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Self-Educator.

LESSONS ON FRENCH.

BY W. J. CHAMPION, a.b.

THE French language is the language now current among the descendants of the allied Germans, who styled themselves "Franks," or Freemen;" of the Celtic and Belgic population that survived the Roman and the Frank Conquest; and of the Romans that remained in the country after its subjugation by the Franks.

The elements of the French language will therefore principally consist of German, Celtic, and Latin; and from the length of the time during which the Romans held France under their power, it is only to be expected that the Latin should predomi

nate.

Formerly, when there was much less communication between the parts of that extensive country than at present, there was great and almost essential difference between the languages of the inhabitants north and south of the Loire; the characteristics of the dialects spoken in the four quarters of the country being as follows:

In the north-east the High German had more influence than in any other part.

In the north-west the Celtic and Scandinavian.

In the south-west the languages of Spain.

In the south-east the Latin or Italian.

Even now there is very great difference between the French of the capital and that of the southern parts of France. At Issoire and St. Fleur, the provincial dialect is scarcely intelligible to a Parisian, and still less in Provence.

The standard French is of course the French as it is spoken by well educated natives of Paris; and to this we shall, for the future, confine our attention.

In the lessons connected with this course, we shall strive continually to remember that we are writing for "Self-Educators," and this we beg our readers never to forget. We cannot supersede the use of laborious application and patient diligence, but we shall endeavour to give such directions as may prevent loss of time and waste of labour, and such instructions as shall be necessary and sufficient to guide the student by the easiest and shortest way to the attainment of his object.

T

It will be convenient to adopt the usual divisions of grammar, and to treat in succession of

I. THE PRONUNCIATION.

II. THE INFLEXIONS.

III. THE CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES.

IV. THE LAWS OF VERSIFICATION.

I. PRONUNCIATION.

The French alphabet is like the English, except that it has no w, and k is found only in foreign words.

The following table exhibits the letters in their usual order, with their alphabetical names, and their usual pronunciation :

Sounded like k in key 1 in lamp

m in me

n in no

o in not
p in pin
k in keep
r in run

s in sit

t in tin

ay

eff

jay

H

ahsh

Sh in hour

o in move

h in house

vay

v in vain

I

e

See in peep
i in pip

X

ix

x in axe

eegrec

ee in been

J

jee

00

s in pleasure

Of these letters, it will be seen that some are pronounced exactly as in English, but many of them require particular notice.

C is sometimes pronounced like s before a, o, and u, and in these cases a small mark, called a cedilla, is placed under it—as, façade, leçon, reçu.

In words adopted from the Italian, like violoncelle, vermicelle, it has the sound of the English ch.

H in French, as in English, is sometimes pronounced at the beginning of a word, and sometimes not. But in French h is but rarely pronounced when it stands at the beginning of a word or between two vowels. The following are the most common:

Q is always followed by u, except in coq and cinq. Qu have commonly the sound of k, as qui (kee), lesquelles (laykell). In the following words qu are pronounced as in English :

R should be pronounced as in English, avoiding the roughness which is sometimes given to its sound by natives of the northern counties in England, and by natives of Ireland. This fault is called in French "parler gras."

S has a sharp, hissing sound, like the soft sound of c, except where it comes between two vowels, as ôser, user, and in the words balsamique, presbytère, transaction, transiger, transition, where it has the flat sound of z. But in some compound words the s is sharp between two vowels, as in parasol, vraisemblance.

X has generally the same sound which it would have in a similar position in English; viz., ks or qz. In Auxerre and Bruxelles it is sounded like ss, and in deuxième and sixième like z.

Y.-In pays, paysage, paysan, and wherever it stands between two vowels, y is equivalent in pronunciation to ii: so crayon is pronounced crai-ion.

Z is sounded as in English, except in some proper names, where it has the sound of the sharp s, as Alvarez, Metz, pronounced Alvarèce, Mèce.

These observations show the sounds and proper pronunciation of the letters in their most common circumstances. We proceed to notice the effect which certain letters have on some others, when they are placed together.

There are two general rules which ought to be always remembered; they are as follows:

I. Final consonants of words immediately followed by words which begin with a consonant (including a pronounced h) are not to be pronounced: so les bijoux (the jewels) are pronounced lé bijoux-les héros, lé héros.

*Not in the last syllable.

From this rule proper names are excepted; their final consonants are to be pronounced.

II. But when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent h, the final consonant is joined to it at the beginning: so les hommes (the men) are pronounced lé zommes; neuf enfans, neu venfans; plait il, plai til.

The particular exceptions to these rules are given under each letter.

B.―bb are pronounced as b; that is, one of them is dropped: so abbé is pronounced like abé. B is not sounded in plomb.

C.-When ce are followed by e or i, both are sounded just as in English; but in other cases only one is pronounced: as accès, accident (akses, aksident); accord, accuser (acord, acuser). Similarly, before q it is silent: so acquis is pronounced aquis.

C is not pronounced at the end of words, except avec, bec, sec, échec (in the sense of defeat, loss, misfortune; but échecs meaning the game of chess, is pronounced éché), and also in done in a sentence which expresses strong feeling.

In second and its derivatives, in dracme, and in the second syllable of cicogne, c has the sound of g.

Ch are pronounced like sh in English, except in the following words from the Greek and Hebrew :-Anachorète, archange, chaos, chiromancie, chœur, eucharistie, orchestre, Chanaan, Achab, &c, where ch are pronounced like k; and in almanach, where they are not sounded at all.

Ď. When dd are found only one is pronounced, except in addition, reddition, and adduction, where both are sounded.

Final d is included in the general rules of pronunciation and omission of final letters, except that when the word begins with a vowel or silent h final d is pronounced as t: so un grand homme must be pronounced un gran t'omme; Entend-il? Ententil? Quand il fut arrivé? Quan til fut arrivé? Repond on ainsi? Repon ton ainsi? Sud (south) follows the rule of proper

names.

F-Offf only one is pronounced.

Ffinal is generally pronounced as in bœuf, œuf, neuf (new), nef; but it is mute in bœufs, œufs, neufs, as also in cerf, éteuf, and neuf (nine); and in compound words, as chef d'œuvre. The word clef (usually pronounced clé) is said to have no good rhyme in the French language.

F final takes the sound of v before a vowel: neuf hommes are pronounced neu vommes; vif argent, vivargent.

G.-In suggérer, as in every case in which gg are followed by an accented e, both letters are pronounced, the former hard, the latter soft, as if written sug-jérer.

Gn in the middle of words have a peculiar pronunciation, very much like that of n and y, with a very short e, only just heard, between them: agneau is pronounced nearly as we should pronounce anněyo.

The exceptions are-imprégner, imprégnation, stagnant, stagnation, and their derivatives, in which the letters have their usual power; and signet, where the g is silent.

G final is mute, but before a vowel it is pronounced like k. Un long entretien, sang et eau, rang honorable, are pronounced un lon kentretien, san ké eau, ran konorable; but it is always mute in coing, étang, faubourg, hareng, poing, and seing, by whatever word it is followed; as well as in legs, doigt, and vingt. At the beginning of gangrène, and at the end of bourg, it has the sound of k.

L-Ll are generally sounded as 7. Both are sounded in words formed by prefixing a syllable to a simpler word, such as illégal, allocution, allusion, polluer; but it is to be observed, that though in regard to the syllable il this is always true, in regard to al there are several exceptions, to be learnt only by experience and practice: thus, in allouer, allier, allonger, allumer, and some others, with their derivatives, only 7 is pronounced.

Ll in coll, when not immediately followed by e, are both pronounced; as in collation, collision, colloquer, collusion; but in collation, a luncheon, collier, and colline, only one is to be sounded.

But in some of these the best authorities differ.

Il and ill have generally a peculiar sound, called in French mouillée, and in English liquid. The pronunciation adopted in good society, and even on the stage, differs from that which is recommended in some of the best works on the subject; but such authority warrants its introduction and recommendation here. _L or lle is in such cases to be pronounced very much as an Englishman would pronounce ĕ-yěh: so—

Famille is pronounced like fammee-ě-yěh.

Paille

pah-ee-e-ych.

In the other method to which reference is made above, the pronunciation very much resembles the English pronunciation of Il in brilliant, or the Italian gl in gli, seraglio.

This rule has the following exceptions, in which ill is sounded

as il: