SUPPLEMENT. I. PRONUNCIATION. THE general rules of pronunciation have been given (§§ 3-5), and the learner is especially referred to § 5 (5); but the following additional and more specific rules may be given for convenient reference: For the approximate sounds of the vowels, see § 3 in the oody of the work. A. A is silent in aoriste (o-ris-t), aorist; août (oû), August; aoûteron (oû-tě-rōn), harvester; taon (tōn), gadfly; and in the proper nouns Curaçao (ku-ra-so), and Saône (sô-n). E. The sounds of e, é, è, and ê have been given; but there are many cases where e without a written accent is = é or è. The following general directions may be given to determine these cases: 1. E= é.* E followed by a mute consonant at the end of a word has the close sound (é), as rocher (ro-shé), rock, venez (vě-né), come; except before t, as projet (pro-jè), project, where it is open, and before final s, as Londres (lōn-dr), where it remains mute, unless there is a written accent, as, amitiés, succès. Eat the beginning or in the middle of words, before a double consonant, or two consonants sounded as one, has the close * For these rules for the pronunciation of e = é or è, frequently at variance with the indicated pronunciation of Spiers and Surenne, the author is chiefly indebted to Professor Sommer, author of "Méthode uniforme pour l'Enseignement des Langues," and "Grammaire de l'Enseignement secondaire spécial." Edit. 1865. (389) 33* sound, as dessin (dé-sin), design; terrain (té-rin), piece of ground; descendre (dé-san-dr), to descend. E before x has always the close sound, as exil (é-gzil), exile; Alexandre (a-lé-gzan-dr); except at the end of foreign words, as Essex (ès-èks); Sussex (sus-èks). 2. Eè. E has, in general, the open sound (è) in the final syllable of words when it is followed by one or more final consonants which are pronounced, as enfer (en-fèr), hell; avec (a-vèk), with; suspect (sus-pèkt), suspected. E has the open sound (è) at the beginning or in the middle of words when followed by two different consonants, one of which is in the same syllable with it, as reste (rès-t), remainder; peste (pès-t), plague. E in the penult before a final mute syllable (i. e., a syllable containing e mute) has the open sound, as princesse (prinsè-s), princess; guerre (ghè-r), war. Exc. Femme (fa-m), woman, in which it has the sound of a, as also in the words solennel (so-la-nèl), solemn, indemniser (in-da-m-ni-zé), to indemnify, and its derivatives, and in adverbial endings in emment (a-man). NOTE. The e following g before a and o has no sound of itself, being merely used to soften the sound of g, as érigeons (é-ri-jōn), let us erect; érigeant (é-ri-jān), erecting. I. I is silent in moignon (mo-gnon),* stump; oignon (o-gnōn), onion; poignard (po-gnar),* poniard; poignée (pogné), handful; and in the proper name Montaigne (mon-ta-gn), Montaigne. O. O is silent in faon (fan), doe, fawn; paon (pān), peacock, and Laon (lān), Laon, a city of France. O joined with e forms the double letter æ, pronounced like é or è. (See Compound Vowels, E.) U. U between g and a is generally silent, as il légua (légha), he bequeathed. In a few words it is sounded ou, as lingual (lin-gou-al), lingual; and in some foreign names, as Guatimala (goua-ti-ma-la.) U between g and e or i is generally silent, as guerre (ghè-r), war; guide (ghi-d), guide. It is sounded like the French u in arguer (ar-gu-é), to infer; aiguille (è-gui-i), needle, and its derivatives; when the vowel following it takes the diæresis, as aiguë (è-gu), fem. of aigu (è-gu), acute; and in the proper name Guizot (gui-zo).* U between g and o is regularly silent, as léguons (lé-gōn), let us bequeath. U is generally silent after q, as quart (kar), quarter. U after q is sometimes sounded ou, especially in words directly derived from the Latin, as équation (é-kouâ-siōn), equation; quadrature (koua-dra-tu-r), quadrature. U after q is sometimes sounded u, as équilatère (é-kui-latè-r), equilateral; questeur (kuès-teur), questor. Y. For the sound of this vowel, which has generally the power of two i's, see § 4, 5, in the body of the work. 1. Simple or compound vowels joined to a following m or n in the same syllable form the nasal vowels. The nasal sound does not take place when a vowel or silent h immediately follows them or n, as famine (fa-mi-n), famine; ananas (a-nanâ), pine-apple; when the m or n is doubled, as homme (o m), man; innocence (i-no-sān†-s), innocence; and when m is immediately followed by n, as amnistie (amf-nis-tî), amnesty; omnibus (omt-ni-bus), omnibus. Exc. Enivrer (an-ni-vré), to intoxicate; enorgueillir (ānnor-ghen-yir), to make proud; emmener (an-m-né), to take away, and all words beginning with emm: ennoblir (an-noblir), to dignify; ennui (ān-nui), tedium, and its derivatives. * This pronunciation is the prevailing one in Paris, and M. Guizot himself prefers it to Ghi-zo, as the family is called in his native city of Nîmes. † In the indicated pronunciation the nasal vowels will be denoted by a long mark (-) over the vowel preceding the m or n, thus: an, en, in, ōn, ūn; when this mark is not used, it indicates the absence of the nasal sound, as inné (in-né), innate; omnibus (om ni-bus), omnibus. |