INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON FRENCH PRONUNCIATION. BY LOUIS GUIDA, LL.D., OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. FRENCH pronunciation is a work of the mouth exclusively of any guttural sound ;* it requires the unceasing articulation of the lips, and the tonical accent must be laid on the final syllable of the word, and on the last word of the sentence. The application of this rule should be particularly attended to by English learners, who are accustomed to a proceeding quite opposite to this in their own language. JUNCTION OF WORDS. In repeating verses, and in oratorical discourses, the last consonant of a word is generally sounded on the vowel or h mute of the following word. But in conversation and familiar reading it is not necessary to give a strong impulse to the voice; and, therefore, the words are joined in the pronunciation, only when they are so connected as to complete the sense of one another. * Observe only that a syllable ending in e mute, in attracting the consonant of another e mute, gives to the first e a gentle guttural sound; ex., jene le sais pas. THE CONJUNCTION ET. Et, conjunction and, is pronounced é fermé, and the t should never be heard, except in the Latin monogram, &c., i.e. et cetera. OBSERVATIONS ON THE LL LIQUID, AND ON GN Ll and gn called liquid articulations, are easily pronounced by raising and joining the middle of the tongue to the palate, and breathing without effort. The liquid articulation must be entirely supported by the preceding, not by the following vowel: example, mouill-é, not mouil-lé, wet; magn-anime, not mag-nanime, magnanimous. The articulation of in French is generally represented by the English letter y ; but this conveys a very imperfect idea of a sound which can be learned only by oral instruction. ARTICULATION OF THE LETTER R. The pupil should also be careful with regard to the distinction between the letter in the French and in the English language. In English, the letter is frequently long, whereas in French it is pronounced short in almost all instances. The curve shows that the letters which it joins should be united in the pronunciation. This mark placed between letters indicates that they should be pronounced separately and independently. |