DIRECTION. Be careful when uttering any French vowel to give the sound from the upper part of the glottis. Have the mouth fully opened tongue down and flat, and send the sound fully into the mouth. The mouth open with the tip of the tongue down and flat, but the root part raised to produce contraction and send the sound fully into the mouth. The same direction as for a No. 1, but the sound is to explode at the chambers of the nose, with the tip and root of the tongue motionless. The mouth open with a little backward expansion of the corners of the mouth, the tip of the tongue down, but the middle raised a little to the palate with the sound sent thither. The mouth open, the tip of the tongue down, but the middle towards the palate, and the root raised for contraction, then send the sound to the palate. somewhat like Indes*. Indies The same direction as an in angry. somewhat like été been for è 4, but explode The mouth nearly open, nearly closed, but open the lips at the corners of the mouth, and raise the middle part of the tongue to the palate, then send the sound thither. *Letters in roman are not to be sounded. Remark that the want of single signs to represent simple articulations has caused the consonants ch, gn, and ill to be marked by a combination of letters. Letters in italic are not to be sounded. The letter h, called he in the modern nomenclature, and often named ash to distinguish it from e No. 17, is not in French a consonant, when 13 79 said aspirate; it is merely a diæresis: thus le héros is sounded as if 13 79 written le, éro. The x, called kse, is not a single and simple consonant; it represents four different articulations, ke, se, gue, ze, and is used as a sign of abbreviation. The English w is called double u, and the German w double ve. THE FRENCH ALPHABET. The alphabet contains twenty-five signs or letters, the names of which are only used when naming letters in mathematics or conversation. It is sounded as follows: Similar Sounds in English." like a in ah! like ba in bacon, baker. like sa in sage. like da in date. like a in ale. like the English f. (like ja, and articulated like s in pleasure. No d is heard. like ash in mash. like ee in sheep. flike jee, and articulated like s in pleasure. cah. as in English. as in English. as in English. like ра in pace. (like the French u with as in English. Now consonants are pronounced as if they were followed by an e mute; b, for instance, is pronounced be; c, he, &c. (see page 6). PRAXIS ON THE SEVENTEEN VOWELS. In order to read the following words properly, it will be necessary to consult the table on the Consonants (p. 6). The italic letters are intended to be silent. Une, a or one. Du, of the. Sucre, sugar. Lunc, moon. Me, me. Heure, hour. Sœur, sister. Beurre, butter. Peur, fear. Queue, tail. Feux, fires. Ceux, those. Bœufs, oxen. Bonne, good. Homme, man. Poche, pocket. Forme, form. Bornes, bounds. Sot, fool. Os, bone. Aux, to the. Hôte, host. Eau, water. Sots, fools. Eaux, waters. Mon, my. Don, gift. Ombre, shadow. Nom, name. |