sound j whereas abstract words operate, rot by representing any real picture or image in ihe mind, but by having, from use, the same effect, on being mentioned, that their original has, when it is actua ly seen. Metaphysicians consider the idea of souQd in the mind ; Anatomists describe the impression it makes upon the tympanum of the ear j Physiologists trace out the parti- cular manner in which it is conveyed from the ear to the eensorium ; Natural Philosophers investigate it in the substance where it is produced, and in the medium by se INTRODUCTION. wliicli it is conveyed to the ear ; but linguists, less inves- tigating, and even regardless of causes and efl'ects, are ( ontenl with a mere knowledge of a bare fact, and di- vide sound, first into two general kinds^, namely, into in- Rtrunnental and vocal sounds ; and again, each of thcFe into two others; (hat is, 1. into instrunnental nnusical, and instrumental non-musical sounds ; 2. into vocal arti- culate, and vocal inarticulate sounds. But, it suffices, for our main purpose, to consider vocal sound in its nature and division, and application to language, and especially to the French. The vocal sounds are so called from vocalis and this from vox, a Latin word which signifies the voice. The organs subservient to those modifications of respi- ration which we call articulate sounds, constituting sjieech, are, in man, more complex than in most animals of the brute creation ; and, as it was already observed, they consist chiefly of the larynx or throat, of the mouth, tongue, teeth, palate, liiys, and nose, with their respective muscles and membranes, occasionally assisted by each other, in the articulation of speech. Hence there are always more or less, in every articulate artificial lan- guage, guttural, lingual, dental, palatal, labial, and nasal syllables or sounds. finir, Sfc, 24 INTRODUCTION". !! {.4 r We generally know the final consonant of primitive words by the words derived from them, or their derivation. .Thus, wo know that the consonants by c, Sj if were the 'letters of^— The primitive words'" plombf accroCf marchandy ring, fusil, parfuffiy drap, boulangeTy repros. ^ because-^ ' The derivative words are plomber ; accrocher ; marchander ; raneer ; fttsuler f - parfumer ; draper ; boulangire reproser, Sfc, But this rule is too general not to be subject to a great number of exceptions — thus; sourtSy dix, dipoty legs, discussion, conversion,^ apptii, ennui, emploi envoi, travail, conseil, detail, amas, debarras, embarras, fracas, tapis. \ ^souriciire ; dixaine ; diposer; leguer; discuter ; iconvertir ; \appuyer ; \ennuyer ; employer ; gives \ envoy er ; \travailler ; \ conseil I er; \detailler ; amasser; dibarrasser ; embarrasser ; fracasser ; tapisser, Sfc. We have already observed that vocal articulate sounds may be made sensible by writing or by printing, that is, by figuring them in certain characters, called letters. INTRODUCTION. 25 re words are Thus, writing is the representation of vvordb, by the use of letters, and reading is the perusal of those words, with a sense of their respective meaning and value, and of that of letters, the artificial elementary principles which repre- sent them to the eye. The art of writing and of reading has a very remote source, and even a divine origin ; for, the first idea of that useful and admirable art is traced to the time when God gave his ten Commandments to the people of Israel, through the ministry of Moses, on Mount Sinai, amidst fjre, as we learn from the Holy Bible, the most ancient and authentic of all books, where Moses says, speaking of God, and of the gift of his holy Commandments : " He wrote them on two tables of stone, and delivered them unto irae," This important event took place in the year 2513 of the creation of the world, and it is only after this time that Moses began to write the book of Genesis, and his other four books. Before that remarkable period, when the Almighty was pleased to manifest to mankind his majesty and special will, men being then placed between them- selves and God, had no olJier principles to guide them- selves towards the Creator and towards each other, than the natural law and the innate dictates of their con* science. But, as practised by men, the art of writing, or of re- presenting speech in written characters, was transmitted to us by the Phcenicians, through Cadmus, to whose ge- nius its happy invention is generally ascribed. Both 3ie author and his invention have been celebrated by Brebceuf, a French poet, in the following beautiful lines ; " C'est de lui que nous viot cet art ing^nieuz, Pe peindre la parole et de parier aux yeux ; ' . ^ | Et par les traits divers de figures tracies, , , Donner de la couleur et du corps aux peos^s*'*' TRANSLATED : ** From him this art descriptive took its rise, .^ . Of holding converse with the wondering ejes j ■*' j ^'*' '^^ The various figures by his pencil wrought ^^"1 , Gave colour and body to the U)o«ght.'' ,|,j<:. tmO iUi < €1 ^6 INtRODUCTfOK'. Ml '/'^ ill'^ Printing is the representation of writing, or of written words, and this most expeditious art, for promoting useful knowledge, was invented by John Guttemberg, of May- ence, and perfected by Peter Schoeffer, m the year of our Lord 1444, and introduced, with some amelioration?, into the capital of France, by the Doctors of Sorbonne, in the year 1469. One hundred years after the introduction of printing into Paris, this important art made considerable progress, under Francis the First, who caused types to be manufactured of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin characters. This fact, and several others, tending to promote the propagation of useful arts and sciences, contributed to illustrate that esti- mable king with the honourable surname of " Father of Letters." But the art of printing became more flourishing under Louis the Thirteenth, through the exertions of Car- dinal Richelieu. The origin of public journals is not here without an apropos and interest. They were, at first, merely lite- rary productions, and the first that was published in France was the Mercure de France, which was published in 1605, under Henry IV. ; and, in 1631, La Gazette, edited by the physician, Kenaudot, under Louis XHL A few years afterward?, Mr. Po Sallo commenced the publication of the Journal des Savans, which was con- tinued fi'r the scientific discussions and productions of learned men, until the fatal year 1792. ■ 'r - V The English soon took advantage of the happy inven- tion of public journals, and the royal society of London published its philosophical transactions as early as the year 1675, under Charles IL ^^ .^^^ .^.^ ^^^ ,.,^ In the United States of America, the first periodical pa- per was published in Boston, in the year 1704, under Queen Anne, and this paper was entitled The ioston JS^ews Letters, In Canada, the first public document, of any import- ance, that was printed, appears to be the ordinance to ./ eetabliah the Superior Legislative OounciU'f Quebec, in the f\ XNTRODUCTIOK. ^1 year 1663, under Louis XIV. But let us return to our main Eubject. • j ■ . i -jjo'i;! -}un'j\.i. The number of letters made use of, in writing and printing, varies according to the idioms or genius of every language, and their absolute number in one particular language, is called the alphabet of that language. An alphabet, then, is the collection, or whole order of the letters proper to one language, and is so called from alpha and beta, the two first letters of the Greek language. The letters of the French alphabet are twenty-five in number, though, on account of the adoption of several English words, which are written with w, this letter may now properly be reckoned among those of the French alphabet. As in English, the letters of the French alphabet are divided into two general classes ; that is, the vowels and the consonants, which, when joined together, constitute syllables ; and again each of these principal classes are divided into several minor species, as will be seen here- after. - . > . The vowels are those letters, each of which has a per- fect sound of itself, which is produced by one emission of the voice only; that is, which the voice furnishes almost completely formed. , , .«, i. . ,. . The production of the vowels needs nothing else than the more or less opening of the mouth, by the separation of the jaws and lips, as a, e, i, o, «, which represent the inarticulate vocal sounds, the reason for which ihey are also called vocal letters, from tlie Latin word vocalis, and this from vox, the voice. The vowels of the French alphabet are, properly speak- ing, only five in number ; that is, a, c, i, o u, which are divided into two speciea, viz: the briefer short, and the long or broad vowels, which are to be considered more particularly hereafter. The vowels, or vocal letters, are pronounced without efforts ; they are the first that children utter ; they appear, likewise, to cost less study than the consonants j for the 2a II INTRODUCTION. :'. i I- ti i':ii! pronunciation of the last ones is alvirays less natural, and consequently more difficult. .? t*^, ; .5 ^ n m The more vov^els there are in one language, the more agreeable it is ; hence it has been observed, that the most harmonious languages, the most graceful to the ear, are those which use the fewest consonants and most vowels. It is in this point of view, especially, that the Greek sur- passes all languages, ancient and modern ; that, of dead languages, the Latin holds the second plfice ; and lastly, that the Italian and Spanish are more agreeable in pro- nunciation than any other living language* <: t Consonants are so called from two Latin words cum and sanare, (which signifies to sound with,) implying the necessity of their junction with the vowels, to express what is termed articulate sounds, which alone they could not, as their name indicates. Thus, the proper and only office of the consonants is to bind together the vowels. The consonants of the French alphabet are eighteen in number ; namely, b, c, d, /, g,j, k, /, m, n,/;, g, r, s, /, V, X, z. If to the foregoing letters we add the letter A, which most generally denotes aspiration ; and the letter y, which most often describes the sound already represented by t, b«t which, between two vowels, sounds like tV, pro- nounced ad if rapidly succeeding each other, all the above letters, twenty-five in number, compose the French al- phabet, -'yi '"• • • "^itv >i ;;. By itself, y serves to indicate the etymology of words derived from the Greek, and at the beginning of such words, and between two consonants, it sounds exactly like i, single. The distinction of letters, into vowels and consonants, has not been thought sufficient ; these have been further divided into diffisrent kinds, according to the parts which are more especially engaged in the mechanism of their pronunciation. Thus, we remark three species of coasonants ; that is, 1, the semi-vowels, I, m, n,r; 2, the explosive consonants, b, d, k, p, g, t ; 3, the sibilant con' sonants, c, f, g; h,j, s, v, x, 2, which are more numerous INTRODUCTION. 29 ,n'y.-iiUniir and more frequently employed in languages of more diffi- cult pronunciation. There are again lingual consonants, so called because their articulation is executed chiefly by the various mo- tions and positions of the tongue ; they are four in num- ber, that is, d, /, n. t. When final, the consonants are not articulated, in French, especially dy g, h, j, />, s, i, x, z ; unless t4»e next word, not separated by a full stop, begins with a vowel or an h mute, and the same rule is observable in proper names, as well as in common words, except c, /, /, r, which are mo>t generally articulated, when final ; /, however, is silent in clef, cerfj ctrf-volant, chef-d'^ceuvre. When initial, the consonants are generally articulated, in French, as the same are in English, with the general exception that it is commonly the reverse with the letter A, which is often mute in the former and generally aspi- rated in the latter. The preceding observation leads to the distinction of two species of h ; that is, the mute and the aspirated A. ^is mute when it is pronounced without aspiration, as in herbe, histoire, konneur, homme, humeur, &c., and it is aspirated when it is pronounced with aspiration^ as in haine, hameau, h&aultf honte^ Ssic. ^ ^ • . In French, the letter A is generally mute in word« adopted or derived from the Greek or Latin, except in cahos, hiros, hernie, herniaire, although it is mute in herotne, hircnque, and in their derivatives. H final is always mute in French, as in ah ! eh! oh /. bah! pouah! &c. Consonants are again divided into three species ; that is, ten simple consonants, which do not differ from any one of the three preceding general classes, as b, c, rf, /, gy h, y, &.C. ; 2, into double consonants, as bby cc, ad, yffi ggt lU fnm, nn, pp, &c. ; 3, into compound conson- jants, as W, br, cl, cr, ch, gn,ps, phy sty tty thy &c. Both the double and compound consonants partake leach of the specific sound of the simple individual con- I sonants^ which enter into their tvepective combinationi. C2 il'/i ill! HliiH i!!"-:i 30 INTRODUCTION. and is easily learned by practice and experience, as it is in the English language. But ch, gn, /, or ll^ph, and th require each a particular and separate attention. Chy initial, or in the middle of words, is invariably ar- ticulated like k immediately before a, o, «, Z, m, 71, r, i, ill words adopted or derived from the Greek, Latin, or He- brew, as can be seen in the following words, chosen as examples : Eucharistie, trochanter^ archange, anacko- rete, cJioUra ; catechumene^ ischurie, chlore, chloride ; Inichmanef tetradrachme, (except drachme,) arachnmUk, technique J chronologies chrysalides ichtyologie^ ichty- olithcsy &c. &c. ; and, by exception, immediately before e, i, y, as in archetype^ orchestre, orchis, orchestique^ ar- chiepiscopaly brachypme, and in about thirty other words. Chy final, is also articulated like ^', as in /e'/ccA, lochy Ro^tch, March (st,) Henoch, Mosoch, Roch, Dupuch, Munich, &c. &,c. There are consonants which are said to be liquid, as gn, I, and //, and these must not be confounded with silent letters, which are materially different. iUt - L and // are always liquid when immediately preceded by one of the following combinations of vowels ; that is, ui, ei, eui, iei, out, uei, and sometimes ui, as in travail^ soleil, feuille, vieille, rouille, accueil, coquille, &c., and very often after i, as in babil, peril, Jille, famille, bril- liant, &c., except in mille, sigille, vitle, &c., wherein I is articulated full, and in baril,fils, fusil, &,c., wherein I is silent. •? ni :^^> -^ Gn, in tlie middle of words, generally express a liquid sound ; much \\ke that of n between two Ps, in French, or simply between two vowels, in English, (rs in the Eng- lisli word union,') as in compagv'c: f;ompagno7i,inxlign€,\ indignite, &c. But there are many French words in which g and «| (gTi) have each their respective sound, that is, in which words gn has a hard or harsh sound, as in igne, ignition^\ magnetisme, Sfc, ^m^^ Ph indicates that a word is derived from the Greek ori Hebrew, and, whether initial, medial, or final, is always INTRODUCTION. u is, in which I pe, ignition, the Greek or I sounded like /, as in philosopkie, philanihropie, ortUo- graphe^ Joseph^ &c. Th denotes a Greek or Hebraic origin, and whether ini- tial, medial, or final, is always sounded like t single, as in iheologie, hypotheque, zeniihy jStc. All simple consonants are occasionally doubled, in French, except A, y, A, y, r, x, 2, which never double ; neither do the others double, when immediately preceded by a long vowel, simple or compound, or a diphthong, or a triphthong, or a nasal, except r, «, which eoraeiinieis deviate from this rule, as in barre^ carriirey eniasser, endosser, ^'c, and in the word manne, meaning tlie manna of the desert, wherein a is long ; whereas a is short in manne^ meaning a basket. But, words terminated with isse are excepted from this last exception, as icrevisse^ narcisse, Pithonisse, &.c., wherein ss is preceded by a short vowel, f* 4 n , .* Consonants are chiefly doubled immediately before a, c, t, as in abbesse,unisson, Sic, and occasionally before 0, w, y,a8 in korreur^reussiry J\l^yssey l//y«sc,&c. When initial, the consonants are most generally articu- lated, in French, as the same are in the English language, with the exception of the letter hy which is generally mute in the former, and aspirated in the latter language. A consonant between two vowels is generally sounded full, and it generally constitutes a syllable with the fol- lowing, and not with the preceding vowel, as is gene- rally the case in English. When final, the consonants are each sounded on the next word, when, not being separated by any punctuating mark, it begins with a vowel or h mute. In such caset^i, « and X have each the sound of z ; and s between two vowels, in the middle of words, has most generally tlve sound of 2, as in bisey hasard, &c., except presuppose, desuiiudeyresorbd, &c. But j and v are never final. As a general rule, a double consonant is sounded like a simple one of the kind full, as in r i'na >* v^v.irv? JEr, as in sommeil, soleiU &^' ♦$ ? • -.5 ,/r'>'^''. /a, as in diacre, diademe, Stc. ' ■^♦. ti ,^; ; ^r v :*►, ; f 4V..- •VV/.' V-. le, as in dulie, patrie, &c. /^, as in moitie, pitie, &c I Of B8 \n fiole, viol, &^* lUf as in diume, diurnal, &c. Of, as in moelle, noel, &c« Oi, as in moi, - ^ ' .-. .v*v^v>.'«:- ■*• -^^,t...- The triphthongs are fourteen in number, in French, namelv: ->. *f ----«-- oi Jlie,3i9 in braie, Aate, &c. " ' " i-- .».« mdou, as in aoMfTy aottteron, fcx. Eui, as in feuille, seuil, &c. lei, as in vieille, viellesse, &c* Jai, as in breviaire, &c. /eM, as in rfiVt/, lieu, &c. ^^^-^^ /otf, as in ckiourme, Jiourme, &c« CEi, as in fl»7, cnllet, &c. OtMt, as in ouaiche, S^c. * In poetry, ia, te, t^^ to, generally form each two distinct syliables. ■"i «» -»*? A'^?\^ ^•A>v"> .."I- ^?^ (^U INTRODUCTION. 35 ne appreciable Bounds which sively. This vowels, like hem- r, in French, ' "• '.f^ c^*i^ :•'.».! • ■ij Bveral vowels, sciable eound, s, which are This triple like the com- ifferent from p, in French, -■"? •, i^.7' -» ^. 'T -v> ;■" ^'V'^^O T? ■^r^'H linct syllables. ,V«' ,>{■. :« ^'■^i. Owe, as inyowe, rot/^, &c. Qui, as in pairouiUe^ rouille, &c. ^^7, as in niLaison, &c* l/fT, as in accifei*/, cercT/etV, &c« • ''^ ' Uette^ixs in queue f&LC, 5. We combine the vowels, simple or compoonJ, with the letter m or n, (sometimes followed by another con- sonant, in iho same syllable,) to form what is calle^l nasals* Thus, nasals consist each of the combina- tion of one or several vowels with m or n to produce nasal sounds, ^ Nasals have different terminations, and accordingly may be divided into different species^ of which there arc five principal classes, namely : 1st, as aim m faim^ ain in sain^ &c 2d, as amp in campy and in brigandy &c. 3d, as am in /ot/i, enng in joozW, 8tc. 4th, as omb in plomb, on in fon, &c« ••* »''^ ''^ 5th, as «»i in parfum, un in diaprvn, &c« But, like the vowels, brief or long, simple or compound, and the diphthongs and triphthong?, the nasals, to be bet- ler seized and understood, need to be each specifically re- presented to the foreigner, by appropriate English sounds and the use of English words, as they will bo hereafter tn the following Treatise. "i - ;^ .- Now, to complete our preliminary observations, it re- quires only to state that, with regard to their form, the letters of Uie French alphabet are again generally divided into two general classe, namely : 1st, into Tnajtisculesiy or capital letters ; 2d, into minuscules, or small letters, as practised in every other language* The two preceding general species of letters require no particular definition ; but it should be borne in mind, that, as in the English language, they are occasionally mads italicSf that is, to stand a little from right to left, eo as to attract more particularly the attention of the reader upon the words which they represent ; and in writing, or wri^ ten words, it is not indifferent to make use of capital or small letters. 1^ 36 INTRODUCTION. ii I Capital letters are used, Ist, to write proper names ; 2d, to write the names of particular fixed arts and sciences ; 3d, to write the names of titles, of dignity and of honour ; 4*th, to write such names or words as relate to objects for which we have a particular respect or con- sideration ; 5lh, to write the first word of each sentence in prose ; 6th, to write the first word of each line in poetry ; 7th; to write the title of books, of literary pro- ductions, and of some important documents. To conclude this short retrospective view of language, in general, and these introductory observations concerning the rules and irregularities of the French, in particular, it remains only to remark that they may give a tolerably good idea of the philosophy and of the mechanism of speech, and of the artificial means and conventional signs a!dopted and made use of, in written languages, to repre- sent and fix the fugitive articulate sounds of the human voice, which express our thoughts and ideas ; and the following analysis of the French alphabet, wherein the nature, power, properties, and practical irregularities of each individual letter are considered separately, will be amply sufiicient, I hope, to enable any person who will take pains to learn and remember them, to speak and read the French correctly ; for, they lead the learner directly to the true principles of the proper pronunciation of that moat polite, eloquent, and literary language. : J. B. MEILLEUB, M.D. Montreal, September, IS4I* I^M ,(;. r-V A TREATISE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. THE FRENCH ALPHABET ANALYSED. CHAPTER L In this Chapter, are considered the inarticulate vocal sounds, represented by the vowels, or by combina- tions of letters equivalent to them. The letters which constitute the Frencli alphabet are always of the same type and form, and generally have the same power and sound, as those which compose tho English alphabet. ' - The letters of the French alphabet are twenty-five in number, without reckoning the letter w, which, how- ever, should row be admitted therein, on account of the adoption, in the French language, of several English words written with that letter, as waggon, wit, yawn, ^*c« As in English, the letters of the French alphabet aro divided into two general classes, the vowels and the con— sonants^ each class being again subdivided into minor on«6. 3S PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. fhe vowels are those letters, each of which has a per- fect sound of itself, which is proiluced hy one emission of ihe voice only, and is descriptive of its specific name. The vowels are also called vocal letters^ from the Latin word vocalis, and this from vox, the voice. The vowels rei>resent the inarticulate vocal sounds, and they are five in number, in French, without reckon- ing the letter y. The vowels are divided into simple and compound, and into short and long, as they are more or less modified by various combinations, and by the signs of modifica- tions, whiich will be seen hereafter. SIMPLE AND SHORT VOWELS. The simple and short vowels may be properly repre- sented thus, in English, the individual sound of each being descriptive of its particular name, as : O'-^ah, or like a in the English word haty as in date, patte, Paris, SiLC. > i e-^euh, or like e in the English word Aer, as in me, te^ se, &c. t — 7, or like e in the English word she, as in petitey site, &G. o — o, or like o in the English word hof, as in aniidote^ botte, colojiy h.c, ,. ,. fx — t/A, or nearly like w in (he English word super able, as in butte, huite, &c. y — eegreck is its ntime, and its sound is that of the French i, as in chyle, pyramide, systeme, &c., except between two vowels, as in moyen, envoya, &c., and in the words pay s^ pay sage, paysagisie, pay* san, paysanne, Moyse, wherein y, as between two vowels, is sounded like it, except in paye, paye* ment, wherein it is sounded like i single. By itself, the letter y serves to indicate the etymology of words derived from the Greek, wherein it is always FRENCFI LANGUAGE. 39 1 has a per- emission of c name. y from the ce. cal sounds, Dut reckon- compound, ss modified f modifica- erly repre- d of each IS in date, in me, U, in petite, antidote, superable, le French , except oya, &c., isie, pay* ^een two /c, paye* tymology s always sounded like the French i, ns iu annli/se,dialyse, hygiene, Ayperdulie, hypothhe synthtse^ symptOme, 8cc. But, as ihe six vowels already mentioned (admitting y as one) arc insufficient to represent, of themselves, all the vocal soumls which the voice, not modified hy any motion of the organs of speech, may utter hy the simple emission of the breath, vve have recourse, in French, to various means to express different sounds and articula* lions, without resorting to additional letters, or written characters, which would swell too much the French al- phabet. Those means are of five principal classes, namely : 1st, the accents and other signs of modifica^ tions ; 2d, the compound vowels ; 3d, the diphthongs ; 4th, the triphthongs ; 5th, the nasals. I. SIGNS OF MODIFICATIONS. The signs of modifications are seven in number, in French, that is : 1st, the three accents; 2d, the cedilla; 3d, the dieresis ; 4th, the apostrophe ; 5th, hyphen. We make use of three tlifferent marks, or accents, in French, and different from those which are so called in English. • ' 1st. Jlccents, (from acccn/ws) in French, are figured marks, or chracters,which are placed occasionally over any one of the vowels, (except y, which never takes it,) to express those sounds which the vowels before mentioned are unable to represent without being modified. Thus, the accents, which are the same that were made wne of among the Greeks and Romans, supply the want of more vowels in the French alphabet, as will be seen here- after. The accents which are commonly employed,in French, are three in number, that is, Isi, the acute accent, marked thus ( ') which is placed occasionally over e only, as in ete, honU, sale, &c. ; 2d, the grave accent, marked thus ( ^ ) which is occasionally placed over e, as in frere, pire, mere, &c., and over a m the preposition d, over a in fd, dejd, hold. Id, voild, and over u in oil, wherein the vowels over which it is placed have no sound different from that 40 PRONUNCIATION OP THE I li^ I/; which represent their respective names among the simple and short vowels ; 3d, the circumflex accent, marked thus ( '^ or '" ) composed of the two preceding accents, and occasionally placed over a, c, /, o, w, where it always indicates a long or broad sound, as in j)lutre, bvte, gite, c6te,fl/,te, &c. - , 2d. The cedilla is a short curve line made thus ( , ) placed under the letter c only, when occurring immedi- ately I)efore a. o, t/, in verbs ending in ce?', cevoir, (in the infinitive mood present,) and in a few other words, to divest it (c) of its harsh articulation, and give it the sharp hissing sound of s, as in per^ai, per^ois, pergus, (je) menaga^ 7'egut, (ii) gargon, limagon, Eic. 3d. The dieresis consists of two dots made thus ( •• ) occasionally placed over f, /*, ii only, to indicate that the vowel ov?r which it stands is to be sounded separately, either from the preceding or following one, as in nod, ae'iul, Esaii, &c. 4th. The apostrophe is like a comma set thus ( ' ) at the top, between a consonant and a vowel, or h mute, to indicate the omission of one of the letters «, e, i only, and that the preceding consonar.t should be articniated in a forcible or hard manner, to render more sensible that omissi»)n, as in Pdme, l^csprif, 5"'^7, Vhommey V/iumnnife, &c. The apostrophe indicates the omission of i in si, only before il and ils. The apostrophe is used after c\ cT, entr\ f, jusgu^, V, TtC, 7i', s', /', quelqu''* q\C, instead of Cf, de^ je^jusque, le, la, me, ne, se, ie, quelque, que, whenever one of these words occur immediately before nny one of the vowels or h mute, these elisions being used merely for the sake of harmony. The apostrophe is never used before huii, huiiieme, onze, onzieme, oui ; thus we say, le huit, Ic huiiieme, le onze, le onzieme, le oui, and /c non, 5th, The hyphen is an horizontal mark, made thus ( - ) and placed between two or several words which we wish to join, to form but one compound word, as in mrc-en-cielj c'est-a-dire^ &c. FRENCH LANGUAGE. 41 ng the simple t, marked thus accents, and ere it always re, bete, gite, ide thus ( , ) Tingimmedi- evoir, (in the cr words, to ? it the sharp pergus, (je) Je thus ( ••. ) cate that the d separately, as in no'el, hus(') at k mute, to €, i only, licniated in ensible that Vhumnnife, of i in si, f, jusqu\ je,jusque, ne of these ^•owels or the sake of huHieme, huitieme, made thus ds which >rd, as in The hyphen is used also between an interrogative, im- perative, or exhortative verb, and tiie personal pronouiit jV, me, mot, nous ; tu, te, toi, vous ; il, Us, elle, elles, le, la, les, lui^ leur^ y, en, on ; whenever any one of them comes immediately after one of the last mentioned verbs, as in — que dis-je ? parles-iu 1 lit-il 1 donnez-lui, lisez- le, &c. ..; . LONG VOWELS. ; . ^ All the simple vowels, which have already been men- tioned, are each made long or broad by the use of the circumflex accent placed over them, as in the following examples, that is : & — aw, or like a in the English word hall, as in pdte, dne^ Pdris, &c. V, ? — ay, or like the first c in the English word where, as in file, te?npete, Ute, &ic. :• r a ; i — ee, or like ee in the English word fleet, as in gitcy He, &c. : - '- . $ — o, or like o in the English word cold, as in cOloUy nOtre, v6tre, hi:. *» ti — uh, or nearly like u in the English word abuse, as in flMe, mure. Sec* Besides the circumflex accent, e, not accented, renders long the immediate preceding vowel, and 5, x, z, each generally, renders long the syllable to which it is occa- sionally conjoined, as \n parlie, rois,jtux,ncz, &c. * There is no correct standard, in English, fo represent the sound of the French t*. Cut, to form the long sound of that Utti r, observe the situation of the tongue when you pronounci; the Rnglish letter a ; it widens itself into the cheeks, so that it touclic!* the tirst ^rinders. When the tongue is in this situaliotj, advance both lips a little for- ward) shutting them at the same time in snch a manner as to leave a narrow oval passage for the breath. This movement 'vill highly press the tongue between the grindt-rs, and its tip against the foro teeth of the inferior jaw, and thus let tlic brcaih passwhic h is neces- sary emit the sound of the French w. Its short sound isformecl byd wtU'ng less upon it. — Boyer'^a DUtionary. . . D 2 ^ PRONUNCIATrON DP THE E MODIFIED BY THE ACCENTS. E may be modified by the use of the accenls, so as to produce four (iifferent sounds ; so that there are four kinds of c's in French, each of which is sounded and named as follows : — . ,. t—euAf or like c in the English word her, as in me^ te, se, &c. •— ey, or like a in the English word fate, as in cafi, bonfe, ite, &c. ^ — fly>or like the first e in the English word ihere^ as in frire,pire^ mircy bjc, I — ay, or like the first e in the English word wherey that is, like ^, but longer, having the same sound in kind, but different in length, as in file, fempSte, iiteySLC. » The first kind of e is called the mute, or not accented e; the second is called the sharp, or acute accented t ; the third is called the open, or grave accented e ; and the fourth is called the broad, or circumflex accented e, which is, likewise, one of the long vowels. In monosyllable words, when e, not accented, is final, or in the beginning of any word, and preceded by a con- sonant, it generally has the sound represented above full, as in que, te, demande,pesee, &c. But, at the end of poly- syllable words, whether it is conjoined with s final or not, it is then generally j-aid to be mute, or no more sounded than e final in the English word name, as in dme, honte, mQ/MS, &c., except in quelque, quoique,puisque, lorsqucp fandisque, wherein e final has its natural sound full. In verbs ending in ger, (in the infinitive mood present,) e, not accented, is placed after g, to soften the articula- tion of that letter, whenever it is followed by a or o, as in mangfantf mangeai, mangeois, (je) &c., wherein e i» silent FRENCH LANGUAGE. 43 ;en1s, so as to here are four sounded and s in me, te, Cf as in cafi, ihere^ as in where, that ne sound in 'He, temp^te^ accented e ; %ted e ; the and the fcfl?e, which ?d, is final, i by a con- above full, nd of poly- Inal or not, e sounded \me, honfCf e, lorsqucp full. J present,) e articula- or o, as in irein e i» II. C0MP0U5D VOWELS. We combine several vowels, whose combination ii termed compound vowels, and they are twelve in num- ber, that is : ^i, &s in donnai, par lai (je) &ic, ^^e, na'in Caen, Maestric/d, he. Eadfasm changeai,mangeai, (je)Si.c,^ Ea, aa in changea,mang€a,(Jiy Sue, Jlu, ^ts in etau,hausse,8i.c, '. , Eau, Via \n bateau, gateau, he* *. Eu, as injeu, neveu, &c. Eue, aa m bleue, he. JE or ce, aa in JEgerie,CBdipe, he- Eo, as in flageolet, geolier, &c. CEw,^a Sn ch(Bur,ceuvre, &c» Ou, as in clou,filou, &c» Here we may observe that all the above eompound vowels, except ou, descrtbe no sounds different from those which the six simple vowels, before mentioned, represent by their respective names, with or without accent. III. DIPHTHONGS. A diphthong, an appellation derived from two Greek words, is the combination of two or several vowels, which, though they constitute but one appreciable sound, imply and produce two combined sounds which are heard at the same time, but successively. This double sound, though expressed by several vowels, like the compound, is essentially different from them. The diphthongs are twelve in number, in French^ namely: Ai, as in camail, travail, &c. Ao, as in aoriste, SaOne^ &c. ** Ei, as in sommeil, soleiU &c» la, as in diacre, diademe, &c. le, as in dulie, patrie, &c. Je, as in moitie, pitie, he ^ ^ 44 PRONUNCIATION OF THK Jo, as inj^o/r, Wo/, Sec* lu, as in diurnc, diurnal, &c» Of, OS ill moellc, voci, he, Oi, as in moi, toi, &.c. * ' ' Ucu, as in lueur, sueur, &c. Vi, as in ennui, lui, &('. N.B. In poetry, ia, ie, ie, to, generally form each two distinct syllables. - V IV, TRIPHTHONGS. ■ i. - A triphthong, an appellation which is derived from three Greek words, is the combination of several vowels, which, though they ronstilute but one appreciable sound, imply and produce three combined sounds, which are heard at the same time, but successively. This triple sound, though expressed by several vowels, like the com- pound and the diphthongs, is essentially different from either. Tfie triphthongs are fourteen in number, in French, namely : \/lie, as in braie, haie, &c. Jlou, as in aoiiUry aotderon, &c» Eui, as in ftuille, sevil, &c. ■ . Jei, as in vieille, viellesse, &c« .- < lai, as in breviaire, &.c. .vij^, ,_4 , ::,- leu, as in dif.v, lieu, &c. , ,•- lou, as in ckiourme, fiourme, &c. (Ei, as in mil, mild, Stc. .,.. »; Ouai, as in oiiaic/ic, ^'c. 0«c, as in j'owc, roi/e, &c. Qui, as in patrouille,rouille, &ic» <, . Uaz, asin nuaison, he, Vei, as in accueil, cercueil, &c« , i v , _.. Ueue, as in queue, &c. tv> 8om( the Tl entei remj serve V'. NASALS.. A nasal is a sound, or tho representation of a sound, fcrmed by the combination of one or several vowels with -■-■^ m each two lerived from eral vowels, fiable sound, , which are This triple ke the com- [Terent from in Freneby A a sound, rels with PRENCH LANGUAGE. 45 some consonants, modified by the emission of air through the nose. The nasals have different terminations ; but, before entering into their parficular enumeration, it is proper to remark, 1st, that ??i final, or immediately before b,p, t, serves, hke n final, to give the nasal sound to the immediate preceding vowel, forming a combination, which is generally a nasal vowel ; and that, under such circumstances, m or 7i is sounded like n in the English word want; and, when we say w or n ftnal, it is to be understood the final letter of a syllable, either in the beginning, middle, or at the end of a word. '2{\, That gn, immediately iollowed by a vowel, simple or compound, is generally articulated in a soft or liquid man- ner, and produces a nasal sound, as mcnseigner, saignevy indegjie, magnanimc, &.r., except agnation, ignition^ gnide, incognito, magnijicat, &c., wherein gn, has a harsh or hard articulation, and produces a guttcral sound. There is a great number of nasals in the French lan- guage, which, for the convenience of the learner, may be divided into five ditferent classes, namely : 1st, aim, ain, aing, aint, eim^ ein, eing, eint, im, tn, inct, ingi,cint,ini, ym, yn, which are sounded each near- ly like an in the English word hunker, whose ?ound gives the na?Tie of that class, as in faim, sain, Castaing, par- paing, saint, Rhcims, sein, seing, ceint, impot, instinct , vingt, teint, tint, (il) ivymphe, thym, synihese, &c. ; likewise an in Yankee is sounded in the same manner. Under this class are placed cm, en, ens, ent, each of which is sounded alike in the following words and cir- cumstances : Thus, em is sounded like 071 in the English word hanker, in Memphis, memphitc, j\Ic?}iphre?nagogue, eX' tempore, semper, sempiiernam, sempiternel, &.c. Likewise, en is sounded in the like manner in lenzcaqutj memento, memenium, examen, eopendium, omentum, pen' sum, sensm'ium, Benjoin, Benjamin, Rhuhen, Menior, Mendez, &c. Also, in, ens, ent, are each sounded in the same man- 40 PRONUNCIATION OF THE ner, when ending a syllable, and being, at the same time, immediately preceded by i, e, y, as in rien, sien, siensA tient, (il) europeen, citoyen^ &c., except in audienceA conscience^ experience^ impatience, patience, impntieni,\ impalienter, inconvenient, omniscience, omniscient, ori- ent, patient, and their derivatives, wherein en, or ent are| each sounded like an in the English word want. In the third person plural of verbs, ent final is always] silent, that is, has no more sonnd than e final in the Eng- lish word name, as in Wsprient, Wsposent, &c. 2d. am, amp, amps, aen, an, anc, and, ang, aon, ans, ant, can, em, ems, emps, empt, en, end, ends, eng, ens, ent, are each sounded like nn in the English word want, as in ample, camp, Deschamps, Caen, ange, blanc, grand, etang, faon, sans, sentant, jean, exemple, iems, temps, exempt, rend (il), rends (je) hareng, cens, cent, &c. 3d. oin, oing, oins, oint, are each sounded like a na- ^,6al of the first class to which is added the sound of o as an initial to it, as loin, Marcoing, poing, mains, point, poingon, &c. 4th. aon, eon, horn, om, omb^ omps, ompt, on, ond, one, ong, ons, ont, are each sounded like on in the Englrsh word conquer or song, as in taon, pigeon, rkombotde, pompe,plomb,ronges, (tu) prompt^ ton,rond, donc^ don, dont, long, sons, sont, (ils.) Um, umb, and un fall under this class, and are each sounded alike in the following words, that is, 'mpenMim, rumb, deprofundis, nuncupaiif, nvndinales, 5th. um, eun, un, uns, unt, are each sounded like un in the English word grunt, as mparfum, d-jeun,hunf aucun, diapruns, defunt, &c. REMARKS ON THE NASALS. Here, it must be observed, 1st, that s, added for plural to any one of the foregoing nasals which does not end with that letter, makes no alteration in the nasal sound ; 2d, that when after m or n follows immediately a vowel, the sound ceases to be nasal, as in nom, nomme, parfum, parfume^ badin^ badincy bon, bonne, co^uiu, coquine, &c. ; FRENCH LANGUAGE. 47 Jd, that whenever wi or w is soiindeil full, the nasal sound learly ceases, ns \n ameii^lar gum, guanium,rvm, Gesseuy "mm^poudtng, &c., wherein m and n,in the final syllable, lare each articulated full. \\\ ponding, a word borrowed Ifronn the English, ing is articulated full, to distinguish it, ]by the final sound, froai poudingue, vv^iich has a very IdiiTerent meaning ; 4th, that nasal syllables are generally [long, as in ambition, anterieur, empire, enfier, impossible, Unsignifiance, parfum,tribun, &,c., except when followed Iby mor n in the same word, as in epigramme, annal^ im» mediat, innocent, consonnc, &c. ANOMALOUS COMBINATIONS OF LETTERS. vft There are combinations of letters which cannot be classed in a proper manner, but which, for the sake of facility, more than for that of exactitude or strict correct- ness, may be assimilated to some of the sounds which have been represented in the beginning of this Treatise. The fo'lowing combinations, then, are generally sounded very nearly, if not all exactly, like 6 (long) or like one of the four kinds of c's before mentioned, and represented, like the simple vowels, by a figured ortho* graphy and English corresponding soimds. These anomalous combinations are so called, because they come under no particular rule for their respective formation, and yet, for the t^ake of system and conve- nience, they may be properly divided into six distinct, classes, which, in practice, can be made to serve a very extensive purpose, namely : 1st. CM, eti, eue, eut, ceufs, enfs, ceud, ceuds, eux, (BUy (tux, are each sounded as e, not accented, is in mono- syllable words, in French, still longer; that is, each com- bination has the same sound in kind, but different in length, as in jedne^ bleue, bcevfs, jeux, neufs, (sufs, nceuds, vcbux, &c., wherein the combination is lung; and as in jen, pent, (II) bceuf, nevf, ceuf, nceud, V(su, &c., wherein it is short. In the example of the long combinations, all the final PRONUNCIATION OF THE consonants are silent, and in the example of the short combinations," / only is sountled full. But, by exception, which must be familiar to every one, ew, cue, eus, cut, efd, are each sounded hke the French u single, whenever they occur in the various tenses of the verb avoir, to have, as in — feus, il cut, &c. In the first syllable of the whole imperfect of the indi- cative mood of the verb faire, and in the first syllable of faisant, fftisons, (nous) at is sounded like c, not accented, as in — je fnisais, tu /(dsais, il faisuity nou faisionSy vousfaisiezy ilsfaisoient. Likewise, in the penullimay or middle syllables of the same tenses and persons of all the following verbs, com- pounded o^ faire, &c., that is, defaire, refaire, contre- faire, forfairc, par faire, mtisfaire, surf aire, at is sound- ed like e, not accented. 2d. at (single) er, ez, in final syllables, especially of verbs, are each sounded like e, acute accented, as in gai, geai, mat, quai, pnrlai, (je) parler, parlez, (vous), &c., except in QCotai,dai, balai, brai, Chambrai^ deblai, malai, delai, etai, essai, frai, lai, mine? ai, remblai, vraiy wherein ai is sounded like e, grave accented. In whatever syllable it may occur, ey is sounded like i, acute accented, as in Dey, Belley, Leyssard, JVey, Sid- ney, Leyde, Virey, Volney, &c. Likewise, eigh is sounded like e, acute accented, in the English word sleigh, adopted in French. Likewise, ai is sounded like e, acute accented, in the English word railroad, now adopted in French, wherein / and d has each its natural articulation full. 3d. ai, ei, in the beginning or middle of words, are each sounded like i, grave accented, as in aimer, aime, faire, saigner, saignee, neiger, neige, peine, ireize, seigneur^ &c., except in words wherein ai or ei is articulated in conjunction with m or n, in the final syllables of nasals, as exemplified under that appellation. Again, by exception, ai or ei, before / liquid, has a double sound, partaking of that of each individual vowel of that diphthong, {ai or ei) as in travail, travailkr, so* leil,9omeil, &c. KRENCH LAIV0UA8E. i9 'ire. contre- Likewise, by exception, et immediately after eu and gUy is sounded very nearly like e, not accented, as in accueil, ecuetl, cercueilf accueillir^ auillir, orgueilf &c. Likewise, ei is sounded like e, not accented, in (Biig, aillet, and in their derivatives. In whatever syllable it may occur, ay is sounded like ^, grave accented, as in Lay, Layrac, LayssaCy Cambray^ Margnay, Tremblay, Tournay, &c. Likewise, e, not accented, when followed by, and in conjunction with b, c, f, g, /, m, n, r, s, t, x, takes the sound of i, grave accented, as in Caleb* echec, chef, legs, del, Jerusalem, amen, jufep, mer, espoir, fourcheite, sexe, bucy the final consonant following e being articulated full. ■ Likewise, e, not accented, in conjunction with s or i, final, that is, es, ei, final, (e^only in monosyllables words,) are each sounded like S, grave accented, as in mes, iesy ses, cadei, jouei, paquet, &c., except the copulative con- junction et, which is invariably sounded like e, acute ac- cented, the letter t being always silent. Likewise, ois, oii, oient, (or ais, ait, aient, according to Voltaire's Orthography in the inflexions of verbs,) are each sounded like S, grave accented, when it occurs in the final syllables oC verbs in the imperfect tense of the indicative mood, and in the present of the conditional or potential mood, as in — ']e fimssots, tu finissois, il finiS" soil, ils Jini^soient ; . as in — je finirois, tu HniroiSy il finiroit, Wsfiniroient, &c. 4>th. at, aie, ais, ait, aix, ot, are each sounded like ^, circumflex accented, as in maUre,haie,frais, trait paiXf connoitre, &c., except ais, ait, when they occcr in the final syllable of verbs, wherein each is sounded like i, grave accented. 5th. oi* in the initial, medial, or final syllables of the * Several French Lexicographers give to the diphthong ei the sound of oa, which, on being mentioned here, the learner wiil b« at leif ure to foUotr. But, on account of some analogy, and for lh« sake of uniformitj, 1 have preferred adopting the sound of oi, whitk is more in accordance with general practice, and with tht Proi9iRc« ing Dictionary of the French Academy. fta PllONUNCIATION OP THE generality of words, eppecially in proper and roinmon names, and pronouns, isisounded like o<^, as in voicypoiSf voiXf &.C', excc|)t in the inflexions of verbs. In a few other words, besides the inflexions in the tenses and moods of verbs, as already mentioned, oi is Bounded like e, grave accented, as in foible, aJj'uiOlir, frangois, framboise, roicie, roideur, ik,c. In the pennltima of verbs ending with oiire, in the in- flnitivc mood present, ai is sounded like ed from the sudden start of the mouth and lips, in their arti- culation ; 3d, into sibilent consonants, as c, f, g, h, j, *, V, X, z, so denominated on account c^ the sharp hissing sound produced in their articulation. These are more 92 PRONUNCIATION OF THE '5 1 numerous and more frequently employed in languages of difficult pronunciation. The consonants of the French alphabet are further di- vided, and recognized into two other principal classe.^, that is — 1st, into double consonants, as bb, dd, cc, JT, gg, II, mm, nn, pp, rr, ss, it ; 2d, into compound conson* ants, as — bl, br, ch, cr, chr, cl, dr, fl, gh, frr, U, nd, f^Si ^*> ^^ ^Pi ^*> P^y P^h P^^y P^i P^i P^j P^i P^f re, rd, rt, th, sb, sc, sch, scr, sh, sqr, sp, sph, spl, sq, it, sir, ir, vr. There are, again, lingual consonants, — so called, be- cause their articulation is executed more especially by the various motions and positions of the tongue ; they are four in number, that is — d, I, n, i. From the foregoing exposition, it is easy to perceive that the double consonants consist, each, in the doubling of the same consonants ; and that the compound conson- ants consist, each, of the combination of two or several consonants of different kinds, but which would be of no particular use to exemplify in this place. Both the double and compound consonants partake each of the specific sound of tho simple individual con- sonants which enter into their respective combination, and is easily learned by practice and observation. All simple consonants are occasionally doubled in French, except h, j, k, q, v, x, z, which never doubte ; neither do the other consonants double when immediately preceded by a long vowel, simple or compound^ or a diphthong, or a triphthong, or a nasal, except r and s, which sometimes deviate from this general rule, as in barre^ carriire, eniasser, endosser, &c., and in the word manne, meaning the manna of the desert, wherein a is long, whereas a is short in manne, meaning basket. But words terminating with isse arc excepted to this last ex- ception, as in ecrevisse, pelisse^ reslisse, ^arcisse, Piiho- nisse, &c., wherein, according to the general rule, st is preceded by a short vowel. Consonants are chiefly doubled immediately before a, e, 1} as in abbi, abesse, umsaon^ &c., and occasionally VRENCH LANGUAGE. 53 I languages of »re further di- iIcIa8seK<,tliat ^> f ^> /» ggj 3und conson* I, fyr, //, nd, , pr, ps, pt, sph^ splj sg, called, be- specially by le J they are r to perceive the doubling und conson- o or several lid be of no nts partake vidua! con- ombination, ion. doubled in ver double ; mmediately )und; or a t r and *, rule, 28 in the word herein a h Bket. But is last ex- fse, Piiho. rule, 9t is ?ly before CBsionalty before o, w, y, as in korreur, rixtsm, J^yssa, Odyssee, Vlysse, &c. Consonants never double in French, when final, except in billy sherijf\poll ihree words borrowed from theEnglish. When initial, the consonants are generally articulated, in French, as (he same are in English, with the general exception that it is commonly the reverse with the letter h, which is generally mute in the former and aspirated in the atter. When final, the consonants are generally not articu- lated in French, especially d, g, A, p, s, t, x, z; un- less the next word, not separated by any punctuating mark, begins with a vowel or h mute, except c, /, /, r, which are most generally articulated, when final, as in bee, fief, duel, parloir, &c. But the letter / is ex- cepted to this last exception, in the words clef, cerf, chefd'CRUvre, cerfvolant, wherein It is silent. Every consonant is articulated full whenever it is con- joined to a final e, not accented, as in coniente, vaine, &c. When final, the consonants are each generally sounded full on the next word, when, not being separated by any punctuating mark, it begins with a vowel or A mute, as in vous et moi, eux et nous, grand honneur, bel homme, &c. In such cases, d has the sound of /, and « and x that of z. So is the sound of s between two vowels, as in bise, crtsen extravaser, hasard, &c. The rule of sounding the final consonant of a word on the next one, when it begins with a vowel or A mute, is observed in reading and speaking the French, for the sake of the softness and harmony of the pronunciation of that language. But^" and v are never final. M orn final, in a nasal, is generally not sounded on the next word, as most other consonants are, when it begins with 4 vowel or A mute, as in — le nom et le pronom, le bien et le mal, la nation et la souverain. But this rule Bufiers many exceptions, especially when the final nasal ii the final of an adjective word. As a general rule, a double consonant is articulated like fi single one of the kind full, as in accuser, assembUe, PRONUNCIATION OF THE &.C.J except rr, which is opt to deviate from this rule, as in horreur, irraisonahle, irrUaiion, mourrai, verrai (jp) &c. ; whereas, in douhle vowels, each simple vowel is generally sounded. . The preceding observations lead to the distinction of two kinds o{ h ; that is, the mnte and aspirated h. II is mute when it is silent, or not pronouneed on the following vowel, as in cnkot, herbe^ hisfoire, homme^ honneur, humeu?', humanile, &c., wherein h is mute or silert. H is aspirated when it ia pronounced with a^iration on the following vowel, producing a gutteral sound, as in /mine, cahos, hameau, herauH, honte, homard, houlette, houri, hune, huppe, &c., wherein h is aspirated, fts in the English words hair, horn^ horse, &.c. In French, the letter h is generally mute in words ad- opted or derived from the Greek, Hebrew, or Latin, as in herbe, hygiene, humain, homo gene, heierogrne, &c., wherein h is silent, except in cahos, hcros, hernie, her- niaire, wherein it is aspirated, although h is mute in he- roine and in hero'ique, and in their derivatives. H final is always mute, in French as in English, as in ah, bah, eh, ch,pouah, &c. C before a, d, u, I, r, /, is always articulated like k, as in calcul, cordon, cure, clem, cru, sanctificaiion, &c. C, final, immediately preceded by a vov^el, is also ar- ticulated like k, as in bec^ croc, hnmac, public, sue, &c., except m arsenic, almanac, broc, crocs, (whiskers,) esto- mac, entrelacs, lacs, tabac, wherein c (jnal is silent. T. in the middle of words and before ia, ie, ieu, ieux, ?C7i, ion, especially in adjectives ending with tial and iteux, generally has the hissing sound of c, as in — initia- tive, aristocrat ie, faciieux, faction^ capiieuxt &c., except in bestialile, bestiaux, eucharisiie^hostie, garantie, jpartie, sympathie, galimatias, gratias,Malthieu, tiers, digestion, mixtion, &c., and generally whenever / is preceded by s or X, when it has its natural sound full. To finish our general observations on the simple and double consonants of the Freach alphabet, it remains only to mi liquii A and mouti L,\ serve I L )m this rule, irrai, verrai simple vowel dislinction of edh. unecd on the mcj honime^ h is mute or ith a^iration sound, as in r. BY JEAN B. MEILLEUR5 M. D. AUTHOR OF A TREATISE ON CHEMISTRY, AND OF A NEW ENG- LISH GRAMMAR, FOR THE USE OF THK CANAUIAN YOUTH ; MEMBER OF SEVERAL LEARNED SOCIETIES ; AND FORMERLY LECTURER ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE FRENCH LAN- QUAGE IN DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, HANOVER, N.U., &C. &G. " If ons understand the French, it is no great recommendattsii t» bim ; but, if he do not, it In a shame." . • iHontreal r : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN LOVELL, ^ 8T. NICHOLAS STREET, AND FOR SALE AT THE DIFFERENT BOOK STORES. 184L I Wi Th theF Boum thus: ViMl FRENCH ALPHABET. The sound or ai ticulatioii of each individual letter of the French Alphabet, constitutes its very name ; and the sound of each letter of this alphabet may be represented thus : — •^ — aw. B — bey, C — sey, D — dey, E^-ey. G^zjey, I — ee, J — zjee, K — kaw* L—ell, JhT— tnif^^ JV*— €nii, P-^pey. Q—kuh. R • tirr» S — e»«. T^tey. V — vey," X — eex Y — eegreek, Z- — zed. 4 r^ « 1 . 1 . ■ f;„' • t • THE 1 . ,'..'■ , " . t • Inih \tl- jj ''"-,. ' . " ( V ' ^B -' . • ' ' f *" * -. ■""■'' ' ^ - • soun hat, long mdn A V ■' ■ ' ■ \- ■'■' ♦ ■ ' ■ ■■ 1 » > like ton, thesi A fore Hai (ace &c. Ii ofte wor ',:i \ : »'- « PART II. THE FRENCH ALHHABET ANALYSED. CHAPTER ni. In this Chapter all the Letters of the French Jllphabet are considered, each one separately^ in an alphabeti- cal order, as representing all the vocal sounds, ar- ticulate and inarticulate, with the rules of their individual articulation and practical irregularities, exemplified. *5 — awhf the first letter of the French alphabet, has two sounds ; that is, 1st, short, or like a in the English word hat, as in date, menage, patte, tache, Paris, &c. ; 2d, long, or like a in the English word hall, as in dne, mdnes, pdte, tache, Pdris, &e. j1 is silent in jioCit, aotiter, aoideron, acniste, SaOna, SaOne, saoul, saouler, taon, which words are pronounced like otit, otiter, otderon, oriste, S6na, S6ne, sod, sottlir, ton, bearing in mind to observe the French articulation in these as well as in all other examples in this chapter. A is generally silent when occurring immediately be- fore i, followed by m or n nasal, in the same word, as in etaim, faim, pain, sain, ik,c. which are pronounced, (according to French sounds,) like etin, fin, pin^ sin, &c. In these words, it is with regard to the letter a, as it is oftentimes elsewhere with regard to other letters in other words, it is preserved, (and not pronounced,) only to in- G 'I 62 PRONUNCIATION OP THE dicate the etymology of words, so as to keep the original sense which they had in the ridical language* But a is pronounced in aoj'te, extj'aordinnire, chiaoux, bezoard^ croasser, inchoatif, aerer, aire, aerien, aerieriy airiforme^ aerographie, aerologie, aelile^ aeromancie, aeromitre^ aerometrie, aerostat, aerostutique, ^od^ Pharaon ; and when doubledjthe letter a is doubly sounded, as in *^ador, Aarov,, Aag, Ckfinaan, Balaam, Isaac, Maacha, &c. A is omitted in la, (definite article or personal pro- noun, ^miw^,) before a word which begins with a vowel or h mute, and this omission is indicated by an apos- trophe (' ) as in Vdme, V /tome lie, voire lettre etoit inte- rissanie, etje Vai lue avec ptaisir, &c. A, conjoined with t, final, generally indicates a dignity, or a profession, as in — apostolat, episcopat, cardinolat, avocat, doctoral, ronsulat, &c., wherein a is short, and t is silent, as well as in all words terminating in jicat, as in certificai, pontijicat, &c. The occurrence of three following ,7's in three follow- ing words, should be avoided in the same sentence, other- wise it would make a kind o{ hiatus, as in the following : il va d Amiens, et de Id d Arras, &c. . ■ a , . B. B — bey, the second letter of tlio nlphnbet, whether in- itial, medial, or final, is generally nrticnlatod full, as in — bon, bien, radoub, romb or runi')^ cbdiiruer, abdication, abnegation, obtenir, svhiile, suhiiliic. substance, sub- stantif, subvention, &.c«, except in (ip'antb, plomb, where- in b is silent. B, in proper naFnes, i^^ always artiiwlit'^l full, as in — Caleb, Jacob, Job, Joab, Colomb, Aloah, he B, doubled, is articulalcd like a ^il 11 V b, as in abbe, abbesse, rabbin, rabbinage, rabbiniquc. sablat, &c. \ - €. C — sey, the third letter of tlie r/p?\ .iot, has three sounds, that is, ls^, c is articulated Ike /'. when occur- FRENCH LANGUAGE. 63 ring immediately before «, o, m, /, r, /, in the same word, as in — calrul, caisse, cordon, come, ccetir, curi,curievx, cloitre, clou, cru, lucre, cruaute, convict, ^pyniciides, exact f/ uclijication, sanciijicdiion, succinct , &c., cxcejit in amict, aspect, chconspect, prefect, respect, instinct, wherein both c and t are silent, and e has the sound o{ i, grave accented. C, final, immediately preceded by a vowel, is generally articulated like k, as in — agaric^ croc, ammoniac, bifstec, comae, choc, bee, echec, hamac, estoc, stuc, lac, public, rassac, sue, puc, tac, tic, toe, See, except arsenic, ac- croc, almanac, broc, eric, crocs, (whiskers,) cchccs, cn- relacs, lacs, estomac, tabac, wherein c is silent. Likewise, in the preposition avec, c is silent before a word which begins with a consonant or aspirated h, as in — avec nous, avec honte, &,c., wherein c is silent and c is sounded like e, acute accented. Every where else c in the word avec is articulated like k, and to lengthen the word, avec is sometimes written avecgue, in poetry. C, final, in proper names, is also articulated like k, as well as in common words, as in jSsiruc, Luc, Habbacuc, Henoc, Isaac, &c. C, when occurring before e, i, y, (with or without accent on the first,) is articulated like s, as in cHcbre, ceci, cidre, cygne, scythe, &c. Likewise, c, with a cedilla ( , ) under it, and before a, 0, u. is articulated like s, as in — ga, facade, fa^on, legon, pe?'gu, regu, sgavoir, &c. In verbs ending with cevoir, in the infinitive mood present, to soften the articulation of c, we place a cedilla under it, whenever it is followed by o or u, as in regois, regus, (je) Sec. C is articulated like g in second, secondaire, secon- dairement, v j C, final, preceded by another consonant, is generally silent, as in — blanc, clere, banc, franc, jonc, marc, pore, tronc, Sec, except jfranc, when immediately followed by a word which begins with a vowel or h mute, as in—- ft. 111 1 w\ Gil. PRONUNCIATION OF THE frnnc-nleUy franc-arbifre, franc-homma gCy &c., and pore, before ^pic, as in pore-epic. Likewise, by exception, c, final, is always articulateil like k in arc, buscy done, Marc, (St,) muse, pare, lure, zinc. — In the copulative or conclusive conjunction done^ c final is articulated, to distinguish, by the articulation, that word from do7n, don, and du7it, Cis chiefly doubled in words which begin with ac and or, as in — accident, aceise, acelamation, accuser, aecti- sation, ocease, occasion, Occident, etc., except in acacia academie, acajou, acaridtre, oca, ocean, ocu hire, oculist e, and their derivatives. C, doubled, is articulated like a single c, as in the pre- ceding wordsj wherein It is doubled* CH. Ch has (wo artfculations, that is, one harsh, or like A-, and one soft, or like sh in the English word shame, &c. 1st. C, initial or meilial, is generally articulated like k before a, a, u, I, m, n, r, t, in words either adopted or derived from Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, as in — archangc, archaisme, eucharistie, trochanter ; anachorctc, archontc, conchdide, inchoatif, chorion, chonir, choree ; cnthcchu- nUne, ischurie, cholidochus ; chlamyde, chlore, chlorid:, chlorose, hypomochlion ; brachmane,tHradrachme,(cy.ce\)\ drachmc, wherein ch is silent,) arachnoade, ichneumon, technique, lychnis, strychnos,pyrotcchnie ; chrisiianisme, chronologie, chrysalide; ichtyologie,ichtyophage, yacht, etc., except in chaine, chair, chaire, charite, chaland, chaleur, charbon, charanqon, chaloupe, chambre, chnmcis, champ, chanoine, chant, cha7\ echarde, charme, charnci, choc, chopper, Richmond, Utrecht, Pacha, Schah, and their derivatives, wherein ch is articulated like ih, in the English word shame. The preceding rule is applicable to proper names, as well as to common words, as in Chaldh, Cham, Cha- naaii, Zacharie ; Jfechao, Issachar ; Jechonias, Jericho, Ochosias ; ^nliochus, Chuquisaca, Chus, Inachus, Mal- chuSy Massachusetts J &c.j wherein ch is articulated like A'. ., and pore f articulated pare, iurc, iction done, irliculation, ,vith ac and :us€j; uccu- t in acacia re, oculisie, in the pre- , or like k, \ame, &f. a ted like k adopted or archangc, arc/i07)1c, cnikcchu- chlorid:, ne, (except cAneumon, siianisme, ge, yachf, chaland, , cAnmcis, charncl, :hah, and sh, in the names, as am, Cha' , Jericho, \us, Mai- ted like k. FRENCH language;. 65 Chy final, is also articulated like A:, as in ietechy lochy varechf Darmcnach^ Jiupuchf Henoch^ Lamechy March (St.) Mclthisedech; JMosoch, Rosbach, Mu- nichy &.C., except in almanachy wherein ch is silent, and in punch and in Auchy wherein ch is articulated like ah, 'id. Chy when ocrnrring before ^, e, ?', o, t/, V^ /irticu- lated like s//, (in the English word ^kamcj \n a )rds com- ing from the Gallic languii'ife, as n cn/n'sr. thai '•«', chemise^ chincy chf.valy chijfony chican'j^ .'Ao?;.'W ^' D, D — Dey, the fourth letter of the alphabet, when final and preceded by n, is articulated like t before a vowel or h mute, as in grand amiy grand homme ; quand il ar- rive, il S€ ripand en injures ; il apprend a lire, il ri- G i GG PIIONUN'CIATION OF THE pond en muUre, &(:., except nfond, blond, fond, plafond, pro fond, rond, Dcsfonds, wherein r/ is silent. D, final, preceded by r, iiu, by some, snbnnilted lo the preceding rule, but is generally silent or not articulated, as in egard, lord,nord, pcrd {W) Richard, Bcdard, &c., ther-e two rules being applicable to proper names, as well as to common words. D, finnl, preceded by a vowel, single or compoun<), is always silent in common worll^", as in Lied, pied, sied (il) coudepied, iripicd, wherein e preceding d is sounded like e, acute accented ; as in pcrd (il) verd, wherein e pre- ceding d ia sounded like e, grave accented ; ns in laid, plaid, wherein ai is sounded like ^1*,' E, not accente.l, when final in monosyllable words, or in the beginning of any v/ord and preceded by a conso- nant, has the sound represented under its name fuW, as in que, te, demande, pcsce, tStc. But at the end of polysyl- lable words, whether it is joined with s final or not, it is then generally no more sounded than e finni in the Eng- lish vvoi'd name, as in — dme, honte, manes, &c., except in qu(lque,quoiqti€,vf\\evc'\f\ e final has its natural sound full. In verbsendinpin ger, (in ihcinfinitive mood present,) and in a few other ^vords, e is placed after g, to soften the articulation of that letter, whenever it is followed by a or o, as in — mangeant, manjeai, mnngeois, (je) man* geoient (ils,) bourgeois, &c., wherein e is silent. Ei not accented, is sounded like the French a, short, in some words, before ?n or n, as in — indcmniscr, Jemnty ■1fl i: 68 PRONUNCIATION OF THE hennir, solennel, &c. In many other words, when si- milarly situated, e has the sound of the (French) nasal an, as in emboiter, emmener^ empire, temporel, enivrer, ennoblir, pensif, S^c. ' ' Ef not accented, when occurring before .7? or w, has the sound of the (French) nasal m, in the following word*, as in — Memphis, memphite, Memphremagogue, extem/jore, semper, sempitcrnam, sempiternel, pensum, sensorium, Benjoin, Benjamin, Rhuben, Mentor, Mendez, bemoiqve, memento, appendice, mementum, examen, copendium, retentum, omentum, E, not accented, when preceded by i, «, y, and before n, ns, nt, has, likewise, the sound of the (French) nasal in, as in — Canadien, rien, sien, siens, tient, (^\\) euro- peen, manicheen, citoyen, moyen, &c., except in audience, conscience, experience, impatience, patience, impatient, impaiienter, inconvenient, omniscience, omniscient, orient, patient, &c., and in their derivatives, whereid en, ens, ent, are each sounded like the (Fn^nch) nasal an. But e, not accented, occurring before s in the second person singular, and before nt in the third person plural of verbs, is always silent, as in — tu aimes, donn€s,hc., ilsaiment, donnent, finissent, conjient, avoient, prient, &c. E, not accented, in adverbs of quality, formed by ad- ding the syllable ment to the feminine gender of the ad- jective, oftentimes becomes e, acute accented, before ment, as in — conformiment, commvnement, confusement, enormement, expressement, import unement, impunement, opiniatrement, obscurement, profondement, precisement, profusement, &c. E, not accented, is sounded like e, acute accented, in bled, clef, chef-d''ceuvre, pied, trepied, sied (il), d and / being silent, and in the first syllable of memento, memen- tum, memorandum, jejunum, semen, specimen ; in are, ave-maria, angelus, ave-maris-steUa, benedicite habeas, confiieor, credo, deprofundis, miserere, regina-cali, salve- regina, oremits, orate-fratt es, pax- te- cum, agnus-deiy kirie-eleison, chnste-eleison, ie-deum, and these other Latin expressions : cceteris, ecce homo, ad-interim, interim^ the Sez FRENCH LANGUAGE. 69 y when sl- 3ftch) nasal ?/, enivrer, ? or 71, has ving word«, , extempore, sensorium, , dejizoiqve, ^opendiurriy and before nch) nasal ', (il) euro' 1 audience, impatient, ml, orient, id en, ens, an. But )nd person 1 of verbs, Us aiment, c. jpd by ad- of ihe ad- id, before fusement, lunement, ^cisement, cented, in , d and f i memen- ; in are, e habeas, ?/?, salve' gnus-dei, 3se other , interim^ veto, vade, vaae-me-cvm, veni-me-cvm, veni-suncte, duo- denum, exeat, eledrnm, eluiernin, museum, hine-ijua- non, mille-folium, nemine-conira diccnie, ipse-dixit, epi- tome, veto^ extempore, pro- tempore, &,c. E, not accented, is sounded like e, acute accented, in the following proper names in Geography ; that is, in — Sezem'o, Puebla, lUo-nogro, Gceieborg, Ducro, Limerick, Popoca-Tepett, Vcnczuella, Vcra-cruz. Vera, Vera- gun, VerapaZf Yemen, Zanguebar, Susquthaniiuh, arui in the llrst syllable of Meier, Petersbourg, Wcner, Weser, Weter, E, not accented, in conjunction with a or o, before a consonant, is sounled like c, acute accented, as in — JEgcrie, wdipe^ Phccbus, Gaicborg, &c., except when in conjunction with w («5u) as in caur, saur^ wherein ecu is sounded Id'e c, not accented, or like the English e in her. E, not accented, doubled in ihe \\m'i\spleen, is sounded like the (French) letter i, wherein n final has its full ar- ticulation ; thus, according to the French sounds, pro- nounce spline, so it is in the proper names — Green, Ha- berdeen. Peel,. Queen, Queenston, and in meeting, S^c, E, not accented, in tlie demonstrative adjective cet, used before a v'owel or h mute, for the masculine gender, has its natural sound, that is, like e in the English word her, and t final is also articulated full, as in — ctt ormeau, cet hommc, &,c. Ey not accented, before r ovz final,is generally sounded like c, acute iiccented, especially in verbs, ns in aimer, donner, aimez, donnez (vous,) asscz, chez, Icz, nez, rez, sonncz, biez^ Seez &c., wherein r and z are sileiit, ex- cept in the following words. Ey not accented, is soufided like e, grave accented, in llie final syllable of amer, aster, belveder, cancer, cuiller, crs, cher, enfcr, fcr, ether, hier hiver, fur, iter, mer, seinpcr, rever, ver, envers, divers, isomer, vers, per- vers, trochanter, pariter, iinivcrs, quakcr, concert, des- sert, sers Qe), sert (\\), pc7'd (ie), convcrs, desert, chrCj nerfs, cerf, trailers, verd, pcrd (i\), vert, pater, pat er- nosterj stabat-matcr^ irarci's, &.c.j wherein the letter r is li 70 PRONUNCIATION OP THE "%: articulated full, and c, d, f, s, t are silent and pro- duce no alteration in the final sound or articulation. JSJ, not accented, before r final, is generally sounded like e, acute accented, in proper French names, as well as in common words, as in — Berenger, Bcrthicr, Cu- vier, Poitiers, Viger, Granger, &c., weerein r final is silent, except in the following names, E, not accented, is sounded ^, grave accented, in — •^ger, Dnieper, Esther, Exefer, Gomer, Jupiter, Jasper, Jenner, Lavater, Leinster, Lucifer, Luther, Omer, Pros- per, &c., antl generally in all other proper names which take their origin from foreign languages, especially from the German, as in Bender, Kimber, Schcejfcr, &c., whertnn the letter r is articulated full. E, preceded by x, is never accented, but is always soundeil like ^, grave accented, as in excitaiion, exciter, excellence, excellemment, exceller, &c. E, not accented, when preceded by and in conjunc- tion with b, c,f, g, p, r, s, t, x, takes the sound of e grave accented, as in — Caleb, echec, chef, legs, del, julep, mer, espoir, fourchette, sexe, &C.5 the consonant following being always articulated full. E, not accented} preceded by s or / final, in mono- syllable words, is sounded like e, grave accented, as in — mes, teSi ses, cadtt, jouet, paquet, &c., except the copu- lative conjunction e/, which is invariably sounded like e, acute accented, the letter t being always silent. E, not accented, is sounded like e, grave accented, in Cortez, Mendez, RhodeZy Suez, wherein z final has the sound of 5. E) not accented, becomes ?, circumflex accented, in those words wherein, formerly, it was followed by s, to render clon^ or broad, as in — eveqae,foret, tempHe,iele &c., which were formerly spelt evesquej forest, tempeste^ teste, &c., wherein s is silent. E, not acceriteet when final, is omitted before a word v^^bich (not being spp;«rated by any punctuating mark) begins with a vowel or h mute, in the following words, that is — ce, dc, cntre, jc, jusgue, le, me, ne, se, te, FRENCH LANGUAGE. 71 ind pro- on. sounded , as well i/cr, Cu- r final is ted, in — '•j Jasper, er, Pros- ics which ally from fcTi &c., is alwavs I, exciter, conjunc- )und of i gSi del, onsonant lin mono- , as in — he f opu- |cd like c, ?nted, in il has the »ntod, in hy Sy to fete, Hie fempesle^ a word »g mark) |g words, se, ie, quelque, qud as in — c*€st de vous, celui (Tenrre vous, enir^autres choses, fen ai, jusgu^d vous, Vhomme rtCe- tonne, n^honarez que la vertu, s^nivrer de delices, je suis las de Vattendre,quelqu''vn me dit celd^qu'cn pnuez-iovs i &c.) except in huit, huitieme, onzconzUme, oui, which admit no omission of e in the word le; thus, we say : le huit, le huitieme jour, le onze, le onzieme de la classes le out et le non* We must say : donnez rn^en, and not donnez moi-s-en, as is too often said hy ihe common poople. E, not accented? when fsnal, especially when preceded (meantime) by another vowel in the same word, gene- rally indicates the feminine gender in nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, as in — braie* haine, honte, ivraie, moruey patrie, cousine, medicine, capote, ortie, soie, elle, celle, cette, laquelle, contente, gentille,franqaise,fraiche, seche, 8lc., except, as for the nouns, ennoie, foie, genid parelie, incendie, and the proper names, in general, as — jJnanie, Brodie, Majendie^ Messie, Malachie, Machalee, Tobie, Zacharie, Zachee, &c., ^^hich are of the masculine gender ; and except, as for the pronouns and adjectives, que, quelque, me, ie, $«, noire, volre^ nOtre, vOtre, which are of both genders, (matjculine and remi- nine,) and ce and le, which arc of the masculine gender only. .: £ often doubles, and, in such cnses, the first c is gene- rally acute accented, and the second, when final, is mute, and indicates the feminine gender, as \n~- anne', arrivec, cornee, diarrhee, dinee, denree, entree, idea ^ jour nee, pen- see, panacee, tranchee. Sic, except apogee, afhee, aihe" nee, boree, caducee, coree or choree, coriacee, camea brnchypnee, dialthee, dichoree, cephee, cohjsce, coryphee, elysee, gynecee, prytanee,trophee, timee, yankee, hymenee, lycee, musee, mausolee, odyssee, jjygince, peri gee , pcrinee, solee, scarabee, and generally the proper names, ua Egee, Eliste, Enie, Machabee, Micce, J^ene, Per see, Proih^cy Thesee, Timie^ &c., which are of the masculine gender* E, when doublcJ, has the first acute accented, and the second generally not accented, and in this case, when in 72 FnONUNCIATTON OF THE conjiinclion with n final, it is sounded like the (French) nasal tn, as in — ckaldeen, europeen, galilecnj nnzarecn^ Te"cenSj &,c., except cree, crece, and meeting and spleen, wherein c is not accented and gives no nayal sound. E, accented, is never followed by any double conson- ant, as in — ediU, ichevelt, H^tc, dhisier, depit, sh'i'r^ ipicc, epure, egare, eloigne, &c., nor is any long accented vowel ever followed by any double consonant, as in pdiejetc, gtle,(ipoire,flMe,^c, .::>/■''. F. '■■■:'.: p — eff^ the sixth letter of the alphabet, whether initial or final, is generally articulated full, as in — actif, atfcnUf, c/ietif, sheriff, expressif ^ familierif%on, future nef^ ncrj, bcBuf, neufi ccuf, serf, tvf, &,c., except in the following word?. F i silent in — clef, chcf-d'^esuvre, cerf volant, nerf- ferure,(\n the first syllable only) appreniif, baillif and in (the plural number of) bccufs, neufs, wvfs,nerfs; like- wise in eteuf in poetry only, and in ccrf, according to some, whether singular or plural. F, final, before a vowel or h mute, is articulated like V, as in — chdif 0.ne, chetif homme, ncuf aunes, neyf hommes, he. But, before a consonant or h aspirated, /is silent in the numeral adjective neuf, as nenf soldafs, neuf MroSi &c. F is doubled, 1st, in words which begin with ef, dif, of, suf, bouf, as in effort, difficile, office, svffire, suffisant, bouffon, &r. ; 2d, in words which begin with af, souf, as in affaire, affronty souffler, souffrir, &tc., except in afilager, afin, nfinque, Afrique, africai7i, afiourme, afis- toler, sovfrerj and in their derivatives, wherein / is not doubled. F, doubled, is alwaya articulated like /, single, as in affre, affreux, afftit^ &c., which, (according to French sounds,) pronounce — dfre, afreii^ afti, &c. e (French) , nnzarcen^ and spleen, Dund. le conson- '■pity sH'ir^ ig accented ant; as in Jther initial '/, oUcniif, ', nef, ncrj, e following lant, ncrf- lillifj and icrfs; like- cording to ulated like ines, nevf aspirated, uf soldafs, th ef, dif, , suffisant, af, souf, except ill urme, afis- i f is not igle^ as in to French tRENCH T,ANGUAGE. 73 G — zjey, initial or medial, before «, o, ti, A, r, hat % harsh or hard articulation, as in — aigrrte, garde, ffateau, gonin, gorge, gorgone, guhr, ^gur^ gximene, gulturalf Ghela, Ghilan, Borghes, Borghi, grave^ gros, grue, gri, grive, grSle, and in Gi and Gessner. G, final, preceded by another consonant, is generally eilefit, as bourg, faubourg, ourang-ovtang, dang, gin^ Seng, hareng, oing, pnrpaing, rang, schelling, sang, wing, &c., except in — kudings, meeting, :in(i ponding, (three masculine words, borroweil from the English,) wherein ng is articulated in a rather soft manner, to dis- tinguish, by the final sound, ponding from poudingue, which has a very different menning. Agaifi, by exception, g, final, is articulated like k in long, rang, sang, before a vowel or k mute, as in — long espace^ long hamegon, rang eleve, rang honorable, sang august e, song humain, &c. G, final, preceded by another consonant, in proper names, is generally silent, as in — Brandebtmrg, Castaing, Duisbourg, Durenberg, Edinbourg^ PeUrsbovrg, Mar- coing, Strasbourg, &c., except Bhering, Kingston, Long island, Temiscaming, wherein g and n are articu- lated, but in a rather soft manner. Some omit the articulation of g- in the word bourg, and others articulate this letter in the same word like k in every case. Likewise, some omit the articulation of g in the words legs, prelegs, and some articulate this letter nccording to its natural articulation, s being silent in every case. But it is generally conformable to common practice not to articulate the letter g in the word bourg, and give to it a full articulation in the words legs, prelegs, s being al- ways silent. * The names oC g and of^ are each articuintcd like t in the English word mtamre ; that is, by throwing oiT the found of d from the £n|Ush utterance of each name. H 7* PUONUNCIATION OF THfi m f G, before another conionant, especially before m, is generally articulated full, as in bourgmestre, apophihegme, pygme, enigme, amygdale, amygdalmdey segment^ iig^ mo'idey stygmates, stygmatise, progncj synallagmatique^ fragment^ Bagdad, JSTicogdoche, phlegmagogue, phleg' masiey phlegmatigue, pyrolignitey phlegmon, phlegmO' neux, phenigme, eclegmei dogme, dogmatique, impregna- iioriy &c., and their derivatives, except in signcy signa- iure, impregner, assignation, &c., and in doigt, pmngty vingt, vingti^me, vingiiemement, Magdelaine, Moingty wherein g- is always silent. .. G, final, preceded by a vowel, is always articulated full, as xn—joug, legs, prelegs, Agag, Beleg, Phaleg, Siceleg, Magog, Zug, Sec. G, before c, e, e, S, %, y, (there being no u inlervening,) is articulated like the (French) letter j, as in gelie, gi- meau, homogine, gSner, gihet, gymnase, &c. In verbs ending with ge?', in the infinitive mood pre- •ent, and in a (ew other words, to preserve a soft articu- lation of the letter g, e, not accented, is placed imme- diately after it, whenever it (g) is followed by a, o, as in mangeai, mangeois, (je) mangeons, plong^ons, (nous) bourgeois, &c., wherein e, not accented, is silent, and g is articulated like j on the letters a and a. G, before u, has a harsh or hard articulation on the vowel following the letter u, which, in this case, is not sounded, but serves only to give a harsh sound to g on a, e, e, i, o, as in — legua, legue (il) guSrir, gtiipe, Ugu- ons (nous) 8cc., wherein u is not sounded and g is arti- culated harshly on a, e,e, ^, i, 0, and pronounce (ac- cording to French sounds lega, leghe, gherir, ghiepey ghider, ligcns, &c., except in ambigu'e, cigue, ambi- guite, coniigue, exigu'e, exiguitc, guahex, aiguiy ai- guille, aiguillon, &Co and in — linguistet linguistigue, linguali Aragua, Guadinnay Guatimalay GuadalaX' aruy Guadeloupe, Gueldre, Guise, J^icaragtiOy Vi- ragUGy Zanguibafy Miguel, Ragu'ely &c., wherein u after g^ and g before u have each their respective sound full. to fRENCII LANGUAGE. m G is sometimes doiiblcil, when it is arliculateil like g single, as in — agglomerer, agglomeration^ agglniinant, agglutiner, aggluiinaiion, a magnet, mag^ietismei magneiiser, masnetique, diagnostique, gnos- tique, progne, prognostiqne, prognostiquer, prognostica- tion, stagner, regnicole, stagnant, stagnation, impregna- tion, Gnesne, and in their derivatives, wherein, according to a preceding general rule, g and n have each their re- spective natural sound harsh and full. J'.. H. H—awsh, the eighth letter of the alphabet, is either mute or aspirated. // is mute when it is silent, or not pronounced on th« following vowel, as in — cahot, herhe, histoire, honneur, which are articulated as if there was no h, H is aspirated when it-is pronounced with a forcible emission of the voice on the following vowel, producing a guttural sound, called aspiration, so that // is aspirated when it is pronounced with aspiration on the following vowel, producing a guttural sound, as in — haine, Hurler, hutte, houri, hameau, herault, honte, ho- mard, houlette, hune, huppe, &c., wherein h is aspirated as in the English words hair^horn^ horscj &c. T6 PRONUNCIATION OF THE H, initial or medial, is generally mute (in French) in words adopted or derived from the Latin, Greek or He- brew, as in — herbe^ hygiene^ humain, kvmanUe, homo- gfne^ hamegon, heterogency hydroginCy hydragogue, hypo- ihise, Jckovahj &c., wherein h is silent, except in cahoSy CahoSy (the name of a Heathen god,) heros, hernte, her- niaire, wherein h is aspirated, although (by an exception to this exception) it is mute in Aero'ide, Aeroine, heroisme, kiroiquey heroiquemmt, IJy final, is found merely in foreign and hebralc word^, wherein it is always mute, as in — «^, bah, ehy ohy pouahy nlmanachy Enochy Henoch^ Judahy Dendernh» Jehovahy MassuaAy Masteky Mosoehy Plouezoch, Rosbachy &c., wherein h U silent. H is generally mute before and afier the let'er r or /, as in — rhabdologie, gurky rhefeur, rhum, rhume, rhinoceroft, rhomboidey rhubarbcy rhythmey Rhetoriquey Rheimsy Bkiriy Bhdney Azoihy BeihUemy Judithy Loihy Maiihieuy Sethy &c., wherein k is silent, and the letter t is articulated fulU // is aspirated merely in foreign words,and in those which are derived from the Gallic, (the most common and gene- ral source of the French language,) as in — hainey hameau, hiraulty kerpie, honte, Halier, Hamiltoriy Hunter, &c. , which are articulated with an aspiration. His aspirated in nearly all country proper names which begin with that letter, as in — Havaney Holandcy Hongricy &c., although general practice allows it to be mute in these expressions : fromage d^Hongrify toile d^Holandey kc.y wherein h is silent. Hy after the letter;?, gives it the sound of the letter /, as i n — paragraphe, paraphcy phrase y philosophies physique y Jostphy &c. Hy after the letter g, gives it a harsh or hard sound, as in — Ghila, Ghety Ghilan, Glogher, Borgh^s, EnchieUy Missolonghiy &c. All the preceding rules concerning the letter A, and ita power of modifying several other consonants, are appli- cable to proper names, as well as to common words, and fRENCH LANGUAGE. 77 rench) in ek or He- iie, homo- Xue, hypo- \. in cahoSj irnie, her- exception heroisfne, lie words, >hf pouah, Jehovah, mch) Sec, ^ r or /, aa hinoceroft, msy Ehin, leut Seth, irticulated Dse which and gene- haTneaiif iter, &c., • les which Honsrie, mute in Holandsy letter /, physique, lound, as EnQhien, » and ita re appli- :>rds, and this explains the reason why several proper names havi been given as examples. H id never doubled. L I — ec, the ninth letter of the alphabet, is sounded likt e in the English word she. The letter i m either short or brief, as m—peiiie, site, vilf vite, &c., and long or broad, as in — gite, He, &c. The letter I is omitted in the conditional conjunction si, and is substituted by an apostrophe, before the personal pronouns il and ils, as in — s^il arrive, s'^ils arrivent, &c. The letter i is not pronounced in the following words, namely : — coignee, encoignure, moignon, oille, oignon, empoigner, poignant^ poign€e,poigncr, poignet, poignard, poitrail, poitrine,poitrinaire, Poitiers, J. J — 2Jee, (he tenth letter of^flWRphabet, is sounded like s, in the English word measure ; that is, throw off tho sound of d from the English utterance of this letter, and the remaining sound will be the French, as in — -jamaii, joindre,jaloux,jour,^c, J is neyer doubled, nor final, nor silent. ■-••■:. Jf. :' JT — kawh, the eleventh letter of the alphabet, whether initial, medial, or final, has but one sound, which is al« ways harsh or hard, and articulated full, as in kabak, ka- bin, kali, kacy, kouaut &e. K occurs only in foreign and in such words as have « Greek or hebraic origin, as in — kan, kazine, keratoglosse, keralophyllon, kermis, kiasire, kyrie, kremlim, kyrielU, kurtchis, kynancie, kyste, kiosque, kyieotomie, Klebtr^ Dannemark, Lanerk, Limerick, Kentucky, JJrkansas, &c« JiTis never doubled nor silent. HI • "'^ ^ HI 78 PRONUNCIATION OF THfi h 1 i s N L. ' L — elly the Iwelfih letter of the alphabet, whether in- itial, medial, or final, \a generally sounded full, as in—- • ealculy consul, cruel, incalculable^ fil, lamentable^ pla- fond, aculpieur, &,c. X/, by a great exception to the preceding rule, is either liquid or silent. L is liquid when it is articulated in a soft and halfway, or in a manner as if it were melting in the mouth, and it id silent when not articulated at all. The difference between / liquid and / silent is, then, very great, as it is, indeed, very important to distinguish, as may be seen in the following examples,: — L is liquid in — avril, babil, Bresil, cil, fenil, grisil, peril, cheville,ckcnille, fille, famille, peril, ^c.y and in — gentil-homme, mil, (meaning 7wi7/e/,) although it is silent in eentils'hommes, aad^unded full in milj (meawTg one thousand*) • iMHI L is silent in — barilf chtnil, coutil, f our mil, fusil, gen- 111, (genteel,) gentils, (Gentile?,) gril, nombril, peTsil, outily sourcil, poulmon, saoul, soul, and in col, (meaning neck,) in licol, (halter,) sol, (meaning a penny,) — pro- nounced sou, cou, licou, sou, according to French sounds ; in cul, (meaning breech,) in cul-de-sac, arid in pluriel, whereas in col, (meaning straight or a stock,) and sol, (meaning the surface of the ground, or a note of music,) / is articulated full. So it is in — hausse-coly tournesol, parasol, enire-sol, Coursol. L, beftire t, s, oo, final, is silent, as in— ^/^, ilsy (before a consonant or h aspirated,) pouls. herault, poultit, saulti Evroult, Lemoult, Perrault,faulx, Proulx, Souti, &c., except in — calx, malt, pisasphalte, wherein / and X are articulated full. L and // are al'.vays liquid when preceded by one of the following combinations of vowels, namely : — ai, ei, eui, iei, aui, ad, uei, and sometimes ui, as in — camail, irch vaiil, soleil, sommeil,feuille, vieillejand. very often after «, fRENCH LANGUAGE. 79 single, as in — babily avril, cil, grhil^ ftvil, peril, coche" nilUi brilliant, patitille, quadrille' &.c , except railroady argille, giUe, domicil, connil, fiL cascorillc, camomille, billion^ mille, million, irilliun^ t/uatiillion, mil, (one thousand,) pueril,pupille, maxii caire, pusillanime, quin- iillion, imbecille, tranqville, si faille, St. il-degrain, ville, utile, bill, bile,Jlr/iill€, Jlillcdg€vill€,SilUry, &c., and in their derivatives> wherein / and // are articulated full. L is doubled, 1st, p cipally in the middle of wordp, wherein that letter is liquid, as in — bouillir, bouillon, fa- mille,moville, &c. ; iid, iit the word mille, and in its de- rivatives, as in — mille&irnc, millieme, milliement, milU- naire ; 3d, in words which begin with il, as in — illegal, illegiiime, illimite, illumination, &c., except in — He, iliade, iliaque, ileon, ileum, ilion. M. M — fwm, the thirteenth final, or before b, p, or t, is generally articulated like n final in a (French) nasal, as in — ambre, combat, compie, eomptoire, comte,pomte, prompt, etaim, faim, daim, dam, dom, importun, parfum, nom, pensum, pronom^ &c., ex- ceDQj^ie following words : — "^^^^Rrticulated full in — adlibitum, adinterim, album, hairam, cranium, drorychnium, Chimborago, compeni dium, crassamentum, faium, fac-iotum, aconitum, coni' um, forum, he7'barivm,idem, ibidem,item, duodenum, jeju- num, laudanum, labarum, ledum, momentum, maximum^ millefolium, ileum, minimum, opium, lapatum, olim, mu- teumy omentum, elaterium, electrum, potassium, senso- rium, mastrum, rum, perfolium, serum, setim, subluum iternum, trifolium, tuotem, sacrum, quidam, sympiOme^ tymptomatique, targum, quidam, and in all other words adopted or derived from the Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, and foreign language, especially in proper names, as in Amriy Amsterdam, Chamt Bethleem, Jerusalem, J&ram^ j9a€Mm, (the name of a Jewish king.) J^mm, ^gajnem- 80 PRONUNCIATION OF THfi I norif J^embrodf ^emrod, Samnium, Durham^ Granfhamf &c., wherein 7n is articululed full, except in Adam and Samson, vvlierein am is sounded like an (nasal) or like an in the English word want, and in Joachim (?aintj) wherein im is sounded like in (nasal,) according to tiie general rule, and in Memphis, memphite, and in Memphrema" gosue, wherein em is likewise articulated Irke in (nasal,) or like an in the English word hanker, M, before n, is generally articulated full, as in — Aga' memnonx amnon, amnion, amnios, Jlmnon, (the firstborn eon of King David,) amnistie, amnistie, tamnion, caloM' nie, mnemosyne, Mnemosyne, (the name of the goddess of memory,) mnemonique, Mnemon, Lemnos, gymnase^ gymnastique, gymnaste, gymnigue, gymnopediei gymno- sophiies, somnambule, somnambulance, somnifere, somno- lence, insomnie, omnipotence, an«l all the deriva- tives of samnum, wherein m is always articulated full, except automne, condamner, condamnation, cal with a vowel or A mute, as in — on admire le complement, on occvpe, on admtt, Si'c, except in certain adjectives--, as in — ancicn, bon, ceri.iin, divin, humain, mon, ton, son, vilain, &c., as in — ancien etat, bon enfant, certain homme, divin epovx, humain hommage, mon dne, ton habit, son honneur, vilain ani' mal, &c. In the substantives bie7i, pain, vin, n is nevw sounded on the next word, when it begins with a vowel or h mute ; thus we say : — le bien et le mal, le pain et le vin, le vin et Veau ; le bien honor e, le pain alimente, le vin enivre, &,c., wherein w, being nearly a nasal, is not sounded on the next word. Hov. ever, when the word bien is an adverb, n isgrne- rally sounded on the next word, when it begins with a vowel or h mute, as in c^est Oien agreable, c^est bien honorable ; likewise, in the indefinite pronoun rien, n id 82 ' i PRONUNCIATION OF THE generally sounded on the next word, when it hegins with a vowel or h mute, as in — »ien (i dire, ricn en honneur. JV, final, is never sounded on the next word, when by 90 doing it forms a neg.ition, as it would be in this phrase — on en admire le complement^ &c. jY is sometimes changed into m immediately before I/, wi, p, as in — emblenie, emmencr, empine^ Sec., except in— bonbon^ bonbonniere, embonpcAnt, <^c. JV orm, in a final syllable, and immediately followed by another consonant in the same syllable, i.s generally a nasal, and gives the nasal sound to the immediate pre- ceding vowel, (the other ditrerent following consonant being t-ilent,) as in — aplomb, plomby compte, prompt, promptCi blanc, s^^rand, convaijic, (il,) enfant, en fans, rand, emprunt, trident, vin like feoe, , like fean, an^ &f'. *^ inquina^ kuin^ as agenaire^ um^ quin- alphabet, by a, i, o, w, is always articulated full, as in — barbateur^ instar^ nectar, b4nir^ fournir, 6clair, tarir, trocar, condor, tr4sor, Nestor, dur, sur, obscur, putexir^ parleur, concours, troubadour, &c., except in Monsieur and Messieurs, and in pour before the word rien only, as in — jtour ritn, (say pou-rien,) wherein r final is silent, although it is articulated in stcwrand sieurs, when used single. R, final, and preceded by c, not accented, (in the same word,) is generally silent at the end of a sen- tence, and before a consonant or h aspirated, and in such a case e becomes ^, acute accented, as in — parler, proceder, vivifier, aimer la vertu, sonner haul, &c.. wherein r is silent, and e, not accented, becomes ^, acute accented. R, final, preceded bye, not accented, is generally silent in substantives which imply a quality, and in fruit-trees, as in — boulanger, cordonnier, tapissier, mercier, Spicier, chapellier, &c., as in — amandier, fraisier,pommier, prunier, olivier, &c., wherein r final is silent, and the preceding e becomes ^, acute accented. R, final, and preceded by e, not accented, is ge- nerally articulated full before a vowel or h mute, as in — aimer d parler en public, s^en acquitter honor- ablement, &c., wherein r final is articulated full, and the precedinii; e becomes i, grave accented. R, final, and the preceding e, are sounded in the same manner in the following words, in every case, that is, in amer, aster, belveder, cancer, ers, cuiller, cher, concert, divers, desert, dessert, enfer, fer, fier, catheter y ether, gaster,hier,hiver, iter,mer, ma- gister, pariter, pater, pater-noster, quaker, sphinc- ter, semper, stabat-mater, ti avers, perd, sert (il), trochanter, pers,pervers,perds, ser«(je) rever, ver, versyverd^vertycnvers, convers, d-travers, en-tra- H 88 PRO.NUNCfATION OF THE h 'i versy traverSj vomer^ univet^s, and likewise in clerc^ and ner/s, wherein r is articulated full, and the preceding e becomes ^, grave accented. The same letters (e and r) are sounded in the same manner in the following proper names, and ge- nerally in those originating from foreign and dead languages, as in — Abnet'y Aser, Elieset\ Esther^ Exeter^ Jenner^ Dniepery Dniester^ Gers, Necker^ Thiers, Gunter, Gomer, Jasper, Jupiter, Lavater, Leinster, Lucifer, Luther, Omer, Haller, Feller, Heber, Hunter, Munster, Shceffcr, Soter, Tiber, &c. : R is sometimes doubled, and chiefly after ar, er, ir, or, as m~arracher, arreter, arriere, arrhes^ si- marre, erratique, erre, erreiir, e.rrhine, irreductible, irregulier, irremediable, horreur, horrible, corri- dor, corroboration, &c., except in — ire (rath), irascible, ireos, iris,ironie, Irlande, Slc, and in their derivatives, wherein r is not doubled. R doubles again in the inflexions of the verbs — acquerir, concourir, courir, deehoir, 4choir, en- voyer, mourir, pouvoir, recourir, secourir, voir, revoir, in the simple future of the indicative and in the present of the conditional mood, as ia— Acquerrai, acquerrais, (je) &c. Concmrrai,concourrais, (je) &c- . ^ ,' Courrai, courrais, (je) kc, D6cherrai,d^cherrais, (je) &c. Echerrai, echerrais, (je) &c. Enverrai, enverrais, (je) &c. Mourrai, momrMs, (je) &c. Poun\ii, pourraiff, (je) &c. Recourrai, recourrais, (je) &c. Secourrai, secourrais, (jo ) &c. Verrai, verrais, (je) &c. , , -.^ Reverrai, reverrais, (je) &Cv \ithercin double r is doublv articulated. 1,. ]fIl£NCH LANGUAG£. 89 n clerCi ind the tl in the and ge- nd deati Esthefj Neckery [,avater, , Feller, , Tiber, ar, er, rhes, si- duciible^ le^ corri- (rath) , , and iu ! verbs — hoir, en- ir, voir^ c and in 8. S, the nineteenth letter of the alphabet, when in- itial, or before c, /. /, m, p, 9, t, in the same word, is generally sounded lull, as in — scandeTj obscurey satisfaircy sloupcy cataplasmCj sinapismey smUle, miasmeyjasminy marasmcy jaspe, spirihiely spica, slrabismBy lorsque^ presquCy puisquCy tudesquCy monstrey toste, contester, esty ouest, ita-esty zesty zisty &c., except in Deschamps. VescarteSy dea- quelSy lesquelSy esty (verb) registe. &c., wherein s is silent, and e preceding a is grave. Sy in the middle of words, and before 6, dy gyhy jy Vy or between two vowels, or at the end of a word when the next begins with a vowel or h mute, has tlie soft hissing sound of Zy as in prtabiterey rosbify LeaboSy EadraSy Dreads, deshonneury deshonorery duaheurery diagracey disjoindrey transvasery trana^ videfy aveltCy &c. ; partiaanty d^siry treaory isocehy isiaiiqueyraiaon, risible, puaillanimey laiay Pegase, &c. ; voua et moi, Ma honorable, &c. ; except in dia^able, triayHable, monoayllabley polysyliabUy paraaoly entreaoly tourneaoly coiwreaoty hidysarumy priaeance^ presupposcy reaacer, resaisir, elei- son, d^suUude, Deadve, MelchisMechy and in the verbs ci-giaant, giaanty. ci-giaent, gisent (ils) wherein 5 is sounded full, i; Sy at the end of foreign words, and in those ori- ajinating from dead languages, is generally sounded full, and so it is in a few other words, as in — achia, as, alo^a, angelua, cachia, corUa, atrachis, agnusy arctwua, aphiSy apodioxia, apoataxia, apoaia\ as- perges, acena, amnioa, anaa, antho8y cenay conatus, cubUna, bis, (twice,) diabiUa, bonua, ibis, blocue, b(df$a, da, hydrorachis, focua, glaucua, gratis, jOr- d%8y giaria-dnexcelcisy phtkiriaaia, gena,hyppurus^ IL ^]i ■)i 90 FRONUNCIATION OP TttC "1 I 111 halya, halos^ hyppus, hibiscus^ humus^ halysis, lapSf habeaS'Corpus^ heiianthus, hClops^ lapis, hia- tus, hypolepsis, hypoleucos, hypospadias, hypoTls, hyptis, hyosciamus, Kurtchis, ir6os, iris, adonis, amadis, ambesas, atlas, ad-patres, coiteris-paribus, larus, lychnis, garus, lycopus, dolichos, lithercm- tos, limas, mangos, m^tis, m6dius, melocarpus, mordicus, mucus, negus, nodus, obus, ophris, om- nibus, oremus, opistolhonos, coxis, palus, pelvis, pulvis, ph6bus, placus, plexus, pithys, quibus, pan' cr^as, pariatis, parisis, psoas, polyorchis, brachi- alis, sefis, orate-fratres, Kermes, sir as, flores, h^- dypnois, locatis, bibus, biceps, triceps, pathos^ si- rius, sinus, vius, vindas, strychnos, lys or lis, botrys, lotos ^ mars, moeurs, ours, foetus, rhinoce- ros, orchis, phimosis, par^atis, platanus, partibus, rhexis, thrombus, t^tanos, thymus, taxis, vasistas, lotus, vis, viscus, xiphias, xanttts, xutas^ Us, as in Us-maje8t4, &c., wherein s is sounded, except in the following. ^ 8 is silent in the following words ; that is, in — avis, alors, chablis, chas, dehors, appas, campos, dispos, d^cis, altercas^ cas, divers, convers, calu^, logis, revers, envers, travers, des, tris, trois, tan- dis, les, mes, tes, des, (e) pervers, univers. Ins, (hrown,) buis, fracas, frais, promis, compromis, appropos, amas, precis, bois,fruits, cambouis, dos, ooloris, cours, recours, discours, decours, con- cours, secours, leans, epais, corps, damas, dadais, dais, chdssis, bris, bas, bras, brebis, 4thiops, biais, frais, gras, liais, glas, gros, las, hustings, ers, gars, pers, mais, mois, niais, pris, Uvis, pis, plis, replis,fleurs,fluors, marquis, glacis, fleur-de-lys, OS, propos, heros, entre-pos, mats, chdnevis, desor- mais, entre-nous, entre-vous, Upas, louis, (a piece of money,) cervelas, lilas, cadenas,fils, ils^ lam- FRENCH LANGUAGE. 91 halysis, )j5, hia- adonis^ oarihus^ Uheron- ycarpus, ris^ om- , pelvis, tM5, pari' hrachi- ores, h^- ithos, si' 8 or lis, rMnoc6- partihus, vasistas, les, as in ept in the is, in — cmtipos, '5, calu^, \er8, Inf, ipromis, lis, dos, irs, con- j, dadais, }s, biais, igs, ers, is, plis, T'de-lys, ^deaor- (a piece ils^ totw- bris,fond$, matras, mauvais,pas, tr^fonds, mors, fois, souris, hormis, remors, matelas, moins mis, cadis, canevas, repas, trepas, quelques-fois, poids, pois, pouts, ouais, es, (verb,) lavis, los, tors, hors, mets, rends, prenda, reponds,{}e,)dos, tems, temps, printemps, parvis, pays, croquis, rendez-vous, c«- hoa, talus, vasistas, simis, plus, surplus, ante- Christ, SfC, and in J^sus-Christ, wherein s is silent. But both s and t are sounded in Christ, "Nvhen this holy name is used alone. In the preceding words, wherein s final is silent, it must be understood that, according to a preceding rule, s final, in the same words, is sounded like z whenever it occurs immediately before a vowel or h mute. In generic and specific names of objects of natural sciences, and in similar names pertaining to medical sciences, s final, as well as m final, is always sounded full. In proper names, ^ final, preceded by e, grave ac- cented, is generally sounded full, as in — BrisSs, Cer^s, Eutiches, Manassis, PaUs, &c., except in — jlthenes, Demosthenes, Genes, wherein s final is silent. . . , . S, final, in proper names of foreign and dead lan- guages, and a few others, (according to the foregoing ge- neral rule,) is generally sounded, as m—Jlmasias, ^mos, Atlas, Argos, Argus, Amiens, Bacchus, Brutus, Es- dras, Lfsbos, Mars, Minos, Mathias, Regis, Pdris, Ro- mulus, 'Adonis, Iris, Themis, Tircis, Venust Sens, Rheims.^ Senlis, Phcebus, Valens, Zeius, Jfestorius, &c., wherein s final is sounded, except Aihines, DemosthSntSf Gines, Jacques, Charles, Louis, Gervais, Nicholas, Francois, Thomas, Jesus- Christ, Sf.c.,Sind Cakos, where- in ^ is silent. - S is sometimes doubled, chiefly before a, e, t, as in — lasser, m^issue, parnasse, abbesse, tristesse, deesse, nan- iissement, unisson, &c., and occasionally before o, u, y, as in — Colosse, brosser, prussique^ reussir, hissilage^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ 74^ 1.0 I.I |5o ■^" MHR ■ii Ui 12.2 I IS 12.0 1-25 i 1.4 1^ V] / f 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MStO (716)872-4503 o % ^ s> I( 4 i 92 PRONUNCIATION OF TffE byssCi odyssicy syssarcose^ Vlysse^ &c., wherein double s id sounded like on*) single s full. ■,\ ., SC, SCf before e, e, i^ ^, i, ^, is sounded like Sy single, as in — sceptre, condsscendre, sceUraty sceaUy scelitey schel- Ungy sckisteuxy visceraly seine, viscire^ disciphy irasci- bUy sdatique, science^ Scylla, scytale, scythe, scyros, Schdele, &c. Sc, before a, o, Uy /, r, is sounded like sky ad in — scan- deryScandalyScasoUy Iscariote, scolie, scorbuty scoriey scur- rilitey viscus ; scUrophtalmiey scUrotique, scribey scro' fulcy scrupuky £fc»y except s^avoivy wherein sg is sounded like s single. r. T — tecy the twentieth letter of the alphabet, when in- itial, or before h or r, always has its natural articulation, as in — idtonSy iaircy totsoity tenir, terney iigey iignoriy tondre, torturey toucaUy tulipey titmultey typcy tympany theatrey thimey thrombe, pirithrey ihlaspiy thouy thymbre, travaily traversy trejUy trifondsy tremicy triage y tribu, frognony trCney truelUy truffey &c., except Montreal and Montrialistey wherein t preceding r is silenL T, in the middle of words, and before ta, ic, ieu, ieuXy iouy especially in adjectives ending with tial and tieiiXy is generally articulated like c, with the hissing sound of r, ZA in — aristocratiey diplomatiey inepticy erurticy calvitiey initialy initiativey nuptialy minutic, partialy partialiUy pirypetiey primatiey suprSmatiey ambatievXyJac^ieitXy af^- bitionydationydonationy faction ytransubstantiati (my Croa^ tiey &c*9 except bestiassey beslialementy bestialy bestiaire, besiioley bastion, bastionnery besiialite, bestiatuoy Chris^ Hanismey galimatiasy gratiaSy eucharistie, lithiasiey sortie, amnistie, modesticy epizootie, orticy hostiey garantie, par' tie^ pitioUy sympathicy spathiony jirimatkie, Eetion, MathieUy Ethiopiey Matathias, Mathiaa, ScytkieyPetion, fiar^sgestionygestion, indigestion, suggestion, question. n: FRENCH LANGUAGE. 93 double s single, as Htef schel' de, irasci- Cf scyroSf in — scan* oriey SCUT' ribe, scro' is sounded , when in- rticulation, - tignon, tympan, , ihymbre, ige, tribu^ nireal and ieu, ieux, ind tietix, }ound of^, £, calviiie, partialiU, HeuXy am- ion, Creo' , besHaire, ie, sortie, ite, par- , Eetiony ie,Petionf y question^ quesiionner, questionnaire, mixtion, xanthion, and gene- rally whenever / is preceded by « or a? in ihe same word, wherein it has its natural sound. T, before ier, ie, ie, iez, generally has, likewise, lis natural sound full, as in — amniaiier, amnistii, mortier, poHier, maiiere, portiire, bdtier, bangueroutier, cnbare" tier, entkr, savetier, sentier, tiers, I'ler^on, Gauiier,Thiers, amitie, moitie, pitie, iiedeur, etiez, pritiez, soumeftiez (vous) &c., except in — initier, balbutifr, wherein / is articulated like c, with the hissing sound of 5. T, before ten, tens, ient, especially when preceded by a vowel, is, also, generally sounded like c, with the his- sing sound of s, as in — capetton, domitien, egyptiens, patient, patience, &c., except in — eniretien^ muintien, souiicn, ticn, tiens, chritien, antienne, corinthien, c/ire-- tiente, Eiienne, Sebastien, Sac, wherein / has its natural sound full. T, in some inflexions of verbs ending with ter or ire, in the infinitive mood present, has likewise its natural sound full, as in — emboiter, eire, gratter, mettre, pretfr, remettre, soumeitre, &c., in quesiionner, seniir, pressm- tir,partir, sotiir, mainienir, obterii', soutenir,tenir, &.C., as in — etions, emboitions, grattions, meitions, preiions remettions, soumettions, questionions, pressentions, sen- tions, sortions, portions, (j\o\\9,) &c., as in — jemainiiens, soutiens, obtiens, tiens ; tu mainiiens, souiiens, tiens, obtiens ; il maintient soutient, obtitnt, tient j je main- titndrai, soutifndrai,obtiendrai, tiendrai, &c.; je main- tiendrais, soutiendrais, obtiendrais, tiendrai s, &c. T, final, is generally silent, and this rule applies to proper names, as well as to common words, as in — apput, chat, yacht, cadet, certificai, protit, cahot, prurit, lot, milt net, sot, but, &.c ; Bossuet, Meheut, Mondelet, Mu- rat, Oudtt, Panet, Utrecht, &c., except in the following words. T, final, IS articulated full in certain words, as in — apt, rapt, tact, contact, cogitat fiat, abject, exeat, exact, inexact, opictt, exaudiat, magnigcat, stabat, cet, correct, incorrect, direct, jacet, indirect, grasset, fret, S(t, tactt, sept, infect, est, (east,) ouest, (west,) zest, git, ci-git, u PRONUNCIATION OF ttit h m I (verb,) periJoty suspect, deficit, distinct, indistinct, con* vict, district, verdict, steamboat, toast, coast, dixit, ipse- dixit, excit, huit, tnaint,cobalt,vivat,test, rit, writ^ransit, Succinct, zist, dot, mancAot, pouliot, riot, azimut, caput, cajeput, sinciput, brut, chut, ita-estf mat, malt, put, lut, bezet, lest, ut ; ami, according to some, in — archet,'al' phabet, cerat,fouet, couvresot, esterkt, juUlet, ergot, SU' bit, est, pet, sot, fat, magnet, obit, pilot, pot, trot, bau- det, suret, wherein, according to others, t final is silent. T is sounded in — Fahrenheit, Japhet, Domat, Gr asset, Malhioti Methot, J^icolet, Leibnitz, Seidlitz, Ostritz, Ostrovitz. T, final, is silent in the following wordi, namely : — amict, anspect, aspect, circonspect, prefect, respect, in- stinct, suspect, yacht, Utrecht. T, final, preceded by r, in the same word, is generally silent,especially before a consonant, or A aspirated,and the vowel preceding r is generally long, as in — dart, part, mort, sort, &c., except when t is the final of a verb in the third person singular, followed by a personal pronoun, in an interrogative sense, as in — court-il { sert'On ? sort-elle ? se meurt-il 1 &c. T is sometimes used as a copulative particle, between two vowels, to join verbs and personal pronouns, in an interrogative sense, as in — parle-t-il ? aime-t-on ? donn€' /-e//e, Su;., wherein / is articulated full. T is sometimes doubled, and double t \i articulated like one t, single^ in proper names, as well as in common words, as in — attache, attaqne, attentat, &c. ; Matthieu^ Vattemare, &c., except petto, in-petto, wherein t is doub'y sounded. TH. . :/ Th generally denotes a Greek, Hebraic, or Saxon origin, and, whether initial, medial, or final, is always ar- ticulated like t single, as in — arithmetique, nzoth, ab- sinthe, corinthe, anthrax, arythme, anthropophage, apa* lath, arthriiique, bismuths feldspath, luth, exanthime, hyacinthe, hypothigme, isthme, logarilhme, iheologue FRENCH LANGUAGE. 95 inct, con* lixit, ipse- it.transit, mtf caput, 1, put, lut, archet,' (ti- er got, SU' trot, bau- is silent. it, Grasset, 2, Ostritz, namely :— - respect, in- is generally ited,and the dart, part, )f a veib in al pronoun, sert'On ? e, between juns, in an on/ dorvn€' articulated in common Matthieu^ lerein t is „ or Saxon always ar- , nzoth, ab' ihage, apa* {exanthime, theologue thlaspi, rhyiyme, orthographe, pentaihle, pathos, pntholo* git, authentique, titkymale, turbi1h,1heatrei synarihrose, xanthion. Zenith, Zythum,^c,, except in asthmc, asthma- tique, wherein th is silent. The preceding rule is applicable to proper names, as well as to common words, as in — Moth, ^imuth, *^thincs, Alhalie,Carthage, Balthazar, Bedzebuth, Go- Hath, Elizabeth, Fusth, Klnproth, Geth, Golgotha, Graih, Jugariha, Judith, Lameth^ Loth, Luth, Mathins, Ma- thieu, JSTazareih, Pethion, Pnthmos, Posthume, Ruth, Sa- doth, Soccoth, Sabaoth, Seth, Teglath, Thainas, &c., wherein th is sounded like t single, except ^rath, ^ra- iath, Goth, Ostrogoth, Vim] Visigoth, where'm th is si- lent. U — iih, the twenty-first letter of the alphabet, has two sounds in French ; 1st, one short or brief, or nearly like u in the English word superable, as in butte, hutte, &c. ; 2d, long or broad, or nearly like u in the English word abuse, as in — ■fl'ite, mtire, siire, Sfc, U, after g or y is generally dropt, and g or g is then sounded like k on the following vowel, simple or com- pound, as, 1st, in — guenuche, guenon, guerir, guipe, guide, gueulee, &c., wherein u is dropt,except *^ragua, ambigue, aigue,cigue, conlifrue^€xigite,exiguite, aiguille, aiguillon, guahex, Guadiana, Guadalaxara, Guadeloupe, Guotimala, Gneldre, Guise, Nicaragua, Miguel, Ra- guel, Veragud, Zanguebar, Sfc, wherein u is sounded ; 2d, as in — quenouille, gucrelle, quite, quiconque,quoique, 8ic., wherein u is liropt ; except quia, quidam, quinde- cagone, quindecemvir, qninquagenaire, quinquagisime, quinquennal, quinquennium, Chuquisaca, Quito, &c., wherein u is sounded. U is sounded like o in — depnfundis, nuncupatif, punch, nundinales, hustings, meum, pensum, opium, rumb, rhum or aconifum, conium, stramonium, latinm. Palladium, Fundy, Sagunte, rum, cranium, geranium, ultimatum, elalerium, lifium,fatum, fac-totum^ sodium^ 9S PRONUNCIATION OF THE 1 lit potassium^ sensorium, minimum, maocimum, momenium, punclum, quantum, quorum, omentum, duodenum, jeju- num, sub-iuum, tenaculum, ie-Deum, targum, pallium, tungstene, laudanum, castorium, snlium, Burke, Cullen, Gunter, Hunter, Clutierbuck, Munster, and generally before m final, in words originating from the Latin, used for generic and specific names of objects, especially of the animal and vegetable kingdom, as in — xiphiur.., xy- losieum, xanthium, millefolium, perfolium, he, wherein u is sounded like o and m final is aiticulated full ; and this rule is observable in reading or speaking the Latin, or words haviug the termination pccular to that language. U, preceded by another vowel, simple or compound, has a mixed sound : thus, au is sounded like 0, as in dfau, gateau, &r., like e, not accented, as in — feu, jeu, neveu, Sfc, like oo in the English virord cool, as in — ba- joue, bijou, matou, 8tc. 4^ V. y — vey — the twenty-second letter of the alphabet, is one of the silent consonants, which admits of no particu- lar observation, except that it always has its natural sound, and that it is never final nor doubled. V X X — eex, the twenty-third letter of the alphabet, gene- rally indicates a Greek or Latin origin, as in — axe, axiome, azonge, croix, dix, exoJe, exorde, exostose, flux, lixico- grap/ie,paix,poix, six, voix, xiphdide, &c. X has five different sounds, some of which are mixed, namely : Ist. X, final, or between two vowels, is generally sounded like ks, as in — anxietd, axillaire, auxilliaire, apex, apostaxis, ampulex, antehelix, dropaj;, anthrax, fixe, fixer, fixe, fixite, fixation, guahex, gymnotrix, la- rix, gymnothorax, helix, hydroihorax, hypoxis, latrix, leucoryx, larynx, laxatif, luxe, luxation, luxure latex, monax, monophylax, murex, plexus, onix, opopanax, fllEi^Cll LANGUAGE. 97 tnomeniunii nuMi jeju- t, pallium) ke, Cuilen, id generally Latin, used (Specially of phitir.., xy- .c, wherein ill ; and this B Latin, or language, compound, ike c/, as in —/cw, jeu, , as in — htt^' Alphabet, is no particu- its natural labet, gene- ia?c, axiome, ux, lixicO" are nnixed, s generally auocilliaire, , anthrax, nnotrix, la- )xis, latriXf ixure lateX) opopanaXf phiniXypolltuc, pharynx, rhexis, sphex, sphinx, sUex, Styx, storax, thorax, luO'/ex, fornix, taxe, taxis, trenex, varix, vertex, vix, &.c. X, final, is always sounded ks whenever it occurs in technical wordd uiseii as generic and specific names of objects pertaining to natural and medical sciences. X, final, is silent in several words, as in — creux^ deux, doux, croix,chaux, crucifix, faix, faux, defaix^ parte- faix, porte-croix, porie-voix, flux, reflux, epoux, jaloux^ courroux, verrouXy roux,patx,poix, noix, voix, and ge- nerally whenever it terminates an adjective, as in — am- bitieux, fUvreux,furieux,judicieux, luxurieux, seveux, &c., wherein x final is silent, except before a word which begins with a vowel or h mute, when x final, in the pre- ceding words, is then sounded like z on the follomng word. 2d, X, initial, or in the middle of words, is sounded gz, as in — exorier, cxode, exostose, existence, exisier, exhor- tation, exhumation, exhumer, Xantus, Xante, X^nophon, Xavier, Xercis, Xutas, exarnen, exemple, exemplaire, &c. 3d, X is sounded like ss in a few words, as in— aix, dix, six, soixante, Aix, Aix-Lachapelle, Auxerre, Jiux- errois, Auxonne, Bruxdles, Cadix, &c. 4th, X is sometimes sounded like k, as in excis, ex- citer, excitation, excellent, excellence, exceller. Sec., e preceding x being never accented. 5th, X is sounded like z in — deuxieme, deuxiemement, dixiime, dixiimement, sixiime, sixtemement, sixain, and when final before a vowel or h route, as in-— cfeiia? amis, deuX'homines, un-epoux aimable, une paix honarahle, &c., except all the words which fall under the first rule for the articulation of x, wherein it is sounded like ks, as in — axe, axiome, cachexie, &c. X, final, preceded by /, is generally silent, as in — aulx, faulx, Proulx, except calx, wherein x is sounded like ks, y — eegreck, the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet, by itself, generally indicates the etymology of words de- K it 9B PRONUNCIAtiON OF fHC M rived from the Greek, wherein it is generally sounded likd (the French) i single, as in — analyse, dialyse, hygiine^ hyperdulie, ginglyme, symphyse, syniaxe, synihist, symp- tmme, ayssarcose, &c. y, initial, or between two consonants, or between a consonant and a vowel, or final, or Vvhen it is a v^ord by itself, is generally sounded like i, single, is in — yacht, yeuse, jjpreau, yetix, colyre, pyrite, pyramidt^ hyptrbaie, hypopion, hypodatique, myologie, myope, nytialopt, presbyie, chyle, chyme, mystire, style, Itidf, y aller, il y_a, &,c. Y, between two vowels, and in the middle of wordy, is pounded like it, (double t,) as in — envoyer, essayer, moy^n, payer, &c., and in pays, pay sage, paysagi8ie,pay- san, paysanne, Moyse, Sic, except paye, payementj zagaye, wherein y is sounded like i, single. Remarks. — 1st, Y is changed into t before e mute or silent, in final syllables of the inflexions of verbs ending with yer in the infinitive mood present, as — envoyer, em- ployer, &c., wherein y is changed into i, as in — fenvoie, femploie; tu envoies, in emploies ; il envoie, il em- ploie ; ils envoient, ils emploient, Sfc, 2d, When y is a word by itself, it is a personal pronoun, or an adverb of place or locality, as in — y donner du iempSf y aller, &c. 3d, Tlie sound hip is spelt whith y when there is but one p, as in — hypotheque, hypoihise, hypogasire, hypallage, Sec, and with i, single, when there is double 7>^, as in — Hippocraie, •Hippolyls, &c. ' Z^zed, the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet, by it- self, generally indicates the etymology of words derived from the Greek, as in — zile, zenith, zodiaqut, zone, zoo- logie, zymoiechnie, &c. Z, whether initial or in the middle of words, has it« natural sound, as Mi'—azyme, zagaye, zelateur, zephyr, gazette, zigzag, zizanie, &c. Z, final, is generally silent in — ass€Z,biez, chez,nez, son- nez, rez, except before a word which, not being separated raCNCH LANGUAGE. 99 nded likd hygiine^ 8tf sytnp' etween a , ^oril by I — yachtf xyptrbaie, xycialopty If alleTf il of wordff, , essayer, risU^pay* payementf e route or rbs ending voytr^ tiH' —fenvoie, i>, il em- hen y is a adverb of ttlhr, &c. 18 bnt one ypallage, , as in— V, ---»■ jt, by it- Is derived zone, zoo- Ib, has it« 1, zephyr. by any punctuating mark) begins with a vowel or h mute, as in — vous avez ete inalade^vous aitnez d lire^vous rtndez hommage, assez honorable, &.C., wherein z final is sounded on the next word. Zy final, is sounded like ss in — quartz, quarizeux, ^uartzeuse, Alvarez, Booz, Coriez, Leibnitz, Abruzze, Mendez, Metz, Rhodez, Rodriguez, Sencz, Suez, Seid- litz, Ostrovitz, Ostritz, Aiisterlitz, Vsez, and generally in foreign words, especially those which are derived from the Russian and Spanish language. W does not properly belong to the French alphabet; it is borrowed from the English language, in which it i:f considered as having the power of both a vowel and a consonant. As in English, t<; is silent, 1st, before a consonant, as in writ, Wrigh^, &c., except before h, as in Whitby, &c., wherein both w and h are articulated ; 2d, after a or o, which it generally renders long or broad, as in — Law, Shaw, yaws, Hudsonlow, &.c. ; 3d, before a vowel, w has the sound of the (French) compound vowel ou, (which itself is sounded like oo in the Engli.?rally has the same preceding sound, as in — Brewster, Jfewcastle, JSTewton, &c. N. B. — The learner should be here apprised that French Grammarians generally teach that w, in French, is sounded like v, which is certainly not correct, as it is quite contrary both to analogy and practice among those who are familiar with the power and use of that letter. unez, sof^ [separated APPENDIX; I:. CHAPTER IV. In this Chapter^ are to be found a few Rules to enable the Learner to distinguish the Gendei's qf the French Substantives, Before proceeding to the consideration of the^e rule?, it may be proper to state, that, in French, there are but two genders, viz : the masculine and the feminine, each of which is given by imitation, to inanimate as well as to animate objects. There are two general ways of distinguishing the gen- ders of French substantives ; that is, tst, by the use of articles and adjectives, placed before the substantives ; 2d, by the termination, which, though numerous, are the best guide in the applications of rules. - • I. The genders of the FreRch substantives or nouns are known, 1st, by placing before the substantive, whose particular gender we wish to know, the definite article Uy for the masculine, and la for the feminine gender, as in — le chapeau, le banc, le canify le livre, le siige, &c. j la chaise, la maison, la plume, la iite, &c. ; 2d, by placing before the substantive, whose particular gender we wish to know, the indefinite article \m and the adjective grand, {un grand) for the masculine, and une and the adjective grande, (une grande,) for the feminine gender, as in — un grand chapeau, un grand banc, &c. ; une grande chaise, une grande maison, une grande allee &c. ; 3d, by using the indefinite article, as before, with the adjective gros, for the masculine, and grosse, for the feminine gen- der, as in — un gros canif,un gros livre, un grosfardeaUy 8m;., une grosse, tdte, une gosse ronce, &c. II. The gender of the Fi-ench substantives or nouns, is known by their various terminations, in the singular number, and by the application of a few other rules, as will be seen hereafter. APPENDIX. 101 Rules to encters qf hese rule?, jre are but line, each J well as to g the gcn- ihe use of bstantives 5 lus, are the s or nouns ive, whose article /c, |er, as in — e, &c. ; la by placing T we wish ive grandf adjective ir, as in — Tie g^rande . ; 3d, by adjective inine gen- tsfardeauy or nouns, le singular Ir rules, as MASCULINE SUBSTANTIVES. 1st, Nouns ending with ail, al^eil, el, ol, ot, are mas- culine, as — bail, travail, carnaval, mal, soldi, sommeil, autel, sel, viol, capot, &.c., except dot, which is feminine. 2d, Nouns ending with a, followed by one or more of the consonants, final, ara masculine, as — art, at-' senal, almanack, marc, mars, mas, mat, estomac, plat, plagiat, pare, sac, &c. 3d, Nouns ending with anyone of the nasals are mas- culine, as — an, etnng, enfant, accent, encenl, champ, temps, brin, enjin, pain, itain, dessin, dessein, sein, seing, poing, point, soin, don, hame^on, pardon, poin^on, billion, talion, difunt, emprunt, parfum, horizon, &,c., except faim, maman, fin, main, fai;on, legon, ran^on Rheims, and generally the substantives ending with on,, preceded by i or s, which generally are feminine, as — nation, solution, union, maison, toison, raison, sai- son, &c. 4th, Nouns ending with ceil, euil, veil, are masculine, as — (bH (the eye,) deuil, accueil, &c. 5th, Nouns ending with e, acute accented, preceded by a consonant which is not a t, are masculine, as — aliene, bU, caffe, degri, perone, &c. 6lh, Nouns ending with e, not accented, or circumflex accented, before a final consonant, are masculine, as — acier, bee, cep, chef, enfer, soutien, silex, arril, protH, &c., except clef, nef, cuiller, mer, which are feminine. » 7th, Nouns ending with ai, aid, air, ais, ait, oi, oid^ oir, ois^ oit, are masculine, as — balai, plaid, frais, air, trait, aloi, froid^ encensoir, ostensoir, anehois, droit, &c., except — chair, foi, loi,paroi, which are feminine. 8th, Nouns ending with eu, ieu, u, are generally mas- culine, as — aveu, feu, dieu, lieu, individu, insu, fissiif &c., except lieue, bru, gelu, glu, tribu, vertu, which are feminine. 9th, Nouns ending with au, lau, are generally itiascu- line^ as— e7at<, couteau, gateau, &c., except eau, (water,): and^eatf, which are feminine. K 1 . m un APPi^NDlX. 10th, Nouns ending wiili o, followed by one or more of the consonantH, final, are niagculine, as — boriiy croc, don, or, (metui,) dos, Jiot, fort, put, jwnt, is-c, except (lot, vvhicli is feminine^ 11th, Nound ending with i, followed or not l»y one or more of the consonants', final, generally arc of the mas- culine, as — abri, ennui, etui, epi, lundi, bruit, lit, putts, &c., except fourmi, houri, niiit, and envi, injini, merci, in the adverbial expressions — d-Venvt, d- Vinfini, d-la merci, which are feminine. 12ih, Nouns ending with ouy followed or not by one or more of the con.<}onants, are masculine, as — bijoUyinaUm, trou, croup, coup, cou}s, tour, detour, bourg, &.c. 13ih, Nouns ending with u, followed by one or more of the consonants, are masculine, as — aquedtic, but, iri- but, pus, turc, &,c., except puc, which is feminine^ lilh, Nouns ending witli age, uge, acle, ime, aume, Cme, istne, iste, ine, One, are masculine, as — adage, nge^ (a year,) heritage, deluge, tabernacle, buptime, diadtme, baume, dOme, chisme, antagonisie,pene, irCne, &c. 15th, The name of each metal is masculine, as — acier, arsenic, airain, bismut, fir, iiuin, or, argent, pla- tine, 4rc., exce^ti plombagint, which is feminine. 16th, The name of each character or letter of the al- phabet, is masculine, as — /, m, n, s, x^ y, z, Sfc, ; some except the letter A, 17th, The name of each season of the year, of each day and month, is masculine, as — printemps, ete, autonne^ /liver, le lundi, le dimanche, Mai, Juin, &c. j some ex- cept autonne. . . .> 1 8th, The name of each fruit tree, or fruit plant, is masculine, as — pommier, poiricr, prunitr, cerisier, frai- sieVy frwrnboisi^r, figuer, Sfc, except ronce and epine, which are feminine. 19th, The name of each mountain is masculine, as — le Caucase, VEtnat, le Mont-real, le Parnasse, Sic. 20th, The name of each adjective used as a substan- tive, is masculine, especially of such adjectives as mark proportion and distribution, as — le rougf, le noir, le bhu. APFENDIX. 103 J or more ort/, croc, ., except liy one or ilie maa- »rui7, lit, and iuvi, -I'envt, d- by one or oiiyinaUni, i.c, fio or more :, buty iri- [line* ^TWf, aume, adafye, age^ e, diadtme, &c. ilinc, as — gent, pin" ne. of ihe al- , 2, ^c.j ir, of each |e, auionnex some ex- It plant, is \sier, frai- ind epine, iline, as — Bubstan- ;8 as mark ItV, /e bkuy le ilanc, le beauy Vagreablc, h vraiy le faxH, &.c. ; /c deuxume, le cinquitme, le double, le iriplt, &.c. 2Ut, Tlid name of the infinitive of cacfi verb, of each adverb and proposition, used as a substantivtv is mascu- line, as — le dejetlner, le diner, le souper, leparler, le piu, le trap, le pour, le contre, ike. 'i'2d, As a summary of the preceding rulci<, the follow- ing, but too general, rule, may servo to guide in a great measure, viz: — Nouns ending with a consonant, preceded by a vowel, are masculine, as — lacet, chef, decrit, echec, fer, juUp^ id, hymen, nez, examen, mur, serment, diner, pur gat^f^ ratclier, vigneron, fouct, plaisir, coq, sitex, &c., except collation, caution, cuiller, clef, dot, f agon, f aim, fin, le- gon, liaison, maman, maison, mer, main, nef, saison, ioi' son, puc, &c., and the generality of substantives ending with ion, son, zon, and x, which are femininer The following nouns are masculine^ contrary to what is very often observed in vulgar language, viz : — *^biif abime, abrege, accord, accueil, argent, or, eiain, acier, airain, aimant, accent, accident, acharnement, acre, ecoty agaric, acaoissement, acle, affront, acces, age, agre- ment, agrandissement, aigle, avis, ulun, nmadouy autier, alveol, alpha, alois, uloi, anthrax^ aliment, alphuUt, arnas, amour, angelus, appartement, amusement, ameuble- ment, apprentissage, arc, arc-en- del, apologue, aposii'me, aposiume, archet, argent, art, arret, etabluge, an'erage, arrangement, article, artifice, assemblage, assoupissement, assortimeut, ascendant, asbeste, asile, asire,, asterisque, aspect, atout, attachement, atours, autlas, aiel, avenir, aventage, avenement, bol, aviron, anncau, anniversaire, amid, almanach, ambre, apanage, dollar, cveil, elan, etui, envoi, emploi, ergot, ermitage, hypocondre, hymen, cxQ" men, hypogastre, eclat, eclair, echo, eclair dssemcnt, ecran, ecrin, ecrou, ecrit, eci-iteau, ecu, ccrouUmcnt, eboulement, eboulis, ecudl, echafaud, edit, effet, egard, eloignementy eloge, emboupoitit, amuleite, armet, arrite, aroma te, arpentage, empire, embarras, entonnoire, eiang, etangon, element,, empldtre, esiramagon, estropiat, exem* plaircy exemple, etal, epidermey detme^ inventaire, appuiy - W 104 APPENDIX. I(. ;■# ^ f It iphod^ ennoie, email, erable, etanchoir) itainif Heignoire etendage, etendard, apogee^ pergie, elysse, Stendoirey etambraie, etau, clavicuTe, dialthee, dialecie, Srysipiley iryng€y ers, foie, grade, harnais^ habillement, hame^on, herbage, honneur, iota, hemisphere, heritage, hotel, lobe, hopital, hommage, horison, lobule, hymne, incendie, in» dice, interit, ivoir, hasard, interval, instinct, nitage, ob' stacle, intiatin, epiploon, cesophage, tuber cule,peritoine, perioste, pylore, pericarde, perinh, reptile, obsique, eX' terieur, interieur, eguilibre, ours, office, ombrage, op' probre, otage, oremus, orifice, organe, exode, exorcisme, ornament, orgueil, exorde, oubli, oripeav, orpimeni, or- gasme, orle, ome, manipule, oreiler, orage, tut, hemiS' pAere, couroir, encensoir, osiensoir, enfer, usage, orgU£, or^ oracle, orteil, outrage, globule, encan, luth, engage^ ment, encouragement, endroit, engin, enterrement, elre' Hen, eperon, epi, esculie?', equipage, erratum, escabean, etage, etai, evenement, Svangile, essieu, excis, piriode, tube, espoir, egarement, emportement, estomac, essai, essuimain, Habli, etalage, onguen, oubli, otitil, outrage, (maiche, obituaire, espace, appareil, waggon, peridot, meeting, priche, punch, sleigh, pouding, sigard, insu, priparatif, exit, vivres, ut, &c. FEMININE SUBSTANTIVES. '-'■'■,. 1st, Nouns ending with e, mute, preceded by an- other vowel, generaUy are feminine, as — envie, m«, aiiw t>erlebre, t^nibrL^^fT"i' '^tineUe,Ji^e' (place to deposit the *^t' ''~'"''^^^-<'rtin>, S gend:;^;.sxrtra!rm:r„-^'''<='' ««»">•' both' 8 ra tne meaning or numb«r ," % I M\ 108 API^ENDIX. which they are used, viz : — 1st, amaur^ d4lice^ or^ guBy which, in the singular number, are masculine, and, in the plural number, feminine, as amours, d^- lices, orgues. 2d, aigUj awie, office, orge, pen- dule, satyrCy which change their respective gender according to their particular application, which is easily learned by practice. 3d, Gens, personne, rien, which change their gender according to the situ- tion they occupy relative to other words in the same sentence. 4th, Many other words have two gen- ders, but they are too numerous to be mentioned in this place. THE END. ERRATA. < "> \7A rAOK. 24 45 52 54 56 62 63 64 65 66 70 74 79 80 UfSTXAD or were the lettert, indi§ne, except r and *, C before a, d,u,l, r, t, ptaiiirf enrelacSf prefcetf clere, ardMy prHre, except ia theie expres- sions, E preceded, 9ttipe, pqmU, caloiKM, 84 |>«ye^« 87 hmhaUur, 92 vtMcmi, B£AD were (he final letters. indigne, except /, r, and «. C berore a, o, u, /, r, U- agnation, plaisir, tntrelaeg, prifecL clerc. arckipritre. except cidf iphod, and in these «xpreMioQs. E followed. gibet, comti, eolomne, immidiat, Tl^c word AymiM 5 lioet above* ptyehS' barbaie^r. vi$cSrial, , d4lice^ OT' -e masculine, amoursy d^- orge, pen- jctive gender m, which is Sy personne, \g to the situ- 3 in the same ive two gen- mentioned in lettera. d 8, tt,/,r, I. od, and in these M 5 lioef above' .J-ri>''l'^