FRENCH GRAMMAR,

IN FOUR PARTS:

PRONUNCIATION, ACCIDENCE, SYNTAX,

AND

DICTIONARY OF DIFFICULTIES.

BY P. F. MERLET,

Teacher of the French Language at the London University,
AUTHOR OF "LE TRADUCTEUR," ETC.

PART I.

THE PRONUNCIATION.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

EFFINGHAM WILSON, 88, ROYAL EXCHANGE;

JOHN TAYLOR, BOOKSELLER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON,
30, UPPER GOWER STREET.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

1. Of the Vowel Sounds; with directions to assist in the pronun-

2. The French Alphabet; the modern way of uttering the Con-

GENERAL RULE.-Peculiarities which fall on several of

When the is sounded and when not

Of the liquid ll's-Remarks and Directions concerning the

two ways of pronouncing them

When ail and aille are to be short or broad

When mm are sounded double

How to utter mm

When n is nasal, and when not

Concerning ent, ien, and in

When qui, que, &c. are to be sounded like cui, cuê, or like kib.

When r is sounded at the end of words, and when not

When s is sounded at the end of words, and when not.

7. Praxis on the Consonants

Praxis upon the final r

Praxis upon the middle r

8. A List of Words generally considered difficult to be pro-

nounced.

9. Of the Acute, Grave, and Circumflex Accents, &c.

10. Observations on the e mute

Articulation of ble, bre, &c.

On the elision of the e mute

11. Cases when oi is pronounced like oâ, and when like ê

12. Of dividing Words into Syllables

24

26

ib.

27

28

29

30

13. General Rules for joining the final consonant of a Word with

the Vowel of the next

14. Of the Accent, or Stress and Emphasis

Next to the Sixteen Vowel Sounds (p. 3), the attention of

the English pupil should be particularly directed to this part.

The emphatical Word pointed out by means of c'est and

est-ce

ཚུ š

Pronouns generally disjunctive used emphatically

15. General Rules for reading French correctly.

16. Observations on the manner of pronouncing French Verbs. ib.
Concerning es, ons, ez, ent, as terminations

ib.

Concerning ois in the imperfect, rai in the future, and rois

in the conditional

36

Imitation of the right pronunciation of the most difficult

Verbs

ib.

How the Pronouns personal, je, me, &c. are pronounced

when joined to a verb

38

Ordinal numbers

their orthography and signification .

17. Pronunciation of the numerals

The right pronunciation of the numbers when before a

Vowel, before a Consonant, and when by themselves

Concerning vingt, cent, and mille.

18. Of the right pronunciation of some proper Names

19. French Words, which are the same in sound, but different in

20. French Words, which are the same in sound and orthography,

but different in their signification

42

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

TREATISE ON PRONUNCIATION.

THIS short Treatise may be considered either as a separate publication, or as one of the four parts into which the Author's Grammar is divided.

The difficulties of French pronunciation, when the lanuage is accurately examined, reduce themselves to the utterance of five sounds, namely, u, un, on, in, an, and to the difference of accentuation, as compared with other languages. Now, though such difficulties cannot be removed by written explanations, yet it is possible to furnish rules and observations, calculated to forward and establish the oral instruction of the master. These aids, therefore, are furnished, together with arbitrary instances in which the consonants are sometimes pronounced and

sometimes not.

Spelling, or the naming of the letters in the order in which they compose a word, is of use for children in their own language, but can be of none to foreigners in learning

B