§ 99. Hiatus avoided by use of a secondary form.— This expedient for avoiding the hiatus is only resorted to in a few isolated cases which are given and explained in the accidence: (1) The older forms, nouvel, fol, mol, bel, vieil, are employed instead of nouveau, fou, mou, beau, vieux. (2) mon, ton, son, are employed instead of ma, ta, sa. (3) cet is employed instead of ce. (4) l'on is employed instead of on. (5) aime-t-il, etc., is employed instead of aime-il, etc. § 100. Hiatus avoided by sounding the final consonant (liaison). When the final consonant is sounded before the vowel, the words practically become one. This is spoken of as liaison' (Lat. ligationem, a binding). But often the hiatus is only one in appearance. 1. There is no real hiatus, or at the most a very weak one, when the sense does not require the two vowel sounds to be rapidly pronounced one after the other, but allows of a pause between them: L'homme sortait | en chantant. Bientôt ils leur défendront de venir. Le soldat ambitieux | a gagné la victoire. Mon moulin | est à moi. In each of the above, and in all similar cases, the consonant must not be sounded before the vowel: the hiatus is only apparent. 2. The converse is to a great extent true; when the pause is not possible, the consonant is sounded. Hence the following rules: (a) In poetry the final consonant is almost always pronounced before a vowel sound, for the rules of verse require hiatus to be avoided. (See PROSODY, Hiatus.) (B) In serious prose, hiatus is sometimes preferred, but the final consonant is sounded, and hiatus thus avoided :— (a) In an adjective before its substantive: ces bons amis, trois ouvrages, ces enfants, son orange, les excellents amis, son excellent vin. (b) In an adverb before the word which it qualifies : c'est fort intéressant. (c) In a preposition before its noun: as, il est sans argent. (d) In conjunctions (except et). (e) In a pronoun which is the subject or object of a verb: Nous avons les livres. Je les attends ici. (7) These rules apply in a general way to familiar and colloquial prose, but greater freedom is allowed. THE VARIOUS SYMBOLS WHICH REPRESENT CONSONANT SOUNDS. K, G: (kan, gant.) K. § 101. k has always the hard guttural sound heard in keyword kan. G. G initial or medial. § 102. g before a, o, u, or before a consonant, has its own proper soft guttural sound heard in key-word gant ; ex. : goût, guêpe, gras, gland, etc. g before e, i, y, = j : gingembre, manger, mangeons. g is silent in doigt, legs, vingt and derivatives. G final. § 108. g final is usually silent: sang, faubourg. It is sounded in joug, zigzag, grog. When carried on to the following vowel, it has the sound of its corresponding hard guttural k. It is rarely thus carried on. CH, J: (che-min, je-ter.) CH. §. 104. Ch is usually sounded as in chemin. It has the sound of k (a) In almost all words derived from the Greek, as chaos, archange. (b) In the word yacht. It is silent in almanach. In drachme it equals g. J. § 105. J is always pronounced as in jeter. T, D: (te-nir, de-voir.) T. § 106. T initial has always its pure sound: tard, tenir. T medial has usually its pure sound: entêter. But it equals s in syllables* :— 1. -atie, -etie, -itie: démocratie. 4. In balbutier, initier, inertie, patient, and quotient. ↑ T final is usually silent: tout, tient, etc. It is sounded(a) In most words ending in ct: correct.‡ (b) In but (goal); fat (fop); dot (dowry). etc. Est (east); ouest (west). Sept, seven; huit, eight. (§ 132.) Fret, freight; aconit, aconite; malt. Lest, ballast; granit, granite. Chut! hush! ut, do (music). (c) In semi-naturalized words from Latin: vivat, déficit, * It will be seen by comparison that in the English language words similarly spelt have a corresponding peculiarity of pronunciation: FRENCH. Ambitieux Action Patient ENGLISH. ambitious. action. patient, etc., etc. Ti has its pure sound (1) in plural of verb étions; (2) in tiare, centiare, galimatias; (3) in words where the sound of s precedes: bastion. Not in distinct and instinct. D. § 107. D initial has always its pure sound: dard. D medial has always its pure sound: attarder. D final is usually silent: il vend. (a) It is sounded in ephod, sud. (b) When carried on to the next vowel, it has the sound of its hard dental t: ce grand homme = ce granthomme. It is rarely thus carried on. S, Z: (sel, zèle.) § 108. S initial has always its pure sound: si, se. S medial has generally its pure sound: poisson, disparaître. When placed between two vowels, it equals z: rose, hésite. S final is generally silent: frères, plats. (i.) It has its pure sound in : bis. (a) fils, son; mœurs, manners; plus-que-parfait. vis, screw; tournevis, screw-driver. blocus, blockade; obus, shell. jadis, formerly. las! hélas! etc.* (b) In semi-naturalized words from Latin: volubilis, (ii.) It has the sound of z, when carried on to the vowel of the next word: vous avez vouz avez. It is generally thus carried on. Z. § 109. Z initial has its pure sound: zèle. Z medial has its pure sound: bronze. Z final is generally silent: nez, vous avez, chez. When carried to next word, it has its pure sound: chez un de mes amis. * Also in as, ès, us, sus; laps, relaps; biceps; forceps; albinos;· ambesas; bibus; cortès, kermès; parisis, reps. P, B: (pe-tit, be-deau.) P. § 110. P initial has always its pure sound: pain, psaume. P medial has usually its pure sound: accepter. But it is silent : (1) In sept and derivatives septième and septièmement only. (2) In baptême, compte, dompter, prompt, il rompt, sculpter, and derivatives. (3) In exempt, but not in exemption. P final is usually silent: camp, coup, drap. (a) It is sounded in cap. * (b) It is carried on to the next vowel in trop, beaucoup only: il est trop indulgent. B. § 111. B initial has always its pure sound: bref. B medial has always its pure sound: Bourbon. B final is rare : 1. In plomb and compounds it is silent. 2. In other words it has its pure sound. F, V: (fe-ra, ve-nir.) F. § 112. F initial has always its pure sound: face, fer. (a) It is silent in : (1) clef, cerf-volant, chef-d'œuvre. (2) bœufs, œufs, nerfs, but not in bœuf, œuf, nerf. (b) It has the sound of v in neuf (nine), when carried on to the next word: neuf ans = neuv ans. V. § 113. V, whether initial or medial, has always its pure sound: ver, activité. It is never final. *It is also sounded in julep, jalap, laps, relaps, forceps, biceps, reps, and hanap. |