ON FRENCH PRONUNCIATION.

Note.—The rules given below must be considered as general. Some are subject to more or less exceptions, which, for the sake of brevity, have not been mentioned, but they will all be found clearly and fully noticed in their respective places.

ALPHABET.

French Alphabet. Old French Pronunciation. Approximate English Pronunciation. Modern French Pronunciation. Approximate English Pronunciation.

A a a ah a ah

B b bé bay be bu-t

C c cé say ce su-m

D d dé day de du-ll

E e é a e u-p

F f èff eff fe fu-n

G g jé zhay ge zhu-t

H h ash ash he hu-g

I i i ee i ee-l

J j ji zhee je zhu-g

K k k kah ke cu-t

L l èl el le lu-ck

M m èmm em me mu-d

N n ènn en ne nu-t

O o o o o o-ld

P p pé pay pe pu-n

Q q qu ku ke cu-rl

R r èr air re ru-st

S s èss ess se su-n

T t té tay te tu-b

U u u u u u

V v vé vay ve vu-lgar

X x iks eeks kse ksu-t

Y y i grec ee grek y y-ore

Z z zed zed ze zu-n

FRENCH VOWEL SOUNDS.

The Simple, or Vowel sounds, in the French language, are as follows:—

French. English. French.

a (short) like a in bat, exemplified by mal.

â (long) like a bar âge.

e sounded like a villă me, je.

è, ê e e’er, there père.

é ai, e air, eh! été.

i ea peak pique.

î ie field gîte.

o o rob mol.

ô o no môle.

u no equivalent in English (nearest approach is u in brunette) exemplified by suc.

û no equivalent in English sûre.

eû sounded like e in her (but longer and deeper) jeûne.

ou oo root exemplified by goutte.

oû oo noose voûte.

an no equivalent in English tan.

in fin.

on bon.

un brun.

Y, when alone, or when preceded or followed by a consonant, is pronounced like an i; except in pays, paysan, paysage. When placed between two vowels, it performs the office of two i’s, and is always preceded by a, e, o, or u. When preceded by a or e, it unites its first i with this vowel, and sounds è, as in rayon, which is pronounced rè-ion; when preceded by o, its first i is sounded in conjunction with o, like wa in the English word wag, as in joyeux, which is pronounced joa-ieû; and when preceded by u, its own two i’s preserve their natural sound, as in appuyer, which is pronounced appui-ié.

A is long in the termination aille, except in médăille, je travăille, détăille, émăille, băille (I give). It is also long in ation, as, nation, admiration, oblation; pronounce therefore, pāille, limāille, canāille, nātion, admirātion, oblātion, etc.

In the terminations of the imperfect of the subjunctive of verbs of the first conjugation, the a is always short; as que je parlăsse, que je donnăsse.

NASAL SOUNDS.

The nasal syllables are: aim, ain, am, an, aon; ean, eim, ein, em, en, eon, eun; im, in; om, on; um, un; ym.

Am, an, ean, are pronounced like an, without exception; as ambition, vendant, songeant. Em and en are also pronounced like an, as in emploi, empire, envie; but not always. In words derived from foreign languages, they are pronounced liked ème, ène; as Jerusalem, hymen. In words terminating in en or ein, and in their derivatives, en is pronounced like in; as mien, Chrétien, Chrétienté; and in the verbs tenir, venir, and their derivatives, en is sounded like in; as tiens, viens.

In femme, em is pronounced like am.

Im, in, aim, ain, ein, are all pronounced like in. The i, however, keeps its natural sound in words taken from foreign languages, as in Sélim, Ephraim, which are pronounced as if the m were followed by a silent e; in all words in which in is followed by a vowel; as in-animé, in-octavo, in-odore, in-humain; and in the beginning of words commencing with imm and inn.

Om, on, are pronounced like on; as in pont, tombe; complet, donjon. Automne is pronounced ôtonn.

Aen, aon, ean are sounded as an in the following words: Caen, Laon, taon, faon, paon, Jean.

Eon is sounded on when following g: mangeons, plongeon.

Um, un, eun, are pronounced like un; as in parfum, importun, à jeun.

Un is, however, sounded on in a few words of foreign origin: punch, de profundis.

Um is pronounced like ome in words of Latin origin, as duumvir, triumvir; factum, factotum.

CONSONANTS.

B has the same sound as in English; as bal, ball. It is pronounced in the middle and at the end of words.

C has the sound of k before a, o, u, l, n, r, except when it has a cedilla under it, in which case it is pronounced like s, as reçu. It is also pronounced like s before e, i, and y. Ch has the sound of sh, except when it is followed by a consonant, in which case it is pronounced like k; as in chronologie.

D has the same sound as in English. It is sounded in the middle of words, as in adverbe. When it is final, and carried to the following word, it sounds like t, as in grand homme, which is pronounced gran-tomme.

F is pronounced like the same letter in English, as in fleur, flower. It is sounded at the end of words; but in neuf it is pronounced like v when followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h mute, as in neuf enfants, which words are pronounced neu-van-fan.

G has the hard sound of g in the English word go, before a, o, u, l, m, r, as in gomme, gris, gum, gray. But it has always the soft sound of s as in pleasure before e, i, y, as in génie, gîte.

When combined with n in the middle of words, it has a liquid sound, somewhat similar to that of ni in the English word onion, as régner, saigner, agneau, compagnon, etc. Every word in which this sound occurs is preceded by a star (*) throughout this work. Whenever gn is not liquid, it sounds as in the English word ignorant.

H is sounded with a guttural impulse, when aspirated, as in héros, hero. When mute it has no use but that of showing the etymology of the word, as in honneur, honor. It is always silent after t, as in méthode, arithmétique, which are pronounced métod, a-rit-mé-tik. The aspirated h is marked throughout this work with a dagger (†).

J has always the sound of s in pleasure, and is subject to no irregularity.

K has always a hard sound, as in the English word king, and is subject to no irregularity.

L has two sounds. The first is precisely the same as l in the English word lily. The second is liquid. The liquid l, whether double or single, is always preceded by i. It is similar to the sound of the last i in William.

It is to be remarked, that i, followed by l or ll, and preceded by another vowel, is always silent in pronunciation; it only serves to indicate the liquid sound of the l, as in paille, soleil, patrouille, which ought to be pronounced pâ-i, solé-i, patrou-i. But when i is not preceded by another vowel, as in fille, it retains its natural sound, and serves at the same time to indicate the liquid sound of l. And here in fille, pronounced fi-i, we find both the i natural and the i which stands for ll.

Whenever i begins a word, as in illusion, the l’s are never liquid. The liquid l is marked throughout this work with a star (*).

P has the sound of the same letter in English, as in peine, pain. When combined with h, it has the sound of f, as in philosophe, philosopher.

Q has the hard sound of k, as in the English word quaker. Whether initial or medial, q is always followed by u, which is not sounded except in a few words that are noticed in the course of this work.

R has the same sound as in English, but is articulated much more strongly, as in rivière, river. It is always sounded at the end of words, when preceded by the vowels a, i, o, u. In substantives, adjectives, and verbs ending in er, it is silent, unless it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h mute, as in dernier ouvrage, which is pronounced dernié-rouvraj.

S has two sounds. The first is hissing, as in the English word sister; the second is soft, as in the English word please. It has uniformly the hissing sound at the beginning of words, and the soft between two vowels. Both sounds occur in saison. It preserves its hissing sound in compound words, as in parasol, vraisemblable; and when it happens to be sounded at the end of words, as in Pallas, Brutus, vis.

When s final is joined to the following word, it is always articulated like z, as in dans un cas important, which must be pronounced dān-zun-kâ-zin-por-tān.

T has two sounds; one hard, as in the English word tutor, and the other like the hissing s, as in sister. Both occur in situation, which is pronounced si-tuā-sion. It has the hissing sound before i, connected with some other following vowel or vowels, as in patience, factieux, which are pronounced pasian-s, fak-sieû.

When t, however, is immediately preceded by s, it preserves the hard sound, as in bastion, question, which are pronounced bas-tion, kès-tion.

X has generally the sound of ks. In all words beginning with x or ex, followed by a vowel, it has the sound of gz, as in Xavier, exil, which are pronounced gzavié, èg-zil. When final, it is joined to the following word, and sounds like z, as in beaux yeux, dix hommes, which are pronounced bô-zieû, dî-zom. X has the sound of ss in Auxerre, Auxonne, and Bruxelles.

FINAL CONSONANTS.

The final consonants that are sounded are b, c, f, k, l, m, q, r.

The final consonants that are not sounded in words which stand alone, or terminate a sentence, are, d, g, h, n, p, r (in the termination er only), s, t, x, z.

J and v are never final.

D is pronounced like t when joined to the following word, as in quand il parle, which must be pronounced kān-til parle.

G is pronounced like k, as in sang impur, which is pronounced sān-kin-pur.

P is pronounced only in Alep, cap, Gap, cep, jalap; and in beaucoup, trop, when those two words come before a vowel. In cep de vigne, the p is silent.

R, preceded by e, is frequently silent in conversation before a vowel, but it must always be sounded in poetry, unless it terminates the verse.

S, before a vowel, sounds like z, as in nous avons eu, which must be pronounced nou-zavōn-zu. S is sounded in aloès, bibus, blocus, chorus, choléramorbus, dervis, florès, gratis, jadis, laps, maïs, mars, orémus, ours, rébus, relaps, Reims, Rubens, sinus, en sus, vasistas, etc. It is silent in Jésus-Christ, but sounded in le Christ.

T is generally pronounced before a vowel, except when it is preceded by a sounded consonant, as in effort étonnant, pronounced é-for-éto-nan; in quatre-vingt-un it is not pronounced, but it is sounded in vingt et un. In all plural nouns, and in the conjunction et; also before a vowel in fort, adjective, it is silent, but it is sounded in fort, adverb. Final t is also sounded in brut, déficit, dot, mat, exact, fat, infect, intact, net, rapt, subit, tact, toast, transit, zénith, etc. It is not heard in Jésus-Christ, though it is sounded in le Christ.