A Handbook of French Phonetics - Forgotten Books

A HANDBOOK OF

FRENCH PHONETICS

WILLIAM A . NITZE

AND

ERNEST H . WILKINSUniversity of Chicago

W ITH EXERC ISES BY

CLARENCE E . PARMENTERUniversi ty of Chicago

NEW YORK

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

PREFACE

THIS little book is intended as a manual for elementaryand advanced students of the French language. In ele

mentary courses it may be employed as a substitute for thepages devoted t o pronunciation in whatever Grammar theteacher is using . In such courses the material printed insmall type should be omitted . In advanced courses, thebook may be used as a basis for a review of the pronunciation

,and as a reference book .

The authors have endeavored t o present the essentialfacts of French pronunciation , but have purpo sely excludedthe treatment of minor variations in sound (for example,intermediate vowel qualities) and the registration ofwordswhich are distinctly rare . In many cases Frenchmen themselves vary in the utterance of a given word or group of

words : in such cases we have generally given only the

variety which seems approved by the best usage . For suchdisputed questions, and for all matters of greater detail

,

the reader is urged t o consult the books listed in the Bibliography.

We have endeavored t o present the essential facts as

clearly and effectively as possible . Most earlier publications on the same subj ect mingle the treatment of the severalsounds wi th the rules for the pronunciation of the severalletters . The results of such a method seem t o us unfortunatethe student confuses his material, and rarely concentrateshis attention on the really important matter the actuallearning of the difficult French sounds; These dangers wehave tried t o avo id by treating , first , one by one, the severalsounds ; then, one by one

,the several letters .

iv PREFACE

Thus,under the heading ofAnalysis, the sounds of French

are explained in sections Each sound is representedby a phonetic symbo l . It s formation is set forth , it s variousspellings are listed , and French words containing it are givenas examples. The sounds are arranged in their most logicalphonetic order, starting with the lip- sounds and movingtoward those made in the back of the mouth . The lists of

the various spellings of the several sounds are of little valuet o the beginner , and are therefore printed in small type .

To the advanced student they may be very useful, part icu

larly in training for the identification of French words as

spoken .

The letters are treated, in alphabetical order, in sections70—95 . In each case rules are given , showing what soundthe letter in question represents under each of it s varyingconditions. Care has been taken t o classify and interrelatethe rules ; and the typographical arrangement is so devisedas t o reenforce the logical classification . It is hoped thatthe student will thus be enabled t o solve quickly, by ref

erence t o these sections, his particular difficulties as t o thepronunciation of given wo rds.

Proper names and fo reign words having marked peculiarities are relegated t o sections 96 and 97. In most earliertreatises on French pronunciation such words are introducedamong the normal French words , thus causing bewilderingand relatively unimportant additions t o the fundamentalset of rules. Our treatment prevents this unnecessary con

fusion . Our list of these words is of course merely selectivethe attempt t o give even a moderately complete list of themwould be beyond the scope of the present book .

The second division of the treatise, called Synthesis, dealswith the problems of actual speech , that is, connected speech.

Here the student will find an explanation of the chief principles of syllabificat ion, stress, quantity, linking, and in

PREFACE

tonation . But it cannot be t oo often said that French is aliving language and should be learned as such . The justificat ion for any practical treatise on Phonetics is that it canbe used as a scientific educational too l by a good teacher,himself possessing a fair pronunciation of the language andbeing always ready t o impart his knowledge through the useof viva voce methods . For such use this book is intended ;and consequently the second part

,in particular

, offers sug

gestions rather than dogmatic rules . This applies withparticular force t o the difficult subject of Intonation , whichthe authors are convinced can really be mastered only byimitating those who speak French well .Recognizing the fact that the needs and the methods of

individual teachers vary greatly, we have so distributed thestatements and the exercises that the teacher may by selection and rearrangement construct and assign a series of

lessons precisely adapted t o his own purposes . In elementary courses, for example, the teacher may think it best,particularly if time is limited, t o assign first only the mostimportant of the paragraphs in large print, with the corresponding exercises, and t o assign the more detailed materiallater and gradually, as the student’s vocabulary and knowledge of grammar increase . Or if in any course the teachershould prefer t o vary the order in which the sounds are presented should he, for example, prefer in teaching the oralvowels t o begin with the extreme positions [i] , [a] , [u] , andthen fill in with the intermediate sounds he will find notrouble in making his assignments accordingly.

The exercises may be expanded ad libi tum . They mayserve as models on which others may be constructed by theteacher or the class .

The phonetic symbo ls used in this book are those of the

A ssociation phonétique internationale.

CONTENTS

ANALYSIS

SOUNDS

THE PRODUCT ION OF SPEECH - SOUNDSTHE SOUNDS OF FRENCHTHE RELATION OF FRENCH SOUNDS To FRENCH SPELLINGDIPHTHONGSVOWELSOrala t

BackMixed (Rounded Front)

NasalSEMICONSONANTS

CONSONANT SClassifi cation Of ConsonantsConsonants Sim ilar in French and EnglishExplosiveFricativeNasalTrilledLateralTABLE OF SOUNDS , USUAL SPELLINGS , AND EXAMPLE SLETTERS AND SIGNSALPHABETACCENT SDIJERE SIS

CEDILLALETTERSDOUBLE CONSONANT - LETTERSFINAL CON SONANT—LETTER STHE INDIVIDUAL LETTER SFOREIGN WORDS

PROPER NAME S

viii CONTENTS

SYNTHESIS

SYLLABIC DIVISIONIN SPEECH

INQSPELLING AND WR IT ING

STRESSIN A SINGLE WORD

IN CONNECTED SPEECHWord GroupsLogical and Emotional Stress

VOWEL QUANTITYLIAISONASSIMILATIONELISIONPITCHINTONATIONBIBLIOGRAPHYEXERCISESPHONETIC READINGSFRENCH SELECTIONS FOR ORAL PRACTICEINDEX

A HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PnoN-ETIOS

ANALYS I S

SOUNDS

1 . The Product ion of Speech- Sounds . The chief factor

in any speech- sound is breath . As the breath passes upwardbetween the vocal chords it may or it may not be transformed into a musical sound called voi ce. It is transformedinto vo ice if the vocal chords are stretched and broughtclose together so that they vibrate periodically as the breathpasses between them . It remains simply breath if the vocalchords remain lax and apart . If the breath is transformedinto vo ice

,the speech- sound is called a voiced sound ; if the

breath remains simply breath , the speech- sound is called avoiceless sound . In the English word “ fad

,

”for instance,

the f is voiceless and the a and d are vo iced .

When the breath or vo ice issues upward from the vocalchords it enters a triple cavity consisting of the t op Of

the throat (pharynx) , the mouth , and the nasal passagesee Diagram A . The speechsounds are differentiated fromeach other according t o the shape assumed by this cavityand according t o the Openings and stoppages it presents t othe breath . The shape Of the cavity is altered chiefly by themotion of the tongue , the rounding or unrounding Of the

lips , the lowering or raising of the lower j aw, and the lowering or raising of the soft palate (velum) at the back entranceof the nasal passage . The possible Openings for the escapeof the breath are the oral Opening , between the lips , and thenasal opening , the nostrils . The oral opening may be closedby the lips ; the who le nasal passage may be shut Off by theraising Of the soft palate . The tongue may effect partialstoppage Of the breath at various points in the mouth .

2 A , HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

If the breath becomes voice at the vocal chords andissues through the mouth , or through the mouth and nose ,without enough stoppage t o produce audible friction, thespeech—sound is called a vowel.1

If the stoppage of the breath is sufficient t o cause audiblefriction , or no ise , and the amount Of no ise is approxim atelyequal t o the amount of vo ice, the speech- sound is called asemi consonant (or a semivowel) . In English the letters wand y usually represent semiconsonant sounds .

If the no ise predominates over the vo ice, or if the breath

issues from the vocal chords without becoming vo ice (thatis,if it produces only audible friction) , the speech- sound is

called a consonant . Accordingly,

consonants are eithervo iced or vo iceless .

Thus , the basis Of a vowel is vo ice or musical sound,that

of a consonant is no ise or audible friction,and that of a

semiconsonant is an almost equal amount of no ise and voice .

2 . The Sounds ofFrench . The French language has 37 different sounds : 16 vowels , 3 sem iconsonant s, and 18 consonants.

For each Of these sounds we use a phonetic symbo l .Most Of these sym bo ls are identical in form with ordinaryletters

,for example : [a] , [f] , [t] . Others are letters modified

in some particular way : [a] , [p ] , Others are special signs :[S] , [a] . All letters or signs printed in thi s book in squarebrackets are phonetic symbo ls .

The entire series , or alphabet , of thethirty- seven phoneticsymbols requisite for French is tabulated in section 63 .

3 . The Relation of French Sounds to French Spelling.

French spelling, like English '

spelling , is not phonetic . A

given sound m ay be represented in a given word by one

letter or combination Of letters, and in another word by an

other letter or combination Of letters, whi le a given letter or1 This defini tion does not hold good for whispered speech, in whi ch

of course audible friction is present.

SOUNDS o

DIAGRAM A

Nostrils ; 2 , Nasal passage ; 3 , Lips ;4 , Teeth ; 5 , Palate ; 6 ,

Velum , raised (asfor oral vowels) ; 7 , Velum ,

low ered (asfor nasal vowels) ; 8 ,

Uvula ( the t ip of

t he velum ) ; 9 , T ongue ; 10 ,Pharynx ;

11, Vo cal chords (glottis) . The advancedstudent w ill do well t o consult a good

m edical chart of t he throat , m outh , andnose .

combination of letters may represent now one sound, now ah

other. Many letters, moreover, in French as in English , arein certain cases silent , that is, do not represent sounds at all.In English , for instance , the sound Of e in “

me”is some

times represented by e, as in the word me,

”sometimes by

cc, as in“ reed, sometimes by ea , as in “ read ” (present

4 A HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

tense) ; while the ea in read (present tense) represents asound different from that represented by ea in “ read ” (pasttense) . In the word

“ knight ” the k, g, and h are silent . So/in French the words est and aient, though spelled very different ly, are identical in sound, and in each the consonantletters are silent (each word consists simply of the sound [e] :see section 10) while in t he word aimai the two ai

’s have

different sounds ( [e] and [e] : see sections 10 and

4. Diphthongs. A true diphthong is a combination of two vowelsounds uttered with the same M pulse of breath and in the same syllable . In English

,diphthongs are frequent . They are represented

sometim es by two vowelletters, as in the word “voice, sometimesby a single letter, as in the words “my,” which is pronouncedand “ go,” whi ch is really pronounced The second element Ofthe diphthong, in such a word as “ go, is often called an ofi -

glide.

In French there are no true diphthongs . The French combinationswhich most nearly resemble diphthongs are those consisting of a sem iconsonant and a vowel sound : see sections 28—38 .

A combination of two letters representing a. single sound, like theea in “

read ,” is called a digraph.

VOWELS

5 . Vowels are sounds in which the voice issues throughthe mouth , or through the mouth and nose, with little or no

stoppage : see section 1.

The French language has 16 vowels, Of which 12 are oralvowels and 4 are nasal vowels.

ORAL VOWELS

6. An oral vowel is one spoken through the mouth only.

In it s utterance the velum is raised, thus shutting Off the

nasal passage .

The French oral vowels are pronounced more distinctlyand more tensely than the English vowels . In English thevocal organs Often relax during the pronunciation of a vowel,so that it ends in a sort of Off- glide ;

“go ,

”for instance, is

VOWELS 5

really pronounced gou ” see section 4. In French there is no

such Off- glide ; the vocal organs retain their position until thepronunciation of the vowel is complete. The student shouldbe on his guard against carrying over into his pronunciationof French his habits Of English vowel pronunciation.

DIAGRAM B

DIAGRAM C

nous

Diagram B shows the different places in the mouth atwhich the several oral vowels are formed, and indicates themanner of their formation . The left end of the horizontalline represents the position of the teeth ; the right end, theposition Of the '

uvula . The nearness Of the symbol t o thehorizontal line indicates the degree t o which the tongue israised in the formation of the vowel in question . The fourvowels whose symbo ls appear on the straight slanting lineare called front vowels . The four on the solid curved line arecalled back vowels . The four on the dotted curved line are

called mixed vowels, or rounded front vowels .

Diagram C gives representative words (key-words) containing the several vowel sounds.

A HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

FRONT VOWELS

7. In the formation of all the French front vowels thereo ccurs a forward movement or fronting Of the tongue . The

lips are drawn closer t o the teeth than in the formation Of

the corresponding English vowels.

8 . [i] . In the formation Of this sound the blade Of the

tongue is close t o the front of the hard palate . The tip of

the tongue is bent down so as t o touch the lower teeth .

The mouth is very nearly closed . The corners of the lipsare drawn back , and t he j aws do not move .

This sound is similar t o the vowel sound in Englishbeet ,

”but it is pronounced more tensely. The vowel

sound Of English “ it ” does not o ccur in standard French .

This sound is represented in spelling EXAMPLES 1 SYMBOLSusually by i or i (that is, i with a circum fini [fini]flex accent, called “

i circumflex ”: the ao v ie [v i]

cents wi ll be di scussed in section 65) ile [i zl]

in a few words, after the sounds [a] or [o] , na‘ff [naif] 2by i (that 18 , “ i with a diaeresis ” : see sec

tion 66)

in the word y, and in a few booki sh words, lyreY11/For the representation of the phoneticcombinations [ijl and [ji], see sections 30and 31.

1 In all French words chosen as giv ing examples of the severalsounds, the portion of the word printed in bold—face type has thesound in question . Each examplep is followed by a set Of phoneticsymbols indicating the exact pronunciation of the word . The

sonant- letters used as symbols in sections 8—54 represent sounds apfiroximat ely eqequivalent to t he ordinary sounds of the correspondingglish letters ; except that [r] and [I]

.

represent sounds somewhatdifferent from English r and I (see secti ons 61 and and that [j ]represents a sound equivalent to the ordinary sound of English y. The

phonetic symbol [g] represents the sound of g in“go

”

; the symbol [8 ]represents the sound of the voiceless s Of

“base .

”The Sign z ai ter a

vowel- symbol indicates that the vowel represented by that symbol islong . Vowels whose symbols are not followed by that sign are short .

2 For the sound indicated by the symbol [a] , see section 11.

VOWELS 7

9 . [e] . This sound is called close e.

The blade Of the tongue is slightly lower than for [i] , andthe mouth is wider open .

This sound is Similar t o the a in English fate, but it is

pronounced more tensely, and the lips are drawn back more .

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLES SYMBOLSusually by e

,e (

“e acute or ai ; et

ne z

é t é

gaiin the word abbaye, and in the word pays paysand its derivatives, by a ;

in a few bookish words, as initial, by cc . oedipe

10 . [c] . This sound is called open e.

The blade Of the tongue is slightly lower than for [e] , andthe mouth is wider open . The sides Of the tongue come intocontact with the upper front mo lars .

This sound is opener than that of e in English “bed .

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLES SYMBOLSusually by e

, e (“e grave é, ai , ai ai met

or ci ; pennedés [dc ]bé t e [be zt ]fait lfs ]fait’e [fe zt ]peine [pen]

in some words,before y, by a; payer [peje]

in t he word payement, by ay; payement [pem ii ] 2

in the word Noél,by e“. N0 61 [noel] 3

11. [a] . In the formation of this sound the tongue re

mains flat , with it s tip still pressed against the lowerincisors . The mouth and lips are opened t o a normallywide position .

1 These words are sometimes otherwise pronounced : see section 70 .

2 For the sound indicated by the symbol [a] , see section 25 .

3 For the sound indi cated by the symbol see section 14.


In formation and in acoustic effect this sound lies betweenthe a in English “ pat ” and the a In English “ father .” 1

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSusually by a; patte [pat]

cave [kaxv ]

in a few words, when final, by a; la [la]in certain verb endings Of the 1st conin aimames [emam]gat ion, by a;in a few words, before m or n

,by e. femme

For the representation Of the phoneticcombination [wa] , see section 35 .

BACK VOWELS

12 . In the formation Of all the back vowels the tongue isdrawn back

,and the lips are rounded .

13 . [a] . This sound differs distinctly from [a] . The bladeOf the tongue is as low as possible in the mouth . The tipdoes no t qui te touch the lower teeth . The lips are slightlyrounded .

This sound is somewhat deeper in tone than the normalpronunciation Of the a in English “ father .”

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLES SYMBOLSusually by a or a; pas [pa]

tasse [tuzs]ame [arm ]

sometimes,before n in liaison (see sec en é t é [anet e]

tions 104 by e.

For the representation of the phoneticcombination [wa] , see section 37 .

14. [o] . This sound is called open 0 .

The back of the tongue is slightly higher than for [a] , andthe lips are more rounded .

This sound lies between the u in English fun and thea in “ law.

”

1 “ father, in the phonetic notation of Webster’s New Interna tionalDictionary.

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18 . [y] . In the formation Of this sound the tongue andj aws have the Same position as for [i] , and the lips are roundedas for [u] .This sound has ‘

no counterpart in English . It is quiteunlike either English u

,as in “mute,

”or English 0 0

,as in

“m oot .”

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLES SYMBOLSusually by u or it; une

cuvedfi [dyl

in certain forms of the verb avoir, by eu eus [y]or ea. efit [y ]

19 . [a] . This sound is called close eu .

In it s formation the tongue and j aws have the same position as for [e] , and the lips are rounded as for

It is represented in spelling : EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSby eu , ea, or am . feu [fa ]

m eute [me zt ]jefiner [gene] 1ncs ud [na]

2 0. [as] . This sound is called open eu .

In it s formation the tongue and j aws have the same position as for [e] , and the lips are rounded as for [o] .It is not unlike the u in English “ burn ” when the r is not

sounded .

It is represented in spellingusually by eu or (Pu;

in a few words, before medial i ll or finali l, by cv;

in the few words in whi ch it stands between c or g and medial i ll or final i l, byue;

sometim es , before n in liaison, by u . un am i [oenami ]

1 For the sound indicated by the symbol see section 55 .

VOWELS 11

21. [s ] . This sound is called mute e or feminine 6 .

It differs from [os] chiefly in that it is not so tense. It isalways very short, and never stressed .

It is no t unlike the unstressed e in English the man, or

the a in “Louisa .

It is represented in spellingusually by e;

0

in the stem - syllable of certain formsderivatives of the verb fa ire, by ai ;in the word monsieur, by on. monsieur [mesjo ]

NASAL VOWELS

2 2 . A nasal vowel is one pronounced Simultaneouslythrough the mouth and the nose . The velum is dropped ,and the breath passes through both the oral and the nasalpassages. The tongue position , for all nasal vowels , is low .

They are as distinct as the oral vowels. They have nothing of the American nasal twang .

”Care must be taken

not t o close the mouth until the pronunciation of the vowelis completed .

The sign over a vowel- symbo l indicates that the vowelis nasal .

2 3 . In spelling, nasal vowels are represented by vowelletters followed by checked m or n : that is, m or n fo llowedby a consonant o ther than m or n,

or final. 1 The checkedm or n is itself silent .Thus the m or n is checked, and the preceding vowel isnasal

,in the words camp [kfi ] , comte faim [fé ] , onz e

[fizz ] , saint [SB] , un [de] ; whereas the m or n is no t checked,

1 The terms “ checked m and checked n are new . They maynot at first commend them selves to phoneticians who are accustomed

“ checked ” to vowels only ; but we believe the new termstoapplyjust ifi by their essential accuracy and them great conv emence.


and the preceding vowel is oral, in the words aima [ema] ,comme [kom ] , amnistie [amnisti] , inutile [inyt il] , donna [dona] .In a very few words a nasal vowel is represented by a vowelletter

followed by an m or n that is not checked ; and in a very few casesvowel- letters followed by checked m or n do not represent nasal sounds :see the Notes in sections 83 and 84.

24. [B] . This sound is the nasal equivalent of a soundintermediate between oral [e] and oral [a] .It is represented in spelling EXAMPLES

usually by aim,ain, cim, ein, im, or faim

in; sainteR eimsseinsinl ple

after the sounds [e] or [ i] , by en;

in certain form s of tenir and venir, byin;

in a few bookish words, by em, en

in, ym, or yn .

For the representation Of the phonetic combination [we] , see section38 .

25 . This sound is the nasal equivalent of oral [a] .It is represented in spelling EXAMPLE S SYMBOLS

usually by am,an

,em, or en; camp [kfi]

dans [dd]tempe [t azpdent [do]

in a few monosyllabic nouns, by aon . paon [p61]

26 . This sound is the nasal equivalent of a soundintermediate between oral [o] and oralIt is represented in spelling EXAMPLE Sby cm or on.

SEMICONSONANTS 13

2 7. This sound is theIt is represented in spellingby um, an, or eun.

SEMICONSONANTS

28. Semiconsonant s are sounds in which the vo ice andthe no ise of the friction resulting from the stoppage of

the breath are approximately equal in strength : see sec

tion 1.

The French language has three sem iconsonant s : [j ] , [q ] ,and [w] .

29 . [j ] . This sound corresponds t o [i] spoken very lightly.

It is equivalent t o the y in English “

you .

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSwhen initial

usually by y yeuxin a few bookish words, by i or i ; ionique

iambewhen medialafter a consonant, by i ; bienafter a vowel, by i , y, or i ll; pai en

payerbataillon

when final in sound but not in spell~ batailleing before final e) , by i ll;when final in sound and in spelling

usually by i l;in the word linceul

,by t .

For the representation of the phonetic combinations [ij ], [ji] , and[waj ], see sections 30, 3 1, and 36 .

1 This word is sometimes otherwise pronounced : section 82 .

equivalent of oral [os] .

EXAMPLE S SYMBOLShumble [O

'

exbl]parfum [parfo

‘

e][63][30

‘

s ]


30. The phonetic combination is EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSrepresented In spellmg

usually by m, i i , or i ll;

in the words grési l and mil (“millet by it .For the representation Of the phonetic combination [q ij ] , see section33 .

31. The phonetic combination [j i] isrepresented in spelling

usually by illi ,’in the word abbaye, and in the wordpays and l t s derivatives, by y.

32 . [q ] . This sound corresponds to [y] spoken verylightly.

It is represented in spelling EXAMPLESby i t .

For the representation of the phonetic combination [q ij ] , see section33 .

33 . The phonetic com‘bination [q i j ] is

represented In spelling :by uy. lfq llafl

'

l

34. [W] . This sound corresponds t o [u] spoken verylightly.

It is similar t o the w in English “won, but the lips are

farther forward .

It is represented in spelling SYMBOLSby on .

For the representation Of the phonetic combinations lwa], [wa ], and

[WE] , see sections 35—38 .

1 These words are sometimes otherwise pronounced : see section 70.

CONSONANTS 15

35 . The phonetic combination [wa] is EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSrepresented in spelling :

usually by oi or oi;

in the word moelle and its derivatives,by oe;ibdl the word poe‘le and its derivatives, [pwaxl] 1

y oé;in a few words, by oua;in certain verb forms Of the first conjugation, by cud;

in some bookish words, after 9 or g,by ua .

For the representation Of the phonetic combination [waj ] , see section 36 .

36 . The phonetic combination [waj ] isrepresented in spelhng

usually by oy;

in a few words, by oua i ll.

37. The phonetic combination [wa] isrepresented in spelling :

usually by oi or oi ;

in the word poéle and its derivatives,by cc.

38. The phonetic combination [we] isrepresented in spelling :

usually by oin; soin [swé ]

in a few words, by ouin. baragouin [baragwe]

CONSONANTS

39 . C lassification of Consonants . C onsonants are soundsin which the no ise of friction from stoppage of the breathpredominates over t he sound of the vo ice

, or constitutes the1 These words are sometimes otherwise pronounced : see section 37 .

2 These words are somet Imes otherw1se pronounced : see section 35 .


entire sound in case the breath does not become voice : seesection 1. C onsonants in which vo ice is present are calledvoiced consonants; those in which the breath does no t becomevo ice are called voiceless consonants .

The French language has 18 consonants . They are classified in the fo llowing table according t o the character and theposition of the stoppage . The character of the stoppage isindicated by the terms at the left Of the table , the positionof the stoppage by the terms at the t op of the table .

For the meaning Of the terms explosive, fricative, nasal,tri lled, and lateral, see sections 41, 50, 57, 61, 62 .

In each of the pairs Of explosive and fricative consonantsthe first is vo iced , the second vo iceless . The nasal, trilled,and lateral consonants are all vo iced .

The articulation Of French consonants is clearer and tenserthan that Of English consonants .

40. Consonants Sim ilar in French and English . The

explosives, and the sounds [v] , [f] , [z] , [s] , [In] , and [n] , areapproximately equivalent t o the ordinary sounds of the

English letters corresponding t o the several symbo ls (thismeans, in the case of [g] , the g Of

“go ,

” and in the case of

[s] , the vo iceless s Of


46 . [g] . This sound is represented EXAMPLESusually by g or 99;

before a or 0 , in some verb form s,by

911;

before 6 or i , by ya ;in the words second

, anecdote,and

their derivatives, by c .

For the representation of the phoneticcombination [gz ], see section 47 .

47 . The phonetic combination [gz ]represented

by x. exiler [egz ile]

48. [k] . This sound is representedusually by c or cc;

before a or 0,often by qu;

before e or i

when ini tial,by qu; querelle

when m edial, by qu or cqu;

in a few words, as final, by q;in some bookish words

,by ch;

in some bookish words,by k;

in som e bookish words,before

sound [w] , by q;in certain words, when they occur in sang impur [sfiképyzr]liaison

,by g.

For the representation Of the phoneticcombination [ks] , see section 49 .

49 . The phonetic combination [ks] isrepresented

usually by x;

in som e words which begin with theprefix ex by we or as;

in some words,before e or i , by cc. acces

CONSONANTS 19

FRICATIVE CONSONANTS

50. In the utterance of the fricative consonants the

stoppage is partial and continuous .

51. [v] . This sound is represented EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSusually by v;

in the word neuf, when it occursliaison

,by f.

52 . [f] . Thi s sound is representedusually by f or if;

in some bookish words, by ph.

53 . [z] . This sound is representedusually by z;Often, as medial, by s;

in a few numerals,by as;

in certain words, when they occur inliaison, by s or 113.

For the representation Of [gz ], see sec

tion 47 .

54. [s ] . Thi s sound is representedusually by s or ss;

Often, before a or 0,by g: (that is, c facade

with cedi lla ” : see sectionOften, before e

,i,or y, by c or so;

Often, before the sound [j ] , by t; nationin the word soixante, by x. soixanteFor the representation of [k s] , see section 49 .


55 . This sound is apprOXi EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSmately equivalent t o the z in English“ azure ,

”but the lips are protruded .

C are must be taken no t t o confusethis sound with the ordinary sound ofEnglish j : [d3] .It is representedbefore a

,0,or u

,by j or ge;

before e,i,or y, by j or g.

56 . [S] . This sound is approxi

mately equivalent t o the sh in English“Show,

”but the lips are protruded .

It is representedusually by ch;in a few bookish words, by sch.

NASAL C ONSONANTS

57. In the utterance Of nasal consonants the breathpasses through both the mouth and the nose . In the mouththe . breath is first completely stopped and then suddenlyreleased, as in the explosive consonants .

58 . [m ] . Thi s sound is represented EXAMPLESby m or mm .

59 . [n] . This sound is more dist inctly dental than the English n .

It is represented :by n or nn.

[done]

60 . [p ] . This sound is formed by combining the art icu

lation Of [n] with that Of [j ] . The tip of the tongue rests

CONSONANTS 2 1

against the lower teeth , while the blade Of the tongue isarched against the hard palate.

C are must be taken no t t o confuse this sound with thephonetic combination [nj ] , o ccurring, for instance, in theFrench panier [panj e] and the English

“union .

”

This sound is represented EXAMPLESusually by gn; dignein the word Oignon and its derivatives, Oignonby ign.

TRILLED CONSONANTS

61. French has two r sounds, [r] and [R] . The sound [r]is called lingual r, and the sound [R] uvular r.

In the formation Of the sound [r] the tip Of the tongue istrilled by making it vibrate against the upper teeth .

In the formation of the sound [R] the tongue is drawnback

,and the uvula is made t o vibrate against it .

Some Frenchmen employ only the sound [r] , some onlythe sound [R] . We use in this book only the symbol [r] , butsuggest that the teacher , if he so prefers

,direct his c lass t o

regard the symbo l [r] as representing the uvular r.

The r sounds are represented EXAMPLESusually by r or rr;

in a few book ish words,by rh or rrh. rhume

catarrhe

LATERAL C ONSONANT

62 . This sound is articulated against the upper teeth ,the vo ice escaping at the sides of the tongue.

It differs notably from the English I. In the French [I]the tip of the tongue rests against the upper teeth

,and the


back Of the tongue is relatively low ; in the English Soundthe tip rests against the upper gums , and the back is raisedtoward the soft palate . In certain English words as

“call ” in which the l is final

,the tip Of the tongue drops

back during the utterance Of the I: this must be avo ided inthe utterance Of the French sound.

This sound is representedby l or ll.

63 . TABLE OF SOUNDS,USUAL SPELLINGS, AND

EXAMPLES

USUA L S PELLINGS EXAMPLE S

Vowels

Front

M ixed

aim ,ain

, eim ,ein faim ,

sainte, Reim s, sein,

1m,in

, en

am,an

,em ,

en camp,dans, temps, dent

om ,on dom , onz e

um,um

,eun

fini,ile

et, é t é , gai

m et , dés , bete,fait

,faite, peine

pattepas

,Ame

fort, aurainos

,tot

,aux

,beau

sou,gout

une,dfi

feu, jefiner, nceud

peuple,smur

TABLE OF SOUNDS , USUAL SPELLINGS,EXAMPLES 23


LETTERS AND SIGNS

64. Alphabet. The letters of the French alphabet are thesame as those of the English alphabet . The letter to

,how

ever, occurs only in bookish or foreign words, and the letterw occurs only in foreign words : see sections 96 and 97.

The following table shows in the second and third columns theregular names of the FI°ench letters and the pronunciation of thosenames . In spelling, special identifying sounds are now used for mostof the consonant letters, instead Of the regular names . These soundsare given in the fourth column of the table.


It appears also , in certain words, EXAMPLESon the letter e. It is written in theword NOct t o indicate that the e isseparate in pronunciation from thepreceding 0 . It appears in certainwords on a final e preceded by gu ,

t o indicate that the preceding u

is sounded (u in this ending isgenerally silent : see sectionIt appears also , with varying

function, in certain proper names :see section 97The French name for the diaere

sis is tréma , [trema] .

67. Cedilla. The cedilla, Jap

pears under the letter 0 when thec designates the sound [s] beforea,0, or u .

The French name for the cedillais cédi lle, [sedixj ] .

LETTERS

68. Double Consonant- Letters . A double consonantletter is , in most cases, pronounced as if it were a singleconsonant- letter : that is , it represents a single sound.

Exceptions t o this general statement will be noted for theindividual consonantletters .

In many scientific words Of Greek or Latin origin,how

ever, double consonantletters are held in utterance twice or

nearly twice as long as smgle consonantletters ; and informal speech a double consonantletter that would underordinary conditions be pronounced as a single consonantletter may be held in utterance for twice or nearly twice thenormal period .

LETTERS : A 27

69. Final Consonant- Letters . Most consonantletters,when final

, are silent . Final c, f, l, and q are however generally pronounced . Exceptions t o these general statementswi ll be noted for the individual consonantletters .

The addition of s t o a noun or adjective, t o indi cate thatit is plural , does not alter the pronunciation of the word . Ina word which ends in the singular form with a silent consonantletter, that letter remains silent before the plural s;and in a word which ends in the singular with a soundedconsonant- letter, that letter retains the same sound beforethe plural The word “ final,

”as used in sections 71—95,

applies t o consonantletters immediately fo llowed by plurals, as well as t o consonantletters which are actually final .

70. A. The let ter a is SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLSpronounced as fo llowsWhen independent

‘

(thatis, when not “ in combination,

”as specified be

low)

Without written ao

cent :

In general [a] balpattetard

Before s , when the [a] évasions is before a vowel pas

letter, or is final ; ahand in a few other espacewords : damnerIn the ending [a] or nation- ation, and in a few [11]other words , usagevaries

1 There are three words which constitute exceptions to these statements : baeuf [boef] , p

lural boeufs [be ] ; oeuf [oef], egg,” plural

wufs [a] ; and as [as] bone,’ plural as [O] .


SOUNDSBefore checked m

or n (that is , m or n

before a consonantletter other thanm or n

,or final :

see sections 83 and84 . Note that thechecked m or n is

itself Silent)With grave accent

With circumflex ao

centIn generalIn past abso luteendings of the firstconjugation :

In combinationai is pronounced as

fo llows :In general

When final in verbform s ; in the wordgai and it s derivatiy es ; and in the

words geai , sais,sai t

,vais

In the first syllable Of those formsOf t he verb fairewhich begIn fai sin the corresponding forms Of com

pounds Offaire; andin the words faisable and faiseur.

LETTERs z A—B 29

SOUNDS SYMBOLSBefore checked m

or n :

With a fo llowing llor final l:

at

ao before checked n

ou (for eau see below)When not the las tvowel sound Of awordIn general

In some words aucun

When the lastvowel sound

In general :

Before r; and in afew other words :

In general

In the word payement :

In the word abbaye; [pei] or [pej 1]and in the wordpays and it s derivat iv es

eau

71. B.

Initial or medialIn general


SOUNDS EXAMPLESBefore 3 or t [p] observer

Obtient

silent plombradoub

72 . C (without ce

dilla) .

Single (that is, not double, and not

“ in combination ” )

Initial or medial

Before a,o, u , or a

consonantletter

In general

In the wordssecond, anecdote,and their derivat iv es :

In the words lacsas

pect, circonspect

(the last res

peet, distinct, ins

tinct,succinct (the

last c) and inthe verb form

Before 6 , i , or y

FinalIn general

LETTERS 1 B—C

After n

But final 0 is sometimes sounded inthe word done,when spokenwithemphasis .

In the words accroc, Silent accrocbroc, caoutchouc ,clerc, cri c, croc, es

croc, estomac, mare,tabac

Final c is sound cric craced, however , inthe combinationsde bri c et de brac

and cric crac

Double

Before a,o , u , or a accord

consonant—letter

Before e or i

In combination

ch (for sch see below)In general

In words of Greekderivation

Before a,o, u , or

a consonant—lett er

Before e, i , or y

In generalIn a few words :


so (for sch see below) SOUNDS EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSBefore a , o , u ,

or a scandaleconsonant- letter

Before e, i , or y [s]

sch: [S]

73 . C , [s] facadelecon

74. D.

Initial or medial

In general

Before final 3 in verbforms ; and in the

wordsfonds andpoids :FinalIn general

In the word sudIn liaison (see section105)

75 . E.

Independent

Without writtencent or diaeresis :Initial

In general

In words beginning efi essa

esso essu in thewords eh and ci;and in some bookish words :

34

In the initialc ombinationdess— z

In general :

I n t h e

words dessous anddessus

In the initialcomb Inat l on

ress— z

In general :

I n t h e

words res

sui , res

suger, res

susci ter

Before mm,

mn, or nn inadverbs in—emment anda few otherwords :

Before finald, ds , or 2 ; be

fore final r orrs when the ris silent (seesectionand in the

word clef

Before final s

In general :

In monosyllables

SOUNDS EXAMPLE S

ressentir

ressui


SYMBOLS

LETTERS 2

Before checked SOUNDSm :

In general

Inafew bookish words :

Before checked

In general

After e, i , org :

In general

I n t h e

noun andad j e c t iv ee n d i n g s—i ent and—i ence

When de [e]n a sa l i z edbefore n inhalson

In afew bookish words :

In the verb silentending —ent :

Between g and silenta vowelletter ;and in the

names Jean andJ eanne:

35

EXAMPLES SYMBOLS

temple [taxpl]Luxembourg [lyksfibu zr]

sempiternel [sépit ernel]

dent [dd]essentiel [esfisjel]

bien aimée [bjeneme]

examen

donnent [don]

mangeaJean


At the end of a SOUNDSsyllable

In general

In the fo llowing cases the e

isnormallypro

nounced as [a]

At the beginning Oi aphrase :

In an initialormedial syllable, whenpreceded bytwo consonant sounds

In an initialor medialsyllable, before li or ri

representingthe sounds

or [t i]

silent

EXAMPLES

Levez- laC eci est bonLe chevalest tombé

brebisune fenetreune petitefille

il vient delever

relierat eller

donnerIOns

SYMBOLS

[relje][atelje][donerjc

’

i]

LETTERs : E 37

SOUNDSIn an initial or me

dial syllable,when the

next syllableends in anunaccented e:In future or

past futureendings afterthe sound [j ]In te at the regardez- le [regardele]end of animp er a t i vephrase : 1

Fu rthermo re ,an e which isnormally silentmay be pro

nounced as [a]when for anyreason , grammat ical or stylistie, a word isuttered except ionally Slowly ;as for instance ,when the wordit selfis an ObjectOf discussion : 2

1 An e which is norm ally pronounced [9 ] tends to become [(E ] oreven [a] if for any reason it is uttered with special stress : Donnez- le, jevous dis ! [donelm sovudi ] .

2 In the form al reading Ofpoetry an ewhich would in prose be silent ispronounced [a] unless it immediately precedes or follows a vowel sound :

Sombres j ours ! l’empereur revenait lentement .[s5zbr9 3uxr l lfiperoezr ravens lfitemfij

At the end of a line the e is sometim es pronounced even when it follows a vowel sound : France adorée ! [frfi zsadoree ] .In popular poetry, however, such an e often remains silent : Il é tait

une bergere, [iletetynbersexre] .


When there isa success10n of

mono syllablesendingme, the

second, as a rule,is pronouncedas But ce

gue is almosta lways pro

nounced [ska] ;and le and ne

show a t en

dency t o dropthe e wheneverpreceded by amo n o syl l ab leending in e:Before y

With acute accentIn general :Before —j e

With grave accent

With circumflex ao

cent

With diaeresisIn the wordNoel

In the ending —gue°

:

In combination

eau : see section 70.

ct .

In general

Before checked mor n :

With a fo llowingIt or final l:

SOUNDS

on me le

donne[Omeldon]

Si je ne tele [sigenteldis pas

grasseyer

dipa]

LETTERS ! E

cu (for amsee below) ; SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLSIn general

Before s or x fol

lowed by a vowelletter ; before t; before a vowelletter ;or as the last soundof a word :Before checked m

or n :

In forms of the verbavoir

In general

In forms of the verbavoir:

as (for mu see be

low)Before medial i ll orfinal i l

In the word moelleand it s derivatives :

In a few bookishwords , as initial :

In general

A S the last soundOf a word :

ue after 0 or

before medialfinal i t

39

40 A HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONET ICS

76 . F ,SOUNDS EXAMPLE S SYMBOLS

Initial or medial

FinalIn general

In the words cerf, nerf, silentclef; in the pluralsboeufs and ceufs; inthe combination chefd’oeuvre; and in the

numeral neuf when itmodifies grammat i

cally a fo llowing nounbeginning with a consonant sound :In the phrases neuf neuf heures [noev oezr]ans and neuf heures :

77. G .

SingleInitial or medialBefore a

,0,or u :

Before e,i,or y

B efore a consonantletter

In general

In thewords doigtand vi t andtheir derivatives :

FinalIn generalIn liaison


In combination SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLSch: see section 72 .

ph [f] philosophe [filoz of]sch: see section 72 .

79 . I.

Independent

Without written ac

cent , with or withoutdiaeresis

In general

Before a vowelsound :

In general

After l or r pre

ceded by a con

sonant- letter

Be fore checked m

or n :

With circumflex ao

centIn general

Before checked n

In combination

ai and at : see section70.

ci : see section 75 .

i ll medial

After vowel [j ] bataillonsound

After a sem icon [ij] cuillersonant sound :

LETTERs : H—1 43

After a, consonant SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLSsound

In general

In a few words ,in which the ll

represents a Latin ll

i l final

After vowel travailsound

With a preceding 0 :

After a consonantsound

In some words

In some words gentilsourcil

In the words gré [Ij ] grésilsi t and mi l (“millet

”

)

In general

After r; and in afew other words :Before checked m

or n :

In the word Oignon

and it s derivatives :

In general boite [bwaxt ]

After r [wa] 1 cro itre [krwuxtr]1 Some Frenchmen use the sound- comb ination [wal in cases in which


SOUNDS EXAMPLES[3] ie

Anj ou

81. K [k] kilometre

In the word genti l

homme:

In the words cul,soul, silent

fils , pouls

In the word linceul:

In initial i ll andin a few bookishwords

In combination

i ll medial and i t finalsee section 79 .

83 . M .

Single

B e f o r e a v ow elletter

Before a consonant silentletter other than n

LETTERS : J—N 45

Before n SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLSIn general

In the word silenttomne; and inword damner

it s derivatives :

Double

In general [fam][amne]

In initial imm [mm] imminent [immin‘

d]

NOTE .

“The vowel before a checked m (that is, m before a consonantletter other than m or n, or final) is nasal . Initial e is also nasal in

84. N .SOUNDS EXAMPLE S SYMBOLS

Single :

Before a vowelletter

Before a consonantletter ; or final

Double

In general

In initial inn and ina few bookish words

In combination

gn : see section 77 .

NOTE . The vowel before a checked n (that is, n before a consonantletter other than n

,or final) is nasal, except in final —ent in verbs,

in the word monsieur,and when

idenasaliz ed in liaison : see section 104 .

Initial e is also nasal in the words enamourer, enivrer, enorguei llir, ennoblir, ennui , and their derivatives.


85 . 0 .

Independent

Without writtencent

In general

Before 3 fo llowedby a vowelletter ;before the ending

- tion; and in a fewother words :

As the last soundof a word :

Before checked m

or n :

In general

When denasal

iz ed before n inliaison

In the word mon

With circumflex ac

cent

In general

In the words hOpital and hotel:

In combination :

ao, aou: see section 70 .

w, oé, wu : see section

oi , oi : see section 79 .

SOUNDS EXAMPLES

mon

mon ami

monsieur [mosjp]

LETTERS 1 O - P

Ot t

Before a consonantsound ; or as the

last Sound of aword

Before a vowelsound :

In general

After l or r pre

ceded by a con

sonant- letter

86 . P.

Independent

Initial or medial

In general

In the wordscompte, dompter,exempt, prompt (thesecond p) , sculp ter,sept, and their deriv at iv es ; in bapteme and relatedwords ; in the wordscorps and temps;and in the verbforms romps and

SOUNDS

[11]

[U]

[11]

EXAMPLES

oui

louange

clouer

oil

gout

moyen

SYMBOLS

47


Final SOUNDS EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSIn general silent coup

In the words cap [p] cap

In combination

ph: see section

87. o.

IndependentIn general

In the numeral cinq,when it modifiesgrammatically a following noun beginning with a consonantsound :

In combinationcq: see section 72 .

88. R.

SingleIn general

In final —er in wordsOfmore than one syl

lable

In general

In the words amer,

cui ller, enfer, ether,

hiver :

In the words mon

s ieur, messi eurs, volon

ti ers :


In theverb form est;and in the wordslesquels , mesdames,mesdemoiselles

FinalIn general

In the words aloes,as, atlas, bi s , cassis ,cens , es, fits , hélas ,ibis, iris, j adis, laps ,lis (the noun) , mats ,mars, métis , moeurs,oasis , as (the sin

gular) , ours , pathos,plus (when emphatic , when meaning“ plus,

” and in thecombinations en

plus and plus-

que

parfai t) , relaps, rhinoceros , sens, ensus ,tous (when emphatic , when a pronoun,and when not im

mediately preceding a noun) , us, vis(the noun)Bu t final 3 is

S i l e n t i n t h e

c om b i n a t i o n sfleur- de- lis andsens commun;and sometimes inthe words mceursand us .

In liaison

fleur- de- lis

mes amis

[floerdeli]

LETTERS 2 S—T

In combination

se,sch: see section 72 .

Medial

In general

Before i , fo llowed by avowel :In general

In the endings —tie,—tien

,—tier,

—tiers ,—tieme; and in theending —tie after aconsonant

In general

I n t h e w o r d sbalbutier

,difi

'

éren

tier,ini tier, trans

substantier, ineptie

,inertie:

After 8 or it ; whenthe t is the last letterOf a verb stem ; andin the words galimatias and étioler :In the words asthme

and i sthme; and in t heverb forms bats

, mets ,vets :

SOUNDS

[t ]

[S]

EXAMPLES

theatretiaret on

nationbalbutiementdémocratie

51

SYMBOLS

[naSifil[balbysimfi]

[demokrasi]


Final SOUNDS EXAMPLE S SYMBOLS

In general silent

In the words brut,chut,

’

dot, fa t, hui t, lu t,mat , net; compact, con

tact,correct, direct , ex

act, infect, intact, tact,strict; sept , transep t; est

ouest, z est;

and in soi t when usedas an adverb :But final t may be sept livressilent in sept, andis always silent in huit livreshu i t , wh e n t h e s ewordsmodify grammat ically a fo llowing noun beginningwith a consonantsound .

91. U.

Independent

Without written ao

cent

Before a consonantletter or final :In general

Before checked mor n :

In general : 1

1 Many Frenchmen pronounce the word an as [S] : nu j our, [5511eThi s pronuncl at ion Is condemned by the purists .

LETTERS 2 T—U

When denasaliz ed before n

1n 11a1son : 1

Before a soundedvowel—letterIn generalAfter g or gIn general

In forms Of arguer; and in afew otherwordsIn some bookish words :

Before final silent eIn generalAfter 9 or gIn general

In the ending—gue

°

:

With circumflex ao

cent :In combination

au ,aou

,eau : see sec

ti on 70 .

eu,eu, ceu : see section

75 .

SOUNDS EXAMPLES[os] un ami

silent guidequandarguaisaiguille

SYMBOLS[oenam i]

53

1 Many Frenchmen pronounce denasaliz ed a n as [en] : un ami, [enam i] .This pronunciation is condemn ed by the purists .denasaliz ed un is Often pronounced as [yn ] : um am i , [ynami] .

In popular speech aWith

regard to this pronunciation Mart inon says (Comment on prononce ls

frangais , p .

“ Il est peu de fautes plus choquantes .”


cu , 012, 012; see section SOUNDS EXAMPLES SYMBOLS85 .

a c: see section 75 .

[1111] fuyardappuyer

92 . V

93 . X.

Initial xylophone [ksilofon]

Medial

In general axiome

In the prefixeshex sex before avowel sound

In the prefix ex be excellent [ekselti]fore cc , ci , or s :

In the words deux deuxieme [doz jem]ieme, sixieme, dixi éme,sixaine:

In the word soixante: [s] so ixante [swasdxt ]

Final

In general silent vo ix

In the words six and [s]

But the a: is Silent [silixv r]when these wordsmodify grammat i

c a l ly a fo l low i ngnoun beginningwitha consonant sound .

LETTERS 2 U—Z

In the words dice—hui t,dim- hui ti éme, dim- neuf,di sc- neuvi eme

In a few bookishwords

In liaison

94. Y.

Independent

In the word yBefore a vowelletter

In general

Before i

Before a consonantletter

In general

Before checked m

or n :

In combination

ay: see section 70 .

oy: see section 85 .

uy: see section 91.

95 . Z .

Initial or medial

index

six homm es

[z] zeledl z ame

silent nez

avez

[Sdeks]

[siz om ]

55


FOREIGN WORDS

96. Many foreign words (aside from proper names, for whi ch see

section 97) are frequently used in French . Some of these words arepronounced as in the language from whi ch they are borrowed ; some are

pronounced as if they were French words ; most of them Show a compromise between the original pronunciation and a true French pronunciat ion. The pronunciation Of such words should in general besought in a dictionary : A few such words, now quite naturalized inFrench

,have been treated in the preceding sections . C ertain addi tional

principles and certain special peculiarities may be noted here.

Vowel- letters followed by final m or n

are in many cases not nasal, and thefinal m or n i s in such cases s .oundedThe letter e i s in such cases pronounced [e], and u is pronouncedFinal ay and ey are pronounced as [8 ]

Final b, final d, final p , final r in —er,final 8 , final t in - st

,

pand final 2 are

sounded In many words .

Sh is pronounced [S] .Um and un, not final, are pronounced

W and wh are ronounced in some

words as [v] , an In some as [w] .

Many words present special peculiarit ies .


W is pronounced [v] .X 18 variously treated : in some namesit is pronounced as [ks] , in some as[gz ] , 1n some as [s] , In some as [k], andin some, when final, it is silent .

Final 2 is variously pronounced : insom e names as [z ] , in some as [s] .Final te is usually pronounced as [ts] ,sometimes as

Many names present special peculiarit ies .

SYNTHESIS

SYLLABIC DIVISION

98 . In Speech . A Frenchword has in actual speech as

many syllables as it has vowelsounds .

In the syllabic division Of aFrench word as actually spoken :a single consonant or semiconsonant sound betweentwo vowels goes with the following vowel ;

a group of two sounds Of

which the first is a consonantand the second a sem icon

sonant goes with the fo llowing vowel ;a group Of two consonantsounds of which /the first isan explosive or a fricativeand the second is [1] or [r]goes with t he fo llowing vowel ;any other group of two con

sonant sounds 1s divided , thefirst go ing with the precedingvowel

,and t he second with

fo llowing vowel,

any group of three consonantsounds i s divided

,the first

sound go ing with t he preceding vowel , the other two soundswith the fo llowing vowel .

EXAMPLESgéant

amabilitécochonpasserpayertravailler

nationalouette

sablonapresmettrons

admisrhythm ique

examenacheterinstantmalgré

SYMBOLS

[a-ma- bi- li- t e]lkO- Sfil[pa- Se]lpa- 36 ][t ra—v a-

j e]

[Ha - 810 ][a- lwet ]


99. In Spelling and Writing. The rules for the divisionOf a word in spelling , or at the end Of a line In wrlt ing, are

as fo llowsEXAMPLES

The word has as many syllables as it has gé- antvowel- letters ; except thatthe combinations of vowelletters listed Meu—se

in sections 70, 75 , 79 , 85 , and 91 maynot be separated ;i , u , and ou, when representing a semi bien- v e- nu

consonant sound,may not be separated re- luI- re

from a fo llowing vowelletter ; oua- te

silent e between g or j and a vowel- let man-

gea

t er does not count, and silent u does not Jean- no

count ; lan-

gue

an- ti- que

a mute e after a vowelletter may not be é-

pee

separated from that letter . par- t ieci- gué

Note that a mute e after a consonant re—le- v er

letter does count. por- t e

A single consonant- le tter other than 3: goes a-ma- bi- li- téwith the fo llowing vowelletter.X goes with the preceding vowelletter.The groups ch, ph, th, gn, and all groups of a- che- ter

two consonantletters Of which the first is di- gneb,c,d, f, g, p ,

t, or v and the second is l or sa- ble

r go with the fo llowing vowelletter. a- pres

All other groups of two consonantletters ad-m is

are divided . ab- bes- se

vil- leaug

-men- ter

A group Of three consonantletters con ar- chetaining one of the combinations ch, ph, th, ath- le- t e

or gn is so divided as not t o separate thech, ph, ih, or gn.

STRESS 61

A group Of three consonantletters of

which the second is b, c, d, f, g, p , t , or v

and the third is l or r is divided betweenthe first of the three letters and the second .

All other groups of three consonant- lettersare divided between the second letter andthe third .

Prefixes are however usually set Off without regard to these rules.

STRESS

IN A SINGLE WORD

100 . When a word of two or more syllables, as amabi li té

or premiere, is pronounced separately,all syllables except

the last are spoken evenly and as far as,

possible withoutstress, and the last is stressed . Even so , the stressed syllable is weaker in French than in English .

The stressed syllable is called the strong syllable, the others arecal led weak syllables . It is possible however to distinguish two degreesof weak syllables, namely “ secondary ” and “weak” ; and the tendencyin French is toward a succession Of secondary, weak, and strong syllables . For instance, in amabi li te

’

the first and third syllables have asecondary stress, the second and fourth are weak, and the last isstrong . In the group voulez- vous , the vou is secondary, the lee is weak,and the vous is strong : compare what is said in the next section. The

American student should be warned against over- stressing the secondary syllables .

IN C ONNECTED SPEE CH

101. Word Groups . In connected speech words lose theirindividuality, and are pronounced in groups , as in the English phrase “

No t at all .” The length of the group is determined by the sense and by the amount of breath employed .

A group Of closely connected words becomes, for the purposes Of pronunciation , a single long word .


In the pronunciation of such a group of words , all syllables except the last are spoken evenly and with little or no

stress (see the preceding section) , while the last syllable Of

all is stressed . Examples

Nous sommes j oyeux. [nusomgwajo ]

Il veut me donner cela . [ilv omdonesla]

Les deux voleurs etaient cru cifiés a ses cOtés .

[ledav oloezr et ekrysifje asekot e]

De temps en temps elle relevait la tete.

[det fiz fit c’

i elrelv elat ext ]

Le jeune homme doux et simple aux mains meurtries et gonflées .

[lesoenom duesé zpl om é moert riegfifle]

When the group ends with a word Of two pronounced syl

lables t he stress Often falls upon the first Of the two . Thiso ccurs especially in words ending in —

ou

C’é t ait la voix de la nation ! [set elavwadlanasj5]

102 . Logical and Emotional Stress . Logical and emotional stressare Obtained by stressing a syllable not regularly stressed, as in the

English phrase Sins Of om ission and of comm ission ”

Il faut se démettre ou se soum ettre .

[ilfosdemet r usesumet r]

D’une part il a gagné , de l’autre 11 a perdu .

[dynparilagap e delo trilaperdy]

Impossible ! [Sposibl]Miserable ! [m iz erabl]

In general,emotional stress is made in English by reinforcing the

stressed syllable, as in “ incredible ” or“ridi culous . In French, on

the other hand, the stress is Often displaced : “ incroyable,” “ridicule .

”

But when in French the stressed word is in a group Of words and begins with a vowel sound, the emotional stress is placed on the secondsyllable of the word ; otherwise it is on the first : “cc miserable ! ” “ c’estimpossible !

VOWEL Q UANTITY

VOWEL QUANTITY

103 . French vowels are in EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSgeneral short .But stressed vowels are

long in the cases enumeratedbelow (the phonetic sign indicating length is I

,placed after

the long vowel)Any stressed vowel is longwhen fo llowed by one of

t he sbundS [j ] , [V] , [Z ] ,or by t he sound [r] whenthat sound is the lastsound Of the word .

A stressed vowel writtenwith a circumflex accentis long when fo llowed bya consonant sound ; ex

cept in etes,and in the

endings Of the past absolute and past subjunctivetenses .

The oral vowels [a] , [a] ,[s ] , [O] , and [a] are long,when stressed

,in many

words in which they a re

fo llowed by a consonantsound .

A stressed nasal vowel is tantealways long when fol

lowed by a consonantsound .

63


LIAISON

104. When a word ending in a consonantletter which isordinarily silent is fo llowed immediately by a closely relatedword beginning with a vowelletter, with an h that is not

preventive, or with a y, the final consonantletter Of the firstword is sometimes sounded, as in premier an,

vingt arbres, [v é tarbr] ; allez -

y, [alozi] . This special soundingOf a final consonantletter is called liaison or linking.

’

In ordinary speech it occurs usually in the conditionslisted in section 107, seldom otherwise . In poetry and declamat ion it is used more extensively.

105 . The letters n, p , r, t , EXAMPLE S SYMBOLSand z have in liaison their normal values [p] , [I ] , [t] , and

D sounds as [t] . un grand [c‘

Egrfit om ]homme

F: sounds as [v] in neuf ans neuf heures [noevoexr]and neuf heures; elsewhere un vif int éré t [o

‘

ev ifé t ere]as [f] .

G sounds as [k] . [saképyxr]

S and a: sound as [z] .[dez am i]

106 . When n is linked , thepreceding vowel is partly or

who lly denasalized .

An e denasalized from [a] is en Italie [anitali]sounded [a] .

An e denasalized from [S] is bien aimée [bjsneme]sounded [e] .


108. It is t o be noted thatfinal m is never linked ; thatthe t Of et is never linked ; thatthe linking Of other words ending in —

et is rare ; and that linking does no t occur before hui tor hui tiéme (except in the compound words dip - hui t

,disc- hui

tieme) , or before onz e, onz ieme,oua te, oui .

ASSIMILATION

EXAMPLES109 . When in the course of rapid la- dessusspeech a consonant sound which is médecmnormally voiced comes directly be ig

l

iriogfif

l

ggmséfore a voiceless sound, the voiced m onsieurconsonant changes to the corresponding voiceless consonant .1Similarly, when a consonant le secondwhich is normally voiceless comes avec J93 11directly before a voiced consonant a

rsh

reg'

eque de

sound, the voiceless consonant achanges to the corresponding voicedconsonant .2When a consonant which is nor

mally voiceless comes in rapidspeech between two vowels, itchanges to the corresponding voicedconsonant : see section 105 .

1 Compare the pronunciation of b before 3 or t : see section 71.

2 Compare the pronunciation of anecdote: see sect lon 72 .

EXAMPLESsang et eauun vo let ouvertles huit amismais oui

[kutpie][lem 5t siv iliz e][mesjo ] or[mej e l or[13810 ]

llez g5][av egsfi][arSev egdopari ]

ELISION 67

ELISIONEXAMPLES

110 . The monosyllables la , cc , de, j e,le,me, ne, que, se, te, and certain com

pounds Of que, such as j usque, lorsque,and quelque, drop the final letter and arewritten with an apostrophe in it s placewhen they immediately precede a wordbeginning with a vowelletter, an h thatis no t preventive, or y.

1

This elision , however , does no t takeplace when the monosyllable is connectedby a hyphen with a preceding verb .

Elision does no t take place before prev ent iv e h, nor before the words onz e, oui ,uhlan. It does not usually take placebefore oua te .

S i is elided before i t or i ls .

PITCH

111. Pitch is the high or low quality (tone) Of a musical sound .

In speech, pitch depends on the number of vibrations of the vocalchords within a given period Of time .

Since a short body necessarily v ibrzyes faster than a long one, the

voices of children generally have a/h) [

Aer pitch than those of adults,their vocal chords being shorter . B.

d; Speech sounds also differ amongthemselves as to pitch : [i] is Ng yf than [a] and [a] is higher than [O ] . 1In general , French has few : r low notes than English

,and therefore the

same voice speaking French and English will appear to have a higherpitch in French than in English . At the same tim e, emotion has amarked effect on the human voice, and the same sentence (or part ofit) will fluctuate in pitch according to the emotional element in itsee the following section.

1 Compare the muting of e at the end of a syllable : see section 75 .

2 See Passy, les S ons du francais, 7th cd ., 150 .

l’amec’estd’hier

j’aije n’ai pasqu’av ez - vous?

l’yeuse

est - cc un hommeai- je ét é ?donnez - le a Jean

le herole onze m ai

du uhlan


INTONATION

112 . Intonation, the musical element of a language, depends onthe proper use of voice, and can be learned adequately only from anative although students will derive great profit from the intelligentuse of phonographic records .It is important to remember that the pronunciation Of French ascompared with that Of English is even, harmonious and regular, witha clear and definite articulation of vowels and consonants (especiallythe vowels) and a more or less equal alternation of accented (syllabeorte) and unaccented (syllabe faible) syllables .In so far, however, as intonation is a rise or a fall Of voice in pitch

(Often quite distinct from the inherent pitch of vowels and consonants) ,the following principles may be noted as especially applicable toFrench1. In B ench the voice rises or falls in longer intervals than in

English . The range may be an entire octave .

2 . The last syllable of a breath- group has a higher or a lowerpitch than the others

Venez- vous Are you coming?C’es t tri ste That is sad .

3 . The rise or fall in pitch corresponds to the connotation of thephrase ; that is, to the emotion the speaker puts into it . “

Surprise ”is high, “disappointment ” low ; exclamations ” are high, negationsor

“refusals ” low, et c .

“Generally speaking, in French, a comma or

sem icolon indicates a rise, a note Of interrogation or exclamation indicates a more marked rise . A full stop indicates a fall, the end of a.paragraph a more marked fall .

” 1

Est- ce qu’il est i ci

enfants He has losthome, wife, children .

I l est venu seul He came alone (said in surprise .)I l est venu seul He came alone . (said with regret .)

4. Often a rise is preceded by a fall, and vice versaPour qui me - vous donc Whom do you takeme for?

Enfin que voulez- vous Well, what do you expect?1 Passy, les Sons du frangais, 7th ed .

, 139 .

INTONATION 69

Thus we may mark by a higher pitch that which is most import ant ina phrase

Elle est sortie en She went out Weeping.

A tout j amais Forever.

Exactly !Owing to this fact, the end of a sentence is often whispered in French

I l y en a There are many.

N’y pensons p lus . Let’s think no more of it .

5 . It should also be noted that not only single syllables but groupsof syllables, indeed entire phrases, may be pronounced on a higher or

a lower pitch , according to the meaning that is desired :r_

Tiens, te w ith." 1 I declare, there you are !

LAllons Come, let’s go .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(This is a list of the books that have been of most help to theauthors . The use of these books is heartily recommended to thosewho wish to study the subject in greater detail .)B. DUMVILLE , Elements of French Pronunciation and Diction, Dutton,

New York, 1914.

P. MARTINON , Comment on prononce le franeais , trai té complet de pro

noncia tion pratique avec les noms propres et les mots étrangers, Larousse, Paris, 1913 .

G . G . NICHOLSON , A Practical Introduction to French Phonetics , Mac

millan, London, 1909 .

G. NOEL-ARMFIELD, General Phoneti cs, for M i ssi onaries and S tudents ofLanguage, Heffer

,Cambridge (England) , 19 15 .

K . NYROP , Manuel phonétique du franga i s parlé (translation by E . Philipot) , 3rd cd .

, Picard , Paris and Copenhagen, 19 14.

P . PASSY, les Sons da frangais, 7th cd .

,Didier

,Paris

,1913 .

IDEM, The S ounds of the French Language (trans lation by D . L . Savoryand D. Jones) , Clarendon Press, Oxford , 1907 .

K . Q UIEHL, Franz Osi sche A ussprache und Sprachfertighei t, T eubner,Leipsic and Berlin, 1912 .

ROUSSELOT and LA CLOTTE , de prononciation frangaise, Welter,Paris, 1902 .

EXERC ISES

(The numbers of the several Exercises correspond t o thenumbers of the sections on which they are based .)

1

a . With the palms of the hands pressed tightly againstthe ears, pronounce forcibly “

s,z, s, z , s, z , s, z . Note the

buzzing in the head which takes place when the vo icedsound is pronounced . Note that for the “

s” all the sound

comes from the friction of the air at the front Of the

mouth .

b. State the phonetic difference between the two wordsOf each of the fo llowing pairs Of words : coast

, ghost; pace,

base; down,town; case, gaz e; dog, ta lk .

c . With the aid of a hand mirror locate the variousorgans Of speech ; note their form ; and examine the movements or changes in position which certain ones may make .

a . Po int out in the fo llowing words cases of the represen

t at ion of the same sound by different letters or combinationsof letters : he, machine, eat, ate, eight, set, many, head, ra t

,

ask, fa ther, a ll, awl, cot, go, thought , though, through, enough,bough, use, loose, lose, knight, wri ting, psychology, attention

,

for , asked, nephew,rose

,dose, lies , i ce.

b. Po int out in the same words cases in which the

same letters or combinations Of letters represent differentsounds .

0 . Po int out the silent consonants in the same words .

71


8

(The phonetic symbo ls used in Exercises 8—54 have thesame value as those used in sections 8—54 : see the footnoteon p . 6 . In do ing Exercises 8—62 and the Review Exercisesadvanced students should in each case identify and spell theFrench words represented by the phonetic combinations .)

a . A ssume the correct voca l posi tion for the production ofthe sound using a hand mirror; and then produce the sound

several times : [i, I, 1, 1, 1, 1, i] .b. Pronounce the following phonetic combinations

, each ofwhich represents a real French word : [midi, Si, sis, pip , ni, Vi ,Vit , fini, ri , li] .

a . Repeat the sound [e] .

b. Pronounce : [e , de, ne, bebe, se, ge, lo, t e, et e, epe] .

Repeat the sound [e] .Pronounce: [e , e , e , e, e, e, e, e, e,[sl, bel, sek , rest , ferm , set , me, ls , pe, eme] .

[et e, sede, efe, mete, ese, gete, epe, mele, sete, prete] .91

9

a . Repeat the sound [a] .b. Pronounce : [a , la, ta, sa , ma, dra, papa, frapa, madam,

kapabl, lwa, fwa] .

FIRST REVIEW : FRONT VOWELS

a . [i, e, e, a ; li, le, ls , la ; mi , me,me, ma ; si, se, se, sa] .

b. [ide, imite , et e, eda , inik it e , kapasit e, abi, desiz if, defi,enm i, kapt if, av i , ede , cvek, sese , atake , amne , kafe, abe

,

aspe, akademi , aksept e, apet i, asiste] .

4 ' A HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

18

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [i, y] wi th vigorous lip action,

mirror in hand.

b. Pronounce these pairs of words wi th vigorous lip action,

taking particular care to keep the tongue tensely in the same

posi tion for both vowels : [di, dy ; gi, gy ; li, ly ; mi, my ; ni, ny ;Si, sy; v i, vy] .

c Pronounce: (tr, kry, ply, ry, ryd, nyl, bryn, lyn, dyp,myxz , myxr, syxr, fytyxr, kyltyxr] .

19

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [e, o] .

b. Pronounce these pairs of words : [be, be; de, do;se, ea; ne, 1M] .

c. Pronounce: [f¢ , pa, VS, do, a, so, kro, kroxz , foxtr,

20

Repeat the pair of sounds [e, as] .Pronounce these pairs of words : [ef, oef; sel, soel; nef.

mexr, moexr ; lexr, lce xr ; pexr, poexr] .

Pronounce : [hoef, goel, moebl, v oef, poepl, koexr, soexr,

flce xr] .

2 1

[lo, me, ke , se , desu, lov e, sesi , brebi , feze, mesjo, repo ,venir , optenir] .

THIRD REVIEW : ORAL VOWELS

[v u, puxr, sere, sel, pa , presi , repo z e, v exr, aloxr, v aloezr,

oero, filoz bf, filoz ofik , rival , separe, sykr, ak t oexr, naiv t e,

orat oexr,v aloeroxz , moxr, model , mikroskop , malonet

,inata

kabl, imitatif, gard , galope, prydri, ryral, syperb , syrt u,

syrprixz , pase, po , gro] .

EXERCISES 75

23

a . S ta te which of the following words contain nasal

vowels : tromper , bien , conter , inimitié, homme, envoyer,iniquité, inviter, monotone, ennemI

, automne .

b. S ta te in which of the same words the In or n is sounded.

24

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [e, S] .

b. Pronounce: [me :n, me; v exn, v 5 ; sexn, SS; pexn, pd; plexn,

pl‘

e; t rexn, t ré ; gexn, gS; lexn,

c. [b5 , de, fS, VS, gS, m5, pa, t S, t éxt , SS, sSxt , Séxdr, fé ,fé xdr, Sé xpl] .

25

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [a , d] .

b. Pronounce these pairs of words : [pa , pd ; ba , bd ; t a , t d ;ka

,kd ; ga , gd ; a , d ; ma , 1nd] .

0 . Pronounce: [sd , rd , Vd , 1d, grd , dfd, t d, t dxt , t d zpl,ldxp, d zpl, dxgl] .

26

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [a,b. Pronounce these pairs of words : [bon, b5 ; don, dd ; son,

S5 ; t on, t 5] .

c. Pronounce: [b5, md, 15, p5, p15 , fr5, p51p , rd1d, .

5xkl,k51t , mdxt ] .

27

a . Repeat the pair of sounds [(B , O‘

S] .

b. Pronounce.

“

[O‘

e, bro

‘

e,kcie

, defo‘

e, komo'

e, okc‘

é, tribo

‘

é ,

Ob l] .

FOURTH REVIEW : NASAL VOWELS

a . Repeat the seri es [5, a , 5 , OS] .

b. Pronounce . [dest5 , m5 , m5t d , afa, dfé , m5t5 , tats,pdxdr, pe zdr , dproe.t , di5ed , parfoe, sild :s , k5td , t r5pe, eport oe,kelkoe, 15td , apsolymd, definit ivmd, oerozmd, yniv erselmd].


29

[i do ,fje zr, m, jexr, Iié , 1m,

mie, mu,njes, pie, pies,

sjel, Sjo, Sjé , Sjen, Sjekl, t jé , v j‘

é, eseje, bat aj5, mosjo,

foexj , kaje, k5bj5 , k5sexj , v j'

dxd, po xj ] .

30

[bi :j , bua zr, bus , fixj , fijet , fijoel, g ums , gl j oxm ,guatin ,

kn] , mus , pl j e , pijaxs, Sij5, t ijaxg, v anixj , sfit ijom ] .

[ha] 1, koejixr, Vjej l , pep ] .

32

[q it , q il, bqi, foi, lq i, brui , Sui, frui, plq i , kq izr, ekq el, t qe,salq a, sq axv , v ertqo, dopq i, nq axg] .

33

[brunem kquexr, brq fi,ammo , apq ue, egq ixj , tuno ,

esq ije, fq ij t‘

i , ekq ije] .

34

[wi, west, fwe, fwete, alwet, lwe , lwaexr, dwel, dwexr,mwst, nwe, nwe, rwe , rwe

,rW i

, swe, swete, vwe, avwe,

reswixr] .

35

[wa , wa zz , wa z if, wazo , bwaxt , bwa, dwa ,

°

dwan,fwaxr

,

fwas , kwa, kwaf, lwaxr, lwaxs, mwa, mwal, mwan , mwano ,swasfizt , vwasi] .

36

[mwaj5, fwaje , lwaje, lwajal, nwaje, swajo, vwaj axs,vwajfi, vwajel, dwaj

‘

é ] .

37

[bwo , krwo , t rwo , krwosfi , klwoxt r, pwa, pwaxl] .

EXERCISES 77

38

[fW5, pwé , pwéxt , SWE, mwé , kw‘

e,Iwé

,lWé t é , pégwé ,

pwé zdr] .

FIFTH REVIEw : SEMICONSONANTS

[pjsS , vwajel, v ulje, pui, kwa zr, mwajé , tytwaje, rq in,

kwart o , eseje , esq ije, ojo , gryjexr, SWE, q it , dopq i, sq ixv r, ljé ,pwaS5, fq ijaxr] .

42

[bije , bebe, 5berb , barb , boblo, bonoezr, bopexr, bulv axr,byro

, bo, boef, boz wé , be, bddi, b5t e, bro”

e, ble, braxv , bwaxr,

tab],debri , korbo , blomabl] .

43

(pip , pepé , pepsin , pa , mpr, popyle zr, popjexr, pul,

pyblik , po, poepl, peti , pé sne, pfise, p5xp , prepare , plypaxr,fixpl, kapris , eklipS , espri , apsolym fi , apstre] .

44

[di, dedé , dest é , daboxr, danabl, dofé , do tEi , dot , duble,dyp

,ido, pydoezr, dedd , d5d5 , d5 , v erdo

'

e,drapo ] .

45

[titanik, t eoxt r, t ety, tatu ,tote . bJS t O , t ot alite , tutafe,

tytel, tot onik , tyt oexr, et é , at fit a , tat5 , seto‘

e] .

46—47

[git axr, gete , gexr, gaxr, gato , got je , gotik , degut e , degyst e ,blagoxz , blagoezr, gé , gdt le, g5fie, vaxg , 15xg, groxg, egz ekyt e,egz ak t , egz azpl] .

48—49

[kite, kepi , keski , kaket , ko , kokliko , koko , kuku , kyltyxr,ko, koexr, kerel , ké z exn ,

kfikéi , kik5k , kelkd’

e, sek , ekrityzr,

ekwatoezr, pretekst ] .


51

[v iv ifi, v ety, verty, vale, vaxz , v olkd , v ot r, v oxt r, v udre,vylgexr, nervo’, v oexV, v eluxr, v édikat iv , v fidredi, v iv 5, vre

Sfiblabl, lixv r, v jé ] .

52

[fifr, fek5 , fexbl, falsifje , fuzz , fosfoxr, fokol, fulaxr, fyz i, fo,foexj , fame] , fé , fdfa zr, f5t exn, defo

‘

e,frikase

,fianel, efioere,

efrene, swaf] .

53

[zigzag, zero , z el, biz axr, z odjak , z oxn, z yt , liz oxz , liz cexr,

rez é , foz fi, mez 5, lez o'

e,egz ile, egz amé ] .

54

[SIS , sesesj5, sesasj5, sasjet e, sosjet e, SOSiS, smo, susjoxz ,syspaxs, So, soexr, sosi , Sé serit e , Sfisusi

, S585, Sfé k , Skfidal,

Slaw ,speSjal, st aty, fas, espoxs, frfise, eskis] .

55

[Sim sez y, 59 , salu , 30 13 , 30m, susu , syxs, Sff: seen, sale,sé xdr, 35v je, 35gloexr, ago

‘

e, lesdxd , sass, bu5i] .

56

[SiS, Se , Sexz , Sarg, Sass, Sokola, Sose, Su, SySot e, peSoexr, kaS5,v iSi, sexS, Soxz ] .

58

[mimik, memé t o , me zm, mama, mo , mom ii

,mo , mulé ,

mynisipal, monje, moebl, monq e, m5 , make, m5t e, pom ,

fift erim ,mJe, Inwa] .

59

[ni, ne, nef, naif, non, nofraxs, nuvo , nymero , n¢Sat el, noef,nexf, nfixt , n5Sa15xs, yn, bon, benev ol, nasjonalit e] .

EXERCISES . 79

60

[dip it e, édipe, apes, mapanim ,mipon, apo , swapo, ete

p oexr, semi , 0115, dip ,rep , kapap , bulop ] .

61

[ri , rixr,redq ixr, rekt oexr, raxr, ro , rok , roxk , ru, ry, oero,

oroexr, ropo , ré , r5 , r5, pixr, mexr,a zr

,foxr

, puxr, pyxr, soexr,

bri,kree, dress , frako , g m, propo , t ro , v re, 5xkr, sexdr, kofr,

mexgr, propr, lit r, ixv r] .

62

Hi, ls , 18 , la, la , lok , 10 , In, ly, loexr, 15, 15 , 15, 15‘

s, il, elit, sl,bal

, pox] , kol, roxl, ful, my] , soel, brfixl, pli , ble, k le, flak, glo ,

slaxv ,tab]

, eklips , (”

Iflame,exgl] .

SIXTH REVIEW ; C ONSONANTS

[inikit e , elev asj5 , v est ibyl, fanat ik , eloxs, monoton , fobuxr,duluro, lygybr, lyksfibuxr, fugo, oeroxz , poezr, dev fi , dest é ,

épresj5 , k t‘

i t it e,5t eli5am5 , 5disp5sab1, t r5pe, S5 t 5 , lo

‘

e, epu

Vfit abl, (”

IprcTe, Vje zj , solexj , foexj , vwasi, dwan , swé , lq i, dopq i,nq axg, v ert qo, fijoel, baj i, wazo , dwajé , pwa , bez wé , kq ijexr,prez 5psj5, apsolymfi, bat exm , tyt oexr, t ot alit e, dramatist,akut yme

, grasjo, efoxr, bref, v olypt e , sasjet e, fiz jolosi, Swaz is5 , refyxg, 3y3mc

‘

i , myrmyre , ananim ,k5pani , ridikyl, t re,

rfixdr , libert e, animal , pret ekst , egz agere, reprodq ixr, v resfi

blfizs, komo‘

e,fryktqo, kalifje , Siryrgj é , Ssdoexv r, rokfoxr, ljo,

labo] .64—67

a . Reci te the French alphabet.

b. Spell thefollowing words , using the“identifying sounds

malcontent, aisément , orthographe, patisserie, glo ire , habitude , générosité , national , poursuivre , nécessité, const ruc

tion, chose , zouave, immense , tramway.


70

(Each Of the several Exercises from 70 to 95 is dividedinto two parts . In the first part the words are arrangedin the order of the ru les. In the second part they are arranged alphabetically.)

Wri te the following words in phonetic script, and pronounce

them : a,v a, lave , salle

,madame

,malade , Panama, base,

bras,camp

,lamps

,an

,sang

, sans , dansant, a, It , ans , pats ,dansamss (verb) , vrai , fait , paix, aims , aiss , aimais, abaisse,dansai (verb) , sais, faisais (form of fairs) , bain , sain , maints ,faite

,faon

,Laon , au , faut, aube, autre, Maurs , aura, aurait,

eau ,veau .

Adam , aidat ss (verb) , aide, aimai (verb) , allais, apaise,apre, auns , aurais, aux

,balai

,bavarde

,beaux

, cadeau ,

caisse , Canada, canard , cas, cause, cave, faible, fairs , faisait

(form of fairs) , fausse , faute , fauve, franc , grand , gras ,laisse

,ma

,maint

,masse

,pain

,palais

,parlai

,part

,pauvre

,

plaindre, plan , plants , platre, ramps , rang, rat, saut, saut e,ta

,tain

,tant

,taon, taupe, vain , vainc , v ase .

71—74

bass,abims

,arabe

,table

,arbre

,sabbatique

,absence

,Ob

tenir,aplomb

,cabane

,écols , curé , crime

,oracle , secondaire,

respect,cent

,Vice

,cypres

,bec

,choc

,franc

,instinct , broc ,

tabac,accaparer

,accomplir , accumulation , accent, occident,

cheval,charge

,déchirer

,chronologie , chao s; catechumens ,

chimis,chérubin

,tachygraphs

, archéologis , brachial , acquisitiou ,

scapin,scorpion

,bousculer , scrupule, scélérat, science,

schématique,regu ,

desert,madame

, tu vends , grand .

abbesss , abso lu ,accabler

,accepter , accommoder, acquiss

csr,archev éque , archiépiscopal , aspect, Bacchus , bébé, bi

cyclette,blamable

,bloc , brise , cadet, cécité , chimére, chose,

chrétien , chronomst rs,clerc

,cocher , colere , Co lomb , cric

crac , diligent, écarter, échine, eclipse, féculs , jonc , menaca,


enivrer , ennuyer , enveloppe , ere , esclave, espérance, essayer,essui , st , éteint , examen , femme, fete, feu ,

feuille, feutre ,grelot, idée, il arrive de Paris, il v a de Paris , ils se revo ient,impatience, jefiner, j

’eus

, la cheminée,la petite

,ls lieu

,

lentement , ls repos, les repas , lettre, mangea, meme, meuble,Meung, Meuse, moment , mouvement, Noel

,nous sumes

,

oedipe,oeil, oeillet , orgueilleux , pa

'

I'

en,pareil

,parlé—je , patri

cien , peut , plumes, poéle, premier , prenez—le, prudemment,quotient , redemander, reins , retenir, revenez Vite, rougeat rs ,S’asseyant , second , sein , sembler

,sempiternel, S

’en aller

,

seul,severe, soeur, souvenir, t ss, tout cs que je ne dis pas,

une petite, v eins , veux, vieille, vosu , voila os que c’sst ,

vo lontiers.

76—78

facile,faible

,femme, refuser, fifre, effort, chef, nef, juif,

cerf,clef, oeufs, neuf crayons, galant, gonfler, guerre , géné

ral,gigantesque, gymnastique, agile, ménage , globe , maigre,

do igtier , vingtaine , rang, étang , coing , long, sang et‘eau

,

agglomerat ion ,suggestion , dédaigner , Avignon , Signs

,im

pregnat ion ,habitant

,harmonie, heure, histo ire, horloge,

humilité , hyperbo le , la haine, 1a harps , trahison , cahot,

these , théorie , rythme , phonographe, phonétique, philosophe .

affiiger, agglutination , ahuri , apathie, boeufs , bourg , chefd’oeuvre , compagnon , désigné, diagnostique, do igt, ébahi ,exagérer

,fiéche, futur, gagner, garde , germs , gilet , gorge,

gris, guttural , gymnast s , habile , hareng, herbs , hier , hon

neur , humain , hygiene, ls havre , ls héros , l’hérOIne , méfisr,

nerf,neuf

,neuf livres , orthographe, pho tographs , phrase,

po ing,rage

,sang , so if, suggérer, théologie, veuf, Vinaigre,

vingtieme .

79

ici,iniquité

,livi de, hai r , diable, bien , piece, reliure, pai

'

en,

brioche , lapin , évincer, indien , impoli , timbre, coint éressé ,

Nimes,vous dormites, nous t inmes, fo is, moi

,fro id

,mois

,

‘

EXERCISES 83

fo in, besoin , boite, cloitre , grenoui lle, cueille,

fills, quills ,

papillon,billion

,ville

,mills

,mail

,conseil

,exil

,fil

, profil,

gentil , gentilshommes, chenil , mil (“milletabime

,bail

,baril

,billard

,bOiS

,chenille , civ il, comdica

tion , conseille, croit re, do igt , famille, feuille, fin ,fusil

,grésil

,

hérmque,“

iambe,idée

,il, imminent , impatient, infidele, la

biale,lOi

,million

,mo ins

,nous vimes

,Oignon

, outil , pareil,principal

,publia

,rigide

,riviere

,roi

, sien, simplement, so in ,tranquille

, Vil, village, vous Vint ss .

80—84

jaloux,jeudi

, jOie, judicieux, deja, déjsuner, buou ,képi

,

kiosque,moka, bifteck, labourer , lecture, liberté , locomotif,

lumiere,lycée

,élev e

,relief

,animal

,seul

,fil

,table

,gentil

homme,soul , illegal , illimitable, syllabe, Villa, fills

,billion

,

billard,travail

,fauteuil

,machin

,mécanicien

,menu

,miro ir

,

muer,animer

,camp

,septembre

, symbols , impur, faim ,

Reims,parfum

,comble, omniscient , omnipotence, gymnas

tique,automnal

,condamner

,homme

,comme

, sommet, immense

,immoral , nappe, neige, noce, nymphs , générosité,

ans,vent

,rien

,moyen , ils veulent , honnete, ennemi

,ils

pre‘

nnent,innover, C inna, Vigne , recognition, enamourer,

enorgueillir,ennui .

acajou ,ajourner

,Allah

,année

,automne

, be] , calcul ,calomnie

,canal

,carnaval

,coke

,cul

,damner

,eniv rer

,en

noblir,essaim

,examen

,famille

,félicité

,femme

,flambsau

,

gant,gemme

,humble

,ignition , illettré , illogique , ils flanent ,

ils Viennent,immobile

,injuste , inné , innombrable , j amais,

je, jo li , juin , kilometre , koran , lac , legume, linceul , lingerie,loisir , luxe , lynx ,

mail,malheur

,manger

,méler

,mimique

,

monsieur , muraille , myths , nage, nécessité, nid, nuance,nul

, omission,

omnipotent , omniscience , peuple , recueil ,rempart

,rossigno l

,simple

,so lennel , somme

, somnambule,sympathie

,t ombsau ,

tranqui lle,ville

'

.


85

coq , fort , votre, sotte, monopole, prose, roseau,notion

,

émotion,zone

,lo t

,trop

,piano

,son

,savon , chantons, oncle,

sombre,nom ,

mont, son enfant, cOne,Rhone

,ls notre

,ro

t isserie,h6pital

,aout

,il,moelle, poéle, oeuf, oeufs

,soeur

,

vosu, toi, crOix, beso in , bo ite, Chou ,

poudre,bouche

,course,

couard , douane, prouesse, inon'

i,degout

,loyal , voyez .

alouette,blond

,boi

'

s,brouette

,chose

,chouan

, clouer,colonel , couds

,courage, cyclone, degouts, douce, encore

,

fo is,foust

,foyer

,hOt el, jonc , ls Votre, mon ami , monsieur ,

nos,non, oui

- dire,pomme

,pont, pose, po t , potion , promo

tion , rai son , repos , robe, r61e, rompre, rose, roue, sot , soyez ,tombs

,tr6ne .

86—90

papillon, perpétrer, tapage, frapper, rapport, psychologie,compter , exempt, sculpteur, baptiser, temps, il rompt, camp ,trop

,galop

,cep ,

photographie,quatre

, qui- Vive

,coq , cinq ,

cinq livres,ls c inq j anvier

,grecque

,rapidité

,renaissance,

fureur,car

,fier

,marbre

,acheter

,boucher

,amer; enfer

,

hiver,messieurs

,rhétorique

,interrogation , irrégulier, hor

rible,courais

,courrais, saint

,servant

,testament

,penser

,

assembles,visage

,pesant

,designer, antisocial, contres'ens

,

transaction,transitif

,transir

,asbeste

,presbytere , lesquelles ,

mesdemo iselles,ses

,secrets

,vers

,as

,cassis

,fils

ibis,j adis

,lis (noun) , mars, moeurs , OS (singular) , pathos,

plus-

que—parfait

,rhinoceros, ensus, us , fleur- de- lis

,ses hom

mes,abso lu

,disciple

,esclave

,sco lastique, schisme, type, utile,

theme,athlete

,cité

,lettre

,formation

,diplomatie, prophe

t ie, facétieux, amitié, inimitié , héritier, Gautier, huit iéme,

modestie, ineptie, balbutier, initier, digestion , galimatias ,étio ler, hui t , correct, exact, intact, strict , est zest .

alOSS , antiseptique, appétit, aristocratie, balsamique,bsaucoup , bis, boulanger, cap ,

capricieux, catarrhe, cens,champ

,chose

,coeur

,contact, corps

,cuiller, descriptive, en

EXERCISES 85

plus,entier

,épitre, est été, éthsr, étioler, fat , hélas,

hier,huit

,huit livres

,ls huit décembre

,inertie

,infect

,in

sister,iris, irrémédiable, j

’acquérais , j

’acquerrais, je romps,

laps,les

,leS idées , livres, loup , mais , massacre, matiere,

mesdames,métis

,mo itié , monsieur, oasis, Obscure, opposé ,

ouest,ours, papier, pasteur , pathétique , phosphors , pitié,

poser , prerogat iv e, prétention , promener, p romptitude,psychique

,quelquefois

,quinze

,quoique, raconteur, rsdomp

t er,regle

,relaps

,royal , sabot

,scandale

,scene

,sens

,sens

commun , sept, sept plumes , ls sept juillet,septieme

,société

,

so rtie,substantiel , suggestion

,tact

,tante

,terre

,terreur

,

té t e, touS, transalpin , transept , transit, transsubstantier,vers

,v is (noun) , vo lontiers, vraisemblance .

unique,pureté

,bu , écu ,

chacun,défunt

,parfum

, un homme,nuage

,minuit

,fuite

,gui tars , qualité , bague, épique, arguez ,

nous arguons,aigu ille

,cont igu

'

i t é,linguist s , aout, maudire,

poteau ,joyeux ,

hauteur,soeur

, ouvrage, ou ,guérir, essuyant,

revue,harangue , ambigué .

ambigui té , bateau ,coeur

,contigue

,dénué

,emprunter, en

nuyer, feu ,gout

,guerre

,humble

,ils arguerent , lingual,

mauvais,nu

,peur

,phonétique

,qui tter

,recu

,remuer, rue,

souteni r, taquiner, tulips , un article, utile, vosu,vous arguez .

92—95

valet, Vivacité , friVOle, levre, xylographie, expansif,exqui s

,fixer

,maxime

,prétexte

,examen

,exemple

,exister

,

exuberance,hexagone

,sexagénaire

, excentrique, excitation,

exsuder,dixieme

,prix

, crucifix, veux , choux, chanceux, dix,ls Six juin

,dix- huit ieme

,larynx, onyx, dix ans, noyer, tuyau ,

moyen,asseyions , cypres

,byzantin

, style, sympathie, syntaxe, zigzag, zouave, azur , assez , écoutez .


allez,bazar

,croyez , deux, dix- huit

,dix- neuf

,dynamite

,

employiez,exact

,exaltation

,excéder

,exciser

, exhibition,

expirer,exsangue, extension , fauve , flux, furieux, hexametre,

inexorable,lynx

,lyrique

,paix

, préfix, rayonner , revs , six,

Six amis,Six , crayons, sixieme, so ixante

,syndicat

,t ext s

,

thym,venin

,vexer

,vrai

,xylophage, y, yeux, zéphyr, z one .

98—99

a . Divide these words into syllables as in speech, using pho

netic script : fini , bouquet, grosseur, iniquité, faconner, machine

,gagner

,mangeons

,habiller

,bataillon

,enfantine

,

figuier, Juli ette, girouette, depui s , secouer,épuisé

,appoin

t ement s,société

,noblesse

,sabre, emplette

,hydrophobie

,

attraction, gonfler, islam ,

Richelieu,agriculture

,agres

sif, microscope, murmurs,absolu ,

quelquefo is , excellence,

arbrisseau,meurtrier

, dext rement , é lectrique , paysage, travaillons

,bague

,sntrée, acheter , redevenir, exemple

,philo

sophie,enseigner

,mépris

,diphthongue, monarchique, con

traction, onctueux .

actif,amuser

,appuyé

, apreté, athlétique, atlantique , bataille

,boucherie, cacher, cahier , client, coloniser, condition,

conduire,constitution , contrés , difii cile, discipline, docile,

doucement,écrire

,église

,épargner

,épique

,é thsr

,exact

,

fidélit é,

filtration , fléau ,grasseyer

,guichet, hébreu , hygiene,

incliner,israélite

,juger

,manquer

,marbrerie

,municipalité

,

nettoyer, noble, Obligé, Offrir,ouvrage , pourpré, régner,

séduisant,songer, soulier, tourterelles, Village .

b. Divide the same words into syllables as in spelling and

wri ting.

100—101

S tress properly the following words and groups : chat , rat,chien ; table, chaise, livre ; bonnet, chapeau ,

casquette ;animer

,subjuguer , diriger ; absurdité , ineffacable, art ificiel ;

uni formité, incapacité, inégalité ; impossibilité, insupport a

EXERCISES 87

blement , const itut ionellement dédain , individualisation , vrai ,invraisemblablement , intelligence, user, indicible, expansion ;des livres

,des plumes, des crayons ; qu’il dit, qui ls dit, il

ls dit ; c’est a moi, remplacez - les , allez Vite ; un signale

ment,nu signs allemand ; il les apprit, il les a pris ; Jean m

’adonné ca, il est trop habile, prét ez -moi des plumes ; voussavez qu’il est la, c

’é tait ls petit tambour

,l’enfant était

couché ; ls capitaine s’arréta, il me se tint pas satisfait, c

’é tait

fait des ménagements.

103

a. Tell whether the stressed vowel in each of these words islong or short, and why: été , inimitié, sec

,élément

,beau

,

égalité, conseil , fills

,grave

,chose

,chauffage

,mort , derriere,

c ire, bé te , meme, abime, Sur

,tasse

, plains , negre , sauls,

z one,feutre, feindre, humble, “

chambre,sombre

,blonds ,

importance, pont .aimable, alors , ame, bientOt , chanté

, chaume, classe,

croyance,élév e

,épaule

,fete

,fini , gant, grands , j

’emprunt e,

jugs , maniere, meute, moi, monde, morose, neutre, oncle,

pere , quitter, rble, seuil , simple, tendre, veille, v eins , yeux ,

zouave .

b. Pronounce the words, bringing out clearly the difi'

erence

between the long and short vowels .

104—108

Read these phrases, making the proper liaisons : B ienaimable

,trop aimé , dernier avis , nuit et jour , chez eux, pied

a- terre,du boeuf 5 1a mode, un long hiver, de bons amis , deux

enfants , il y en a,en avant , rien a fairs , mon enfant

,un

homme, vous avez , ils ont , les églises , de grands edifices , cesélév es , un grand homme, de petits O iseaux , d es languesetrangeres , des bains agréables, les bras étendus , des amisheureux

,faut- il

,écrivent—ils , parlons- eu

, allez-

y , tres étonné ,plus heureux, mo ins at t ache, dans un livre

, sans amis , en


Italie,devant elle, sous un ciel bleu

,selon elle

, de temps entemps

,mot amo t

, pas a pas, tout a coup, de plus en plus ,v is- a- Vis, tout a l

’heure, un nom étranger,lui et elle

,un

Objet ev ident , ceS huit livres,dix- huit

, ses onze enfants,en

eau,en haut

,les héros

,les heroi’nes

,leS auteurs

,les hau

t eurs, mes haines,des habits

,seS yeux

, aux hommes, lesharicots, un i , nu nid, des harpes , je les hais .

109

Point out in these words the cases of assimi lations which are

regular or might occur in rapid speech: abso lument,absteni r,

Obtenir , médecin , tout de suite , une tasse de thé,ils ns

savent pas, femme de Chambre,la- dessous

,en face de lui

,

coup de pied , a cOt é de sa chaise,1s second , une masse de

baigneurs, anecdote, Obscur, beaucoup de choses .


sit— 137, lr, lr

le mextr. ply, plym ,1a plym .

36 . ply, plym ,18» plym .

ls mextr. b5 . metn5 , 35 , w e la plym?35. la plym 8 sur

lo mextr. me m5 n ami !

55 . syr! syr 1a ta zbl.

ls mextr. me wi l m5tn5,repete : 1a plym e

tazbl.

35 . la plym e syr 1a ta zbl.

mari . pard5,msjd. 5 son.

ls mextr. e bjé ! la 1s5 e fini . O rvwaxr me z

1a kluxs. O rvwaxr mesjo.

2 . a: n adrwa kalkylatwu I I

(E: poxv re savwajaxr Iregards av ek 5Vi 1a butik d (B

bu153e .II 1s pt i pé s tale syr yn taxbl I eksite S5 11 apet i, Ime z il n av e p(1 z C

‘

s su d5 sa po5.“5fé il 5xt r e dmfixd : I I

“k5bjé se pt i ps?

”

II duzz pur

5 5xz su,rep5 1 bul55e .II

“d ! duxz pur 5xz Su ; I t re

bje.”3 are d5 ik 5xz peti pé pur di su, I dis pur n¢ su, I

noef pur ui eu, Iq it pur se su , Iset pur Si su, I sis pur S8

su , I 85 1k pur katre su, Ikat re pur t rwa su, It rwa pur d¢su, I

'd¢ pur su, I e (B pur rjé .” e bjé , msi¢ , Io‘

s sosl

m syfi ; | av ek votre permisj5 , 39 m53re solq i si .II fmersi,

msj¢ , Is O rvwaxr !”

I|

3 . la ptit fixj e 1 k5dyktoexr I I

ynpetit fixj e t asi zz sce l Id5 1 kwE d 53 vag5 de Sm?) dfexr.II ls k5dykt oexr po zs pur pr5xdrs ls bije ; II1a pt it

fixj prez 5xt ( is bije de dm i plas .IIkel (1x3 av e vu? Ilui di 1k5dyktcexr.II

PHONETIC READINGS

3 e Sé xk 5 , mosj¢ .II- vu n av e pa ply d sexk

— n5, mosjo; I I 5 Smé d fexr 5 e Sé xk 5 , I a la mez 5 3 5n s set .“

- u I e vu vwajase z esi S5 31?”n5, mosjo, I set dam laba , O milje dy v ag5, 8 ma

e kel 0 x5 votre t5 1t a t 81? Isl a v é tnoevel 11 a k v é tnoev 5 ? Iwi

,mesh .”

kel 0 x3 av e t 81 l ans dernjexr?“sl av e v é tnosv

e kel av e t 81 l ans av 5 ?“v é tnoev 5 ; IIel a tuguxr v etnoev 5 . I

4. l urs e ls do Sasoexr

de !e.sam ej5 bozwé d ar35 , Ia1exr'

t ruv e C'

s marS5 dfuryxr, Ie lui di zr : I I

“d5 1a m5tan vwaz in, Iil j a (is n urs

enorm d5 nu z av 5 truve 1a pist .II nu som sert é d lo tq e .IISi vu vule nu done S5 fr5 , Inu v u z aportr5 bjeto sa po .

”

lIlo marS5 loar dona ls S5 fr5 , I e ls do Sasosxr part ixr

'

pur

1a m5tap .II a pexn j et e t il z arive Iko 1urs s av5sa v er

p, 0 pt i t ro, I 5 pus5 de gronm5 z efrej5 .IIlorsko ls Sascexr 1 apersyxr, I il fyr sez i d t errmxr Ie Ser

Sexr lo mwajé d eSape O t erribl animal .”1d : d it grepa syr

(is n arbr, Is 1o zt ro S kuSa par texr, I rote S5 sufle fi 1mozr.II1ms v 5 lo flere do tu 1s kote ; I I me vwaj5 k il no bugspa Ie

'

k il no respire pa , I il lo kry moxr, I e S slwapa S5

lqi fer do mal, Ikar 1s z a s n em pd . 1s kaduxv r.“k5 l urs y dispary, Ilo Sasmxr ki et s syr l arbre des5di , I

S aproSa d S5 k5pap5 e lq i dm5da, I pur S make do lui : II“k e s ko l urs t a di t a l orexj?

”

II

91

92

t‘

S


il m a di,

”

I rep5di l o it r, “k il ‘no to pd v 5xdro -1a

po (1 l urs av 5 d 1 avwar tq e .

”

I

5 .

‘

GEmarge I

o'

s we] av axr fe vnixr C’

s met sé Ipur vwaxr sa fam t rs

malad .II lo met sé I ki kousse S5 n om ,dom5 zd k5n ar5x3

dabo zr sez onorexr.

“swat

,

”

Idi 1 av axr, I so v u donre do S5 fr5 , Iko v u

tyje ma fam u k v u la gerisje .

”

Ilo met sé aksept , I me malgre se swe‘, I la fam mam:

kelko t 5 z apre , Iil v j‘

é rekloms S5 n ars5 .II“kel ars5 ?

”

Idi 1av axr.II“av e vu geri ma fam? I

“n5

, IIso 11 l e pd geri . I Ialoxr v u l av e t q s ?

”

IItue lll O I kel orce xr ! v u save bje ko n5 . Ie bjé , pq isko v u n l av e ui geri I ui tq e, Iko

dm5ds vu? ”

6 . 1e ry e ls kafe I I

1‘

a'

spe d la t ry d5~ls vil fr5sexz I a kelkoSoxz do parti

kylje .II ls z abit5 pas boku d t 5 dooxr I e ls ry S5 r5dy

Osl agreabl ko poSibLII‘

1»

d5 1s gr5d v il, I ls ry S5 lar5 e pl5t e d arbr ; IIse promnad S apel bulv a :r.II ls n5bro bulv a zr Iki travers pari 5t u S5 zs I k5triby a fexr do Set v il Ila ply bel kapital dym5xd ; I I ls z espus z uv éxr I ki S nom plas, IS5 r5dy ge parde z arbr e de f5ts zn.IIla parti d la ry rez erv e O pjet 5 I e kuvert d asfalt u d

grav je , I il j a de b5 su lez arbr I u 15 po so rpo z e .II 5 naroz frekam5 le ry 5 n et e , Ipur 5peSe la pq exr d S

elv e .IIdo u5bro kafe Idebord5 syr le t rotwaxr I: ev it so, ki puts


8 . 1a gramma rl

sexn promjexr.“36 , mi maSY. Ipui blfixS I I

(0 lv e dy rido , 35 r5x3 d la v essl I dov 5 t (is byfe ki St ruv a n S, O promje p15 . I )

35 .

— l 5nq i d 1a v esel Ik5t 5 l a r53e IS e k i to lader53s .II (C

‘

s saladje lui sSap de me e S kaxs.II)maSy (5 tr5 ) . paf!II35 . sakroblolllo saladje dore lIImaSy. t y t rav axj bjé , Itwa lII35 . a llS n e ko l v et erinexr! I I vu m av e fe pour.”maSy.

— k e S ko v a dir msjo kabusa, It 5 mextr, I5vwaj5 set fabrik do kast apet ?”35 (ramas5 le morso) . — i 11 la vera pa

morso O f5 dy 3ardé . I I 3 e la yn petit foxso

.

abrikot je I. IS e mom Ie gaz one .“bl5xS (5t r5 par la drwat , I promi s p15 I I ) . — 35 !I (aper

Sov 5 maSy.) a llb53a zr m sjomaSy.ImaSy (salq5 ) . madmwa z el. I Ibl5xS(a ty n a pa vy l saladje dore?II35 (kaS5 ls morso d5 S5 tablie II) . n5 , madmmi z sLIIbl5 :S. 3o 1SerSIpur y met de from.”35 .

— i dwat st rest s d5 1byfe d la sal a m53e .Ibl5 :S. — 3 v s vwaxr IS e t eton5 la k5t it e d v essl

k i dispare

35 .

— 5 n ka zs purt5 e I (bl5xS Soxr par la gO :S, Ipremie plfi - ll)

This selection is an illustration of fam iliar conversational style.

PHONETIC READINGS 95

88 111 do II

36 , I maSy, pq i kabusa ll

maSy. a bjé , I ty a d l apl5, twa ! I35 . dam , I si 81 Save k S5 saladje e kase .Isa lq i frs

(1 la pexn, I a set domwaz el. ImaSy.

— a Sa l| 3o v je pur la v aS . I I35 . 0 1] S e t inyt il.IImaSy. purkwa?II35 . sl 8 mort I I il pare k 81 av e t avale (is pt i morso

d karat .Imal 5 t ere .IImaSy.

— a !Ivwala llt y n kroxz pa z ase . I I35 .

— s e vre . . .Ime i fe Si SO dpq i oe mwa !

maSy.

— a Sa l] S e t O3urdq i l gr5 3uxr !It 5 met dwa ts t d5 tu se z eta . I I35 . purkwa?“maSy. s 8 d5 doz cm Ik 5 v a elir 1 prez 1d5 dy komis

agrikol d arpa35 .lI35 . krwajs vu k mosjo kabusa swa m oms ?“maSy.

—3 n 5 dut pa .” 3 e de3a by trez v er (1 Vé l

8. S5 11 5t 5sj5 .II35 . v re?IIs bje, sa n pare pa .IImaSy. 3o kabal pur t 5 mextr.“S e 3yst , I 3 e la pra

t ik (1 la mez 5 .II35 .

—i1 a (”

B k5kyr5 Ikj e t as male, I msjo Safine, Icen 5s1e n avwe . I I dopq i ( is mwa Ii n fe k koze av ek

ls peiz 5 . I ImaSy.

— i fe mjo k Sa . lI dim5xS dernje , I il a et e apari , I e il 5 n e rv ony Iav ek yn Sek5ten do pt i bal5 rux3

ki S 5lexv tu S0 31 I I e i ls z a dist ribue gratis I 0 z 5f5 (1

la klas agrikol.”35 .

— a !IS e tre foxrlImaSy.

— wi , | me 3 e pare 1 kn ”3 s rep5dy 1 brq k

ls ba15 Iatire 1a grexl .IIe 5 1s z a tus krov e .II

96.


35 . kel diplomat ko S per maSyllImaSy.

— nu n v ul5 pa d Safins I I a ba Safinelll (“

is n5trig5 . I I ki fe Vnit d et5xp IS5 v et erinexrlll35 . a llvwalalllma y.

—S k i nu to , s e msjo kabusa loe n om Sobr

5 po di ir k S e t o's sav 5 , l so1q ila lIl35 .

— k5 t a Sa . l i rest de z cm z 5 t jsxr d5 S5 ka

bine, I av ek C‘

s liv a la m5 .ll cmfiks .Ila text imo

bil . lkom S i n k5prone pa .IlmaSy. i rsfleSi .Il35 .

— i kroxz I (apersov 5 kabusa . ll) lo wasi I(m5t r5 1s morso dy saladje“) 3 v s fexr kom lui I 3 v s

kroxz e.

9 . lo Sezu e l roz o I

lo Sezu I5 3 3nir ldit O rozo I Iv u z av e bje sy3e I d akyz e 1a natyxr ;ll

(i t rwatole Ipur vu Ie t o‘

s poz 5 fardo ;lllo mwSxdro v 5 Iki d av 5tyzr Ife ride la fas do l O ,”v u z obli i3 I a bese 1a text ; I

sep5d5 ko m5 fr5, l l 0 kokaxz pare :j , lln5 k5t5 d arete l 1s rej5 dy . solexj , llbraxv 1 efoxr do la t 5pext . I

tu v u z e t akil5 , IItu mo s5xblo z efixr.II5koxr I Si v u nesje z a l abri dy fcs jax3 ld5 39 kuxv ro lo vwaz inax3 , lvu n orje pa t5 t a sufrixr ;ll3o v u def5dre do 1 orax3 zllme v u nose Ilo ply suv 5 l

syr ls z ymixd bazr I de rwajo zm dy v 5 II1a natyxr I5vext vu l mo s5 zblo bjS n 53yst I I“votre k5pasj5

”

lllui rep5di 1arbyst , ll

98 HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

v iktoxr ygo .

l 1. l albatros Il

suv 5 I pur S amyz e ls z omo d ekipax3preno de z albatros, l vasto z wazo de mexr,ki sq ixv o, Ied515 k5pan5 do v wajax3 , llo nav ixro glis5 I syr 1s gufro z amexr.

a pexno I 1s z 5 t il depo z e syr 1s p15xS,Iko se rwa do 1 az yxr, l maladrwa I e 5to,llexso pitoxz om5 Iloer gr5xdo z elo bl5xSkomo de z avir5 l trene r a kote d o. ll

so vwaja3oexr ele I kom il e goxSe v osxll Ilui , nagexr SI bo , k il 8 komik e 18 1]1Ce n agaso S5 bek l av ek C

‘

s brylo gosxl, ll oxtro mim 5 bwat5 I l Sfirmo ki vole ! I

lo poext e S5blaxbl O pré xso de nyexlki 5xto 1a t 5pext Ie so ri do 1arSe ;Ilegz ile syr lo Sol IO miljo de yex, lse z exlo do 3e5 l 5pexSo do marSe .Il

bodlexr.

88 t wazo do flaxm,I

se t astro dy 3uxr, lseto floexr do 1axm , ls apelo 1amuxr. I

FRENCH SELECT IONS FOR

ORAL PRA CT ICE

1. A FABLE IN VERSE , WITH INTERLINEARPHONETIC SCRIPT

Une grenouille vit un boeufyngronuxjo v ité boef

Q ui lui sembla de belle taille .

k ilq is5b1a dobelta xj

Elle qui n’ét ait pas grosse en tout comm e un oeuf

,

elo kinetepagro xs 5tu komO'

em

Envieuse, S’étend, s t S

’enfle

,et se travaille

5v jo xz o ss t5 es5xfl eso trav axj

Pour égaler l’animal en grosseur ;puregale lanimal 5grosaaxr

Disant : Regardez bien, ma soeur,regardebje masoexr

Est - cs assez? dites-mo i ; n’y suis- js po int encore?

ditmwa nisq i3pwe'

t5koxr

Nenni M’y vo ici donc? Po int du tout M’

y vo ila?naBi m ivwasid5xk pwédy tu mivwala

Vous n’en approchez po int . La chétive pécoreIaSet ixvpekoxr

S’enfla Si bien qu’elle creva .

S5fla Sibjé kelkrov a

Le monde est plein de gens qui ne sont pas plus sageslom5xdepledo35 k inos5paplysax3

Tout bourgeo is veut batir comme les grands seigneurs,tubur3wa v obat ixr komlegr5sep oexr

Tout petit prince a deS ambassadeurs ;tupot ipréxs adez 5basadoexr

Tout marquis veut avo ir des pages.

tumark i v o tavwardepax3

LA FONTAINE ,la Grenoui lle qui veut sefaire

aussi grosse que te boeuf.

99


2 . NARRATIVE PROSE

Mme Loisel connut la v ie horrible des nécessiteux. Elleprit son parti , d

’ailleurs, tout d

’un coup

,héro iquement . Il

fallait payer cette dette effroyable . Elle payerait . On ren

voya la bonne ; on changea de logement ; on loua sous les

toits une mansarde .

Elle connut les gros travaux du ménage, les Odieuses besognes de la cuisine . Elle lava la vaisselle

,usant ses ongles

roses sur les poteries grasses et ls fond des casseroles . Ellesavonna ls linge sale, les Chemises et les torchons

,qu’elle

faisait Sécher sur une cords ; elle descendit a la rue, Chaquematin

,leS ordures, et monta l

’eau , S

’arré tant a Chaque étage

pour soutfler. Et,v étus comme une femme du peuple

,elle

alla chez ls fruitier, chez l’épicier, chez le boucher, le panier

au bras,marchandant

,injuries , defendant sou a sou son

miserable argent .II fallait Chaque mo is payer deS billets

,en renouveler

d’aut res

,Obtenir du temps .

Le fmari travaillait,le SOir, a mettre au net les comptes

d’un commercant , et la nuit, souvent, il fai sait de la copis

a cinq sous la page .

Et cs t t s v ie dura dix ans .

Au bout de dix ans,ils avaient tout restitué

,tout , avec ls

taux de l’usure, s t l’accumulat ion deS int érét s superpOSéS .

Madame Lo isel semblait vieille,maintenant . Elle était

devenue la femme forte, s t dure,st rude

,deS m

’

énagespauvres. Mal peignée, avec les jupes de travers s t leS mainsrouges

,elle parlait haut, lavait a grands eau les planchers .

Mais parfois, lorsque son mari était au bureau, elle S’as

seyait aupres de la fenetre, s t elle songeait a cette - So iréed’autrefois

,5. es bal Ou elle avait é t é Si belle et Si fetes .

Q ue serait- il arrivé Si elle n’av ait po int perdu cs t t s pa

rure? Q ui sait? qui sait? Comme la v ie est singuliers,

102‘

AoBANDEéDd'

KwF F RENCH PH ONETICS

POIRIER.

’‘

Aussi no yous'

c onsult é- je pas ; je Vous msts au

courant, vo ila tout .GASTON . Ah ! vous us me consultez pas?POIRIER. C ela Vous étonne?GASTON . Un peu ; mais je vous l

’ai dit, je suis en belle

humeur .POIRIER. Ma premiere reforms

,mon cher garcon

GASTON . Vous voulez dire mon cher Gaston, je pense?La langue vous a fourché .POIRIER. Cher Gaston , cher garcon ! c’est tout un l De

beau- pere a gendre, la familiarité est permise .

GASTON . Et de votre part , monsieur Po irier, elle meflat t e s t m

’honore. Vous disiez donc que votre premiere

reform s?

POIRIER. C’est

,monsieur , que vous me fassiez ls plaisir de

ne plus me gouailler . Je suis las de vous servir de plastron.

GASTON . La,la

,monsieur Po irier , ne vous fachez pas !

PO IRIER. Je sais tres bien que vous me t enez pour untres petit personnage et pour un tres petit esprit maisGASTON . Ouprenez - vous cela?POIRIER. Mais vous saurez qu’il y a plus de cervelle dans

ma pantoufle que sous votre chapeau .

GASTON . Ah ! fi ! vo ila qui est trivial vous parlezcomme nu homme du commun .

POIRIER. Je a s suis pas nu marquis, moi !

GASTON . Ne ls dites pas Si haut, on finirait par ls croire.

AUGIER, lo Gendre deM . Poirier, III, 2 .

4. CLASSIC VERSE

DON RODRIGUE . Sous moi donc cette troupe S’av anceEt port s sur ls front une mé le assurance .

Nous part imes cinq cents ;mais , par un prompt renfort ,Nous nous vimes tro is mills en arrivant au po rt ,

SELECTIONS FOR ORA L PRACTICE 103

Tant,anous Voir marcher avec un t el visage

,

Les plus épouvantés reprenaient de courage !J’eu cache les deux tiers, aussitOt qu

’arriVéS ,

Dans ls fond des vaisseaux qui lors furent trouvés ;Le rest s

,dont le nombre augmentait a t out s heure

,

Brulant d’impat ience, autour de moi demeure ,Se couche contre terre, et sans fairs aucun brui t,Passe une bonns part d’une Si belle nuit .Par mon commandement , la garde en fait de meme

,

Et, se tenant caches , aide 5 mon st rat egeme ;

Et je feins hardiment d’av oir recu de vous

L’Ordre qu’on me Vo it suivre et que je donne a tous .

C ORNE ILLE , le Cid, IV, 3 .

5 . LYRIC VERSE

C’est ls moment crépusculaire .

J’admire,assis sous umportail

,

C e rests de jour dont S’éclaireLa derniere heure du travail .

Dans les terres de nuit baignéesJs contemple, ému ,

les haillonsD’un vieillard qui jette a poignées

La mo isson future aux Sillons .

Sa haute Silhouette no ireDomine les profonds labours.

On sent a quel point il do it croireA la fuite utile deS jours .

IImarche dans la plains immense,Va , vient, lance 1a grains au lo in ,Rouvre sa main

,et recommence,

Et je médite , Obscur témoin .

104 HANDBOOK OF FRENCH PHONETICS

Pendant que, déployant ses vo iles,L’ombre

,o l‘i se mele une rumeur,

Semble é largir jusqu’aux étoiles

Le gsst e auguste du semeur.

VICTOR HUGO , “Saison des semailles z

from Chansons des rues et des


Relation Of French Sounds toFrench Spelling : 2

Rounded Front Vowels : 9

Semiconsonant s : 13

[i] : 13 ; [ni , W11 14Signs

,Letters and : 24

Single Word, Stress in a : 61Sounds z l

of French : 2Production Of SpeechSounds z l

Relation of French Soundsand French Spelling : 2Table Of Sounds

,Usual Spell

ings and Examples : 22Speech :

Stress in Connected Speech61

Syllabic Div ision in Speech59

Speech- Sounds, Production of : 1Spelling :

Relation Of French Soundsto French Spelling : 2

Syllabic Division in Spelling60

Table Of Sounds , Usual Spellings and Examples : 2 2

Stress : 61In a Single Word : 61In Connected Speech : 61Logical and Emotional : 62

Syllabic Division : 59In Speech : 59In Spelling and Writing : 60

Synthesis : 59Table Of Sounds, Usual Spellingsand Examples : 22Trilled Consonants : 2 1Vowels : 4

Back : 8[a, o] : 8 ; [O , u] : 9

Front : 6[i] : 6 ; [e, e, a] : 7

Mixed : 9[y, 9 , es] : 10 ; [o] : 11

Nasal : 11[e, 5 , 12 ; [Ge] : 13

Oral : 4Rounded Front : 9Vowel Q uantity : 63

Word :Foreign Words : 56Stress in a Single Word : 61Word Groups : 61

Writing , Syllabic Division in : 60

THI S BOOK I S DUE ON THE LA ST DA TE

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A N INIT IA L F INE OF 2 5 CENT SW ILL B E A S S ES S ED FO R FA ILURE TO RET URN

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A Handbook of French Phonetics - Forgotten Books

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