LESSONS IN FRENCH.—I
In commencing these Lessons in French, instead of beginning with a long chapter exclusively devoted to the pronunciation of words, and the variations which are caused in the sounds of vowels and consonants by changes in their relative position, we have thought it best to enter at once into the construction of the language, and endeavour, without unnecessary delay, in as plain a manner as possible, to make our readers familiar with its various idioms and peculiarities. The Section on French pronunciation will be divided into several portions, one of which will be given at the commencement of each lesson in French, until the subject is exhausted.
SECTION I.—FRENCH PRONUNCIATION.
I. THE FRENCH ALPHABET.
1. A tolerable pronunciation of any spoken language may be acquired by imitating the sounds of that language, as uttered by a living teacher. But the reading and writing of any language cannot thus be learnt. The pupil must bring into requisition something else besides his imitative powers, if he would thoroughly comprehend any language. The alphabet of the language to be learnt must be exhibited and 'examined, and then mastered.
2. An alphabet is a collection of different characters called letters, each of which represents its own peculiar sound. These letters differ from each other in name, form, size, and sound. Used as vehicles of thought, they must not only be familiar to the eye, but their use, both singly and combined, must be understood.
3. Two objects are to be before the student whilst perusing these preliminary lessons on French pronunciation, namely:—
First.—The acquisition of the correct pronunciation of the various sounds of the letters of the French alphabet.
Second.—To learn how to combine and use these sounds, in order to read the French language easily, intelligibly, and profitably.
4. The first object will be accomplished by the aid of analogous English sounds; that is, every sound represented by a letter or combination of letters of the French alphabet, will be unfolded, analysed, and defined, as far as possible, by means of analogous sounds of a letter or combination of letters of the English alphabet.
5. The second object will be accomplished by learning a few brief and simple rules, illustrated and enforced by appropriate examples.
6. Diligent attention, patient labour, and a determination to succeed, will enable the learner to overcome every obstacle, and thus make him master of a language, not only exceedingly difficult for foreigners to acquire, but beautiful in itself, and co-existent with the triumphs of civilisation.
7. The student's attention is next directed to the French alphabet. While the English alphabet contains twenty-six letters, in the French alphabet there are only twenty-five. It has no letter which corresponds to the English w, though it is occasionally found in French books. It is used only in foreign words, and then pronounced like the English v.
8. The French alphabet is divided into vowels and consonants.
9. The Vowels.—The vowels are six in number, namely:—
a e i o u y.
10. The Consonants.—The remaining letters of the alphabet, nineteen in number, are called consonants, namely :—
b c d f g h j k l m
n p q r s t v x z.
11. The Compound Vowels.—There are seven compound vowels, namely:—
ai au eau ei eu oi ou.
They are thus called because, being united together, each vowel loses its own simple sound, and helps to form another new sound. They form but one syllable, and are consequently pronounced by one emission of the voice.
12. The Diphthongs.—There are six diphthongs, namely:—
ia ie io ua ue ui.
They are thus called because, though pronounced as one syllable, the sound of both vowels is distinctly heard.
The following ten combinations of three successive vowels are also called diphthongs, namely:—
iai aiu ieu oua oue oui uai uei
uie ueu.
These diphthongs are thus divided into syllables:—
i-ai i-au i-eu ou-a ou-e ou-i u-ai
u-ei u-ie u-eu
They must, however, be pronounced quickly, and as one syllable.
Sometimes, also, we find four successive vowels in the same word, namely:—
ouai in the word jou-ai,
oueu " jou-eur,
ouée " bou-ée.
The first example—ouai, is composed of two compound vowels, viz.: ou and ai.
The second example—oueu, is also composed of two compound vowels, viz.: ou and eu.
In the last example—ouée, the final e is silent, and the three vowels are thus divided, viz.: ou and é.
13. The Vowel Y..—The vowel y is frequently found combined with other vowels, but in such combinations it is never used as a diphthong. Its use in combination is peculiar, and will be fully explained hereafter.
14. The Nasal Vowel Sounds.—There are certain sounds called nasal vowel sounds, produced by the combination of the vowels with the consonants m and n, namely:—
am em im om um ym
an en in on un yn.
These sounds will be explained hereafter.
15. The Nasal Diphthongal Sounds.—There are also certain sounds called nasal diphthongal sounds, produced by the combination of nasal vowel sounds with a vowel, not nasal, before them, namely:—
ian ien ion uau uiu ouau ouiu.
These sounds will also be explained hereafter.
16. The Liquids. The following combinations of the consonants are called liquids, namely:
ll gn.
The sounds of these liquids are very common in the French language, and will be explained hereafter.
SECTION II.—THE ARTICLE.
1. In French the article [§ 13 (2)]* has, in the singular, a distinct form for each gender, as:—
Le fils, the son. La fille, the daughter, the girl.
Le frère, the brother. La sœur, the sister.
2. Before a word commencing with a vowel or an h mute, the final e or a of the article le or la is cut off, and replaced by an apostrophe, leaving the article apparently the same for both genders [§ 13 (7)], as:—
L'aïeul [l(e) aïeul], the grandfather.
L'aïeule [l(a) aïeule], the grandmother.
L'hôte [l(e) hôte], the landlord.
L'hôtesse [l(a) hôtesse], the landlady.
3. There are in French only two genders, the masculine and the feminine [§ 4]. Every noun, whether denoting an animate or inanimate object, belongs to one of these two genders.
Masc. L'homme, the man. Fem. La femme, the woman.
Le livre, the book. La table, the table.
L'arbre, the tree. La plume, the pun.
Le lion, the lion. La lionne, the lioness.
4. Avoir, to have, in the Present of the Indicative.
Affirmatively.
Sing. J'ai, I have.
Tu as [§ 33 (1) (2)] Thou hast.
Il a, He has.
Elle a, She has.
Plur. Nous avons, We have.
Vous avez, You have.
Ils ont, m., They have.
Elles ont, f., They have.
* References thus [§ 13 (2)] refer to Sections in Part II. of these Lessons, but by references in Roman numerals, thus, [Sect. I. 30] the learner is directed to Sections in Part I., the portion of our "Lessons in French" which we are now commencing.
