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NOTE. In words where in is followed by n, and im by m, or whenever in and im are followed by a vowel or h mute, the pronunciation is no longer nasal. Thus in and im are not nasal in

innocent, innocent.

immobile, immovable.

inutile, useless.
imiter, to imitate.

In all other words in and im preserve the nasal sound; as,

incendie, conflagration.

importun, troublesome.

NOTE. En has the nasal sound of in in agenda, a memorandum-book ; appendice; Benjamin; Le Bengale; examen, examination; Mentor; and pensum, a school-task.

ON, OM, EON.

Position of the mouth for the sound on, om, or eon, as in bon, good; ombrage, shade; nous mangeons, we eat; mon, my; ton, thy; son, his, her or its; longtemps, a long time.

To pronounce on, the tip of the tongue rests on the lower teeth and the base of the tongue is raised up towards the uvula, the lips protrude and become somewhat curved. The vowel resounds forcibly within the mouth and a little in the nose. ON in the diagram denotes also the om or eon of the above examples.

UN, UM, EUN.

Position of the mouth for the sound un, um, eun, as in brun, brown; humble; à jeun, fasting; un parfum commun.

To pronounce un, the tip of the tongue rests on the border of the lower teeth, and the base of the tongue is a little raised up, the lips and teeth are apart; the vowel resounds forcibly within the mouth and a little in the nose. As with all nasal vowels the mouth must remain open until the sound is entirely expressed. UN in the dia

gram denotes also the um or eun of the above examples.

Additional examples of nasal sounds: Vainquant, conquering; vainquons, let us conquer. Prenons-en-un, let us take one of them. De temps en temps, from time to time. Vent, wind; vin, wine; ils vont, they are going. Par habitude enfin, les enfants en font une imitation parfaite, finally, by habit children imitate them perfectly.

18. DIPHTHONGS.

Combinations of vowels are frequently called diphthongs (dis, dis, double, and póyyos, phthongos, a sound), and may consist of two or more vowels. Some of these combinations (in written language) sometimes represent simple sounds differing from each of the elementary sounds from which they are supposed to have originated, such as ai, au, eu, ou*. Other combinations of vowels (in written language) represent a succession of two or more vowel sounds, more or less blended with each other, as ie in ciel, heaven, iai in biais, slope, and sometimes so distinct as in fact to form separate syllables, as i-ai in ni-ais, simpleton.

The diphthongs representing simple sounds are classed with the simple vowel sounds (16.).

The (written) diphthongs representing compound vowel sounds are:

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iu ......
.....reliure, binding. ieu...

.Dieu, God.

oe.......moelle, marrow. iou...........chiourme (sing.),

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ian ...viande, meat.
ien‡...bien, well.
ion ...nous étions,

we were.

uin...juin, June.
ouan, ouen,―jouant,
playing; Rouen.
oin ...poing, fist.
ouin...marsouin, por-
poise. [to him.
ui......lui, he, him, or

19. NOTE.-A is not sounded in août, August, aoriste, Saône, taon, ox-fly. Ai before a syllable beginning with s in the conjugation of the verb faire (page 165) has the sound of e unaccented. E is not sounded in Jean, Caen. I is not sounded in poignard, dagger; poignée, handful; poignet, wrist. O is not sounded in faon, doe, Luon, paon, peacock. U has the sound of o in album, opium, minimum, triumvir.

20. NOTE.-The termination ent of the third person plural of French verbs has the sound of e unaccented, as ils aiment, they love; ils unirent, they united (25.).

The following list of homonymous (ouòs, homos, similar, and ovoμa, onoma, name) expressions is intended to remove the difficulty attending several words which are written exactly like the third person plural of some verbs, but the last syllable of which is differently pronounced:

ent has the nasal sound in

adhérent, adherent.
coïncident, coincident.
content, contented.
un couvent, a convent.
différent, different.
excellent, excellent.
précédent, preceding.
président, president.
parent, relative.
négligent, negligent.
il pressent, he foresees.
il convient, he agrees.

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* Called by some grammarians ocular diphthongs. † Or wa in water. ien is sounded i-an in science, patience, Orient, expédient, émollient, inconvénient.

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CONSONANTS.

21. The consonants, with the exception of c, f, l, r, are almost always silent at the end of words *, unless joined to a final e mute, as petit, petite, little; grand, grande, great; Louis, Louise.

c is sounded like k before a, o, u, as in cave, cellar; colonie; cuve, tub. c is sounded like s before e, i, y: as ceci, this; Cicéron, Cyclope.

e is also sounded like s when accompanied by a cedilla (12.), as in façade, front; garçon, boy; je reçus, I received.

e final is silent in almanach; blanc, white; broc, jug; clerc, clerk; croc, hook; accroc, rent; échecs, chess; tabac; estomac; flanc; instinct; jonc, reed; tronc, trunk ; je vaincs, I conquer; tu vaincs, il vainc.

c is sounded like g in second, secondement, seconder, czar.

ch is generally sounded like the English sh, as in chat, cat ; cheval, horse; chirurgie, surgery; architecte; archipel, archipelago; chimie, chemistry; archevêque, archbishop; chose, thing; Michel, Michael; Achéron.

ch is sounded like k in chaos, écho, eucharistie, chœur, choir; orchestre, archange, anachorète, archonte, Chanaan, Achab.

fis not sounded in bœufs, oxen; nerfs, nerves; œufs, eggs; but the fis pronounced in the singular: un bœuf, un nerf (except nerf de bœuf), un ceuf. Cerf, stag; clef, key; chef-d'œuvre, are pronounced cer, clé, chèd'œuvre.

g is sounded hard before a, o, u, as in gâter, to spoil; gobelet; guttural; bague, ring; guide.

Gui is sounded gu-i in aiguille, needle; and in all words formed with the adjective aigu, sharp, such as aiguillon, sting; aiguiser, to whet. Gui is also pronounced gu-i in Guise; la linguistique. (Ciguë, hemlock, is pronounced cigu.)

g is soft, and is sounded like j, before e, i, y, as in Georges; agir, to act; gymnase.

g is mute in legs, legacy; poing, fist; faubourg, suburb; étang, pond; vingt, twenty; hareng, herring; sang, blood; seing, signature; long; rang, rank; doigt, finger.

yn has a liquid sound, as in champagne; gagner, to gain; ligne, line; agneau, lamb; Bourgogne, Burgundy; incognito, assignation, compagnie, imprégner, imprégnation, magnésie, magnétique. Except the following words, in which gn is sounded hard: stagnant, regnicole, inexpugnable, igné, diagnostique, agnat, cognat. Signet is pronounced sinet.)

h is either mute, as in l'habit, the coat; les_honneurs (25.); le grand homme, the great man; aux_hirondelles, to the swallows; or aspirated,

* In English, on the contrary, consonants at the end of words are sounded. Thus s is heard in Paris, Calais, pronounced as English words, whilst it is silent in French. In English an s is even added to certain proper names which have no final letter of the kind in the original words from which they are taken, as in Lyons, Marseilles ; from the French LYON (derived from the Latin Lugdunum), MARSEILLE (from Massiliæ).

as in la* haine, the hatred; accablé de* honte, overwhelmed with shame; cheveux hérissés, hair erect (bristling-up); des* hurlements affreux, frightful howling.

h is mute in more than half of the words beginning with that letter, and is aspirated in the remainder.

The following are the words in which h is aspirated:-Ha! hableur (and its derivatives), hache (and its derivatives), hagard, haha, hahé, haie, haïe, la Haie, haillon, haine, haineux, haïr, haire, halage, halbran, halbrené, hâle, halener, haler, hâler, haletant, hallage, halle, hallebarde, hallebreda, hallier, haloir, halot, halte, hamac, hameau, hampe, han, hanap, hanche, hangar, hanneton, hanse, hanscrit, hansière, hanter, hantise, happe, happelourde, happer, haquenée, haquet, harangue (and its derivatives), haras, harasser, harceler, harder, hardes, hardiesse (and its derivatives), harem, hareng, harengaison, harengère, hargneux, haricot, haridelle, harnacher, harnais, haro, harpailler, harpe, harper, harpie, harpin, harpon, harponner, hart, hasard (and its derivatives), hase, hâte, hâter (and its derivatives), haubans, haubert, hausse, hausse-col, hausser, hautain, haut, haute (and its derivatives), hâve, havir, Havre, havresac, hé! heaume, héler, hem! hennir, hennissement, Henri (in elevated style), héraut, hère, hérisser, hérisson, hernie, hernieux, héron, héros†, hersage, herse (and its derivatives), hêtre, heurt, heurter, heurtoir, hibou, hic, hideusement, hideux, hie, hiérarchie, hisser, ho! hobereau, hoc, hoche, hocher (and its derivatives), holà! Hollande (and its derivatives), homard, hongre, Hongrie, honnir, honte (and its derivatives), hoquet, hoqueton, horde, horion, hors, hors-d'œuvre, hotte, Hottentot, houblon (and its derivatives), houe, houille, houlette, houle, houppe, houppelande, houpper, hourdage, houret, houri, hourvari, housard, hussard, houspiller, houssage, houssaie, housse (and its derivatives) houssine, houssoir, houx, hoyau, huche, hucher, huées (and its derivatives), Huguenot, huit (and its derivatives), humer, hune, hunier, Huns (peuples), huppe (and its derivatives), hure, hurhau, hurlement, hurler, hutte, hutter.

8

jis articulated like s in the English word pleasure, as in je, I; joyeux, joyful.

7 is generally sounded at the end of words, as in il, he; fil, thread; aïeul, ancestor; seul, alone.

I final is not sounded in fusil, gun; baril, cask; sourcil, eyebrow; outil, tool; gentil, pretty; nor in fils (pronounced fiss), son.

I liquid, much resembling the gl in the English word seraglio: soleil, sun; feuille, leaf; dépouille, spoil; péril; bail, lease; écueil, shoal; paille, straw; bouteille, bottle; œil, eye; famille, family. See page 351.

I is not liquid in the following words: fil, ville, mil, mille, tranquille, imbécille, camomille, codicille, Achille, armillaire, distiller, idylle, pupille,

*The h aspirated prevents the elision of the a, or e (11.), or the union of the preceding consonant (25.).

In the derivatives of héros, such as héroïne, héroïque, héroïquement, and héroïsme, the h is mute.

"H s'aspire dans hors-d'œuvre, chose dont un ouvrage peut se passer; mais elle ne s'aspire pas dans hors-d'œuvre, terme de cuisine: On servit plusieurs hors-d'œuvres; dites: plusieurs-z'or-d'œuvres.”—MALVIN-CAZAL.

syllabe, vaciller, subtil; nor in all words beginning with ill, as illégitime, illustre, etc.

p is sounded in cap; cep, vine (except cep de vigne).

p is not sounded in corps, exempt, compter, indomptable, baptême, sept, exempter, dompter, sculpture, temps, champ, camp, drap, loup, sirop, galop, trop, coup; nor the last p in prompt.

ph is sounded like f, as in philosophe, phosphore; phare, lighthouse. q is sounded like k, as in quitter, to quit; question; quatorze, fourteen ; acquérir, to acquire; qualité; quadrille.

qua is sounded coua in quadrupède, aquatique, équation, équateur, loquacité, liquation, quadruple, fourfold.

que is sounded cuè in équestre, equestrian : qué is sounded cué in liquéfier. qui is sounded cui in équilatéral; équitation, horsemanship; équiangle, ubiquiste. Quintuple is pronounced cu-intuple.

ris sounded as in rat; route, road: also after a vowel, or at the end of words, as in art, garçon, tour; finir, to finish; voir, to see; hier, yesterday; fier, proud; cher, dear; tiers, third.

r final is mute,-1st, in verbs which have their infinitive mood ending in er; as aimer, to love; fier, to trust; prier, to pray; except however when, in elevated style, the verbs in the infinitive mood are followed by a word beginning with a vowel, as Aller au combat, to go to battle;-2nd, in words of more than one syllable ending in ier, iers, cher, and ger; as jardinier, gardener; volontiers, willingly; boucher, butcher; boulanger, baker.

8 has two articulations, the first like s in the English word soldier; as in sage; séjour, abode; sucre, sugar; semaine, week; si, if; sonner, to ring; sur, upon; estime, esteem; parasol; converser, to converse; vraisemblance, likelihood; monosyllabe; persister, to persist ;-the second like z, occurring generally when s is placed between two vowels*; as in user, to use; résumé, summary; risible; transitif; rose; misère, misery; vésicatoire, blister.

8 final is silent in most words; pas, bas, etc.; in Christian names, Thomas, Nicolas; in names of cities, Paris, etc.: it is sounded in hélas; jadis, formerly; vis, screw; as, ace; lis, lily; gratis; atlas; est, east; ouest, west; also in certain proper names, as Lesbos, Joas, Gil-Blas, Ménélas, Páris (son of Priam).

t has also two articulations, the first as in the English word tact: tentative, attempt; totalité, total; amitié, friendship; inimitié, enmity; bastion; indigestion; mixtion; partie, part; soutien, support; châtier, to chastise ;the second as in the French syllable ci: patient, partial, essentiel, perfection, ration, Dioclétien, Vénitien, minutie, démocratie, satiété, initier; balbutier, to stutter.

th is always sounded like t: thé, tea; théière, teapot; théâtre; thème, exercise; Athènes, Panthéon, arithmétique, Élisabeth, orthographe.

* In compound words the s beginning the second word has its first articulation, as may be seen in the words vraisemblance, monosyllabe.

+ The articulation TH, peculiar to the Greek and the English languages, has not been adopted in the French tongue. In France a child, learning the Greek alphabet, is taught to pronounce 0, téta: Ocòs, téos.

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