0 (short) has the sound of o in not, as: dot, mode, mol, notre. o (long) has the sound of o in note, as: dos, mot, rôti, nôtre.

u has no equivalent sound in English.

eu (short) has nearly the sound of u in burr, as: peu, feu, jeu, bleu.

eu (long) has the sound of i in sir, as: fleur, sœur, beurre, heure. ou has the sound of oo in school, as: mou, trou, sou, hibou. ou, before final r, has the sound of oo in boor, as: jour, four, tour,

amour.

2. REMARKS ON THE UNACCENTED E.

The unaccented e, at the end of a word of two or more syllables, is silent, as abîme, trouve. After two consonants, it is slightly pronounced-just enough to give utterance to the preceding consonant, as: sable, sabre, cable. This is also the case when it closes a syllable that is followed by a consonant: demande (d'mande), samedi (sam'di).

When e stands between two consonants that belong to the same syllable, it is sounded like e in bed, as: bec, bel, mette, serre.

Before a final r that is pronouced, e has the sound of è (grave), as : mer, fer, hiver; and before a final r, z, d or ƒ that is silent, e has the sound of é (acute), as: parler, parlez, bled, clef, which are pronounced the same as if they were written parlé, blé, clé.

3.-COMPOUND VOWELS.

A compound vowel is a combination of two or more vowels, having the sound of a single vowel, as: eu, ou. The following compound vowels represent some of the pure vowel-sounds:

ai or eai has the sound sometimes of é and sometimes of è. ai has the sound of é when it closes a syllable, as: j'ai, je mangeai; and in je sais, tu sais, il sait. ai has the sound of è generally when it is not final, as: plaie, j'avais, mais,

ei has the sound of è, as: peine.

ea has the sound of a, as: mangea.

ée has the sound of é, as: fée, épée.

au, eau, have the sound of ô, as: faux, beau. œu has the sound of eu, as: bœuf.

ss between two vowels, as the SUNG I (pouah-çon).

sch is sounded like sh, as: schisme.

t is sounded like e in a few words ending in is: mute na in those ending in atia, as: diplomatie; also vore *

as: nation; except when it is preceded by & as

th is sounded like t. as: thé.

X, initial, is so~

19 3

question.

followed by

10

4.-NASAL VOWEL-SOUNDS.

The four nasal vowel sounds are:

an

in

on

un

m, preceded by a vowel, has the nasal sound of n.

e, before m or n, has the nasal sound of an; but en, preceded by i (ien) has the nasal sound of in.

m and n are not nasal when they are double, or followed by a Vowel.

The nasal sounds are represented by

em

aim

The English language has no sounds exactly equivalent to the The nearest approach to them is heard in French nasal sounds. pronouncing, separately from the consonants that follow them, the nasal sounds an, in, on, un, contained in the following English words:

an is sounded as an in want, as: ruban, sang,* enfant.*

in is sounded as an in angry, as: fin, faim, pain.

on is sounded as on in long, as: bon, long,* façon.

un is sounded as un in hunger, as: brun, tribun, chacun.

4.-DIPHTHONGS.

A diphthong is a combination of two vowel-sounds, which are both

heard in pronouncing.

Pure diphthongs :
Nasal diphthongs: ien

ia

5.-PRONUNCIATION OF THE DIPHTHONGS.

ia in fiacre, pronounced fee-ah-kr.

ie in lier, pronounced lee-a.

ieu in lieu, pronounced lee-eu. (See vowel sounds for eu.)

* A final consonant after a nasal sound is silent.

oi in loi, pronounced lou-ah.

oue in ouest, pronounced oo-ayst.

ui in fruit, pronounced fru-ee. (See vowel-sounds for u.) ien in bien, pronounced bee-an (angry).

ion in lion, pronounced lee-on (long).

oin in loin, pronounced lou-an (angry).

uin in juin, pronounced ju-in (angry). (See vowel-sounds for u.)

5.-CONSONANTS.

Consonants, when combined with vowels, have generally the same value in French as in English. The following are the principal exceptions:

c before e, i, y has the hissing sound of s, as: ceci. Befor a, o, u, and before a consonant, it has the sound of k, as: cabas, colon, cure, crin. But ę (cedilla) before a, o, u, retains the sound of 8, as: façade, façon, reçu.

ch has generally the sound of sh, as: charme; but followed by a consonant, it has the sound of k, as: Christ. ch has the sound of k in words from the Greek and Hebrew, as: écho, Cham. g before e, i, y has the sound of s in pleasure, as: germe, gilet; before a, o, u it has the sound of the English g in grate, as: gant, gobelet.

h is silent when a vowel may be elided before it, as : l'homme for le homme. It is called aspirate, when the vowel is not elided before it, although the h is not heard in pronouncing, as: le héros (le-ay-roh).

s has the hissing sound of c at the beginning of a word, as: sa (ça); between two vowels, it has the sound of 2, as: voisin (vouah-zain). ss between two vowels, has the hissing sound of s, as: poisson (pouah-çon).

sch is sounded like sh, as: schisme.

t is sounded like c in a few words ending in tie, as: minutie, and in those ending in atie, as: diplomatie; also before ial, iel, ion, as: nation; except when it is preceded by 8, as : question.

th is sounded like t, as: thé.

X, initial, is sounded like gz, as: Xavier; also, ex, initial, when followed by a vowel, as: examen.