that a learner should, first of all, hear from a competent teacher those sounds and articulations which belong to every letter or combination of letters, and the different ways of representing those sounds and articulations. It will then be easy to understand the perfect pronunciation of every word, by whatever letters it may be represented to the eye. This naturally brings under our notice the ALPHABET. We convey our thoughts by means either of spoken sounds or written signs. The collection of the signs used to represent the sounds of a language is called Alphabet, and each sign a Letter. The French having no alphabet of their own, have adopted that of the Latins, merely adding to it as a consonant the w, which became necessary from the introduction of words from other languages cotemporary with the French. The French alphabet is the same as the English, but the sounds and articulations represented by the letters in the one language greatly differ from those represented by the same letters in the other. The letters are—a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z. They are called, according to the old appellation— a, bé,* cé, dé, é, èfe, jé, ache, i, ji, ka, èle, ème, ène, o, pé, ku, èrre, èsse, té, u, vé, double vé, ikse, igrèc, zède; And according to the new appellation a, be,† ce, de, e, fe, je, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, ke, re, se, te, u, ve, double ve, kse, igrèc, ze. * See 8 and 57. pp. The unaccented e in the new appellation of letters represents the same sound as e in the English word over. The French, therefore, have to represent the different sounds and articulations of their language twenty-six letters, to which may be added the double letters æ, æ, which were formerly much used, but which are now to be found only in a few words. Letters are divided into vowels and consonants. The vowels are those which represent the various sounds; they are generally called simple vowels when each sound is represented by one letter only, as a, e, i, &c.; and compound vowels when more than one letter is used to represent only one sound, as eu, oue, &c. The consonants, on the contrary, are those letters which represent the different modifications or articulations of sounds, and are, like the vowels, either simple or compound; they are simple when they preserve each separately the modifying pro perties which belong to them; as b, c, d, fl, tr, &c.; and compound when two or more consonants are used to represent one single modification or articulation, as ch, ph, th, &c. Diphthongs are combinations of vowels, representing two distinct sounds, pronounced in a single emission of the voice; as ia, io, oi, ui, &c. Nasal syllables are combinations either of vowels or of diphthongs with one of the consonants m or n; as am, en, im, ean, ouin, &c. The following table includes all the sounds and articulations of the French language, and the various combinations used to represent them. This table, if carefully read several times over, and referred to whenever a doubt arises, will greatly facilitate the study of the French pronunciation; at the same time reference should be made to the rules which follow, to explain the pronunciation more fully. EXAMPLES. fat knife over bed press VOWELS. fat, gras, dame, à, pâte, il changea, nous changeâmes. si, ami, divisibilité, haïr, gîte, île, symétrie, Neuilly. note, hôte, landau, beau, Georges, geôlier, curaçao, Saône. PURE DIPHTHONGS. bit note aie, Biscaie, Mayence, travail, il travaille. alléluia, diable, il paya, nous payâmes. pied, piétiner, payer, rayer, j'essuyai. ie, iê, ié, iai ye yes vielle, piége, pièce, biais, j'envoyais, il s'asseyait. PURE DIPHTHONGS-Continued. Dieu, Montesquieu, yeux, cieux. pioche, miauler, Bayonne. chiourme, Montesquiou. moelle, poète. soi, soie, vois, ils, voient, bourgeois, voyez. ieu io, iau yo yoke iou ew few oe, oè ое poet ouais, ouest. lui, je suis, fuyons. soleil, sommeiller. œil, œillet, recueillir. fenouil, grenouille. NASAL SYLLABLES (MADE OF VOWELS). encore Caen, ample, dansant, Jean, emporter, entendement, paon. faim, pain, sein, important, fin, symbole, synthèse, examen. im, in, ym, yn Sibilant, Labial. Dental Forms of the Sounds and Articulations. Value. aon, om, on on on long NASAL SYLLABLES (MADE OF VOWELS)-Continued. taon, comprendre, ton, pigeon, Humbert, Munster. NASAL SYLLABLES (MADE OF DIPHTHONGS). viande, patient, Mayence. bien, je viendrai, moyen. action, nous, changions, Lyon. goinfre, soin, joindre. baragouin, marsouin. juin, suinter. ville, vive, neuf_hommes, Westphalie. fille, fifre flatterie, fief, philosophe, Joseph. |