In order to understand the following remarks on the permutation of consonants, it is necessary to study §§ 92, 93, where the consonant sounds are classified.

It is also important to notice :—

1. That the initial consonants constantly remain unchanged. 2. That the medial consonants change oftenest.

3. That the finals more often drop off than change.

4. That the change often arises from assimilation; more rarely from dissimilation.

5. That the change is from mute to spirant; rarely from spirant to mute.

6. That the change is generally from hard to soft; rarely from soft to hard.

7. That the soft often sink into a vowel.

8. That the change of sound from one organ to another is almost unknown.*

GUTTURALS. •

k, q, c, were equivalent symbols in Latin. k was extremely rare; q was employed only when followed by u or v; c was in common use. Those few French words in which k occurs are of quite modern manufacture, and are not from the Latin, but from the Greek kilomètre; kilogramme.

Both q and c sink into g, the soft guttural.

French g from Latin c. gros, grossus; venger, vindicare; aigu, acutus.

aigle, aquila.

French g from Latin q.

Sometimes the symbols q and c interchange; the hard guttural sound remaining queue, cauda; car, quare.

*Examples occur in patois: amikié for amitié, ghieu for Dieu. (Parisian patois). Mékier, moikié, for métier, moitié (Canadian French). See Max Müller's Lectures, p. 185, note, and Student's English Language, F. 347.

§ 39

The following 'permutations are anomalous.*

French c(s) from Latin c (= s).

*

For explanations of these changes see Diez, Grammatik: Latin Consonants, and Brachet's Dictionary, English edition.

gésir

sache

galbinus

joie

gaudium

French j from Latin 'i consonans.'

judicare
jam

juin

Jeune

Junius

juvenem

French g (=j) from Latin 'i consonans.'

French ch from Latin 'i consonans.'

French u from Latin 1.

See § 214.

§ 40. Subtraction and Addition of Letters.

1. Letters have dropped off from the end of words : APOCOPE: argent, argentum.

2. Letters have dropped off from the middle of words: SYNCOPE image, imaginem.

3. Letters have dropped off from the beginning of words : APHÆRESIS: blé, ablatum; on, homo.

4. Letters have been added to the beginning of words: PROTHESIS: haut, altus.

5. Letters have been added to the middle of words: EPENTHESIS: concombre, cucumerem.

6. Letters have been added to the end of words: EPITHESIS : sans, sine.

Roughly speaking, accented Latin syllables have remained in French: unaccented syllables have dropped off.

1. In Latin words of two syllables the accent is always on the penult. In French resultants, therefore, this penult alone has remained, the last syllable has disappeared, or has left e mute as its representative.