the sound of s; ceci, this; cendres, ashes; façade, front; façon, fashion; reçu, received. ch is pronounced like sh in she. Ex. char, car; charbon, coal; changement, change. с in the words vermicelle and violoncelle, is pronounced like sh. ch is pronounced like k, in a few words derived from the Greek. Ex. chaos, anachronisme, chronique, patriarchat, orchestre, &c. In patriarche, archevêque, Achéron, ch is pronounced like sh. In Michel-Ange, Michael Angelo, it sounds like k. с final is sounded, except when preceded by n. Ex. avec, with; arc, bow; sac, bag; suc, juice; Turc, Turk. Exceptions: it is silent in accroc, rent; broc, jug; clerc, clerk; estomac, stomach; lacs, snares; marc, mark; porc, pork; tabac, tobacco-ch is silent in almanach. c is pronounced like g in second, second, and fécond, fruitful, and their derivatives. с final is seldom pronounced upon the next word. 7. D has the same sound as in English. Ex. dame, lady. D is pronounced in the middle of words. Ex. adverbe, adverb; admirer, to admire. d is silent at the end of words, except in proper names: as in David, David; in the word sud, south, and in a few foreign words, as le Cid, the Cid; le Talmud, the Talmud, &c. d final, coming before a word commencing with a vowel or an h mute, assumes the sound of t: grand homme, is pronounced gran tomme; coud-il, does he sew? vend-il, does he sell? are pronounced cou-til, ven-til. 8. F is pronounced as in English. Ex. fièvre, fever; fiacre, hackney-coach. f final is generally sounded. Ex. soif, thirst; chef, chief; suif, tallow. Exceptions; clef, key; cerf, stag; chef-d'œuvre, master-piece; œuf-dur, hard-egg; œuf-frais, fresh egg; bœuf-frais, fresh beef; bœuf-salé, salt beef. In the plural of the words œuf and bœuf, f is always silent. The f of neuf, nine, is silent before a consonant, and sounds like v before a vowel or h mute; neuf livres, pronounce neu livres; neuf hommes, neuf enfants, pronounce neu-vommes, neu-venfants. 9. G is always hard (that is like g in game) before a, o, u. Ex. garde, guard; gond, hinge; aigu, acute. g before e and i has always the soft sound, (that of s in pleasure). Ex. gerbe, sheaf; gendre, son-in-law; gibier, game; gilet, vest. the u is gua, guo, gue, gui, are pronounced gha, gho, ghe, ghi, i. e., silent. Ex. il légua, he bequeathed; léguons, let us bequeath; guerre, war; guitare, guitar. Exceptions: In aiguille, needle, Guise, &c., the two vowels are sounded. The ue of gue final is mute, unless a diæresis is on the e, as in ciguë, hemlock. gn is pronounced like ni in union. Ex. règne, reign; peigne, comb; daigner, to deign; saigner, to bleed. g Exceptions: Gnide, Progné, stagnant, ignée, &c. final takes the sound of k before a vowel or an h mute:sang humain, human blood, is pronounced san kumain. 10. H is mute or aspirate. H mute (having of itself no sound) is, when preceded by a word subject to elision, (§ 146) treated as a vowel H aspirate is always initial, the breathing or aspiration is very slight, but not entirely absent, as is advanced by some grammarians. As it is important, on account of elision and of the pronunciation of the last consonant of a word preceding k, to know when it is aspirate or not, we will give a list of the words which commence with h aspirate, omitting however the derivatives and a few words seldom used. The h of the other words having the same derivation, héroine, héro isme, héroïque, &c., is not aspirated. • We say, however, du fromage d'Hollande, Dutch cheese: de la toile d'Hollande, Dutch linen. 11. J is pronounced like s in pleasure. Ex. jour, day; jamais, never. K sounds like k in English. Ex. kan, khan; kilogramme, a French weight. 12. L in the combinations il, ill, not initial, but in the middle or at the end of words, has the liquid sound found in the English word brilliant. Many of the French, however, give to the liquid 7 the sound of ye, in the English word eye. nunciation is now so common, that it is no longer deemed wrong. Ex. paille, straw; fille, daughter; bail, lease; travail, labor. This pro Exceptions: fil, thread; Brésil, Brazil; Nil, Nile; mil, mille, thousand; civil, civil; profil, profile; ville, town, and its derivatives; tranquille, tranquillité, &c., quiet, quietness, &c. 11 in Sully has the liquid sound. 13. M 14. N is silent in baril, barrel; chenil, kennel; coutil, ticking; fusil, gun; fils, son; fournil, bakehouse; gril, gridiron; outil, tool; persil, parsley; pouls, pulse; sourcil, eyebrow; gentilshommes, noblemen. } initial are pronounced as in English. For these letters in combination with the vowels, see Nasal Sounds, (page 21). Final consonants after m and n are generally silent. Ex. temps, weather; je romps, je prends, I break, I take. m is silent in condamner, to condemn; automne, autumn. n final, and not belonging to a noun, is carried to the next word, when this word begins with a vowel or an h mute, if the two words are closely connected. Ex. un bon enfant, a good child; mon ami, my friend; pronounce bon nenfant, mon nami. 15. P is generally sounded as in English. P is however silent in baptême, baptism; baptiser, to baptize; cheptel, chattel; compte, account; dompter, to subdue; exempt, exempt; sept, seven; septième, seventh. Exceptions: cap, cape; and proper names generally. p final is silent. Ex coup, blow; drap, cloth. p final is not carried to the next word. 16. Q qu is pronounced like k. Ex. question, question; qui, who; qualité, quality: ue final is silent after q. tice. Ex. pratique, prac Exceptions: qu is pronounced as in English in aquatique, équateur, équestre, équitation, équation, in-quarto, liquéfier, quadragénaire, quadruple, quadrupède, Quinte-Curce, Quintillen, quintuple, quirinal. q final is sounded. It is however mute in coq-u'Inde, turkey ; and in cinq, five, when followed by a word commencing with a consonant. 17. R. The French r is pronounced with greater force than the English. rr is pronounced like r. Ex. arriver, to arrive; arranger, to arrange. Exceptions: in the future and conditional of acquérir, to acquire; courir, to run, and mourir, to die, the two r's are distinctly sounded. Ex. je courrai, je mourrai, je courrais, je mourrais, j'acquerrais, &c. r final is pronounced when preceded by a, i, o, u. for; finir, to finish; cor, hunting horn; pur, pure. Ex. car, r preceded by e is generally sounded in monosyllables. Ex. fer, iron; cher, dear. r preceded by e is silent in words of more than one syllable. Ex. parler, to speak; manger, to eat; chercher, to seek. Exceptions: r is sounded in amer, belvéder, cancer, cuiller, éther, enfer, hiver, Jupiter, Lucifer, magister. The final r of an infinitive is not often carried to the next word in conversation. In serious reading it is generally carried to the next word. 18. S has generally the same sound as in English. S between two vowels is pronounced as in the English words rose, prose. Ex. base, base; vase, vase; pause, pause; chose, thing. Exceptions: s in words composed of a particle, or an adjective, and a word commencing with s, preserves the hissing sound: Ex. parasol, parasol; vraisemblable, likely; désuétude, desuetude; preséance, precedence, &c. s is pronounced in Christ, but not in Jésus-Christ. sc is pronounced as in English. Ex. scandale, scandal; science, science. sch is pronounced like sh, in the words schisme, schismatique, schiste, scherif, schéik, schelling-It is pronounced sk in scheme. s final is generally silent. Ex. pas, step; mais, but; jus, juice. Exceptions: s is pronounced in aloès, aloes; as, ace; atlas, atlas; blocus, blockade; cens, census; chorus, chorus; en sus, besides; gratis, gratis; lapis, lapis; laps, lapse; iris, iris; maïs, maize; mars, March; mœurs, manners; ours, bear; prospectus, prospectus; Rheims, Rubens; vis, screw; and in 19. T Latin and Greek names ending in s-Délos, Romulus, &c. s is carried to the next word when the word commences with is pronounced like t in table. Ex. tard, late; tort, wrong. t has the sound of the English c in cedur, in the combinations tial, tiel, tion, final or in the middle of words. The French words in which the above combinations occur, are very much like the English words which have the same meaning, and in which ti has the sound of sh. Ex. partial, partial; essentiel, essentiel; observation, observation. Words in which those terminations are preceded by s or x, are excepted; the t therefore in bastion, question, mixtion, &c., retains its proper sound. t has the sound of c in cedar, in words ending in atie, derived from the Greek, and having in English the termination cy, aristocratie, démocratie, &c.; also in initier to initiate; patience, patience; ineptie, absurdity; minutie, minutia; Dalmatie, Dalmatia; Dalmatien, Dalmatian, Domitien, Gratien, Egyptien, &c. In other words ending in tie, and in those ending in tie and th sounds always like t alone. Ex. thế, tea; thèse, thesis. t in sept, huit, vingt, is sounded except when it comes before a consonant. t is seldom carried to the next word; t in et (and) is always silent. 20. V is a little softer than the English v. Ex. viande, meat; voile, veil. 21. W which is found only in foreign words, is pronounced like v. Ex. Wurtemberg, Westphalie. In a few other words it has the pronunciation of the English w. Ex. whig, whist. 22. X initial, which in French is only found in a few words, is pro |