GUIDE 
 
 TO 
 
 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 AND 
 
 PRACTICAL PHONETICS 
 
 BY 
 PHILIPPE DE LA ROCHELLE 
 
 ilifornia 
 
 ional 
 
 lity
 
 d. 
 
 N
 
 GUIDE 
 
 TO 
 
 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 AND 
 
 PRACTICAL PHONETICS 
 
 BY 
 PHILIPPE DE LA RQCHELLE 
 
 FULLER BUILDING 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, U. S. A. 
 
 1909
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1909, 
 
 BY 
 PHILIPPE DE LA ROCHELLE.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For the past few years special attention has been 
 paid to the study of Phonetics for two reasons: 
 
 (1) It is impossible to speak good French or to 
 acquire a pure accent without studying in detail that 
 part of the Grammar which treats of sounds and 
 articulations. 
 
 (2) We cannot expect a pupil opening a French 
 Grammar for the first time to READ a word. Conse- 
 quently in writing the following pages, the pupil who 
 has no teacher has been constantly kept in view. 
 
 A practical survey of the French sounds may pre- 
 vent students from groping in the dark or depending 
 exclusively on their teachers in preparing their next 
 lesson. 
 
 Furthermore, we know that students can acquire 
 French in America as well as in France, provided they 
 are well grounded. Pupils properly trained have no 
 difficulty in enjoying good French spoken or in inter- 
 preting the plays at any French theatre. 
 
 It has been demonstrated that by following the 
 directions set forth in this framework, much drudgery 
 may be avoided and interest awakened for further 
 pursuit. 
 
 We extend our grateful appreciation to Dr. Hugo 
 A. Rennert, Director of the French Department of 
 the University of Pennsylvania, for his valuable sug- 
 gestions, also to Dr. J. P. W. Crawford.. 
 
 3 
 
 2081821
 
 4 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 PUNCTUATION 
 
 Its first use dates 200 years B. C. and is attributed 
 to Aristophanes of Byzantium. But it was not gen- 
 erally used as the pauses replaced it. In French it 
 plays an important part. 
 
 VIRGULE. The comma (virgula or little rod used 
 by the Romans) was first used in correcting sentences, 
 then for pauses in sentences. 
 
 Le pere, la mere, le fils sont bons. 
 
 Le frangais est facile, le travail difficile. 
 
 La Lexicologie, ou etude des mots, du vocabulaire. 
 
 La Morphologic, ou etude des formes. 
 
 La Syntaxe, ou etude des propositions. 
 
 L'inspecteur, dit le maire, est un ane. 
 
 L'an 1909, le 6 mars, a huit heures du soir, les 
 eleves se sont reunis en assemblee generale, au lieu 
 ordinaire de leurs seances, a X. ., rue Z. ., no. . 
 
 New- York, le 4 Janvier 1909. 
 
 Monsieur X.., agriculteur a X.., 25, rue Saint- 
 Saens, Aix. 
 
 Monsieur, 
 
 " Je dis toujours la meme chose, et, si ce n'etait pas 
 tou jours la meme chose, je ne dirais pas toujours la 
 meme chose." (Don Juan, II, I.) 
 
 Le voila, le chameau. 
 
 A votre age, Napoleon etait mort. 
 
 La France, amis, sera toujours la France, 
 
 Et les Frangais seront toujours Franqais. 
 
 Petite ame errante, caressante. 
 
 Allons, enfants de la patrie. 
 
 Le jour de gloire est arrive!
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 5 
 
 Et moi aussi, je suis peintre. 
 
 La mer est belle, calme, tranquille. 
 
 Qui va doucement, va surement. 
 
 Je suis venu, j'ai vu, j'ai vaincu. 
 
 Le temps, c'est de 1'argent. 
 
 Madame, etes-vous protectrice de cette ecole? 
 
 Rule : A comma contributes to clearness by indi- 
 cating small interruptions between subjects, attributes, 
 verbs and propositions. Words in apposition, explan- 
 ations, etc., require the comma; in fact any group of 
 words or short clause. 
 
 PoiNT-ViRGULE ( ;) or semicolon marks, as in Eng- 
 lish, the division of sentences somewhat more lengthy 
 although strictly connected by the sense. 
 
 Son rhumatisme le fait souff rir ; la fievre 1'a repris. 
 
 Mon cheval est blanc ; celui de mon pere est noir. 
 
 POINT (period). In abbreviations or at the end of 
 a complete sentence. 
 
 M. ou Mme. Mile., etc. 
 
 L'Amerique, 1'Europe, 1'Asie, 1'Afrique et 1'Oceanie. 
 
 POINT D'INTERROGATION (?). In questions; not in 
 indirect questions. 
 
 Quel est cet homme? 
 
 But, je demande quel est cet homme. 
 
 POINT D'EXCLAMATION (!). In interjections or 
 sentences expressing joy, admiration, terror, etc. 
 
 O Liberte ! que de crimes on commet en ton nom. 
 
 Dieu sauve le roi ! 
 
 POINTS DE SUSPENSIONS (...) . In quotations they 
 mark the omission of superfluous words ; in descrip- 
 tions they mark interruptions, reticence. 
 
 Presents : MM .
 
 6 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 Absents: MM... 
 
 Sur la premiere question, M. C. . . demande la 
 parole et . . . 
 
 Je 1'ai vu, dis-je, vu, de mes propres yeux vu, 
 
 Ce qui s'appelle vu 
 
 Oh ! si j'avais des ailes 
 
 Vers ce beau ciel si pur je voudrais les ouvrir. 
 
 (Musset, Rolla) 
 
 PARENTHESES ( ) or brackets. Any special and 
 complete sentence is inserted between ( ). 
 
 CROCHETS [ ] sort of parenthesis. 
 
 La grammaire nous enseigne a parler et a ecrire 
 sans faire de fautes (c'est-a-dire correctement). 
 
 Saint-Saens [sanss]. 
 
 Belise. Veux-tu toute ta vie offenser la gram- 
 maire? 
 
 Martine. Qui parle d'offenser grand'mere ni grand- 
 pere? 
 
 (Moliere, les Femmes savantes, acte II, sc. vi.) 
 
 Ouvrez la parenthese: ( ; fermez-la:) 
 
 GUILLEMETS " ". In French special marks are used 
 which are placed at the beginning and end of a quota- 
 tion, but on the line, not above it, as in English ; some- 
 times at the beginning of every line and of each stanza 
 quoted. 
 
 Madame de Sevigne comparait les fables de La 
 Fontaine a un panier de cerises : " D' abord, disait- 
 elle, on veut ne manger seulement que les plus belles, 
 puis ensuite on finit par ne rien laisser du tout." 
 
 TIRET ( ) or dash. In a dialogue it serves to 
 note the remarks of a different speaker, also to re- 
 place the words : repondit-il, dit-il.
 
 " Mon moulin est a moi, 
 
 Tout aussi bien, au moins, que la Prusse est au roi. 
 
 Aliens, ton dernier mot, bonhomme, et prends-y 
 garde ! 
 
 Faut-il vous parler clair? Oui. C'est que je le 
 garde." 
 
 (Andrieux). 
 
 * asterique. 
 
 { accolade 
 
 t croix de renvoi 
 
 MAJUSCULES or Capital Letters. Mostly used as 
 in English, except when words are adjectives. 
 
 Le poete americain, franqais, allemand, anglais, etc. 
 
 MINUSCULES or small letters are used in the days 
 of the weeks, months, names of religions, philosoph- 
 ical schools, etc. 
 
 Le mardi, le samedi, le dimanche. 
 
 Le catholicisme, le protestantisme. 
 
 L'ecole pythagoricienne, etc. 
 
 FRENCH ALPHABET 
 
 Majuscules or Capital Letters : 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
 Minuscules or Small Letters : 
 
 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 
 Old Pronunciation : 
 
 A as ah H as ash O as oh V as vay 
 
 B bay I ee P pay W doobl-vay 
 
 c 
 
 say 
 
 J 
 
 jhee 
 
 Q 
 
 ku 
 
 X 
 
 iks 
 
 D 
 
 day 
 
 K 
 
 kah 
 
 R 
 
 air 
 
 Y 
 
 ee-grek 
 
 E 
 
 ay 
 
 L 
 
 ell 
 
 S 
 
 ess 
 
 Z 
 
 zed 
 
 F 
 
 eff 
 
 M 
 
 emm 
 
 T 
 
 tay 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 zhay 
 
 N 
 
 enn 
 
 U 
 
 u 
 

 
 8 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 Modern Pronunciation of Consonants (see page 
 26): 
 
 B as be H as he N as ne T as te CH as she 
 
 C se J zhe P pe V ve GN g-ne 
 
 D de K ke Q (que) ke W ve 
 
 F fe L le R re X kse 
 
 G jhe M me S se Z ze 
 
 (the e as in water.) 
 
 ORTHOGRAPHIC MARKS 
 
 are: acute, grave, circumflex, cedilla, apostrophe, di- 
 aeresis and hyphen. 
 
 The acute accent occurs only on e which is sounded 
 as ay: eie, repete, etc. 
 
 The grave occurs on a, \a, voilo, dejo, ou and mostly 
 on words ending in <?re, etc, ne: pre, mere, fr<?re, je 
 repute, je mne, etc. 
 
 The circumflex (grave and acute) shows frequently 
 the loss of s in tete, fete, hopital, hote, etc. 
 
 In the old French those words are written teste, 
 feste, etc. 
 
 In 1680 P. Richelet wrote these words with the cir- 
 cumflex ; the s being no longer pronounced in those 
 words from the I3th century to 1740 was continued 
 however to be used by some writers. 
 
 On certain vowels it is a sign of contraction : mur = 
 meur = maturum, sur= seur = securum. 
 
 Cedilla (introduced in 1529) in Italian zediglia 
 or little z was placed under c to give it the sound of s 
 before a, o, u. 
 
 FranQais, lec,on, rec,u. 
 
 Apostrophe. As in English it shows the elision of 
 the vowels a, e, i, at the end of a word and before an-
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 9 
 
 other word beginning with h mute or a vowel : thus : 
 I'ami, rhomme, Tame, s'il vous plait. 
 
 Diaeresis (trema) was introduced in 1540. The two 
 dots over 'i, e, ii in Noel, Saw/, hair, cigue, etc., indicate 
 that the vowels are sounded separately: No-l, Sa-wl, 
 ha-i'r, etc., etc. 
 
 Otherwise the words do not form a diphthong : ligue, 
 catalogue, etc. 
 
 Hyphen. To-day it has become optional in con- 
 necting words or groups of words into one; we may 
 write with or without the hyphen: chef -lieu or chef 
 lieu; moi-meme or moi meme; ai-je or ai je ; dis-le or 
 dis le. 
 
 The hyphen was first used in 1573. 
 
 NOTE. It may not be advisable to omit it in Verbs 
 of the 'first conjugation such as aime-je, flatte-je or 
 in .a-t-il, etc. 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. 
 
 The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, y. They are either short 
 or long: thus, a, a are short; a (letter) is long. More- 
 over, they are divided into tonic, atonic and nasal. 
 
 In the 1 6th century the j and the v (i and u con- 
 sonants) were often written i or j, u or v by the 
 French. Dubois (1531) first distinguished i from j 
 and v from u. 
 
 In the following lessons, the vowels will be care- 
 fully studied from a practical point of view. 
 
 Consonants : 
 
 7 dental d, 1, n, r, s, t, z. 
 
 6 labial b, f, m, p, v, w. 
 
 3 palatal k(c), g, h. 
 
 2 spirants ch, j.
 
 t' FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 1 
 
 SIMPLE VOWELS. 
 
 A. Its timbre or quality of voice. When long the 
 a is uttered fully and deeply in upward direction: 
 
 La (note in music), Jacques, a (letter of the alpha- 
 bet), ame, ane, grace, mat, lache, gars, Dumas, matin, 
 male, rage, pate, tas, bat, crane, cable, fable, etc. 
 
 Short a: II a, a, ma, ta, sa, la, la, <;a, sofa, il parla, 
 in all verbs ending in er : nous parlames, vous par- 
 lates, Versailles, paille, bague, champagne, sacre, 
 tache, place, acte, pacte, patisserie, lame, etc. 
 
 Note: On the last syllable but one, the vowel 
 is generally short when followed by a double con- 
 sonant : salle, pelle, folle, motte, butte, ville, etc. 
 
 The a grave sound under the roof of the mouth ; it 
 is louder, larger, fuller than a aigu. The latter re- 
 quires only a slight effort and expires on the lower 
 lip. 
 
 In the French language the vowels (short) are 
 always voyelles. aigue's and the graves always long. 
 From the grave to the aigu there are degrees of sonor- 
 ity or nuances of sound, but they are not as sharply 
 defined as in the case of the vowel c. 
 
 Some writers maintain that a may be uttered in five 
 different ways according to its position in a word. 
 The first a in papa is shorter than the last; the a in 
 Paris is shorter than a circumflex in Paris; the a in 
 pate reaches the roof of the mouth while the a in patte 
 is flat ; the a in phrase, ecraser is deeper than a in 
 race, face; a in car sounds further back into the mouth 
 than avoir; the last a in Canada more upward than at 
 in avocat.
 
 II 
 
 E 
 
 E naiurel in le, me, te, ce, se, que, ne and je. 
 
 E ferme in verite, ete, repete, parler (verbs of the 
 first conjugation) ; leger, chez, entrez, nez, etc. 
 
 E ouvert in pere, mere, frere, hiver, fer, vert, cher, 
 hier, mer, etc., sounds as ai in air. 
 
 Also in les, des, mes, ses, tes, ces, est, etc. 
 
 E ouvert allonge in bete, tete, fete, meme, tempete, 
 etc., sounds as a prolonged ai in air. 
 
 Note: The e ferme is called masculin, because at 
 the end of an adjective or past participle, it denotes 
 the masculine gender : aime. 
 
 E mute without accent is slightly pronounced at the 
 end of a syllable: rnond^, pehV: it is silent in soi?, 
 
 The mute e, medial or final, seems since the I5th 
 century, to have been either mute or heard as it is 
 to-day in conversation. Ex. : J' n'en sais rien, but, we 
 say: je n' sais pas. Other examples: j'vais mettre un' 
 let' a la pos' for je vais mettre une lettre a la poste; 
 c'est un' fenetre, although we say, la f'netre. 
 
 E mute is also silent in : pri<?rai, jou^rai, pri^, pri^s, 
 pri<mt, oubli^rai, etc. 
 
 Rule: After an unaccented (atonic) vowel, after an 
 accented (tonic) vowel, the e is silent; after a con- 
 sonant it is almost silent : il criera, il louera, samedi ; 
 in other words, the mute e is the weakest of our 
 French sounds generally audible at the end of words 
 like: mond^, fidel^, but silent in joli^, iolie. 
 
 E mute is often elided at the end of words imme- 
 diately followed by a vowel or h mute : une oreille at- 
 tentive, une heureuse annee, la vie est un songe.
 
 12 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 NOTE. In poetry, a mute syllable does not count at 
 the end of a verse, neither in any part of the verse 
 when elided. 
 
 E mute is called feminin because it forms the fem- 
 inine of adjectives : pur, pure, cher, chere, saint,-sainte, 
 complet, complete; in poetry, it designates the rimes 
 feminities. 
 
 Grammarians say: there cannot be two mute e's in 
 succession at the end of a word. 
 
 Dieu a cree le monde; in this example both e's are 
 acute. L'ecole fut fondee; the final e is silent. 
 
 In words of one syllable, the voice hardly attacks 
 the e ; especially in colloquial utterance : je ne le ferai 
 pas ; qu'est-ce que c'est que ca? 
 
 Pronunciation of the E. Open the mouth (draw- 
 ing a long breath), expel the breath; the full sound of 
 e in water (no r sound) is reached in French by ad- 
 vancing the lower lip downwards. 
 
 Modern pronunciation of French consonants : be, 
 ce, de, fe, etc. 
 
 From the preceding remarks pupils may be able to 
 read several words, to spell at least their names in 
 French, to divide words into syllables, etc. 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 For our practical purposes we shall review briefly : 
 In conversation the a, e (simple vowels) are 
 
 sounded more quickly than in elocution, singing or 
 
 poetry. 
 
 Feminine syllables characterized by the so-called e 
 
 mute are very quickly sounded.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 13 
 
 To avoid monotony, articulate the division of syl- 
 lables. 
 
 Dictation from the first lessons will gradually help 
 you to hear and distinguish simple sounds. 
 
 REGLES 
 
 Any syllable is short whose last vowel is followed 
 by a final consonant (except s or z) : 
 
 Le sac, le bac, crac, trie, trac, bal, aval, pal, car, 
 instar, par, pare, arc, cap, combat, avocat, in adjec- 
 tives : plat, ingrat. 
 
 Grec, sec, and verbs of the first conjugation: parlor, 
 chanter, etc. ; et, il remet, il met, and its compounds. 
 
 All the preceding nouns, any masculine syllable (i. 
 e., not ending in mute e}, short or not in the singular, 
 is long in the plural : les sacs, les Grecs, les bals, etc. 
 
 A and E are long before two indivisible RR : bizarre, 
 cafreau, arret, terre, verre. 
 
 S lengthens the a and e in the penultimate syllable : 
 case, phrase, base, table rase, diocese, these. 
 
 Words of dictation: 
 
 Pre, gaz, bas, bras, mal, the, est, rat, ble, arc, chat, 
 sac, mer, atre, etre, ane, hate, rale, reve, rene, peche, 
 capre, patre, chene. Le pre, le gaz, le bras, le mal, le 
 the, le rat, le ble, Tare, le chat, le sac, la mer, 1'atre, 
 1'etre, 1'ane, la hate, le rale, le reve, la rene, la peche, 
 la capre, le patre, le chene, etc. 
 
 Other examples : L'ete, le cafe, la pate, le trema, 
 le-chene, la serre, la terre, le nectar, la vie, la patte. 
 1'armee, la mer, le general, le lac, la tache, la tache, 
 le lache, la vache, 1'acre, la cascade, la salade, la 
 carafe, la balafre, le male, la dalle, Cesar, la trappe.
 
 14 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 i 
 
 la cabane, la cave, la taxe, la Grece, la pelle, la scene, 
 Athenes, la gene, Helene, la lepre, je pese, le metre, 
 Geneve, la seve, 1'orfevre, la levre. 
 
 I 
 
 has the sound of ee in English : ami, image, timide. 
 
 NOTE. ai, la, oi are sounded separately in Jamaique 
 lambique, egoiste, etc. 
 
 I in the Parisian pronunciation, preceded by two 
 different consonants, is always long: patriarche, etc. 
 
 Dictation. L'ami, 1'amie, les amis, les amies, le 
 mardi, les mardis, le samedi, les samedis, la biche, 
 les biches, la bible, les bibles, la vie, 1'amitie, la max- 
 ime, la rime, 1'epine, la cire, le Christ, le titre, 1'epitre, 
 la vitre, le litre, la piste. Hair, Sinai, Thais, Moise, 
 etc. 
 
 Ici, Daniel, animal, aride, acide, defi, garni, minime, 
 niece, optique, palmiste, pipe, rapide, retreci, riche, 
 ride, rire, rive, thebaique, visite, vice, la vie, vizir. 
 
 O 
 
 Long and closed, generally with the circumflex ac- 
 cent, followed by: le, me, ne, at the end of a word: 
 drole, pole, role, dome, fantome, je chome, Rhone, 
 cone, prone, also in apotre, le notre, le votre, la 
 votre, les notres, les votres, etc. 
 
 Short in any syllable when vowel o is followed by 
 final consonant (not s or z). 
 
 Roc, bol, Medoc, pot, robe, globe, sobre, broche, 
 etoffe, ode, loge, golfe, volte, philosophe, propre, 
 epoque, mot, sot, hotel, roti, notre, votre, col, echo, 
 etc,
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 1 5 
 
 Medium in homme, comme, somme, pomme, il 
 tonne, je donne, etc. 
 
 Dictate o long in the following words: tot, hote, 
 rose, les dominos, le, la poele, il rode, a few -Greek 
 words: zone, arome, atome, hippodrome, idiome, 
 axiome, chrome, atone, tome, gnome, Sodome, ama- 
 zone, also corps, pore (no c), repos, gros, prevot, 
 depot, table d'hote, depot, alcove. 
 
 Dictate o short in: rosee, rotir, devot, orge, orgue, 
 orme, morgue, madone, Rome, econome, ecole, solde, 
 vogue, loge, dogme, coffre, noble, opera, hopital, bloc, 
 docte. 
 
 O has the same sound in- eau, an, eaux, aux: ta- 
 bleaux, tableau, chateau, chateaux, beau, beaux, cha- 
 peau, chapeaux, peau, peaux, etc. 
 
 Endings in aud, auld, aut, ault, have same sound as 
 o: chaud, La Rochefoucaw/rf, saut, Escawf, Dufault, 
 etc.' 
 
 Review : S lengthens o in the penultimate : prose, 
 chose, etc. 
 
 SS shortens it : brosse, bosse, brosse, Ecosse, a few 
 exceptions : fosse, grosse, etc. 
 
 O long in rose, etc., becomes shorter before mas- 
 culine syllable: arroser, oser, poser, etc. 
 
 O before r or s (sounded) is short: ordre, riposte, 
 poste, posterite, postiche, porter, apporter, rosbif, 
 sorbet, bosquet, etc. 
 
 O final is short in the singular : zero, duo, cacao, 
 dynamo. 
 
 U is difficult to master at first; by placing s before 
 
 U
 
 l6 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 it you control your lips without moving them, first 
 hissing slowly su (without parting lips nor rounding 
 them) then more forcibly (always avoiding oo 
 sound), you hear gradually u on the tip of the tongue, 
 then produce it suddenly as if beginning to hum. 
 
 Constant practice with s before u as if striking the 
 notes on a piano or humming may help you greatly. 
 
 Note : Once you control the lips, then practice 
 without s. 
 
 U as a, e, i, o is generally short before double con- 
 sonants : lutte, butte-, Russe, Russie, Prusse, Hussard. 
 
 U short in past participles: vu, perdu, su, except 
 cru, du, mu, and in du, cru. 
 
 U short in words ending: we, wme, u\, wlbe, wipe, 
 wble, wbre, we, wee, wrne, u with ^ (sounded) jwste, 
 bwste, etc., or MX, wxe, wne, tribune, brwme, nwl, bwlbe, 
 pwlpe, chaswble, dwc, diwrne, luxe, etc. 
 
 U long generally with a circumflex : flute, affut, f ut, 
 piqure, sur, mure, also in verbs. 
 
 U with plural nouns is long: les dues, les menus, etc. 
 
 Ue always long: cigue, morue, tortue, statue, vue. 
 
 DICTATION. Du, tu, lu, su, nu, parvenu, club, il 
 remuera, parfumerie, dune, unanime, unieme, Ruth, 
 minute, il fut, il est ruse elle est rusee, dur, duree, 
 omnibus, sur, sur, gageure, eu, la jupe, nous eumes, 
 etude, la buche de Noel, etc. 
 
 Y (ee) 
 
 was often used at the end of words instead of i and 
 had the same pronunciation. 
 
 To-day it is used for an i in words derived from the 
 Greek ; and for two i in words strictly French : my-
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS I/ 
 
 riade, gymnase, lyre, style, but ayant (as two i in a 
 few French verbs), in pays, paysage, rayon, crayon, 
 aloyau, payer, etc. 
 
 DICTATION. Physique, mystere, Syracuse, Syrie, 
 syllabe, La Fayette, La Haye, Cayenne, Biscaye, 
 Mayence, mayonnaise, analyse, Tyrol, Egypte, gym- 
 nastique, cynique, il y a, etymologic, il a paye sa note, 
 Ivry, acolyte, psyche, Babylone, homonymes, Cyrus, Le 
 Puy, Thermopyles, polygone, 1'oxygene, les Pyrenees, 
 paronymes, Sylvestre, Bayard, La Bruyere, Sully, 
 Valmy, myope, myosotis, Tyr, Pyrrhus, Yvonne, 
 Yves, Ulysse, Chateau-Thierry, cyclone, paysan. 
 
 UNION OF VOWELS : ae, ao, ea, ai, aie. ey, ei, eai, eau, 
 eo, ie, oeu, eu. 
 
 AE in Caen, Saint-Saens, the a is silent : kan, 
 sain-sanss. 
 
 AO. O is silent in Laon, faon, paon : an in want 
 (no t) as Ian, fan, pan, 
 
 AO. A is silent in aout, Saone, taon, but in the 
 verb aouter a is sounded: oo, sone, ton, in long (no 
 g) and ah-oo-tay. 
 
 EA. e before a softens the g in verbs : il songea, 
 mangea, etc. 
 
 AI. 4 sounds of ai. 
 
 (1) as ay (or e) in verbs; j'ai, je parlai, je chantai, 
 je parlerai, etc. 
 
 (2) as e in faisant, nous faisons, satis faisant. 
 
 (3) as e in ais, ait, aie, aies, aient (verb endings) 
 or nouns ais, ait, aix, aid, air, etc. J'avais, tu avais, 
 il avait, que j'aie, que tu aies, qu'il ait, qu'ils aient. In 
 plaie, maison. maitre, air, clair, eclair, chaise, paire.
 
 l8 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 palais, Anglais, Franqais, Ecossais, lait, s'il vous 
 plait, parfait, parfaite, aile, vrai, vraie, but not in gaie 
 or je sais. 
 
 (4) as a in douairiere, Montaigne. Larousse says : 
 Monta-gne' or tegne. L'abbe 1 Rousselot says : dweryer as 
 Larousse. 
 
 AIE. Is long and open sound of e (grave) : raie, 
 futaie, etc. 
 
 EY. In whiskey has e open: e, also in b^y, Guer- 
 nes^y, Jersey, Bru^ys (bru-ess), Talleyrand-Peri- 
 gord : ta-le-ran. In other cases generally e acute : 
 Oylan, ass^yez-vous, etc. 
 
 El. As e grave : reine, Seine, seigle, seize, treize, 
 beige, peigne, etc. 
 
 EAL As e acute in je voyageai, mangeai, jugeai, 
 also in geai. 
 
 In demang^m'son and eais, eait, eaient (verbs), has 
 open sound of e: je mang^ais, tu mang^m's, il man- 
 g^att, ils mang^afent. 
 
 EAU. as 6 in English : beau, chapeau, etc. 
 
 NOTE. AU is short in Paul, aussi, aussitot, pau- 
 piere, augmenter, austere, Austerlitz, Haussmann, 
 aurore, sauf, but long in sauve, in other words au 
 initial or medial is long before feminine syllables and 
 in endings aux. 
 
 COMBINED VOWELS. 
 
 EO. In geole, geolier, flageolet, rougeole, Georges, 
 the g is soft and e is silent. 
 
 IE final, e is silent: partis, sortie, also in je pri^rai, 
 .suppli^rai,, e.tc.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS IQ 
 
 EU, OEU has 4 sounds of eu: eu, oeu, oe in oeil, in 
 endings ueil. 
 
 Eu as e in jeune. 
 
 EU, OEU (i in sir). To avoid the sounds of e as- 
 in \e, de } ce, you advance the lips while rounding them 
 with the help of ^ in sir (no r sound), you explode the 
 long, upward eu, the lower lip slightly downward. 
 Practice first with s, then other consonants. 
 
 Eu is closed in peu, feu, chartreuse, berceuse, 
 Meuse, deux, or plural endings : yeux, ceux, oeu/^ 
 and boeu/s (fs silent), bleu, bleus, bleue, lieue, lieu, 
 jeuner, dejeuner. 
 
 Eu open in seul, fiVwve, o^wvre, ftewr, neui, heure, 
 b^wrre, plusi^wrs, ailleurs. 
 
 Eu medium in h<?wreux, Ewrope, generally before a 
 sonorous syllable. 
 
 -Eu is u in eu (avoir), eue, in gageure, j'eus, tu eus, 
 il cut, nous eumes, vous eutes, ils eurent, que j'eusse, 
 que tu eusses, qu'il cut, que nous eussions, que vous 
 eussiez, qu'ils eussent. 
 
 EUR in monsieur : me-si-eu, or in the plural. 
 
 OEU as eu : oeuf , noeud, soeur, coeur, choeur, e{c. 
 
 OE :eu in Goethe ; in other cases is e acute : (Edipe, 
 (xsophage, cecumenique. 
 
 OU 
 
 as oo in English: tout, sou, boue, atout, loup, ou, ou, 
 boule, Louvre, rouge; advance lips while rounding 
 them. 
 
 OU medium in gowrte, langowste, bourse, sowrce, 
 bowc, crowte, owtre, cowpe, trowpe, mousse, powce, 
 Dili !, bowche, fowle, trouble, owbli.
 
 2O FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 Diphthongs : oi, ui, oui and oe ? 
 
 OI was used frequently in the imperfect and con- 
 ditional: j'avois, je dirois, also in foible, roide, har- 
 nois, etc. 
 
 To-day ai is used instead of above examples. 
 
 OI (o-a, long o with short a) in moi, toi, soi, loi, 
 foi, roi, froid, trois, mois, pois, etc. 
 
 OI medium in voix, choix, une fois, Gaulois, je 
 dois, bourgeois, etc. 
 
 OI open in poivre, coiffeur, turquoise, bourgeoise, 
 boire, soir, poire, noir; in endings oive: que je recoive, 
 etc. 
 
 OI in oignon, poigne, poignard, the i is silent. 
 
 OI in roide, roideur, roidir, we write now raide 
 (re-de), etc. 
 
 Oa sound in m^lle ; oa long in poele. 
 
 UI (U-I) 
 
 U is very long, then part the lips for i: lui, luisant, 
 luire, fuir, stfivre, cuivre, Juif, juive, cuisine, cuir, 
 suisse, suite, suivi, suicide, suie, truite, les Tuileries. 
 
 UI in a few words with g: gu-i in le due de Guise, 
 aiguille (ay-gu-ee-ye), aiguiser, in other cases ui is 
 not a diphthong: qui, guitare, guide, Guy, quitte, etc. 
 
 OUI 
 
 OUI (6o-i) in Louis, Louise, jouir, re"jouir, oui, joui, r6- 
 joui, e"blouir, bloui, oui'r, etc. 
 
 -ouille final in many words: (oo-eeye) houille, fouille, 
 rouille, grenouille, etc. 
 
 DICTATION on diphthongs (omitting nasal vowels 
 which will be our next study) :
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 21 
 
 aiie !, bourgeois, la Pleiade, je priai, le fabliau, plie, 
 pied, priere, Dieu, violer, chiourme, piano, ionique, 
 diurne, boa, Noailles, moelle, poele, roi, Edouard, 
 Douai, rastaquouere, roue, noueux, Louise, fouine, 
 suave, Suetone, Bossuet, ils suerent, Samuel, lueur, 
 fruit, yacht, hyene. 
 
 VOYELLES NASALES (nasal vowels) are only four: 
 an, en ; -in, ein, ain, en ; on; um, un, eun. Others can 
 be classified under this division. See Nasal Vowels 
 pages 21-26. 
 
 NOTE. Diphthongs may become nasal; viande, 
 Vienne, lion, point, Roanne, louange, Rouen, mar- 
 souin, trouons, Juan, juin, excluons. 
 
 Two m or n weakens the nasal sounds. 
 
 An, am, en, em generally as an in want. 
 
 In, im, ain, aim, yn, ym, ein .as an in anger ( no g 
 sound). 
 
 On, om as on in long. 
 
 Un, um are more difficult. Un like the colloquial 
 nasalized sound er often used for " what?" between 
 children, when they wish anything repeated. 
 
 NASAL VOWELS. 
 
 After having reviewed the simple vowels and their 
 union we will study the same vowels when they are 
 nasalized with n or m in the same syllable. 
 
 NASALIZED VOWEL SOUNDS: an, am (aen), en, em; 
 in, im, ain, aim, ein, eim, yn, ym ; on, om ; un, um, eun ; 
 their nasal quality is produced only when those nasal 
 vowels are followed by a different consonant or at 
 the end of a word.
 
 22 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 NOTE. Followed by another n, or m, the latter de- 
 stroys the nasal quality. 
 
 Few words are exceptions : ennui, t'wnuyer, cm- 
 mener, ennoblir, rewmener, ewmagasiner ; also in 
 enivrer, enorgueillir, where em or en are nasal. 
 
 AN. Open the mouth as if to pronounce a broad, 
 then explode a long nasal resonance under the roof 
 of the mouth. 
 
 NOTE. No g sound in an, etc. Practice first with 
 san, (an in want), then prolong san, san, repeatedly, 
 till an comes naturally. 
 
 Fran(c), ban(c), blan(c), plan, dance, lance, 
 gran(d), savan(t), Alleman(d), an, dan(s), ran(g), 
 san(g). 
 
 An is ann in few English words : alderman, police- 
 man, etc. 
 
 AN followed by a, e, i, o, u, y is not nasal : ane, 
 platane, or h silent: sanhedrin (sa-ne-drin). 
 
 AN is nasal in 20 ways : aen, an, anc, and, ang, ans, 
 ant, ants, aon, ean, em, emp, emps, empt, en, end, ens, 
 ent, han, hen. 
 
 AN is a-n in annee, anneau, canne, Jeanne, Lau- 
 sanne. 
 
 AN not nasal in manne (long a) : in annoter, an- 
 nexe, awnales, annuaire, awnuite, annuler an is weak. 
 
 AEN like an, in Ca^n, Saint-Sams (sanss). 
 
 EN (as an) 
 
 EN also -ent, end like an in enfant, Rou^n, vrnte, 
 Saint-Ouen, science, patience, patient, differed. 
 E.NT is an in adjectives, nouns and adverbs.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 23 
 
 Exceptions. en with n is not nasal : n^raii, h^wnir, 
 sotewnel; as na-ni, a-nir, so-la-nel. 
 
 EN as an open e in many words (enn or i<?wn) : 
 Ard^wnes, Etkwne, la nwwne, la ti^wne, la sienne (in 
 the plural also), ils vi^wnent, ils tkwnent, etc. 
 
 EN as in in Benjamin, agenda, exaiww, sewsorium, 
 p^wtagone, la P<?wtateuque, app^wdice, benzine, Men- 
 tor, P^wthievre, Agen. 
 
 NOTE. ien is i-in in bi^w, rien, mien, tien, s\en, je 
 v'\ens, tu viens, il vient, je ti<?ws, tu ti^ws, il tient, je 
 vi^wdrai, tu vi^wdras, *il vi^wdra, tiendrai, -as, -a, etc., 
 also in many French names or Foreign names ending 
 in -ien or een: Julien, Vendeen, Enghien (an-ghin-). 
 
 EN as enn in amen, abdoiww, hym^w, poll^w, speci- 
 men, and other foreign words. 
 
 NOTE. Hym^w as in and enn ; as it is doubtful. 
 
 ENT. In verbs (third pers. plural), n is silent 
 t may be linked. Ils aiment a jouer. 
 
 AM 
 
 AM followed by a vowel is not nasal : ame, Ame- 
 ricain, awitie, ami, amour, amuser. 
 
 AM final is sounded in Abraham, Cham, Priam, 
 etc. 
 
 Exceptions: Adaw, quidaw, dam: a-dan, etc. 
 
 AM followed by n or m is as m in amnistie, etc., 
 dawner and its derivatives are excepted: da-nay, etc. 
 
 AM before b or p always nasal : ambulance, am- 
 putation, etc. 
 
 AM before me, ma, mo is not nasal when medial : 
 epigramme, gramme, also in adverbs, constamment, 
 etc.
 
 24 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 MM is heard in grawwaire, gramwaticale, graw- 
 matiste. 
 
 EM 
 
 EM is a in f emme and adverbs : prudemment, re- 
 cemment, etc. 
 
 EM is e open in Emma., dilemme, ad rew. 
 
 EM is an in emmagasiner, ewmener. 
 
 EMB or EMP initial or medial, the em is on in most 
 words : empire, tempete, temps, cmbleme, Lux- 
 embourg, etc. 
 
 EM in a few words is ain as in sempiternel, Rem- 
 brandt (Larousse says ran-bran). 
 
 EM is ? mm final or medial : item, Jerusalem, de- 
 cewvir, also in indewne : in-dem-ne. 
 
 EM followed by vowel is heard separately : sewer 
 (se-mer), remords, etc. 
 
 IN 
 
 IN as an in anger. Practice first with s in avoiding 
 g sound, then repeatedly: sin, s-in as if striking the 
 keys on a piano. 
 
 NOTE. The back part of the tongue slightly ap- 
 proaches the soft palate. 
 
 For practice pronounce the following words : vin, 
 serein, seing, teint, pain, saint, iaim, je craws, tu 
 crams, il craint, je terns, tu teiws, il tewt, je vamcs, tu 
 vamcs, il vaiwc, Rew/ts, thyw, s^wtaxe, il vmt, iwstmct, 
 vwgt, or vmgts, cmq (francs), tu vws, Charles-Quwt. 
 
 Je tiens, tu tiens, il tient, rien, impossible, Vendeew, 
 Europee, Mewtor.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 25 
 
 IN is not nasal before vowels or h mute: Chine, 
 cuisine, inexact, mhumain. 
 
 IN is nasal followed by any other consonant than 
 n: vingt, interet, in- folio. 
 
 IN is i in innocence and derivatives -ment, -ter, in- 
 nocent. 
 
 INN sounded in mwover, -ation, wwombrable. 
 
 IM 
 
 IM is nasal when followed by any other consonant 
 than m: simple, timbre, etc. 
 
 IM not nasal between two vowels : t-ma-ge, centime. 
 
 IMM is imm when initial : immortel, immeuble, etc. 
 
 IM(m) is ain in a few words: immesurable, imm 
 or ain in immanquable, immangeable. 
 
 IM is not nasal at the end of a few foreign words : 
 interim, Grimm. 
 
 AIN AIM 
 
 AIN final is nasal : pain, saint, maint. 
 AIN is ene before vowels : haiwe, same. 
 AIM is nasal in iaim, daim, etc. 
 AIM is erne in aimant, j'aime. 
 
 YN YM 
 
 YN, YM are nasal in many words: syntaxe, sym- 
 bole, syndic, s^nthese, s^mptome, etc, 
 
 YN, YM not nasal between vowels : synagogue, 
 dynastic, homonywe, or before n, gymnase, etc. 
 
 ON, OM, OMB, OMP 
 
 ON, OM long in sombre, powpe, aplomb, Colomb 
 (nob).
 
 26 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 ON, OM short in mon, ton, son, nom, surnom, 
 prenom. 
 
 NOTE. one, owe long: Saowe, Rhone, zone, atome 
 etc. 
 
 ON, ONT, OND, ONS, ONC long: bronze, bonfe, 
 bond, ayons, done, jonc. 
 
 ON, OM not nasal before a vowel or m or n: Bona- 
 parte, downer, comment, Rome, automne (m silent). 
 
 UN, UM, HUM 
 
 UN, UM, UN(D), OT(T) nasal: un, parfum, 
 \undi, humble, defunt. 
 
 UM is om in Latin or English words : humbug, 
 pensum, possum, rumsteck or romsteck, album, rhwm. 
 
 NOTE. Um is on nasal in Humbert; also un is on: 
 de profundis, punch, secundo, jungle, etc. 
 
 UN, UM, before a vowel, not nasal : wne, parfw- 
 merie, etc. 
 
 UN is u-n in tunnel (tu-nell). 
 
 CONSONANTS AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 B is labial and heard softly: be. 
 
 C is explosive before a, o, u and pronounced k : ka, 
 ko, ku ; the c with cedilla before a, o, u is s : sa, so, su. 
 
 C followed by e, i, y is pronounced s. 
 
 D is lingual and dental : de. 
 
 F labial : f e. 
 
 G lingual and palatal is soft before e or i : ge. 
 
 Gue called hard g before a, o, u is voiced strongly : 
 ga, go, gu. 
 
 H slightly audible when aspirate is guttural in a few 
 words : he.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 2/ 
 
 J identical with soft g: je and before any vowel. 
 
 K used only in a few words is explosive and back 
 palatal : ke. 
 
 You must breathe hard upon the vowel. 
 
 L (sonorous, prolonged tongue-point sound) : le. 
 
 M labial and nasal sound with lips pressed together : 
 me. 
 
 N (nasal dental sound) : ne. 
 
 Any vowel followed by two consonants of which 
 the first is m or n vibrates in the nose and is called 
 nasal vowel. 
 
 P labial and explosive : pe ; two p's are voiced as one 
 p and PH (classical origin) is heard as f. 
 
 Que. The q is usually followed by u and is ex- 
 plosive : ke. 
 
 R (classical r) has a vibration more or less pro- 
 longed from the tip of the tongue and upper front 
 teeth: re. 
 
 In Paris this sound is preferred in singing and elo- 
 cution. 
 
 R (the re modern or grasseye) is uttered under the 
 roof of the mouth without any help from the tip of 
 the tongue. 
 
 NOTE. The L and R are often liquefied because 
 they run smoothly with other consonants such as b, 
 c, g, p. 
 
 S is sonant or buzzing in rose, surd or continuable 
 in gratis. 
 
 This sibilant or hissing sound is frequent in French. 
 As if to whistle we press the tip of the tongue against 
 the teeth : se. 
 
 T when explosive has a front-lingual or tongue-tip 
 sound: te.
 
 28 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 V has a fricative or continuous labial sound in : ve. 
 
 W is not a French letter ; in some English words it 
 is pronounced oo or v; in German words as v. 
 
 X has no sound by itself: it has the sound of s in 
 Bruxelles, dix, six; of z in dix-sept, dix-huit, dix- 
 neuf; of c in exception; of gz in exact, exode, etc.; 
 of ks in luxe, etc. 
 
 Z is a sonant sibilant like s in rose : ze. 
 
 Ch is k in Christ, cholera, chretien, etc., and sh in 
 machine, cher, chapeau, etc. ; silent in almanach. 
 
 Gn (lingual and palatal) 'is heard g-n in stagnant, 
 agnosticisme, Agnus ; gn initial is aspirated in gnosti- 
 que, gnome ; gn medial is generally ni in union : the 
 tip of the tongue is at rest while the back part of the 
 tongue adheres firmly to the roof of the mouth. The 
 sudden separation produces the sound of gne as in 
 Champagne, signe, Allemagne, etc. 
 
 CONSONANTS. 
 
 B, c, d, g, p, t, called consonnes momentanees, are 
 pronounced sharply; in Poetry they may be used to 
 express noise or anger : 
 
 Dors-tu content, Voltaire, et ton Mdeux sourire, etc. 
 
 M and N 
 
 like the nasal vowels are lengthened and produce a 
 soft quality : maman. 
 
 L (11 liquid) 
 
 is an old appellation now rendered by ye short ; these 
 liquids, as the name implies, tend to unite with other 
 consonants.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 29 
 
 , 
 
 F and V (Spirants) 
 S, Z, CH, J (fricative, continuous) 
 
 S and Z of frequent use in French, require as a 
 starting point of articulation a hissing sound capable 
 of expressing strong feelings. 
 
 B 
 
 maintains nearly always its articulation. Few excep- 
 tions : Lefebvre, Colomb, plomb as b is silent. 
 
 C 
 
 C before a, o, u is ka, ko, ku. 
 
 C before a, o, u is sa, so, su. 
 
 C before e, i, y is se, si. 
 
 C is g in second and k in Czar, also Tsar. 
 
 C at the end of the word is k: Languedoc. 
 
 NOTE. C silent in croc, accroc, marc, pore. 
 
 C in ac like ak, except in estomac, tabac. 
 
 C final is k: sec, avec, but not in echecs. 
 
 C final in ic (ik) : silent in eric, not in eric crac. 
 
 C final in uc is uk: Luc. 
 
 C final heard in -inc, euc, ouc, except in caoutchouc. 
 
 C preceded by s, I, r is heard generally : arc, etc., 
 but not in clerc, marc, pore. 
 
 Ch is k in drac/ime, c/zoeur, but silent in almanac/i. 
 
 Ch like sh in most ordinary words : c/iemise, 
 mac/iine. 
 
 D 
 
 D final is heard in proper names : David, not in 
 Gounod. 
 
 D silent in endings -rd: Edouard; -and: Allemand. 
 Also in -ond, Edmond; -aud, Renaud; -oud, St. Cloud.
 
 3O FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 In adjectives, verbs or adverbs : second/, froidT, sied, 
 quand. 
 
 D final is heard as t in liaisons : grand ami. 
 
 F (PH) 
 
 F initial as in English: /ils (fiss), fete, etc. 
 
 F is v in liaisons: neu/ amis (neu-vami), neu/ 
 hommes, etc. But not before months: neuf/aout. 
 Some Parisians say: neuf/amis. 
 
 F is silent in chef d' oeuvre (she-deuvr), oeu/s, 
 boeu/s, cer/s, ner/s, cer/-volant, boeu/ gras. 
 
 G is j before e, i, y: <?ilet, voyage, ^rymnase. 
 
 NOTE. In some foreign words g is hard : Gibbons, 
 etc. 
 
 G hard before a, o, ou, u: grargon, Condole, #oujon, 
 vin/ule; also before the other consonants except n. 
 
 NOTE. In Italian words ghetto, etc. ; in Eng/nen. 
 ghien is ghin. 
 
 GN (liquid) in most words; tip of the tongue in- 
 active while the back part of it adheres closely to the 
 roof of the mouth, and then their sudden separation 
 produces a French gne. 
 
 Ex. signe, \\gne, si^w^r, regner. 
 
 G-N divided in Agnus, dia^wostique, cognition, 
 cognation, <7ome, igne, physiognomic, inexpugnable, 
 recognition, stat/nante. 
 
 GUE, GUA, GUer as ghe, gha, ghe in blague, 
 \Aagua, bla^w^r, longue, lon^rw^ur, etc. 
 
 GUI (ghee) in gui, guide, guider, Guy, anguille, 
 guillotine,
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 31 
 
 NOTE. In arguer (gu-er), Guise, aiguille and its 
 derivatives, linguiste, g-u is separated in Vogue, also 
 in lingual (goo-al), Guadeloupe, Gwatemala, e^Mateur, 
 egwation, Quaker, gwantum, quartz, gwatuor. 
 
 Gueu (gheu) in gueux, iougueux, etc. 
 
 G silent in vim?t, legs, Luxembourg sang, hour*/, 
 lon<7, coiner, etan^ faubourg harem/, ran<7, seiner, Re- 
 ynard, but is linked as k: long espoir. 
 
 G is hard in second, seconde, secondaire, seconder, 
 instead of c. 
 
 H 
 
 H aspirate at page 65. The h aspirate is never 
 heard in literary French. It merely prevents elision : 
 la/haine, les/heros, etc. 
 
 H medial is generally silent : le r/mme, 1'arit/tme- 
 tique, isthme, Goth, Visigoth, asthme, also in Mac- 
 bel/t, Ruth. 
 
 NOTE. In the following cases, the liaison is not 
 possible. O is (h)o in le/oui, le/onze, la/ouate, le or 
 la/onzieme, also in le/un, le/yard, le/yacht, le/yatagan. 
 
 CH is sh in chose, c/nrurgie, chat, c/tasser, AcMlle, 
 arc/zidiacre, c/nmere, arcMtecte, sc/iisme, schema,, 
 schooner, etc. 
 
 CH is k in chaos, lichen, c/nromancie, arc/nepis- 
 copal, chretien, cholera., Chaldeen, Christ, Bacchus, 
 Cham, choeur, Mic/iel-Ange, loc/i, R.och, Munich. 
 
 NOTE. CH silent in almanach. 
 
 PH is /: philosophie, Joseph, phtisie, etc. 
 
 TH is t in the, theatre, Theodore ; silent in asthme, 
 isthme,, Goth.
 
 32 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 J (ge, gi) 
 
 J (zh) in /adis, /amais, /e, /'irai, ;'ose, /'use, ;'y 
 vais, etc. 
 
 NOTE. G is / in #eai, and in verbs in -#er. 
 
 K 
 
 K is hard in &ilo, kilogramme, &ermesse, &iosque, 
 fcirsh, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Qu is k in qui, qualite, question, que, mar- 
 que, Inquisition, quasi, Quasimodo, e<//nlibre, qua.- 
 rante, guinzieme, cinguante, also in cinq, coq, or in g 
 linked, etc., or c and ch in due, bloc, loch. 
 
 L 
 
 L initial is /: /e, /'ami, fhomme, /es, etc. 
 
 LL is never a liquid at the beginning of a word : 
 i//ustre etc. 
 
 L or LL may or may not be liquid. 
 
 NOTE. Lh is liquid in Mi//an or Mi//ian, etc., or in 
 genti//iomme. 
 
 L is silent in genti/, fusi/, outi/, sourci/, bari/, cheni/. 
 persi/, nombri/, couti/, gri/, fi/s, sou/, fourni/, pou/s, 
 fau/x, and in La Rochefoucau/d, Be/fort (be-fore), 
 etc. 
 
 NOTE. In avri/, babi/, gri/, gresi/, mi/, peri/, the / 
 may or may not be pronounced. 
 
 Fils aine: ^ is linked as ss ( fi^-^ai-ne ) . 
 
 L final is heard in fi/, ci/, ba/, col, bo/, mo/, so/, 
 seu/, cheva/, genera/, mie/, nu/, calcu/, linceu/, vi/, 
 filleu/, aieu/ (a-i-eul). 
 
 /4/L, or ot//f, is a-ye in final words : travail. Ver- 
 sailles, rail, etc,
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 33 
 
 EIL, or eille (<?-ye) : soleil, Marseilles, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Also euil, ueil as eu-ye: recueil, recueille, 
 cercueil, etc. 
 
 ILL generally ye in: vam7/e, u7/eul, ft7/e, farm7/e, 
 bt//e, bi//ard, bt7/et, quadn7/e, aigm7/e, Carm7/e, cedt7/e, 
 bom7/on, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Carm7/e, scinto7/er may be pronounced with 
 or without liquid sound. 
 
 ILL sounded in ville, village, vi//ageois, rm7/e, 
 mi/(no.), mi7/ion, pupi//e, Acht7/e, vaudevi//e, baci//e, 
 disU//er, osci//er, vaci//er, tranqui//e, codici//e, il, bill, 
 exi/, profit^ subti7, vin7. 
 
 NOTE. LL preceded by a, e, o, u, not liquids : ba//e, 
 sy//abe, co//e, etc. 
 
 /// initial not liquids : i//uminer, etc. 
 
 UIL is u-ye in jm71et (zhu-i-e), also // liquid in jon- 
 q;71e, aigt71e, cm71er, angwi/le, qm71e. 
 
 LL is / in co//ege, co//ation, etc., except in co//ectif. 
 and derivatives co//iger, co//ocation, co//oque, colli- 
 sion. 
 
 M 
 
 M initial or between vowels is m: matin, midi, muse, 
 semer, etc. 
 
 NOTE. In foreign words : item, idem, decemvir, 
 opium, triumvir, Bethleem, Sew, Cham, Potsdam, also 
 in maw'selle or mam'zelle (colloquially) : Exceptions: 
 Adaw, dam. 
 
 MM is m in comme, comment, homme, femme, com- 
 merce, commis, etc. 
 
 Except in Emma, Emmanuel, ammoniac, commen- 
 taire. commotion, commuable. commemoratif, fde.-
 
 34 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 rivatives), commensal, commiseration, sommite, gram- 
 maire, and its derivatives. 
 
 I MM initial : mm are sounded : immeuble, etc. 
 
 NOTE. /mmanquable, tmmangeable, the im may or 
 may not be nasal. 
 
 M before n is sounded : calomnie, indemne, etc. 
 
 NOTE. M in damner, condamner, automne, is silent. 
 
 M before b, p, t is long nasal : sombre, pompe, 
 comte. 
 
 Emm initial is an: ^mmener, etc. 
 
 Emm is a-m in adverbs : prud^mment, etc., and in 
 femme. 
 
 NOTE. Not in dilemme, gemme, \emmt, Emma., etc. 
 
 M (see nasal vowels) is nasal when final: now, 
 prenow, surnom, pronom, parfum, etc. 
 
 N 
 
 N (see nasal vowels) initial or between vowels is 
 n: weuf, Canada, Pawama. 
 
 NOTE. Ewivrer and derivatives are exceptions. 
 
 N in ewt: 3rd pers. plural is silent, but t may be 
 linked : ils aimewf a rire, ils expedient, etc. 
 
 N. in nouns, adjectives, adverbs is nasal: vent, 
 patiewt, vraiment, momewt, souvewt, expedient, etc. 
 
 N in biew and riew may be linked : bien ecrire, ne 
 rien ajouter. 
 
 N nasal followed by any other consonant : encre, 
 etang, chawt, etc. 
 
 NOTE. See nasal vowels when weak, short, long. 
 
 N in en is a: solennel and derivatives, h^miir, nenni. 
 
 N in en is heard in a few words: amrw, abdomen, 
 , etc.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 35 
 
 N nasal is linked with following word beginning 
 with h or vowel : en ami, en ecrivant, mow ami, ton 
 ami, sow ami. 
 
 NOTE. In liaisons it is preferable to say : bo-wami 
 instead of bow ami or bow na-mi. 
 
 NN may or may not be sounded as double con- 
 sonants. 
 
 NN is n in dowwer, je dowwe, il towwe, etc. The 
 nasal sound is weak. 
 
 Enn initial is an long: ennui, ennoblir and deriva- 
 tives. 
 
 NOTE. Enn is enn in ennerai. 
 
 Remarks on the linking of w. It is linked when two 
 words are closely connected in meaning: mow enfant, 
 etc., but not in c'est bow a manger. 
 
 Ce livre n'est pas biew ecrit, but not in ce biew est 
 a lui. 
 ' J'ew ai un, not in donnez-lui ew un. 
 
 Ow entend, ew ont-ils, vous ew avez, etc. 
 
 L'uw et 1'autre, not in uw et uw font deux. 
 
 Je n'ai riew achete, but not in vous ne devez riew a 
 personne. 
 
 NN doubled is w in awwee, iwwocent, ewwemi, awwi- 
 versaire, awwoncer ; in other cases it is aww: awwuel, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Ewwui, ewwoblir, iwwomme : long nasal. 
 
 N in verbs 3rd pers. singular is an in ment, but 
 ee-ain in viewt, tiewt, soutiewt, etc., le siew, le miew, le 
 tiew; except in the feminine singular and plural : la 
 miewne, les tiewnes and in viewnent, etc. 
 
 N in mowsieur silent: me-sieu. 
 
 N in -yew: moyew, doyew, as i-ien (see biew, riew). 
 
 EN in adjectives, nouns, nasal an: adher^wt, afflu-
 
 36 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 ent, coincident, convergent, couvent, content, diver- 
 gent, equivalent, excellent, expedient, negligent, presi- 
 dent, parent, resident, violent. 
 
 N in compound words is an: enivrer, ennuyer, en- 
 orgueillir. 
 
 No. is for numero. 
 
 Note that in certain groups of words quickly pro- 
 nounced as : je ne sais pas cela, the je and ne be- 
 come united: j'nsepahcela. Also in renter (yod) re- 
 ni-er; see gn, ign, nh (in words from the South of 
 France) as liquids. 
 
 On, en as pronouns are linked when preceding the 
 verb, not after it. 
 
 Elles en ont, on est amis, donnez-lui en un peu. 
 
 O (aspirate) 
 
 By aspirate o we mean that no elision nor linking 
 is permissible in le oui, le onze, or la onzieme, le on- 
 zieme, la ouate. 
 
 Dites oui ou non ; les onze chapitres, etc. 
 
 P 
 
 P is silent at the end of words : tro/>, beaucou/>, 
 cam/), champ, etc. 
 
 P initial and medial is sounded : />apa, />euple, 
 />saume />seudonyme, etc. 
 
 P medial before a dental is silent : anaba/>tisme, -iste, 
 ba/Jteme, -iser, -ismal, -istaire, -iste, istere, ce/> de vigne 
 (ce/ before a vowel), che/>tel, com^tabilite, constable, 
 constant, com/te, -er, -eur, -able, dom/>ter, -able, -eur, 
 exempt, -er, scutyter, -e, -eur, -ural, -ure, se/>t, -ieme. 
 
 NOTE. accepter, exce/^ter and derivatives the p is
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 37 
 
 heard; also in adoptif, -ion, captieux, redempteur, 
 -ion, reptile, septante, -ieme, -embre, -emvir, -ennaire, 
 -ennal, -entrion, -al, -uagenaire, -egisme. 
 
 Assomption, corruption, sce/>tique, relays, biceps, 
 sym/>t6me, presomptif, somptueux, rapsodie, im- 
 promptu, the p is sounded. 
 
 P in trop, beaucou/* is linked with little stress : beau- 
 cou/> aime. 
 
 P. P. C. means pour prendre conge. 
 
 NOTE. P is sounded in Gap, jalap, julep, ca/>; p in 
 camp, champ, drap, sirop, is silent always. 
 
 PP is one p: j'ai appris ma leqon (a-pri). 
 
 PH (aspirated in Greek) is heard in French as f: 
 />/zare, etc. 
 
 Q 
 
 Q is always followed by u: que, qui, quoique, que\, 
 gwelle, gMel^we, ^wel^Mefois, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Q final is sounded in cin^, cog; q in cin<? is 
 silent before nouns beginning h aspirate or a con- 
 sonant : cin^ heros, cing livres. Before months the 
 q is k: le cing decembre or in cing pour cent (5%), 
 etc. Before a vowel or h mute g in cing is k: cing 
 eleves, etc., also in le cing de trefle, etc. 
 
 The g silent in cog d'Inde. 
 
 QU may be koo, ke, ki, ku: agwatigwe (a-koo-ah- 
 tik) ; ke or ki in gwe, gwi ; ku or k in egwestre (e-ku- 
 estr or ekestr). 
 
 QU is koo initial in gwadragenaire, -gesimal, -ge- 
 sime, -ngulaire, -trice, -ture, -ifige, -lateral, -syllabe, 
 -umane, -pede, -pie, -pier, gwaker, gwantum, gwassia, 
 gwater, -nernaire, -erne, gwatuor, and a few others.
 
 38 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 Qu initial is ka in gwadrille, quai, quatite and de- 
 rivatives, quand, quant, gantieme, gwantite, guaran- 
 taine, gwarante, and derivatives, quart, -ier, quasi, 
 -modo, gwatorze, -ieme, gwatre, -ieme, -ment. 
 
 QU is ki in qui, gwidam, gwicongwe, quille, quinine, 
 pittance and derivatives, ^wi-vive? ingwisition, in- 
 gwiet, with derivatives, agwilon, liquids, cogwille, mar- 
 quis, -e, etc. 
 
 QUIN initial is kain in quinze, -aine, quintal, quinte, 
 quintessence and derivatives; gwmcaille and deriva- 
 tives ; gwmconce, Charles- Qwiwt, quinteux, St. Thomas 
 d'Aquin. 
 
 Quin in other words is ku-in: ^wmtuple, Quinqua.- 
 gesime, etc. 
 
 Qu in verbs is k: fabrigwer, margwer, embar^wer, 
 eti^weter, gwalifier, gwereller, ligwefier, and in nouns 
 derived from them : fabrigwe, marine, embargwement, 
 etigwette, gwalite, gwerelle, ligweur, etc. 
 
 R. In Elocution and in singing the Parisians re- 
 quire the Classical r or the r trilled very forward on 
 the tip of the tongue near the upper teeth and caused 
 by pressure of air. 
 
 R (re moderne) tip of the tongue 1 touches roof of 
 the mouth while tongue is inactive and soft palate 
 moves forward. 
 
 It is the Parisian r: grass eye. 
 
 It is palatal not throaty. 
 
 Moliere explains the classical r in le Bourgeois Gen- 
 
 tilhomme: "en portant le bout de la langue jusqu'au 
 
 'bout du palais, de sorte qu'etant frolee par I' air qui
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 39 
 
 sort avec force, elle lui cede et revient toujours au 
 meme endroit, faisant une maniere de tremblement." 
 
 R final is heard after a, i, o, u and sometimes after 
 0-: par, finir, tresor, pur, amer, Jupiter, cuiller, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Monsieur (me-si-eu). 
 
 R in -er (verbs of ist conj.) is e acute: parler, 
 aimer, etc. 
 
 R in er final is heard preceded by ch, f, v, m: cher, 
 mer, ier, vcr, also in Iwr, hiwr, ner (proud), v^rs, 
 env^rs, divers, -<?rs, ^rt, in verbs: je conquers, Tlwrs, 
 ti^rs, in foreign proper names : Luther, rue Aub^r, 
 Schiller, Quaker, etc. 
 
 R or er(s) is e in French towns: Angers, Poitiers, 
 Alg^r, Montpellicr, also French proper names : Bou- 
 lang^r, Cuvi^r and generally in common nouns: 
 coch^r, boulang^r, bouch^r, roch^r, pommi^r, etc. 
 
 NOTE. In polysyllabic nouns (or adjectives in -ier) 
 same rule : officer, teinturi^r, enti^r, particuli^r^ etc. 
 
 RR medial is as one r: interroger, terre, beurre, 
 \eurre, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Rr heard in correct, -ion, corroborer, corro- 
 sif ; in errer, errant, erreur, errone, horrible, horreur, 
 torrent; in future of verbs: coun'r, moun'r, acquen'r; 
 je courrai, etc., also in trr initial : irriter, trregulier, etc. 
 
 ER initial (never sounded urr but air) in syllables: 
 <?rg, ^rm, ^rt, -inter-, perc-, p^rd-, peri-, pers-, pert-, 
 serg-, serp-, sert-, serv-, verm-, vert-, verv-. 
 
 NOTE. This simple rule covers many words and 
 should be specially noted. 
 
 R in conversation with verbs of ist conjugation, is 
 not linked: aimer/a chanter; in reading, poetry, or 
 public speaking the r is linked before a vowel or h 
 mute : aimer a chanter, etc.
 
 40 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 RH (h is purely etymological) is r: r/mrrte* rfceteuf. 
 
 etc> 
 
 S 
 
 S initial before c, ch, ci is not heard in scene, 
 schisme, scie, rebelling (she-lain), schema, sceptre, 
 sceau, etc., also in descendre, but not in ascendance, 
 ascension, etc. 
 
 S is z between two vowels : rose, prose, raser, pre- 
 sence, usage, etc. 
 
 NOTE. 5 is z in Alsace, -icien, transaction, -iger, 
 transi, -ir, transit, -taire, -itif, -ition, -itoire, -alpin, 
 -atlantique, balsamique. 
 
 S is not z in : monosyllable, desuetude, parasol, 
 polysyllabe, preseance, presupposer, vraisemblable. 
 tournesol, soubresaut, Lesage, Lasalle. 
 
 S is sounded in scorpion, scandale, squelette, statue, 
 scorbut, etc. 
 
 Also in the following words : gratis, bis, atlas, es, 
 helas, hiatus, fils, jadis, Us (not in fleur de Us), pros- 
 pectus, blocus, chorus, typhus, moeurs, (or no s-), 
 oasis, omnibus, Venus, lapis, gens, os, sens, ours, us, 
 tous (pronoun), Mars, Ruy Bias. 
 
 NOTE. In linking the s of foreign words, the s (not 
 z) is heard: Venus est admirable as (Ve-nus se tad- 
 mi-ra-ble) ; le fils est aimable. In other words than 
 the above words the s, x, z are linked as z: 
 
 Ex. Les amis, deu.r a deux, alle^ a la banque. 
 
 S final heard only in connecting next word begin- 
 ning with a vowel or h mute has the sound of s: 
 moins age. 
 
 S is generally silent in endings of French names : 
 Francois, Doubs, Duclos, Amiens, St. Denis, Villars;
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 41 
 
 also in common words : trow, vers, pas, pays, plus, 
 alors, dans, sous, gros, gras, jus, hoif, buis, depens, 
 debris, pres, cas, cours, mais, tapis, roulis, avis, des, 
 pis, palais, ' paradis, precis, proces, tas, tracas, tiers, 
 souris, lors, congres, colons, corps, depuis, niais. refus. 
 tamis, moly, jamai^, foi^, expre^, colis, las, poidj, 
 sourly repoj, repaj, rama^, radi^, pui^. 
 
 S medial is silent in many French names in which 
 the s is followed by b, c, d, g, I, Im, n, p, q, r, t: Des- 
 cartes, les Voj^es, Rouget de I'lsle, Du Guesclin, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Exceptions : Brest, Males^erbes (mal- 
 zairb), Robe^ierre, Gascon, Boufe. 
 
 Final s sounded in Reims, (Anvers with or without 
 s), Sieyej (si-e-yess), Sens, Saint-Saens (sanss), 
 Mons, Lesseps, Clovis, Brueys (bru-ess), in Latin 
 and Greek words : Fabius, Leonidas; in fact words 
 ending in -is, -us, -os, as, ns, ms, rs, from Greek, 
 Latin, German and Spanish sources. 
 
 NOTE. 5" not sounded in Londres, Athenes, Paris, 
 Orleans, etc. 
 
 SS the last is always heard sharply and the first 
 gives usually an open sound: essence (e-sence), con- 
 fesser, paresse, etc,; in ass, t'ss, oss, uss only the sec- 
 ond s sounded : assister, h'sse, Ecosse, Rwsste, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Vowels are short then, except in fosse, 
 grosse, lasse (adj. f.). 
 
 S medial after or before other consonants is hard s: 
 conspirer, conscience, converser, lorsque, puisque, etc. 
 
 NOTE. See exceptions under 5" as z. Many prefer 
 s sound in transi de froid; as in transe, transept, 
 transferer, Transylvanie, Pensylvanie (pain-seel). 
 
 Oss initial the ss heard : ossature, osseux, etc.
 
 42 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 IMPORTANT REMARKS on s: in le Christ, 1'est, 
 1'ouest, plus-que-parfait, Antechrist, pst\ (interjec- 
 tion) in plus (counting), il y a plus, deux de plus, 
 bien plus, en plus, 5 franc plus dix centimes, vous 
 avez rec,u plus que moi, A plus B, tous as a pronoun : 
 venez tous, nls, helas, bachelier-es-lettres, le sens, le 
 lis the s is sounded. 
 
 S not heard in plus petit, ploy grand, etc., tous les 
 en f ants (adjective), sens commun, seas dessus des- 
 sous, sens devant derriere. 
 
 Also in oeufs (eu), boeufs, nerf^ (nair), serf^, 
 Jesus-Christ (kree), les ours, les os, echecs (e or e), 
 les gens maladifs (s in gens is heard before vowels 
 or h mute) and tandis que where s is unheard. 
 
 OS sounded in the singular: I'os; les os (o). 
 
 Ours (ourss) un ours instead of the old pronun- 
 ciation oor. 
 
 NOTE. The latter preferred in reading to avoid 
 cacophony or ambiguity. 
 
 Fils is fiss, sometimes fee in poetry or by aged per- 
 sons. 
 
 Obus is obu by the soldiers; often sounded as z. 
 
 Us as uss, les us et coutumes. 
 
 S in moeurs is more frequently sounded. 
 
 S not heard in est : il est. 
 
 S is heard in dix, six (isolated). 
 
 S when final and silent is linked as z: dans une 
 heure. 
 
 S when final and uttered is linked as ss: le fib est 
 aimable. Venus admirable. 
 
 NOTE. One hears I'ours/affame, but les ours af- 
 f ames : (loorss af fa-me) but (lay zour za-fa-me).
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 43 
 
 Plural adjectives followed by a noun the s is linked 
 as z: les grands hommes ; in nouns having the plural, 
 form and followed by an adjective, the s is usually not 
 linked : un discouns/eloquent, un mepris/inutile ; in 
 the plural, of course, s is z: des discours amusants, 
 etc. 
 
 Same rule before verbs, adverbs or subjects : sort 
 mepris/est ridicule, le paradis/ou vous irez, quel se- 
 cours/on me donne ! because the sense does not require 
 it and a pause is made. 
 
 But we say naturally: des jours heureux (joor-zeu- 
 reux) in nouns (plural) followed by an adjective or 
 adjectives with nouns: ses aimables enfants. In con- 
 versation the liaisons are often omitted, specially by 
 children. 
 
 SPECIAL RULES will be given after studying t, x, z. 
 
 T(th) 
 
 T and TH initial sound as t: temps, terre, the, 
 theatre : about 70 words begin with th. 
 
 T final generally silent : tanf, autanf, nuit, minuif, 
 tout, gratuif, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Te final syllable of feminine adjectives is 
 heard : toute, gratuite, petite, prompt, etc., as in 
 nouns minute, flute, butte, etc. 
 
 T is not sounded in Montreal, Monfmartre, Pont- 
 martin, Ponf-Neuf, etc. 
 
 TI or tie may or may not sound as tee. 
 
 NOTE. When the 1 medial t in English is sh or s, it 
 is soft in French. 
 
 Ex. Acfion, imitation, friction, supposition (as 
 -see-on).
 
 44 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 When medial or final t is not sh, or cy as a sound 
 (English) then the t is natural in French: parti, 
 partie, dynastic, question ; on that principle read tie as 
 s in the following: aristocrat, autocratic, balbutiV, 
 calvetiV, democratic, diplomatic, facetiV, inertic, inep- 
 tie, imperi^V, minutiV, prophetic, primatic, peripetic. 
 suprematic, theocratic. 
 
 But tie as tee: antipathie, garantic, modestic, partie, 
 sortie, sympathic, Claretic, etc. 
 
 -TIONS in verbs always tee-on: nous portions, nous 
 notions, etc. 
 
 NOTE. In nouns les portions, les notions, as s. The 
 only nouns when t is dental (t) are the following 
 exceptions : question, bastion, combustion, mixtion, 
 suggestion, gestion. 
 
 Tial, tiel or tieux as see-al, see-ell: partial, essen- 
 tiel, captieux. 
 
 Besft'a/ is an exception. 
 
 ITI is as .y in initial, except in itineraire, moiti'e. 
 pitie, and nouns in itie. 
 
 TT as t: aentif (a-ten-tif). 
 
 T final is not heard in et, chat, rat, alphabet, cenf, 
 for^ concer^ iort, eftet, cabine^ biscui^ art, billed, 
 bouque^ bosque^ Mahomef, tor^ quarf, pot, portrait 
 aspec^ respecf, suspecf, instinc^ succinct (but not in 
 distinct), nor in verb endings: parlanf, parlent, il 
 vienf_, ils viennenf, ils ont, ils sonf, ils fonf, etc. 
 
 TI hard before a consonant : parh'r, acti'f , etc. 
 
 TI in prefixes hard in anti, centi, antipathic, centi- 
 metre. 
 
 Also in ti final or tien: le parti, il est sorti, le tien, 
 chretien.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 45 
 
 Exceptions in proper names : Donatien, Diocletien 
 or their derivatives : \enitien; also safrete, insah'able, 
 inifier, balbtltier, differenft'er. 
 
 T is sounded in tact, accessif, abjecf, brut, chut, con- 
 tact, correct, cet, defici^ dot, direcf, exacf, mat, est, 
 ouest, rut, vivat, preterit, strict, toast, Christ (no 
 t in Jesus-Christ), huif, sept, transit, and a few others. 
 
 TH is t in L,uth, Ruth, Macbeth, Seth, Elisabeth, 
 the, athee, theatre, zenith, athlete, apathie, sympathie, 
 etc. 
 
 Silent in asthme, isthme ; Goth, Visigoth. 
 
 As ^ in Chrestomaf/tie (or tee). 
 
 TZ is ess in Mete. 
 
 T in liaisons : ET is never linked : Pierre et Ernest. 
 
 SEPT the t is heard in months, in interest: le sept 
 decembre, le sept pour cent (7%), or before a vowel 
 or h mute : sept hommes, sept amis. In other cases 
 not sounded or linked: sept/iemmes (se), sept/heros 
 (se). 
 
 HUIT same rule as sept: le huit novembre, le huit 
 du mois, huit enfants, huit huitres. 
 
 VINGT from 21 to 30 the t is heard: vingt et un 
 and is linked. From 8 1 to 90 the t is silent. 
 
 NOTE. The t after c and r is not heard and the c 
 or r are linked: Respect humain, un respect absolu. 
 a tort et a travers. 
 
 Fort the / of for (abverb) is always linked as t: 
 fort en histoire, fort habile, etc. 
 
 Avanf-hier the t is linked. 
 
 ENT in plural verbs, although nt are silent, the t is 
 linked : ils partewf ensemble. 
 
 D often linked as t: quand il est venu. 
 
 Cent un no t (IOI). In adding, the t is heard.
 
 46 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 V 
 
 V is constant as v: z/euf , veuve, vol, avoir, sawir,, 
 etc, 
 
 NOTE. F is linked as v: neu/ hommes, neu/ enfants. 
 
 VV may be seen in some old French inscriptions. 
 
 VV as W are to-day seen only in French words of 
 foreign origin. 
 
 W is v in wagon-lit, wagon-poste, -restaurant, Wes- 
 phalie and in German words. 
 
 W is oo in whist, wiski, wattman, warrant, whiskey 
 as in English. 
 
 X 
 
 Sixteen words begin with x. 
 
 X in the plural of nouns is silent: tableaux, beaiu-, 
 etc. 
 
 Over looo words contain x which has no sound of 
 its own: X initial is ks, gz or K; X medial is ks or z; 
 x final is either silent, or heard as Xe, S, ce or z in 
 liaisons. 
 
 As Gz in Xenophon, Xavier, Xerxes; as K in 
 Xeres. 
 
 Ex or Hex (initial) as gz before a vowel or h : ex- 
 ercice, exiger, hexametre. Exceptions: execrer, and 
 its derivatives uttered as ks. 
 
 EX as gz (in 7 words) with the prefix in: in^.rerce, 
 intact, in<?jrauce, in^jrecuter, ineligible, in^jristant, 
 
 INEX as ks in fn^^citable, -excusable, -perience. 
 -piable, -pie, -plicable, -ploite, -plore, -pressif, -pri- 
 mable, -pugnable, -tensible, -tricable and derivatives. 
 
 X as ks in Aijr, a^re, ajriome, Ate-^andre, bora.r, ex
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 47 
 
 ces, exception, excess! f, exciter, flexible, luxe, larynx, 
 maxime, phenix, pharynx, silex, Styx, Luxembourg. 
 
 X as s in Auxerrois, Bruxelles, Auxerre, dix-sept, 
 -ieme, soixante, -ieme. 
 
 X is z in deuxieme, -ment, dix-huit, -ieme, dixieme, 
 -ment, dix-neuf, -vieme, -ment, sixieme, -ment, sixain, 
 dizain. 
 
 IX as ess in Atx-les-Bains, Air-la-Chapelle ; as iss 
 in Cadur, Beatrix, except in Feh'x, prefix and Ver- 
 cingeton'x. 
 
 X silent in endings -oux, -aux^ -oix, -nix, -eux, 
 -houx, Foix, Lemieux, Chamonix, Bayeux, Clairvaux, 
 heureux. 
 
 Also in prix, Crucifix, perdrix, afflux, flux and re- 
 flux. 
 
 X. is ss in dix, six and before months : le dix sep- 
 tembre ; le 10% : le dix pour cent. 
 
 NOTE. Before other nouns beginning with conson- 
 ant or h aspirate dix and six are as dee, see: dix livres, 
 six heros. 
 
 X is linked as z: dix en f ants ; also in 17 and 19. 
 
 Z 
 
 Z initial is z: ^ephir, ero, #one, Ma^arin, etc. 
 EZ is e in nez, chez, ass, re^-de-chaussee and in 
 verbs : vous ave, etc. 
 
 EZ in few proper names is heard as ez: Su?, Al- 
 
 , Cort?, Fes, Velasqu^. 
 Z in -az, -oz, -uz is azz, oze, uze: Dia^, gaz, 
 
 Z is ts in Zimmermann and other German words.. 
 Z in Mete (the tz is ess).
 
 48 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 LIAISONS 
 Or the linking of two or more words. 
 
 Those ending with b, bs, c, d, g, 1, m, p, r may or 
 may not be linked. 
 B and BS : 
 
 Joa& etait neveu de David. 
 Christophe Colomb/a decouvert 1'Amerique. 
 La robe est rouge. 
 Le Dou&j/a de nombreuses cascades. 
 
 as 5 in : La force etait un attribut d'Hercule 
 as K: Des arcs-en-ciel 
 
 du blanc au noir 
 
 a franc etrier 
 
 C as k when final, c is heard : un roc escarpe 
 
 Silent in ch: un almanac/z/interessant 
 
 CT as t: le tacf et 1'esprit 
 
 CT as k: le respect humain. 
 
 C as k in done before vowel or h mute : 
 
 il est done arrive ; or in conclusions : 
 
 je pense, done j'existe 
 
 C in DONC weakly heard in expressions of advice 
 or surprise : 
 
 Soyez done sage 
 
 Us nous a done trompes 
 
 Silent : C'est un escroc/intelligent. 
 
 as d: le sud-est, le sud-ouest 
 le norrf-ouest. le non/-est
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 49 
 
 as t (preceded by nasal vowel) : 
 
 elle prend une le<;on 
 silent (preceded by a vowel) : 
 
 le nid/a etc detruit 
 
 NOTE. Except with adjective and its noun or group 
 of words : 
 
 un froid accueil 
 
 le f roid et le chaud 
 
 de pied en cap 
 
 pied a terre 
 
 RD We avoid linking rd before many words : 
 
 un retard/inattendu 
 
 un brouillard/epais 
 
 il est sourd et muet 
 
 NOTE. In verbs d as t: 
 
 perd-on 
 
 repond-il a son f rere ? 
 
 F 
 
 as-/: vi/ amour 
 
 sau/-conduit 
 
 sau/-erreur 
 
 boeu/ a la mode 
 
 neu/ et demi 
 
 neu/ mars 
 
 neu/ pour cent 
 
 neu/ pour Jean, neu/ pour moi 
 
 du boeu/ roti 
 
 j'ai achete un boeu/ gras et un boeu/ maigre. 
 
 le che/ de brigade est-il au che/-lieu? 
 silent in : 
 
 che/-d'oeuvre, che/s d'oeuvre
 
 5O FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 la cle/ 
 
 boeu/ gras (sing, or plur.) du carnaval a Paris, 
 le ner/ de la guerre 
 un oeu/ /rais ou des oeu/s /rais 
 NOTE. Also before plural nouns beginning with 
 consonants or h aspirate. 
 
 G 
 
 as k: 
 
 Le Bourg est un chef-lieu 
 
 sang et eau 
 
 sang humain 
 
 un bourg anglais 
 as g in un joug ecrasant 
 
 Silent in endings : -ong, ing, ang, ourg, eng or oing, 
 etc. 
 
 ce faubour^r/exterieur 
 
 Cherbour^/est une place forte 
 
 H 
 
 final is silent and never linked : 
 
 un almanac/i/avec indications astronomiques, etc. 
 as k in : un kracA epouvantable 
 
 See huit under T 
 
 J 
 
 never ends a French word ; but je or /' often linked. 
 
 K 
 
 naturally carried on as k before vowels : 
 JL T n copecfc est une monnaie russe
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 51 
 
 L 
 
 is linked in most words : 
 
 un fo/ espoir 
 
 tin vo/ affreux 
 
 NOTE. Also in endings -eil (eille), -ail (aille) / is 
 as y in ;yes : 
 
 un solei/ ardent 
 
 un travai/ exceptionnel 
 
 also in : genti/homme 
 
 Silent in gentil, fusil (see L) ; but in plural nouns 
 .y is linked as z: 
 
 des genti/shommes 
 
 fusi/s a percussion 
 
 M 
 
 is linked mostly in foreign words : 
 
 1' opium a une propriete narcotique 
 silent: nora et prenowi 
 
 Adaw et Eve 
 
 N (see nasal vowels) 
 
 UN, ON and En are carried on: 
 on a; on entend ; en ont-ils ; vous en avez ; en at- 
 tendant ; un ami, un homme. 
 Except in le un et le deux. 
 BIEN et RIEN as adverbs : 
 biew aimable 
 je n'ai riew achete 
 NOTE. Not in nouns : 
 Ce bie/est a mon frere 
 Jean est petit 
 But in en pleiw air
 
 52 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 le moyen age 
 
 N not elided in : 
 
 le viw et 1'eau 
 
 son et sa sont des adjectifs possessifs 
 
 le bon et le mauvais 
 
 C'est bon a manger 
 
 un et un font deux 
 
 chacun un 
 
 donnez-lui en un peu 
 
 selon eux 
 
 il a dit non et oui 
 
 elle se plait bien en Amerique 
 
 il se conduit bien en classe 
 
 combien y en a-t-il? 
 
 1'un ou 1'autre 
 
 1'un dit oui, 1'autre dit non 
 
 est-il venu quelqu'un a 5 heures? 
 
 arrive-t-on a New York? 
 
 O 
 
 No elision in : 
 
 le onze, le onzieme, la onzieme 
 
 le oui 
 
 la ouate 
 
 and in des oui-dire 
 
 P 
 
 silent in drap, loup, etc. : 
 un drap/excellent 
 le camp/est endormi 
 
 P in beaucou^ and trop often linked softly 
 beaucou^ etudie 
 trop eclatant
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 53 
 
 Q 
 
 as k in : 
 
 le cing mars 
 
 cinq enfants 
 
 cinq hommes 
 
 le cing pour cent 
 
 But not in : 
 
 cing/livres, cing/heros, etc. 
 
 R 
 
 (er) in verbs generally linked: 
 
 aim^r a chanter 
 (er) in Poetry it is required 
 (er) in adjectives and nouns: 
 
 son dernier avis 
 
 le premier enfant 
 (r) when silent in nouns generally not linked: 
 
 Monsieur/Ernest 
 
 un boulanger/intelligent 
 
 S 
 
 as 2 with few exceptions : 
 pa.? a pa^ 
 depuij une heure 
 je voudrau etre riche 
 le tier j-e tat 
 les Champ^-Elysees 
 de temp^ en temp,? 
 les mienj et les tieoy 
 de^ oeul? a la coque 
 de ploy en plu^ 
 de moin^ en moinj
 
 54 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 S not linked in: 
 mau/oui 
 
 George^/est riche 
 le^/onze en f ants 
 Pari^/est une belle ville 
 c'e^t un aviVimportant 
 il est 3 heure^/et demie 
 des veny/a soie 
 vers lej/une heure 
 
 NOTE. Avoid repetitions of linking the j or z as 
 proper pauses must be made : 
 
 la lec,on des autre^ enfant-y/est trop longue (See s). 
 
 T 
 
 as t is very frequent : 
 adverbs : f ort interessant 
 verbs : ils ont achete 
 onf-ils vu? 
 T in et never linked : 
 Paul et/un ami 
 Adjective and noun or object: 
 pret a sortir 
 charmanj homme 
 
 Verb and subject and object with or without et: 
 que di/-on? 
 il faut etudier 
 en allanf a la banque 
 ils allaienj et venaient 
 Adverbs with et or ou: 
 libremenf et joyeusement 
 tot ou tard 
 
 NOTE. (t) final and silent not linked: 
 un attendaf/odieux
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 55 
 
 (rt) t generally silent: 
 
 il est forf/et grand 
 
 la Mor//a decime son armee 
 
 Robert/a eu la leqon 
 
 un expert/en architecture 
 
 la pluparf/ont le mal de mer 
 
 X 
 
 as 2: sijtr ans 
 dijir hommes 
 di^r sept 
 NOTE. Not in di^r/livres, si.r/hauteurs, etc. (see X). 
 
 Z 
 
 as z: ceiur et celles 
 vous ave2 ecrit, etc. 
 But not in : 
 nez a nez 
 portez armes 
 presentez armes 
 nez aquilin 
 
 REMARKS ON LIAISONS. 
 
 The liaisons affect the final j, q, s, x specially in 
 boeu/, co^ sens, cing, si^r, sepf, hui^ neu/_, di^r accord- 
 ing to the rules set forth previously. 
 
 But the normal liaisons in the articles, nouns, ad- 
 jectives, etc., are sometimes optional, sometimes un- 
 permissible. 
 
 In eloquence, elocution, poetry the liaisons are 
 more required than in conversation ; they may be ob- 
 served but not multiplied. The ear must also be 
 pleased not shocked.
 
 56 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 les huitres but not in le/huit, les/huit 
 I'ou'ie but not in le/oui et le non 
 il est/huit heures 
 Jean/ est scrieux 
 Jeanne est jolie 
 J'en ai un 
 
 le sud et I' est (as d) 
 le nord et I'ouest 
 mais/oui 
 
 vingt et un, but not in le chat/et le chien 
 When the liaisons are too close we must pause at 
 least after the verb to avoid discordant sounds : 
 vous nous avez avertis/en allant a I' hotel 
 Children often omit the liaisons of s, t, d, x, z. 
 
 (1) Strictly speaking, one must use discretion in 
 linking words : 
 
 Pierre et/un ami (et is never linked) 
 
 Pierre est un ami 
 
 There is often a reason based on grammar or on 
 the ear: 
 
 pot-au-feu (po-to-feu) has not the same meaning 
 as mettre le pot/au feu; in the latter case the t is silent. 
 
 We link naturally the article with a noun : un ami, 
 une amie, I' ami, I' amie, les amis, les amies, les hommes, 
 except before h aspirate or consonants. No liaison in 
 les heros nor in les zeros. 
 
 (2) Qualifying adjectives, possessive adjectives 
 with nouns : 
 
 d'heureux enfants 
 
 les amis de mes amis sont mes amis 
 
 (3) Nouns in the plural with the adjective: 
 des discours eloquents 
 
 but not in: un disc ours/ eloquent (r is linked).
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 57 
 
 (4) Pronouns including object, en, y: 
 
 il a, elle a,on a, j'ai, nous avons, vous avez, Us ont, 
 etc, 
 
 on attend, en ont-elles, j'y vais, qu'avez-vous? 
 
 NOTE. Are linked the pronoun before its verb or 
 the verb before its pronoun. 
 
 (5) The adverb before the adjective or past par- 
 ticiple : 
 
 trop ardent 
 fort estime 
 
 (6) Prepositions except scion: 
 chez ellcs 
 
 selon/eux 
 
 (7) d is carried on as t 
 f as v 
 
 g as k 
 
 s and x as z 
 
 grand homme 
 
 cinq amis (q as k) 
 
 neuf homines 
 
 NOTE. The / is frequently heard instead of v. 
 
 un rang honorable 
 
 le sang humain 
 
 S in vers, envers, disc ours, sec ours, etc., the r is 
 carried except in plural nouns: 
 
 vers/une colline 
 
 un secours/inattendu 
 
 T preceded by r is carried on only in fort (when 
 adverb). 
 
 fort aimable 
 
 not in a tort et a travers 
 
 CT as k in respect:
 
 58 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 respect humain 
 
 respect absolu 
 
 N in liaisons : you utter the nasal vowel and link the 
 n with the next syllable. 
 
 en achetant 
 
 Ain and ien are weakened before linking: 
 
 certain ami 
 
 un ancien eleve 
 
 IN is also weakened in old religious or classical ap- 
 pellations : 
 
 il est ne le divin Enfant 
 
 le divin amour 
 
 ON may or may not be weakened in : mon ami, ton 
 ami, son ami 
 
 but in other cases it loses its nasal quality before 
 being carried on : 
 
 ce bonhomme or in ce bon homme 
 
 C'est un bon ami 
 
 le bonheur 
 
 UN preserves generally its nasal quality: un ami 
 
 By affectation speakers say u-n ami 
 
 GENERAL RULES ON PRACTICAL FRENCH PROSODY, 
 
 Articulation, Aspiration, Elision, Expiration, Liaisons 
 
 and Tonic Accent. 
 
 ARTICULATION. The ear must hear every syllable 
 in French, however vanishing the stress may be: 
 C'est u-ne Fran-fai-se. J'ai re-pe-te, pro-non-ci-a-ti-on 
 e-lec-ti-on, do-mi-ner, ci-te, se-cre-tai-re. 
 
 ASPIRATION (breathing upon). Certain sounds are 
 uttered with a breath upon the vowel : Ho ! Ho ! Phi- 
 lippe.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 59 
 
 NOTE. The h is aspirated in French when the fol- 
 lowing vowel is slightly pronounced from the throat: 
 le heros. Then no elision nor linking is permissible, 
 except with a mute h. 
 
 Elision. In auxiliary words the initials a, e, i, o, u 
 or h (mute) are often preceded by /' (for le, la), d' 
 (de), qu' (que), s' (si or se), etc.: I' ami, I'amie, I' en- 
 fant, j'ai, jusqu'a, s'il vous plait 
 
 Expiration. The French Language is articulated 
 principally on the lips. You must breathe out while 
 moving the lips : Ce, si, etc. 
 
 Liaisons or the linking of words. The liaisons are 
 frequently used in French and serve to connect prin- 
 cipally the article with the noun, the adjective with the 
 noun, the pronoun with the verb, the verb with the 
 pronoun and the adverb before the past participle or 
 adjective: un ami, un grand homme, il a, elle a, a-t-il, 
 fort aime, etc. 
 
 NOTE. Words must not be linked before h (aspir- 
 ate)' or any other word not strictly connected by 
 punctuation or by certain groups of words. Above all 
 the ear must be pleased and proper pauses prevent the 
 linking. 
 
 Hiatus. The meeting of the same vowel : one final, 
 the other initial is called hiatus and no linking takes 
 place. Ex. il alia a Paris, coupe-le en deux. 
 
 NOTE. In Poetry no hiatus is tolerated, except for 
 effect.
 
 60 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 . MUTE E 
 
 The so-called mute e. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the e is mute only when it is elided : 
 I' ami, I'homme. 
 
 In other cases the final e is slightly uttered : la face. 
 
 In very few words the so-called e mute is not pro- 
 nounced: soie, soierie. The e in old French, was 
 weak, but heard. Now, in conversation, it is heard or 
 not according to its position. 
 
 Brachet says : " Dans la phonetique des voyelles, il 
 faut considerer la qualite, 1'accentuation, 1'entourage." 
 
 In daily use the same vowel e in the same word is 
 uttered or not : Je riveux pas, j' n'en sais rien. 
 
 Even in Poetry says M. Maurice Grammont: " En 
 ancien fran^ais, sauf a la fin du vers et a la cesure, 
 tout e comptait pour une syllabe; aujourd'hui il ne 
 compte plus jamais apres une voyelle atone; tu joueras 
 ne fait que trois syllabes. il en faisait quatre a 1'ori- 
 gine." 
 
 This modern usage began in the I4th century. 
 
 After a tonic vowel (prie, pries, prient) it is also 
 silent, but the word, including it, is not allowed in the 
 body of a verse, except when the e is elided. At the 
 end of a verse it is a feminine rime. 
 
 MASCULINE RIME is a final stressed syllable at the 
 end of a verse. 
 
 FEMININE RIME ends in e mute or -ent, es (as its 
 equivalent). 
 
 NOTE. After a consonant the e, either in the body 
 of a verse or at the end of a word, seems to have been 
 silent or uttered in daily use from the I5th century to 
 the present time.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 6 1 
 
 QUANTITY is not the basis of French verse and we 
 count the syllables whether long or short; hence 
 French verses are syllabic. 
 
 All syllables count except mute syllables when final 
 (at the end of a verse) or elided. 
 
 TONIC ACCENT. In Poetry there are two required 
 stressed syllables: at the end of a verse (masculine 
 rime) and at the caesura. 
 
 From Quitard's Traite de Versification : 
 
 " L'accent tonique, ainsi nomme parcequ'il consiste 
 en une sorte de ton musical, est une modulation 
 simple et legere qui se joint a certaines syllabes. II 
 se trouve toujours sur la derniere des mots a desinence 
 sonore ou masculine, et sur 1'avant derniere des mots 
 a desinence muette ou feminine. L'accent d'appui 
 consiste dans une prononciation plus forte et plus 
 ressentie de la syllabe sur laquelle la voix insiste, mais 
 sans modulation." 
 
 As to the other accents (stress) in Poetry they may 
 vary. ' 
 
 For emphasis or expressive reading the accent 
 (stress) is maintained on first syllables beginning with 
 consonants or on the medial : Ca ira, c'est epowvan- 
 table. 
 
 PRACTICAL FRENCH PROSODY. 
 
 Briefly French verse is based on the number of syl- 
 lables and on the rime. In French the stress or ac- 
 centuation falls: 
 
 (i) On the last syllable of words (of two syllables) 
 ending with a masculine rime or the penultimate syl- 
 lable when the word ends with a feminine rime,
 
 62 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 (2) The antepenultimate in words (with masculine 
 rimes) of three or more syllables. 
 
 Let us examine briefly the modes of uttering French 
 in Elocution, Reading and Conversation. 
 
 French character being quick and mild, says d'Oli- 
 vet reveals brevity and suavity. Latin words as well 
 as vowels have often been shortened in French, and 
 to make the language more flowing the mute e has 
 been multiplied, the hiatus often removed and the 
 article and the pronoun frequently used. 
 
 Although the long and short French vowels or syl- 
 lables do not fulfil the same purpose as in Greek or 
 Latin they may describe by their place or union dif- 
 ferent objects, various shades of meaning. 
 
 Some poets have succeeded in establishing a certain 
 connection between sounds and ideas. From physical 
 phenomena to abstract ideas they associate serious 
 thoughts with long sounds, pleasant ideas with soft 
 sounds. 
 
 In other words the poet may suggest such ideas or 
 images to the mind by faithfully interpreting an in- 
 tellectual impression or rendering it true to our senses. 
 
 Music has also given us long notes, deep sounds, 
 etc., but their timbre and quality form the basis and 
 the mode of articulating the French vowels. 
 
 The rules of French Prosody are based according 
 to needs on vivacity or lack of animation. 
 
 Listen to a prolonged whistling : 
 
 Pour qui sont ces serpents qui sifflent sur vos tetes? 
 (Racine, Andromaque)
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 63 
 
 PROSODY. 
 
 To Indolence : 
 
 La mollesse oppressee, 
 
 Dans sa bouche, a ce mot, sent sa langue gla^ee; 
 
 Et, lasse de parler, succombant sous I'eftort, 
 
 Soupire, etend les bras, .... f erme 1'oeil et s'endort. 
 (Le Lutrin, Boileau) 
 
 On a rocky road : 
 
 Ou, 6 Hugo, huchera-t-on ton nom? 
 
 Justice, enfin rendue, que ne t'a-t-on? 
 
 Quand done, au corps qu'Academie qu'on nomme 
 
 Grimperas-tu de roc en roc, rare homme. 
 
 (P. Grandmaison) 
 
 Sonorous vowels: 
 
 La victoire aux cent voix sonnera sa fanfare. 
 (Hugo, a 1'Arc de Triomphe) 
 
 Rapidity : 
 
 Oh ! si j'avais des ailes 
 
 Vers ce beau ciel si pur je voudrais les ouvrir. 
 
 (Musset, Rolla) 
 
 Briefly, the slower the pronunciation, the more im- 
 portant Prosody is in Reading, specially at the bar, in 
 the theatre or pulpit. 
 
 Granting that diction is a sort of singing, each long 
 syllable must be more pronounced. The timbre and 
 the quality of vowels do not affect the stress (accent), 
 because the pause is the same. 
 
 Alone the intonation varies in accordance with ideas 
 or sentiments. 
 
 When the nasals are more frequent than the vowels 
 the timbre seems to yield to the dominant quality of 
 .indolence or indifference.
 
 64 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 Certain consonants (b, d, g, p or c) are often used 
 to express irony or sudden emotions ; R to express 
 dissatisfaction or rumbling sounds. 
 
 In Reading the pronunciation is somewhat slower ; 
 each syllable has its proper value, each sentiment its 
 intonation. There should be more repose in Reading 
 than in Elocution. 
 
 In Conversation the vowels seem to be all short, but 
 are not so when properly sounded. 
 
 Good usage may be the best rule in Conversation, 
 but many hiatus often add to its charm. 
 
 For further information on the rules of Versifica- 
 tion, you are requested to read: 
 
 Quitard's Dictionnaire des Rimes. 
 
 Grammont's Petit Traite de Versification fran$aise.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 
 
 
 H( aspirated) in 
 
 
 ha 
 
 haillon 
 
 hamac 
 
 habler 
 
 haillonneux 
 
 hameau 
 
 hablerie 
 
 haine 
 
 hamelia 
 
 hableur 
 
 haineusement 
 
 hammam 
 
 hachage 
 
 haineux 
 
 hampe 
 
 hachard 
 
 hair 
 
 hamster 
 
 hache 
 
 hai re 
 
 han 
 
 hache 
 
 hai'ssable 
 
 hanap 
 
 hache- ecorce 
 
 haje 
 
 hanapier 
 
 hache-legumes 
 
 halage 
 
 hanche 
 
 hache- paille 
 
 halbi 
 
 handicap 
 
 hacher 
 
 halbran 
 
 handicaper 
 
 hachereau 
 
 halbrene 
 
 handicapeur 
 
 hachette 
 
 hale 
 
 hanebane 
 
 hache -viande 
 
 hale 
 
 hangar 
 
 hachis 
 
 haler 
 
 hanneton 
 
 hachisch 
 
 haler 
 
 hannetonnage 
 
 ou haschisch 
 
 haletant 
 
 hannetonner 
 
 hachischin 
 
 haletement 
 
 hannuyer 
 
 hachoir 
 
 haleter 
 
 ou hainuier 
 
 hachot 
 
 haleur 
 
 Hanovrien 
 
 hachotte 
 
 hall 
 
 hansart 
 
 hachure 
 
 hallebarde 
 
 hanse 
 
 hack 
 
 hallebardier 
 
 hanse"atique 
 
 hadji 
 
 hallier 
 
 hanter 
 
 hagard 
 
 hallier 
 
 hantise 
 
 hagardement 
 
 halo 
 
 happe 
 
 haha 
 
 haloir 
 
 happeau 
 
 hai 
 
 halot 
 
 happelourde 
 
 haie 
 
 halotechnie 
 
 happement 
 
 hai'e 
 
 halte 
 
 happer
 
 66 
 
 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 haquebute 
 
 haridelle 
 
 hase 
 
 ou hacquebute 
 
 harle 
 
 hastaire 
 
 haquen^e 
 
 harmattan 
 
 haste 
 
 haquet 
 
 harnachement 
 
 hast6 
 
 haquetier 
 
 harnacher 
 
 hate 
 
 harangue 
 
 harnacheur 
 
 hatelet 
 
 haranguer 
 
 harnais 
 
 hatelle 
 
 harangueur 
 
 haro 
 
 ou hatelette 
 
 haras 
 
 harpail 
 
 hater 
 
 harasse 
 
 harpaille 
 
 hatereau 
 
 harassement 
 
 harpe 
 
 hateur 
 
 harasser 
 
 harpe 
 
 hatier 
 
 harcelement 
 
 harpeau 
 
 hatif 
 
 hairceler 
 
 harper 
 
 hatille 
 
 harceleur 
 
 harpie 
 
 hativeau 
 
 harde 
 
 harpin 
 
 hativement 
 
 harde 
 
 harpiste 
 
 hativet6 
 
 hardies 
 
 harpoise 
 
 hatti-cherif 
 
 harder 
 
 harpon 
 
 hature 
 
 hardes 
 
 harponnage 
 
 hauban 
 
 hardi 
 
 harponnement 
 
 haubaner 
 
 hardiesse 
 
 harponner 
 
 haubergeon 
 
 hardiment 
 
 harponneur 
 
 haubert 
 
 harem 
 
 hart 
 
 hausse 
 
 hareng 
 
 hasard 
 
 hausse-col 
 
 harengaison 
 
 hasard 
 
 haussement 
 
 harengere 
 
 hasardement 
 
 hausse -pied 
 
 harengerie 
 
 hasarder 
 
 hausse-queue 
 
 harenguet 
 
 hasardeusement 
 
 hausser 
 
 harfang 
 
 hasardeux 
 
 haussier 
 
 hargnerie 
 
 hasardise 
 
 haussiere 
 
 hargneux 
 
 haschisch 
 
 haul
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 
 
 6 7 
 
 haut a bas. 
 
 hennissement 
 
 heurtement 
 
 hautain 
 
 hraut 
 
 heurter 
 
 hautainement 
 
 herd- book 
 
 heurtoir 
 
 hautbois 
 
 here 
 
 heuse 
 
 hautboi'ste 
 
 he'risse' 
 
 hvee 
 
 haut-de-chausse 
 
 hrissement 
 
 hexandre 
 
 haute-contre 
 
 herisser 
 
 hexandrie 
 
 hautement 
 
 hrisson 
 
 hi 
 
 hautesse 
 
 hrissonne 
 
 hibou 
 
 haute- taille 
 
 hernhute 
 
 hie 
 
 hauteur 
 
 ou hernute 
 
 hideur 
 
 haut-fond 
 
 hernhutisme 
 
 hideusement 
 
 haut-le-cceur 
 
 hernia ire 
 
 hideux 
 
 haut-le-corps 
 haut-pendu 
 haut-relief 
 
 hernie 
 herni^ 
 hernieux 
 
 hie 
 hiement 
 ou himent 
 
 hauturier 
 
 hron 
 
 hierarchic 
 
 havane 
 have 
 haveneau 
 
 h^ronneau 
 heronnier 
 hronniere 
 
 hirarchique 
 hi^rarchiquement 
 hi^rarchisation 
 
 ou havenet 
 havir 
 havre 
 havresac 
 
 he"ros 
 herpe 
 hersage 
 herse 
 
 hi^rarchisej 
 highlander 
 hisser 
 ho 
 
 he 
 
 herser 
 
 hoat-chi 
 
 heaume 
 
 herseur 
 
 hoazin 
 
 heaumerie 
 
 hersillon 
 
 hobereau 
 
 hein 
 
 hetraie 
 
 hoc 
 
 heler 
 
 hetre 
 
 hoca 
 
 henn 
 
 heu 
 
 hocco 
 
 hennin 
 
 heurt 
 
 hoche 
 
 hennir 
 
 heurt^ 
 
 hochement
 
 68 
 
 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 hochepot 
 
 hors 
 
 houlque 
 
 hochequeue 
 
 hors-d'oeuvre 
 
 houp ! 
 
 hocher 
 
 horse- guard 
 
 houper 
 
 hoc he t 
 
 horse- pox 
 
 houppe 
 
 hockey 
 
 hors-ligne 
 
 houppelande 
 
 hogner 
 
 hotte 
 
 houpper 
 
 hola 
 
 hotte 
 
 houppette 
 
 Hollandais 
 
 Hottentot 
 
 houraillis 
 
 Hollande 
 
 hottereau 
 
 hourd 
 
 hollander 
 
 hotteur 
 
 hgurdage 
 
 horn 
 
 hou 
 
 ou hourdis 
 
 homard 
 
 houache 
 
 hourder 
 
 home 
 
 ou houaiche 
 
 houret 
 
 hon 
 
 houari 
 
 houri 
 
 hongre 
 
 houblon 
 
 houri 
 
 hongrer 
 
 houblonner 
 
 hourque 
 
 hongreur 
 
 houblonnier 
 
 hourra 
 
 hongroierie 
 
 houblonniere 
 
 hourvari 
 
 Hongrois 
 
 houe 
 
 housard 
 
 hongroyage 
 
 houement 
 
 houseaux 
 
 hongroyer 
 
 houer 
 
 houspiller 
 
 hongroyeur 
 
 houette 
 
 houssage 
 
 honnir 
 
 houeur 
 
 houssaie 
 
 honte 
 
 houillage 
 
 housse 
 
 honteusement 
 
 houille 
 
 housser 
 
 honteux 
 
 houiller 
 
 houssine 
 
 hop 
 
 houillere 
 
 houssiner 
 
 hoquet 
 
 houilleur 
 
 houssoir 
 
 hoqueter 
 
 houilleux 
 
 housson 
 
 hoqueton 
 
 houle 
 
 houx 
 
 horde 
 
 houlette 
 
 hoyau 
 
 horion 
 
 houleux 
 
 huard
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 
 
 hublot 
 
 hulot 
 
 hurlement 
 
 huch ou hue ho 
 
 hulotte 
 
 hurler 
 
 huche 
 
 hululer 
 
 hurleur 
 
 hucher 
 
 hum ! 
 
 huron 
 
 huchet 
 hue! 
 hue"e 
 
 hum age 
 humbug 
 hune 
 
 hurrah 
 hussard 
 hussarde 
 
 huer 
 
 hunier 
 
 hussite 
 
 huette 
 
 hunter 
 
 hutin 
 
 huguenot 
 huguenotisme 
 huhau 
 
 huppe 
 hupp 
 hure 
 
 hutinet 
 hutte 
 hutter 
 
 hulan 
 
 hurlant 
 
 hyacinthe
 
 ARRTE 
 
 RELATIF A LA SIMPLIFICATION DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT 
 DE LA SYNTAXE FRANCAISE 
 
 (26 fevrier 1901.) 
 
 Le Ministre de 1'Instruction publique et des Beaux- 
 Arts, vu 1'article 5 de la loi du 27 fevrier 1880 ; 
 
 Vu 1'arrete du 31 juillet 1900; 
 
 Le Conseil superieur de 1'Instruction publique en- 
 tendu, 
 
 Arrete : 
 
 ARTICLE i. Dans les examens ou concours depen- 
 dant du ministere de 1'Instruction publique, qui corn- 
 portent des epreuves speciales d'orthographe, il ne 
 sera pas compte de fautes aux candidats pour avoir 
 use des tolerances indiquees dans la Hste annexee au 
 present arrete. 
 
 La meme disposition est applicable au jugement des 
 diverses compositions redigees en langue franchise, 
 dans les examens ou concours dependant du ministere 
 de 1'Instruction publique qui ne comportent pas une 
 epreuve speciale d'orthographe. 
 
 ARTICLE 2. L'arrete du 31 juillet 1900 est rapporte. 
 
 LISTE ANNEXEE A L'ARRETE DU 26 FEVRIER 1901 
 Substantifs. 
 
 PLURIEL ou SINGULIER. Dans toutes les construc- 
 tions ou le sens permet de comprendre le substantif 
 complement aussi bien au singulier qu'au pluriel, on 
 70
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 7 1 
 
 tolerera 1'emploi de 1'un ou 1'autre nombre. Ex. : des 
 habits de femme ou de femmes; des confitures de 
 groseille ou dc groseilles; des pretres en bonnet carre 
 ou en bonnets carres; Us ont die leur chapeau ou 
 Icurs chapeaux.. . 
 
 Substantifs des deux genres. 
 
 1. AIGLE. L'usage actuel donne a ce substantif le 
 genre masculin, sauf dans le cas ou il designe des en- 
 seignes. Ex. : le s aigles romaines. 
 
 2. AMOUR, ORGUE. L'usage actuel donne a ces deux 
 mots le genre masculin au gingulier. Au pluriel, on 
 tolerera indifferemment le genre masculin ou le genre 
 feminin. Ex. : les grandes orgues; un des plus beaux 
 or g lies; de folles amours, des amours tardifs. 
 
 3. DEUCE ET DELICES sont, en realite, deux mots 
 differents. Le premier est d'un usage rare et un peu 
 recherche. II est inutile de s'en occuper dans 1'en- 
 seignement elementaire et dans les exercices. 
 
 4. AUTOMNE, ENFANT. Ces deux mots etant des 
 deux genres, il est inutile de s'en occuper particuliere- 
 ment. II en est de meme de tous les substantifs qui 
 sont indifferemment des deux genres. 
 
 5. GENS, ORGE. On tolerera dans toutes les con- 
 structions 1'accord de 1'adjectif au feminin avec le mot 
 gens. Ex. : instruits ou instruites par I' experience, les 
 mettles gens sont soup(onneux ou soup(onneuses . 
 
 On tolerera 1'emploi du mot orge au feminin sans 
 exception : orge carree, orge mondee, orge perlee. 
 
 6. HYMNE. II n'y a pas de raison suffisante pour 
 donner a ce mot deux sens differents suivant qu'il est 
 employe au masculin ou au feminin. On tolerera les
 
 72 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 deux genres aussi bien pour les chants nationaux que 
 pour les chants religieux. Ex. : nn bel hymne ou une 
 belle hymne. 
 
 7. PAQUES. On tolerera 1'emploi de ce mot au fe- 
 minin aussi bien pour designer une date que la fete re- 
 ligieuse. Ex. : A Pdques prochain, ou a Paques pro- 
 chaines. 
 
 Pluriel des substantifs. 
 
 PLURIEL DES NOMS PROPRES. La plus grande ob- 
 scurite regnant dans les regies et les exceptions en- 
 seignees dans les grammaires, on tolerera dans tous 
 les cas que les noms propres precedes de 1'article 
 pluriel prennent la marque du pluriel : les Corneilles 
 comme les Gracques; des Virgiles (exemplaires) 
 comme des Virgiles (editions). 
 
 II en sera de meme pour les noms propres de per- 
 sonne designant les oeuvres de ces personnes. Ex. : 
 des Meissoniers. 
 
 PLURIEL DES NOMS EMPRUNTES A D'AUTRES LANGUES. 
 Lorsque ces mots sont tout a fait entres dans la 
 langue franchise, on tolerera que le pluriel soit forme 
 suivant la regie generale. Ex. : des exeats comme 
 des deficits. 
 
 Noms composes. 
 
 NOMS COMPOSES. Les memes noms composes se 
 rencontrent aujourd'hui tantot avec le trait d'union, 
 tantot sans trait d'union. II est inutile de fatiguer les 
 enfants a apprendre des contradictions que rien ne 
 justifie. L'absence de trait d'union dans 1'expression 
 pomme de terre n'empeche pas cette expression de 
 former un veritable mot compose aussi bien que chef-
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 73, 
 
 d'ceuvre, 'par exemple. Ces mots pourront tou jours 
 s'ecrire sans trait d'union. 
 
 Article. 
 
 ARTICLE DEVANT LES NOMS PROPRES DE PERSONNES.. 
 L'usage existe d'employer 1'article devant certains 
 noms de famille italiens : le Tasse, le Correge, et quel- 
 quefois a tort devant les prenoms : (le} Dante, (le) 
 Guide. On ne comptera pas comme une faute 1'igno- 
 rance de cet usage. 
 
 II regne aussi une grande incertitude dans la mani- 
 ere d'ecrire 1'article qui fait partie de certains noms 
 fran^ais: la Fontaine, la Fayette ou Lafayette. II 
 convient d'indiquer, dans les textes dictes, si, dans les- 
 noms propres qui contiennent un article, 1'article doit 
 etre separe du nom. 
 
 ARTICLE SUPPRIME. Lorsque deux adjectifs unis 
 par et se rapportent au meme substantif de maniere a 
 designer en realite deux choses differentes, on tolerera 
 la suppression de 1'article devant le second adjectif. 
 Ex. : IJhistoire ancienne et moderne, comme Vhistoire 
 ancienne et la moderne. 
 
 ARTICLE PARTITIF. On tolerera du, de la, des air 
 lieu de de partitif devant un substantif precede d'un> 
 adjectif. Ex. : de ou du bon pain, de bonne viandc ou 
 de la bonne viande, de ou des bons fruits. 
 
 ARTICLE DEVANT PLUS, MOINS, ETC. La regie qui 
 veut qu'on emploie le plus, le mains, le mieux comme 
 un neutre invariable devant un adjectif indiquant le 
 degre le plus eleve de la qualite possedee par le sub- 
 stantif qualifie sans comparaison avec d'autres objets 
 est tres subtile et de peu d'utilite. II est superflu de
 
 74 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 s'en occuper dans 1'enseignement elementaire et dans 
 les exercices. On tolerera Ic plus, la plus, les plus, les 
 mains, les mieujc, etc., dans des constructions telles 
 que : on a abattu les arbres le plus ou les plus exposes 
 a la tempete. 
 
 Adjectif. 
 
 ACCORD DE L' ADJECTIF. Dans la locution, se faire 
 fort de, on tolerera 1'accord de 1'adjectif. Ex.: se 
 faire fort, forte, forts, fortes de. . . 
 
 ADJECTIF CONSTRUIT AVEC PLUSIEURS SUBSTANTIFS. 
 Lorsqu'un adjectif qualificatif suit plusieurs sub- 
 stantifs de genres differents, on tolerera toujours que 
 1'adjecfif soit construit au masculin pluriel, quel que 
 soit le genre du substantif le plus voisin. Ex. : ap- 
 partements et chambres meubles. 
 
 'Nu, DEMI, FEU. On tolerera 1'accord de ces ad- 
 jectifs avec le substantif qu'ils precedent. Ex.: nu ou 
 nus pieds, une demi ou demie heure (sans trait d'uniorr 
 entre les mots, feu ou feue reine. 
 
 ADJECTIFS COMPOSES. On tolerera la reunion des 
 deux mots constitutifs en un seul mot qui formera son 
 feminin et son pluriel d'apres la regie generale. Ex. : 
 nouveaune, nouveaunee, nouvcaunes, nouveaunees; 
 courtvetu, courtvetuc, courtvetus, courtvetues, etc. 
 
 Mais les adjectifs composes qui designent des nu- 
 ances etant devenus, par suite d'une ellipse, de veri- 
 tables substantifs invariables, on les traitera comme 
 des mots invariables. Ex. : des robes bleu clair, vert 
 d'eau, etc., de meme qu'on dit des habits uiarron. 
 
 PARTICIPES PASSES INVARIABLES. Actuellement les 
 participes approuve, attendu, ci-inclus, ci-joint, ex-
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 75 
 
 cepte, non compris, y compris, die, passe, suppose, vu, 
 places avant le substantif auquel ils sont joints, 
 restent in variables. Excepte est meme deja classe 
 parmi les prepositions. On tolerera 1'accord facul- 
 tatif pour ces participes, sans exiger 1'application de 
 regies differentes suivant que ces mots sont places au 
 commencement on dans le corps de la proposition, 
 suivant que le substantif est ou n'est pas determine. 
 Ex.: ci joint ou ci jointes les pieces demandees (sans 
 trait d'union entre ci et le participe) ; je vous.envoie 
 ci joint ou ci jointe copie de la piece. 
 
 On tolerera la meme liberte pour 1'adjectif franc. 
 Ex. : envoyer franc de port ou franc he de port une 
 lettre. 
 
 AVOIR i/ AIR. On permettra d'ecrire indifrerem- 
 ment : elle a I' air doux ou douce, spirituel ou spiritu- 
 elle. On n'exigera pas la connaissance d'une diffe- 
 rence de sens subtile suivant 1'accord de 1'adjectif avec 
 le mot air ou avec le mot designant la personne dont 
 on indique 1'air. 
 
 ADJECTIFS NUMERAUX. Vingt, cent. La pronon- 
 ciation Justine dans certains cas la regie actuelle qui 
 donne un pluriel a ces deux mots quand ils sont multi- 
 plies par un autre nombre. On tolerera le pluriel de 
 vingt et cent meme lorsque ces deux mots sont suivis 
 d'un autre adjectif numeral. Ex. : quatre vingt ou 
 quatre vingts dix hommes; quatre cent ou quatre 
 cents trente hommes. 
 
 Le trait d'union ne sera pas exige entre le mot de- 
 signant les unites et le mot designant les dizaines. 
 . Ex. : dix sept. 
 
 Dans la designation du millesime, on tolerera mille
 
 76 FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 au lieu de mil, comme dans 1'expression d'un nombre. 
 Ex. : I'an mil huit cent quatre inngt dix ou Van mille 
 huit cents quatre vingts dix. 
 
 Adjectifs demonstratifs, indefinis et pronoms. 
 
 CE. On tolerera la reunion des particules n et la 
 avec le pronom qui les precede, sans exiger qu'on dis- 
 tingue qu'est ceci, qu'est cela de qu'est ce ci, qu'est ce 
 la. On tolerera la suppression du trait d'union dans 
 ces constructions. 
 
 MEME. Apres un substantif ou un pronom au 
 pluriel, on tolerera 1'accord de meme au pluriel et on 
 n'exigera pas de trait d'union entre meme et le pro- 
 nom. Ex. : nous memes, les dieux memes. 
 
 TOUT. Devant un nom de ville on tolerera 1'accord 
 du mot tout avec le nom propre sans chercher a etablir 
 une difference un peu subtile entre des constructions 
 comme toute Rome ou tout Rome. 
 
 On ne comptera pas de faute non plus a ceux qui 
 ecriront indifferemment, en faisant parler une femme, 
 je suis tout a vous ou je suis toute a vous. 
 
 Lorsque tout est employe avec le sens indefini de 
 chaque, on tolerera indifferemment la construction au 
 singulier ou au pluriel du mot tout et du substantif 
 qu'il' accompagne. Ex.: des marchandises de toute 
 sorte ou de toutes sortes; la sottise est de tout (tous) 
 temps et de tout (tous} pays. 
 
 AUCUN. Avec une negation, on tolerera 1'emploi 
 de ce mot aussi bien au pluriel qu'au singulier. Ex.: 
 ne faire aucun projet ou aucuns projets. 
 
 CHACUN. Lorsque ce pronom est construit apres le 
 verbe et se rapporte a un mot pluriel sujet ou com-
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 77 
 
 plement, on tolerera indifferemment, apres chacun, 
 le possessif son, sa, ses ou le possess! f leur, leurs. 
 Ex. : Us sont sortis chacun de son cote ou de leur cote ; 
 remettre des livres chacun a sa place ou a leur place. 
 
 Verbe. 
 
 VERBES COMPOSES. On tolerera la suppression de 
 1'apostrophe et du trait d'union dans les verbes com- 
 poses. Ex. : entrouvrir, entrecroiser. 
 
 TRAIT D'UNION. On tolerera 1'absence de trait 
 d'union entre le verbe et le pronom sujet place apres 
 le verbe. Ex. : est il. 
 
 DIFFERENCE DU SUJET APPARENT ET DU SUJET REEL. 
 Ex. : sa maladie sont des vapeurs. II n'y a pas lieu 
 d'enseigner de regies pour des constructions sembla- 
 bles dont 1'emploi ne peut etre etudie utilement que 
 dans la lecture et 1'explication des textes. C'est une 
 question de style et non de grammaire qui ne saurait 
 figurer ni dans les exercices elementaires ni dans les 
 examens. 
 
 ACCORD DU VERBE PRECEDE DE PLUSIEURS SUJETS 
 
 NON UNIS PAR LA CONJONCTION et. Si les SUJetS ne 
 
 sont pas resumes par un mot indefini tel que tout, rien, 
 chacun, on tolerera tou jours la construction du verbe 
 au pluriel. Ex. : sa bonte, sa douceur le font admirer. 
 ACCORD DU VERBE PRECEDE DE PLUSIEURS SUJETS AU 
 SINGULIER UNIS PAR ni, comme, ainsi que ET AUTRES 
 LOCUTIONS EQUIVALENTES. On tolerera toujours le 
 verbe au pluriel. Ex. : ni la douceur ni la force n'y 
 peuvent rien ou n'y peut rien; la sante comme la for- 
 tune demandent a etre menagees ou demande a etre 
 menagee; le general avec quelques officiers sont sortis
 
 7" FRENCH PRONUNCIATION 
 
 ou est sorti du camp; le chat ainsi que le tigre sont 
 des carnivores ou est un carnivore. 
 
 ACCORD DU VERBE QUAND LE SUJET EST UN MOT CQL- 
 LECTIF. Toutes les fois que le collectif est accompagne 
 d'un complement au pluriel, on tol.erera Taccord du 
 verbe avec le complement. Ex. : un peu de connois- 
 sance suffit ou suMsent. 
 
 ACCORD DU VERBE QUAND LE SUJET EST plus d'un. 
 L'usage actuel etant de construire le verbe au singu- 
 lier avec le sujet plus d'un, on tolerera la construction 
 du verbe au singulier, meme lorsque plus d'un est 
 suivi d'un complement au pluriel. Ex. : plus d'un dc 
 ces hommes etait ou etaient a plaindre. 
 
 ACCORD DU VERBE PRECEDE DE un de ceux (une de 
 celles} qui. Dans quels cas le verbe de la proposition 
 relative doit-il etre construit au pluriel, et dans quels 
 cas au singulier? C'est une delicatesse de langage 
 qu'on n'essaiera pas d'introduire dans les exercices 
 elementaires ni dans les examens. 
 
 CEST, CE SONT. Comme il regne une grande diver- 
 site d'usage relativement a 1'emploi regulier de c'est 
 et de ce sont, et que les meilleurs auteurs ont employe 
 c'est pour annoncer un substantif au pluriel ou un pro- 
 nom de la troisieme personne au pluriel, on tolerera 
 dans tous les cas I'emploi de c'est au lieu de ce sont. 
 Ex. : c'est ou ce sont des montagnes et des precipices. 
 
 CONCORDANCE ou CORRESPONDANCE DES TEMPS. On 
 tolerera le present du subjonctif au lieu de I'imparfait 
 dans les propositions subordonnees dependant de pro- 
 positions dont le verbe est au conditionnel present. 
 Ex. : il faudrait qu'il vienne ou qu'il innt.
 
 AND PRACTICAL PHONETICS 79 
 
 Participe. 
 
 PARTICIPE PRESENT ET ADJECTIF VERBAL. II con- 
 vient de s'en tenir a la regie generale d'apres laquelle 
 on distingue le participe de 1'adjectif en ce que le 
 premier indique 1'action et le second 1'etat. II suffit 
 que les eleves et les candidats f assent preuve de bon 
 sens dans les cas douteux. On devra eviter avec soin 
 les subtilites dans les exercices. Ex. : des sauvages 
 vivent errant ou errants dans les bois. 
 
 PARTICIPE PASSE. II n'y a rien a changer a la regie 
 d'apres laquelle le participe passe construit cornme 
 epithete doit s'accorder avec le mot qualifie, et con- 
 struit comme attribut avec le verbe etre ou un verbe 
 intransitif, doit s'accorder avec le sujet. Ex. : des 
 fruits gates; Us sont tombes; elles sont tombees. 
 
 Pour le participe passe construit avec 1'auxiliaire 
 avoir, lorsque le participe passe est suivi soit d'un in- 
 finitif, soit d'un participe present ou passe, on tole- 
 rera qui reste invariable, quels que soient le genre et 
 le nombre des complements qui precedent. Ex. : les 
 fruits que je me suis laisse ou laisses prendre; les, 
 sauvages que I' on a trouve ou trouves errant dans le 
 bois. Dans le cas ou le participe passe est precede 
 d'une expression collective, on pourra a volonte le 
 faire accorder avec le collectif ou avec son comple- 
 ment. Ex. : la joule d'hommes que j'ai vue ou vus. 
 
 Adverbe. 
 
 Ne DANS LES PROPOSITIONS SUBORDONNEES. L'em- 
 
 ploi de cette negation dans un tres grand nombre de 
 propositions subordonnees donne lieu a des regies 
 compliquees, difficiles, abusives, souvent en contradic- 
 tion avec 1'usage des ecrivains les plus classiques.
 
 Sans faire de regies differentes suivant que les pro- 
 positions dont elles dependent sont affirmatives ou 
 negatives ou interrogatives, on tolerera la suppression 
 de la negation ne dans les proportions subordonnees 
 dependant de verbes ou de locutions signifiant: 
 
 Empecher, defendre, eviter que, etc. Ex. : defendre 
 qu'on vienne ou qu'on ne vienne; 
 
 Craindre, desesperer, avoir peur, de peur que, etc. 
 Ex. : de peur qu'il aille ou qu'il riaille ; 
 
 Douter, contester, nier que, etc. Ex. : je ne doute 
 pas que la chose soit vraie ou ne soit vraie ; 
 
 II tient a peu, il ne tient pas a, il sen faut que, etc. 
 Ex. : il ne tient pas a moi que cela se fasse ou ne se 
 fasse. 
 
 On tolerera de meme la suppression de cette nega- 
 tion- apres les comparatifs et les mots indiquant une 
 comparaison : autre, autrement que, etc. Ex. : I'an- 
 nee a ete meilleure qu'on I'esperait ou qu'on ne I'es- 
 perait; les resultats sont autres qu'on le croyait ou 
 qu'on le croyait. 
 
 De meme apres les locutions a mains que, avant que. 
 Ex. : d moins qu'on accorde le pardon ou qu'on n'ac- 
 corde le pardon. 
 
 Observation. 
 
 II conviendra, dans les examens, de ne pas compter 
 comme fautes graves celles qui ne prouvent rien centre 
 1'intelligence et le veritable savoir des candidats, mais 
 qui prouvent seulement 1'ignorance de quelque finesse 
 ou de quelque subtilite grammaticale. 
 
 Vu pour etre annexe a 1'arrete du 26 fevrier 1901. 
 
 Le minfetrc de I' Instruction publique et des Beaux- 
 Arts, GEORGES LEYGUES. 
 
 Paris.
 
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