To show, to explain, to teach progressively the facts, the laws of the French Language, practically, conversationally, as well as in a concise, didactic form, and, AT THE SAME TIME, to give (with the sketch of the usual circumstances and scenes of Life, and of a real Journey to Paris) a considerable amount of information on France past and present, its geography, statistics, laws, society, history, literature, philosophy, and science, such is the object of the present publication. It is therefore hoped that it has not, without legitimate reasons, been entitled "How to speak French, or French and France" ("Comment l'on peut parler français, ou la langue française et la France"). Indeed, an organ of the Press having honoured the book with the name of "a little Cyclopædia of the French language," these words have been added to the title page. A valued encouragement also was the opinion given by Dr. J. Sheppard, who in his fine work, "The Fall of Rome, and the Rise of the new Nationalities," says of the Manual: "It contains an immeuse amount of information in a very few words. The chief characteristics of this volume are these: It presents as the Synopsis on the next page shows-a wide and varied range of useful subjects, both in the conversations (“resembling actual conversations, says the Leader), and in the Notes, Letters, and Tables; for there is no reason why the Student, whilst acquiring the language, should not also be interested by important facts and ideas; It contains all the essentials of Parisian Pronunciation, and of French Grammar, in condensed Rules, it solves the difficulties, and explains the peculiarities, idioms and niceties, thereby preventing Blunders; It gives directions how to acquire the habit of thinking in French, and of speaking it fluently; It removes for ever that great stumbling block-the difficulty of the Genders of nouns, now at last altogether conquered; It presents the Verbs in the simplest tabular form, and that best adapted for CLASSES, and for the MEMORY, the powerful principle of Locality being attended to-and the practical working out of the simplified arrangement being facilitated by a specimen of M. L. Nottelle's very useful Verbs Copy-books, founded on the plan of this work; It forms, in many of its parts, a French Delectus, or Reading Book, chiefly historical and anecdotical; it contains Examination Papers, worked out, as models, thereby making it a complete Hand-Book for candidates; Lastly, the Exercises given, and those recommended, are familiar, easy, and on the principle of imitation and repetition, and any of them can be correctly written, by any pupil, instantaneously. To sum up this Book also might almost be called "French in one volume," for it presents matter corresponding to the four great divisions of the study of a language: READING, GRAMMAR, COMPOSITION, and CONVERSATION. May these endeavours (founded on experience in tuition, and on the views of the great masters, Pestalozzi, Jacotot, Lemare, Robertson, Delille, and Manesca of revered memory! Ollendorff, Ahn, Arnold, and Prendergast) contribute to a more extended acquaintance with the French language and with France, and therefore promote intercourse, esteem, friendship, and commerce, between the great country of Bacon, Shakspere, and Watt, and la patrie of Descartes, Molière, and Jacquart! FIRST PART: A START IN FRENCH AND FIRST STEPS. (PAGE 5.) Numbers. God.-World.-Time.-Family. Dress.-House.-Meals.-Town. A LETTER ON PARISIAN PRONUNCIATION: HELPS TO SELF-INSTRUCTION. FRENCH GENDERS CONQUERED.-THE RULE.-Exceptions: Masculine, Feminine. A small Map of Paris.-Chief Places. The Laundress. Terminations of Letters. Correspondence. Directions of Letters. Notes and Letters. Another French Lesson. BLUNDERS IN FRENCH AVOIDED, Homonyms Geography of France. Reading.-Molière: The Miser. Government, past and present. Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. and Proverbs: Cobbett's Pseudo-Letters. FIFTH PART, CINQUIÈME PARTIE. (PAGE 183.) Les Siècles de l'Histoire moderne et de Histoire ancienne et du moyen âge; Lettre d'un vieux Sergent sur l'Histoire A LETTER, A FRENCH MEDLEY: TALES, ANECDOTES, ADVERTISEMENTS, GAMES, CON- KATHARINE, the bride of King Henry V. of England (1420), and ALICE. What do K. I must learn to speak. you call the hand, the fingers, the nails, the elbow, the neck, the chin? the arm, K. I do not doubt I shall learn, by the grace of God, and in a short time. A. Have you not already forgotten what I taught you? K. The hand, the fingers, the arm A. Excellent madam! K. It is enough for a time; let us go to dine. (Exeunt.) (SHAKSPERE, King Henry V., Act III.) CATHERINE, fiancée du roi Henri V. d'Angleterre (1420), et ALICE. C. Il faut que j'apprenne à parler. Comment appelez-vous la main, les doigts, les ongles, le bras, le coude, le cou, le menton? A. La main, les doigts, les ongles... C: La main, les doigts, les ongles... A. Cela est bien dit, Madame. C. Je n'en doute pas, j'apprendrai, par la grâce de Dieu, et en peu de temps. A. N'avez-vous pas déjà oublié ce que je vous ai enseigné ? C. La main, les doigts, le bras... A. Excellent, Madame! C. C'est assez pour une fois ; allons dîner. (Elles sortent.) (SHAKSPERE, Le roi Henri V, Acte II.) NUMERAL ADJECTIVES, OR NUMBERS. ADJECTIFS NUMERAUX OU NOMS DE NOMBRE. (Nong-d-nongbr.-They are nearly pronounced as marked, BUT DROPPING the g.) 41 quarante et un, traunt-nuff. carraunt. carraunt-a-ung. carraunt-duh. carraunt-trwaw. 1,000 mille, 1,100 onze cents, 10,000 dix mille, 100,000 cent mille, 1,000,000 un million, saung-duh. saung-trwaw. sang-saung. nussaung. mill. ongz-saung. carraunt-catr. 1789 dix-sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf, diss carraunt-sangk carraunt-siss. carraunt-set. carraunt-wit. carraunt-nuff. sangkaunt. sessaung-catr-veh-nuff. Or, mil sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf. 1858 dix-huit cent cinquante-huit, diz PRONUNCIATION OF NUMBERS. When a number is followed by a word beginning with a consonant, do not pronounce the last letter of the number: 5 francs, sayng-fraung. 6 see, 7 say; 8 sous (half pence) wee800, 9 nussoo; 10 pounds, dix livres, dee livvr, 17, diss-say, 18, dizwee, 19, dız-núllivvr. Remark that from 71 to 79, and from 91 to 99, the set used is the one which goes from 11 to 19, and not the set which runs from 1 to 9; Ex.: 75, soixante-quinze; 97, quatrevingt-diz-sept; 99, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. Remark also that t is pronounced at the end of vingt, from 21 to 29, but not from 80 to 99. |