If two vowels be pronounced separately, the latter takes the trema:

A final consonant is generally silent: plomb, lead; aplomb, perpendicular; port, harbor; fort, strong; fusil, gun; goût, taste.

B is pronounced as in English: bas, stocking; bâton, stick.

C before e and i is pronounced like s: ceci, this; citron, lemon. C before a, o, u, and before the consonants s, 1, n, r, t, sounds like k, except when the cedilla is added; ç sounds like s.

C final sounds like k: sec, dry; sac, bag.

It is silent in some words: porc, pork; tabac, tobacco; blanc, white; franc, free; tronc, trunk.

Ch is pronounced like sh in English.

D has the same sound as in English: David. D final sounds like t when followed immediately by a word commencing with a vowel or h mute, in the union (la liaison) of the two words: un grand homme, pronounce un grantomme; vendelle, pronounce ventelle, etc.

Fis pronounced as in English, fièvre, fever. F final is generally sounded: soif, thirst; chef, chief; œuf, egg; boeuf, or; but in clef, chef-d'œuvre, œufs, boeufs, f is silent. (For neuf, see p. 52.)

G before e and i is soft, and is sounded like j: génie, genius; agir, to act. G before a, o, u, and consonants is hard: garçon, boy; gorge, throat; aigu, sharp, grand, great; gloire, glory, etc. gn is sounded somewhat like n in senior; ignorance; seigneur, lord; saigner, to bleed; etc. For the liaison, g has the sound of k on a vowel or mute h: sang humain is pronounced sankhumain, etc.

H is mute in most French words; as, l'homme, man; l'honneur, honor; l'héroïne, the heroine, etc. H is aspirated in the following words:

There is no elision before the aspirated h: la haie, not l'haie, etc. There is no liaison before the aspirated h: les héros pronounce lè héros, not lèzhéros, etc.

J is pronounced like s in measure: jamais, never; jour, day, etc. K is pronounced as in English: kilogramme, kilogram.

L is sounded at the end of some words; as, fil, thread; Brésil, Brazil; Nil, Nile; mil, mille, thousand; profil; ville, town, etc. See p. 13 for the liquid 1, 11. L is silent in baril, barrel; coutil, ticking; fils, son; fusil, gun; outil, tool; persil, parsley, pouls, pulse, etc.

M as in English. It is silent in automne, and in the nasal sounds: temps, rompre, etc.

N as in English. It is silent in nasal sounds: enfant.

P is generally sounded as in English. However, it is silent in baptême, baptiser, compte, compter, dompter, exempt, sept. P final is silent: coup, blow; drap, cloth, etc.; except cap, cape, and proper names. It is not carried to the next word, except in trop and beaucoup.

Qu is pronounced like k: quatre, quel, qui.

R is like the English r in rich, with a little greater force.

rire, to laugh.

rare, scarce.

rougeâtre, reddish.

trouver, to find.

retrouver, to find again.

retourner, to return.

montre, watch.

arbre, tree.

Practice br, cr, dr, fre, gr, pr, tr, pourrai, pourra, pourrons, pourrez, pourront; croîtrai, croîtra, croîtrons, croîtrez, croîtrant; montrerai, montrera, montrerons, montrerez, montreront. R is not sounded at the end of the words ending in ier: premier, first; dernier, last; and at the end of words ending in cher, ger: cocher, coachman; berger, shepherd. etc. R is not sounded at the end of verbs ending in er, unless when followed by a vowel: aimer (aimé), to love; donner (donné), to give, etc. Aimer à chanter, pronounce aiméra chanté, etc. R is sounded at the end of verbs ending in ir, and in monosyllables: finir, choisir, car, cor, pur, voir, cher, fer.

s is pronounced like s in sum when beginning the word, or after a consonant, but like z between two vowels.

Sc is pronounced as in English: scène, science, conscience, scandale. Sch is pronounced like sh: schisme, schelling. s final is generally silent: pas, step; mais, but; jus, juice; progrès, succès, etc.; but sounded like s in aloès, atlas, blocus, gratis, iris, maïs, moeurs, manners, etc. S, when joined to the initial letter of the next word, is sounded like z on the following vowel or mute h: les amis, lé-zamis: mes enfants, mé-zenfants; trois hommes, troi-zommes.

T is pronounced like t in English: toute, all. T has the sound of s in the combinations tial, tiel, tion: partial, essentiel, nation, providentiel, etc. T has this same pronunciation (8) in ineptie, minutie, prophétie, aristocratie, démocratie, etc. But t has its proper sound in garantie, moitié, amitié, chantier, métier, trade. Th always sounds like t: thé, tea; thèse, thesis.

V, W, have the same pronunciation, v.

X initial is pronounced gz: Xavier, Xénophon. X after an initial e is also pronounced gz: exemple, exil, examiner. X not following an initial e is pronounced ks: Alexandre, maxime,

sexe.

Z sounds s like a soft s: zèle, zeal; douze, twelve. Z final is generally silent: nez, nose; chez, at; allez, go; venez, come; sortez, go out, etc.; except gaz, gas; Suez (z), Metz (ss).

UNION OF WORDS Liaison des Mots.

The final consonant of a word is sounded with the initial vowel of the following word, whenever the two words are so connected with each other that there can be no pause between them.

Vos enfants sont-ils arrivés, pronounce vo-zenfants son-tilzarrivés. S sounds like z; d has the sound of t; g of k; x of z;

f of v.

Ils ont eu deux enfants, pronounce il-zon-teu deu-zenfants.

C'est un grand ami de neuf ans,
Nous avons deux ou trois amis,

66

cè-tun gran-tami de neu-vans. nou-zavons deu-zou troi-zamis.

In words ending in rt, rd, carry on r, not t, d: tort ou raison, pronounce to-rou raison. In words ending in ct, carry on c as k, not t: respect à la vieillesse, pronounce respè-ka la vieillesse. The ear, practice, and taste will be the best guides.

N. B. The union of words depends more on euphony than on actual rules.

D. F. M.-2.

FIRST LESSON*-Première Leçon.

The bread, le pain.
The meat, la viande.

The eggs, les œufs, m.
The wine, le vin.
The beer, la bière.

The sugar, le sucre.
The milk, le lait.

The glasses, les verres, m.

The water, l'eau, ƒ.
The knife, le couteau.
The spoon, la cuillère.
The fork, la fourchette.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE.

1. Le, m, used before masculine singular words beginning with a consonant or aspirated h.

2. La, f, used before feminine singular words beginning with a consonant or aspirated h.

3. L', m and ƒ, used before masculine or feminine singular words beginning with a vowel or mute ħ. 4. Les, m and ƒ, used before masculine or feminine plural words.

When a noun is taken in a general sense, it takes the article le, la, l', les, in French.

Wine, le vin.

Beer, la bière.

Water, l'eau, ƒ,
Eggs, les œufs, m.

The article is repeated before every noun, and before every word used as a noun having a separate meaning. The wine, beer, and water: Le vin, la bière, et l'eau.

Let us notice immediately that besides the article, the pronoun, the preposition, etc., are repeated in French.

Study and conjugate, affirmatively and interrogatively, the present indicative of the auxiliary avoir, p. 130.

*Before committing to memory the words of every lesson, the student must be sure of the correctness of his pronunciation.