D. § 107. D initial has always its pure sound: dard. D medial has always its pure sound: atarder. D final is usually silent: il vend. (a) It is sounded in éphod, 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 : rose, hésite. S final is generally silent: frères, plats. (i.) It has its pure sound in: (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, bis. (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. sound: zèle. § 109. Z initial has its pure 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. 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, auf, 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. R (re-voir). § 114. R initial has always its pure sound: revoir. R medial has always its pure sound: arrêter. R final has generally its pure sound: finir. (a) Er final presents some difficulty. In it r is usually silent ex. aimer, donner, officier, etc. The following words follow the general rule, and sound r:-1. Monosyllables, as hier, mer, etc. 2. Hiver, enfer, cuiller, amer. (b) In two other words only is r final unsounded: monsieur and its plural, messieurs.* (c) When naturally silent it is rarely carried on to next Vowel. L (le-ver). § 115. L initial has always its pure sound: laver, long, etc. L medial or final has usually its pure sound: appeler, filer, sel, fil. It is often "mouillé." (§ 134.) § 116. L mouillé. 1. A single l is less often mouillé than double l. 2. I and II are never mouillé unless preceded by i. 3. Both 1 and I are mouillé when preceded by ai, ei, eui, œi, oui travail, bataille, vieil, vieille, deuil, feuille, ail, aillet, fenouil, houille. 4. -uill is mouillé: aiguille, anguille; but uil is not mouillé: huile, tuile. This is true of derivatives. 5. ll is mouillé when preceded by i alone. Exceptions: mille, tranquille, ville, village, vaudeville, etc. 6. 1 (single), preceded by i alone, is sounded as in sel, fil, il. Exceptions: (a) l is mouillé in avril, péril, etc. (b) The 7 is silent in gentil, sourcil, fils, fusil, outil, baril, persil, etc. (For further details, see § 135.) * ris sounded in fier (proud), but not in se fier (to trust). In sieur, monseigneur, etc., it is sounded. † Aile (wing) is the only exception. It is thus distinguished from ail (garlic). M, N. § 117. The nasal consonants are more conveniently considered in connection with the nasal vowels. (See § 77.) SUPERFLUOUS SYMBOLS. Q, C, X, W, Th, Rh, Ph. § 118. Q equals k: quel. Q. Q final occurs only in two words, cinq, coq; in both words it is sounded like k. (§ 182.) C. § 119. C sometimes equals the hard guttural k (kan), sometimes it equals the hard dental s (sel). § 120. C initial or medial. = C before a, o, u = k: cage, cor, culte, sculpteur. § 121. C final is usually sounded as k: roc, avec. (1) It is silent in the endings -onc, -anc: tronc, blanc. X. § 122. X usually equals ks: tare. Sometimes it equals Sometimes the guttural sound disappears, and x gz. equals s or z. X initial is very rare: Xérès (sherry), is pronounced zérés. X medial = gz when placed between two vowels: exacte. = ss in soixante, soixantaine, etc. = z in deuxième, sixième, dixième. X final is usually silent but (1) It is sounded as s pure in dix, six. (§ 132). (2) It is sounded as ≈ when carried on to the next vowel: aux amis = auz amis. W. § 123. W sometimes equals ou, sometimes v. In three words only does it equal ou, viz., whig, wagon, whiskey. It is rare. Th. § 124. Th equals t pure: le thé, le théâtre. It has never the English pronunciation thin, though. In asthma it is silent. In zénith it has the sound of t. Rh. § 125. Rh always equals r: rhum, enrhumé. Ph. §126. Ph always equals f pure philosophe. H. § 127. H is either mute' as in huître, or aspirated' as in haricot. Even when said to be 'aspirated,' h is not breathed in French as in English. (§ 189.) In most French words the h is 'mute;' but there are two hundred words or more in which it is aspirated.' Those words most in use,* in which the h is aspirated, are— 1. le haillon, rag la harangue, harangue la harpe, harp la houille, coal la houle, surge 3. hagard, haggard harnacher, harness, etc. hérisser, bristle up heurter, knock against hisser, hoist la hâte, haste la honte, shame hurler, howl. Complete lists may be made from a good dictionary. G |