POCKET MANUAL, 
 
 TREATING OP THE SCIENCE OF 
 
 THE FRENCH LANGUAGE, 
 
 PRACTICALLY, PHILOSOPHICALLY AND GRAM- 
 MATICALLY CONSIDERED, 
 
 IN SEPARATE NUMBERS, UNDER THE HEADS OF 
 
 1st, ORTHOGRAPHY, 2d, ETYMOLOGY, 3d, SYNTAX. 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. BARBARA O'SULLIVAN ADDICK* 
 
 _ ma .10 several 
 
 Dedicated to tile Use of Hieh. J? , ^ , 
 
 & he French 
 
 AND 
 
 RECOMMENDED TO THE PERU^ ^ ME * 
 OP ADULT STUDENTS. "Ction, 
 
 ~— — ~~C public 
 
 FIRST NUMBER. tior 
 
 OF ORTHOGRAPHY. SI' 
 
 Comprehending the nature of Vowels and of consonants • th P ,V 
 IT £i° f "^M^tio^Mcento, capacity oTunion ; \ n h d e,r 
 the rules of euphony to be observed in their combi 
 nation mto syllables, and in the sequence of woX 
 
 HEADED BY A PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 ON THE - — > 
 
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF LANGUAGE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA.- 
 1844. 
 

 wording to Act of Congress, in the year 1844. 
 
 i 
 
 ! 
 
 BY B. C. C. ADDICKS, 
 
 k's Office of the District Court of the United 
 u and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 \ &&h 6 
 
 BTEREOTYPED BY C. W. MURRAY & CO, 
 
TO THE STUDENT. 
 
 Whilst it is with an unfeigned desire of 
 doing good that I recommend to you the 
 perusal of the Manual, the first number of 
 which is here laid before the puolic, I, at 
 the same time, disclaim all pretensions that 
 it can supersede the utility of the several 
 works now in use for teaching the French 
 language, composed and published by men" 
 long In the practice of giving instruction, 
 and possessed of the facilities which public 
 confidence, and a wide circle of operations, 
 can bring to the successful issue of such 
 an enterprise. 
 
 However, as in the course of general read- 
 ing, I had collected many details on the 
 science of language, which I believe would, 
 if classed in a grammatical form, prove use- 
 ful and interesting, I did not hesitate to enter 
 on the task, the first result of which pre- 
 sents itself in the form of this small volume, 
 
 iii 
 
IV 
 
 which, under the head orthography, treats 
 exclusively on the sounds, articulations and 
 accents of the French language, and on their 
 union and use in syllables and words. 
 
 You will perceive, that in lieu of follow- 
 ing the usual march of technical methods, I 
 have adopted that of teaching the use and 
 practice of the elements of language, by first 
 unfolding the philosophical principles of 
 those elements to the eyes, the ear, and the 
 comprehension of the pupil. If in the effect, 
 which may result from this plan, I should 
 not succeed to the extent of my reasonable 
 expectations, I still can hope that it will 
 prove so far favourable, as to incite a spirit 
 of inquiry which in the end shall promote 
 the complete understanding of all the facul- 
 ties and excellencies appertaining to this 
 pre-eminent gift — the gift of speech. 
 
 Although I have made numerous extracts 
 from the writings of French authors, I have 
 not thought it obligatory to give repeated 
 notice of it in the body of this work, 
 inasmuch as it could not have served any 
 
better purpose than to have crowded its lines 
 with useless parentheses. Besides, I have 
 written much from memory*, and in citing 
 other men's opinion, have not seldom mixed 
 with theirs, ideas purely my own. On the 
 whole, critics must be aware that, in works 
 of this nature, little can be said that has not 
 been touched upon by previous writers. 
 Therefore, if even I cannot claim any merit, 
 save that of having brought within reaeh of 
 every class of students, and in the compass 
 of a small portable book, principles and 
 illustrations hitherto scattered throughout 
 the numerous leaves of expensive and un- 
 wieldy volumes, and often rendered obscure 
 through disputed and conflicting opinions, 
 I shall have done much to facilitate study — 
 save time — avoid expense, and guard against 
 the dangers of lassitude. 
 
 * Looking over the printed pages of this work, I 
 discovered the omission of two important items: 
 1. That of special remarks on the diphthong ot, for 
 which I refer you to the article diphthongs, in the 
 summary, page 93. 2. That of the particle tres, 
 for which you will turn to the article trait-d'union, 
 in the summary, page 96. 
 
 a2 • 
 
VI 
 
 Next to page 91 of this work follows a 
 summary of the whole of its contents, which 
 you will find useful as a table of reference, 
 and to which you are requested to direct 
 your attention. 
 
 To conclude — if in your mind, the pe- 
 rusal of this little book create a share, how- 
 ever small, of the interest which I felt whilst 
 occupied in writing it, the completion of my 
 task will have received its best reward. 
 
 Barbara O'Sullivan Addicks. 
 
 Philadelphia, March, 1844. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 ON 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 To enter on all the argument which 
 necessarily would arise from aiming at a 
 thorough investigation of this subject, would 
 not only form a volume of itself, but prove 
 inconsistent with the simplicity and brevity 
 of a work, the intention of which is to 
 lead the student to a knowledge and prac- 
 tice of rules founded on established facts. 
 Therefore, in the few remarks which follow, 
 the writer is less influenced by the desire of 
 a laboured display of erudition than by 
 actual sentiments arising from a religious 
 view of the pre-eminent faculties of speech 
 
 IN MAN. 
 
 The origin and successive history of lan- 
 guage has, at all times, been the subject of 
 much curious inquiry. Homer, entranced in 
 the enthusiastic contemplation of his poetic 
 images, coloured, as they were, with the 
 glow and harmony of his songs, hesitated 
 not to pronounce language to have been 
 made known to man by divine revelation. 
 
 vii 
 
via 
 
 Hesiod was of the same opinion, Plato 
 so excelled in the beauty, and in the lofti- 
 ness of his language, that he was called 
 the divine — the Homer of Philosophy ; and 
 at his birth, bees are said to have made 
 honey on his lips. How oft has it not 
 been said, Shakspeare spoke as if he were 
 more than man. On reading or listening 
 to a perfect composition, the mind is re- 
 freshed, and the purest sentiments of our 
 nature breathe, as it were, anew within 
 us. Language speaks to the heart as do 
 the mild winds, the ripened fruits, the fra- 
 grant flowers, the mossy verdure, the songs 
 of birds, the variegated earth, the blue 
 azure, the heaving waves, to each of our 
 senses. — It speaks of God — of a parental 
 God. 
 
 Looking at language, in the light of its 
 effect on the social system, great, indeed, 
 seems to be its influence on the weal or woe 
 of mankind. How much hath not a word 
 done to prosper or to destroy, to soothe or 
 to afflict, to heal the wounds of the past, or 
 make them bleed anew. What blight has 
 not the callous tale-bearing of the obdurate 
 defamer occasioned — what sorrows the in- 
 considerate rehearsal of it from the lips of 
 the unwary ? Volumes could be filled with 
 citations from a small number only of the 
 countless instances of utter desolation occa- 
 
IX 
 
 sioned by the unabating thirst of relentless 
 defamation. A demon which no prayer can 
 move, no consideration restrain, and the 
 working of whose cruel rage increases in 
 proportion to the anguish it causes. At its 
 approach, " the good that men do" is thickly 
 palled over with the vapours of its en- 
 venomed breath, and dark forms of mistrust 
 walk in advance of its helpless victims. A 
 talented writer,* in her Pencilling of Boston, 
 says : " When witches were no longer to be 
 hanged, there were no more witches found." 
 Too much attention cannot be given to the 
 philosophical truth contained in this pithy 
 aphoristic line. Take precept from it, all 
 you who, from what cause soever, have, in 
 your voyage through a stormy life, per- 
 chance unpiloted by parental experience, 
 been driven within the baneful influence 
 of the malevolent spirit — defamation ; man 
 yourselves — rise in the strength of your 
 latent worth, and forthwith this fiend to 
 human joy, but a coward withal, will sink 
 into utter insignificance. However, at the 
 worst, this evil will correct itself. Public 
 education, by expanding the mind, will 
 unshackle the heart, and prove that if know- 
 ledge be the support of the intellect, kindly 
 
 * Miss Leslie — the work here alluded to cannot be 
 too much read. 
 
feelings form the only indissoluble bonds 
 of prosperity and unity among a civilized — 
 a Christian people. 
 
 "If I spake all the languages of men and of angels, 
 If I had the gift of prophecy, and all sorts of sciences, 
 If I had not charity, I am nothing." 
 
 The assiduous researches of the learned, 
 to discover traces of an original language, 
 having been unsuccessful, the question re- 
 mains open to future inquiries, with little 
 probability of a definite result ; for as to the 
 similarity existing between languages being 
 admitted in support of the existence of a 
 sole primitive language, it fails in weight of 
 argument altogether, whilst that of their dis- 
 similitude is equally lose of proof to sustain 
 the certainty of a plurality of origin to 
 language. 
 
 On the one hand, man being by nature 
 furnished with organs of articulation fitted 
 to all the purposes of human speech and of 
 mutual intercourse, they are necessarily 
 alike in all men — hence it follows that a 
 similitude may exist, and does exist in all 
 the languages spoken by man. For exam- 
 ple, the labial, liquid, dental, palatal, and 
 guttural articulations, however much varied 
 through combinations or duration, are radi- 
 cally the same in all men. Their signs 
 may differ, the form of their combination 
 
XI 
 
 may differ, and the accidental meaning to 
 which they are applied may differ, still the 
 radical action of the organs will be alike 
 in all. And if it be reasonable to suppose 
 that each articulation of the organs is ex- 
 cited into action correspondently with the 
 effect produced on the mind through the im- 
 pression made on any one of our senses, the 
 admission follows, that the root of very 
 many words may be alike in separate lan- 
 guages, not by reason of a mutual arbitrary 
 origin from one man, or one family of men ; 
 but from that of the incontrovertible fact of 
 the positive likeness of the organs of speech 
 in all men, in consonance with the predis- 
 posed similarity of impressions natural to 
 the human mind. 
 
 On the other hand, can we wonder that 
 man, separated by climes, having different 
 shadows, living under different physical and 
 moral influences, experiencing in the imme- 
 diate circle of an accidental separate social 
 existence, endless varieties of the impres- 
 sions common to his universal nature, should 
 vary in the peculiar mode of wording his 
 ideas of them? Even in a community of 
 men speaking the same language, and living 
 under the same civil and moral influence, 
 there will, from the accident of a mere 
 geographical position, evince itself a marked 
 diversity of utterance. In a late congres- 
 
XI 1 
 
 sional report, the writer, speaking in praise 
 of the energetic talents of a new member 
 from the far west, says: "His only dis- 
 advantage was the consequence resulting 
 from his great power of voice, which did not 
 admit any of the softer modulations. He 
 rose — his tall figure, free and erect — eyes 
 beaming with intelligence— and in words 
 full of import, addressed the House as if 
 speaking to some one across his native 
 prairies.*" If, through some political convul- 
 sion, the part of the union to which this 
 member belongs were suddenly severed from 
 all intercourse with the Atlantic states, it is not 
 unreasonable to conclude that, in the course 
 of a century, a systematic difference would 
 distinguish the utterance of that trans-moun- 
 tainous community from that of its eastward 
 parental stock. 
 
 Whilst the fact of the existence of regu- 
 larly kept astronomical records in the San- 
 scrit, and in the Chinese languages, for an 
 uninterrupted period of 4000 years, has esta- 
 blished the prior antiquity of both in an 
 equal degree, it has also confirmed the no 
 less evident truth of their distinct and sepa- 
 rate origin. The Sanscrit is the most per- 
 
 * See from page 21 to 35 of the first number of 
 my lectures on education, second edition, N. Y., 
 1837. Pro. Epi. press. 
 
Xll] 
 
 feet language known, it is eminently poly- 
 syllabic, rich in grammatical forms, and 
 adapted to rules of euphony, stamped with 
 the evidence of consummate intelligence, and 
 of the highest culture ; whereas, the Chinese 
 is absolutely monosyllabic, abounding in 
 written signs, poor in syllables, and might 
 be judged of arbitrary meaning. 
 
 Philologists are of opinion that the He- 
 brew,* and the class of languages called 
 semetic, such as the Greek, the Teutonic, 
 Sclavonic, Coptic, kc, are more or less 
 ancient, and are originally from the San- 
 scrit with a mixture of the Chinese. Bring- 
 ing this opinion to bear on the languages, 
 
 * A few days since, an intelligent lady told me 
 that a friend of hers, who was both rich and in the 
 enjoyment of leisure, had, by way of having something 
 to do, turned her attention to the study of the Hebrew, 
 which to her delight she found to be a language of 
 exceeding sweetness and harmony. The aged widow 
 of the great mathematician, Ferdinand Rudolph Hass- 
 ler, late United States' superintendent of the coast sur- 
 vey, being present, related that in her early life, she saw 
 much of the higher rank of women among the Jews* 
 They all spoke the Hebrew fluently, nor were her 
 ears ever tired listening to the melody of its accent, 
 It is a marvel to me that a language said to contain 
 the original documents in support of the doctrine of 
 our faith — or, to speak in the language of Schiller 
 — a vessel which hath conveyed to us such a whole- 
 some beverage, should be so little known and ap- 
 preciated. 
 B 
 
XIV 
 
 the actual knowledge of which is at our 
 hand, we discover that the Greek presents a 
 close imitation of the Sanscrit — the German 
 has its fecundity of compounded terms — the 
 Latin, through the instrumentality of the 
 Greek, has been enriched with much of 
 its inflection, terminology and grammatical 
 science, which, in its turn, it has imparted in 
 a greater or in a less degree to all the lan- 
 guages of modern Europe. 
 
 If, without dwelling longer on things of 
 which the influence is fading in the distance, 
 we direct our attention to events of a com- 
 paratively modern date, the result afflicts the 
 mind with sadness, as we become sensible 
 of the limited length of years, and the 
 mournful exit of nations, even so of the 
 most gifted. 
 
 First we behold infant Greece, tending 
 the earliest shoot of freedom. Under the 
 genial influence of her happy clime, grateful 
 for each beneficent product of her virgin 
 soil, all things to her assume a godlike at- 
 tribute, and designate the epoch of her heroic 
 age. Soon she rises in the strength of her 
 wisdom, and philosophy indelibly stamps 
 her renown through each of its circling 
 years. Now she teems with a gorgeous as- 
 semblage of orators, poets and artists, she 
 revels in the beau ideal of her noonday — 
 she reposes at eve amid the mellowed tints 
 
XV 
 
 of her own imaginings. Alas ! the inexora- 
 ble Parca have accomplished their task. 
 Yet, ere Greece is severed from the ranks 
 of nations, she bequeaths to Rome the im- 
 pression of her genius. Of her Apelles 
 nought is left save the name. No echo re- 
 lieves the silence of her sacred groves — her 
 temples are crumbling into dust. The linea- 
 ments of her Niobe and of her Laocoon are 
 effaced — « Greece is living Greece no more ; r 
 but she still dwells with us in her language : 
 we hear the voice of her bards — we draw 
 wisdom from her sages— we deduce precepts 
 from her legislators— we learn from her rhe- 
 toricians—emulate her orator — weep with 
 her tragic muse. 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfavourable influ- 
 ence of the stern and warlike spirit of Rome, 
 and the consequent ceaselessness of turmoil 
 by which she was agitated, still Grecian 
 learning and art took deep root in her soil ; 
 and if we do not look on her with the fond- 
 ness which we did on Greece, we feel not the 
 less the power of her name, nor can we with- 
 hold our admiration of her glory and useful- 
 ness, the knowledge and evidence of which 
 is handed down to us in the well-studied 
 language of her historians— her orators— 
 poets — naturalists — tacticians — j urists, and 
 a host of her warriors and practical men. 
 But neither the brilliant sway of Augustus — 
 
XVI 
 
 that favoured epoch of universal peace dis- 
 tinguished by the birth of the Saviour of the 
 world — nor the milder reign of Titus, the 
 delight of mankind, could arrest the dark 
 hour of Rome's downfal — and although it 
 approached slowly, and years rolled on be- 
 tween, still it came full soon. Ancient Rome 
 fell. — Her Forum is silent. — Her Colliseum 
 totters in the broad light of day, and moans 
 of the past only when encircled by the 
 timid shadows of the pale moon. But the 
 language of the Romans is with us. ]t has 
 taught us in war — it has framed our code in 
 peace — it has guided our plough, and is the 
 immediate tablet on which we have pencilled 
 our own, and in which each of our words 
 would seem to mirror itself. 
 
 From the irruption of the Goths over the 
 fair face of Italy, to the accession of Charle- 
 magne, a period of about 600 years, the 
 scholar finds little congenial to study ; and 
 save the faint glimmering of erudition kept 
 burning within the close and narrow cell of 
 the lonely monks, the European nations were 
 merged in the extreme of ignorance. The 
 Latin language, corrupted by the currents 
 of barbaric dialects which ran through it, 
 was fast falling into disuse. Crude tongues 
 usurped its place, and so prostrated were the 
 arts and the sciences ; so enfeebled was in- 
 telligence ; so dormant was talent, that had it 
 
XV11 
 
 not been for the preserving influence of 
 Christianity, it is difficult to imagine by 
 what power else a total disorganization of 
 civilized society could have been averted 
 from becoming the final doom of the Euro- 
 pean world. But religion held the balance. 
 The life — the sufferings — the death of the 
 Saviour, were things of a comparatively re- 
 cent date ; and the mind of man, ever active 
 in its search for some object from which to 
 draw inspiration, gave itself up with un- 
 limited enthusiasm to. all the charms of 
 Christian worship 5 and what unphilosophi- 
 cally has been designated as an age of 
 superstition,* was nothing less than the 
 poetic out-pouring of the souPs yearning 
 for those bright promises, of which the 
 sacerdotal ceremonies of the church pre- 
 sented so many winning symbols. 
 
 Meanwhile, some of the relics of Grecian 
 and Roman literature had been treasured by 
 the Arabs, who were also professing astro- 
 nomy, algebra, the mathematics, chemistry 
 and medicine; all of which sciences, being 
 little understood by the people in general, 
 were looked upon with an eye of distrust. 
 
 Charles the Great, who, to consummate 
 
 * A word misapplied, as it implies fear, whereas 
 gratitude and love to an ecstatic degree were the 
 movers of the Christian man at that earlv age. 
 
 b 2 2 
 
XV111 
 
 valour in war, added the higher qualities of 
 being the friend of peace, and the patron of 
 science, threw the weight of his personal 
 example, and of his imperial influence, in 
 lavour of learning. Nevertheless, those sin- 
 gle efforts, could only be of slow result, and 
 of limited extent. Some powerful impulse 
 was required, and this was produced by an 
 event unprecedented in the history of nations. 
 
 A lonely French hermit, unknown to fame, 
 urged by the sufferings he had witnessed 
 inflicted on the pilgrims to the Holy Land, 
 brought the moving tale to the ears of his 
 countrymen ; the effect was instantaneous, 
 and the world beheld, during more than 
 three half centuries, the w T hole strength of 
 Christendom under arms against the Ma- 
 hometans, to gain possession of, or rather 
 to obtain unmolested access to, the humble 
 sepulchre of Jesus of Nazareth — which in 
 the end is said to have cost the lives of 
 200,000,000 of men!!! 
 
 We may cavil about this or that point of 
 faith, and each, in our little knots, call this 
 or that superstition, or what else we please ; 
 but where is the man or set of men bold 
 enough to pronounce aught disparagingly of 
 this mighty effect of a boundless religious 
 enthusiasm — in the presence of which the 
 human heart is silent ! 
 
 The crusade, by bringing together under 
 
XIX 
 
 *ne common banner, and one union of pur- 
 pose, all the princes and nobles of every 
 Christian nation, without regard to private 
 jealousy and interest, paved the way to 
 future national intercourse, whilst the pure 
 motives that animated the zeal of the cru- 
 saders, being free from all grosser desires of 
 worldly gain, was calculated to excite the 
 developement of all the nobler virtues. Ef- 
 fectively, devotion and bravery went hand in 
 hand, a new impulse was given to chivalry, 
 and to those generous sentiments which, 
 under the name of romance, never fail to 
 have a salutary influence on the human cha- 
 racter. In the intervals of bloody strife, the 
 ensanguined hue of which was mantled over 
 by piety and valour, we behold each adverse 
 party meeting under the safe conduct of 
 mutual courtesy, and with mutual desire to 
 excel in the art of reciprocating well de- 
 served praise. Enmity took no part in this 
 holy war. Men fought with ardour, and 
 the victor laid his laurels at the foot of the 
 Cross. In proportion to this exalted tone 
 of sentiment arose the respect paid to 
 women. — The type of piety in all times. — 
 She was each warrior's tutelary genius — 
 hence, in hymns of adoration to God, and 
 songs of constancy to women, we discover 
 the first dawn of the renovation of intel- 
 lectual culture. 
 
XX 
 
 The legends of the crusade— the anthems 
 sung by these early Christians— the spirit 
 of seclusion — the romances of love, are each 
 full of interest, pathos, beauty, and poetic 
 ardour, as from it ive also perceive the culti- 
 vation of language to be again in the ascend- 
 ent. The order of chivalry — tournaments — 
 court-festivals — gallantry — a pomp of wor- 
 ship, unequalled for splendour in the annals 
 of religious forms — poetry — painting — sta- 
 tuary — architecture — all that can embellish 
 life — nurse enthusiasm — elevate the mind 
 and move the heart — is pre-eminently cha- 
 racteristic of that time. The cultivation of 
 language, and the consequent renewal of 
 literature, opened the way to the sciences 
 Inventions, discoveries, and a general spirit 
 of enterprise, facilitated the aspirations of 
 speculative minds — men wanted room — and 
 it would seem as if the sentiments of a mo- 
 mentous destiny were casting its shadows in 
 advance of its happening — so tremulous the 
 impressions — so gorgeous the spectacle — so 
 positive the facts that stamped the character 
 of that period. 
 
 To Isabella of Castile, is due the imperish- 
 able renown of having lent the support of 
 her munificence in favour of the long and 
 fervently projected plan of Columbus, to sail 
 on a voyage of discovery westward of Eu- 
 rope. To endurance and piety, on the side 
 
XXI 
 
 of this learned navigator, was added great 
 personal courage, and an unshaken reliance 
 in the truth of his theory. Effectively, he 
 sailed, and straightway a new world of vast 
 extent, stretching from pole to pole — gigantic 
 in all its features— rich in all the produce of 
 earth — inhabited by races of red meri of 
 free stature and graceful carriage — speaking 
 a language lofty in sound and grand in 
 images — living under an absolute form of 
 government, and in the practice of habits of 
 the most finished hospitality — such a world, 
 in all its freshness and grandeur, arose be- 
 fore the silent gaze of the old world. 
 
 Language must take breath ere it can por- 
 tray the ecstasy of Europe at this magnifi- 
 cent — this unparalleled manifestation of the 
 work of an Almighty hand ! At the news, 
 methinks, I see the voiceless surprise of the 
 learned. The silence must have been pro- 
 found. Who could speak the thrilling fact ! 
 In every city — from every habitation — men 
 must have come forth with looks of wonder 
 and exultation. Malice, envy, distrust and 
 all the petty passions of little minds, all the 
 strivings of self-interest, all the scruples of 
 ignorance must have hidden themselves from 
 the face of that day. The human mind 
 held a universal jubilee, and whispering 
 spirits entranced every heart with the glad- 
 dening intelligence, that the highway of 
 
XXII 
 
 intercourse being now open to all nations of 
 the earth, universal civilisation, and all the 
 prophesied blessings of Christianity were at 
 hand. 
 
 Inscrutable are the ways of Providence ! — 
 A world fair and bland in all its parts, and 
 inviting to repose and to peace, is given to a 
 Christian nation — a civilized people — and 
 brute-like, they trample, despoil and deluge 
 it with the blood of its confiding inhabitants. 
 The love of gold usurps the seat of hu- 
 manity, of gratitude, and of justice — and 
 science weeps over the desecration which 
 effaces all the records of this newly dis- 
 covered wor]d — and closes for ever all avenue 
 to the knowledge of its origin. — All traces 
 of the history and existence of that people 
 are effaced, save its language — which, in va- 
 rious forms, is still left to bear witness that 
 they once were, and are now no more ! 
 
 As at the opening of this note, it was stated 
 not to be written with the intention of dis- 
 playing learning, it being simply composed 
 from the casual knowledge of facts drawn 
 from general reading, and now, unaided by 
 a single means of reference, called into use, 
 and supported by arguments originating in 
 the views taken of them by the writer; it 
 is confidently expected, that if here and there 
 these views prove less influenced by a sys- 
 tematic order of chronological enumeration 
 
xxm 
 
 of passing events, thari by reflection arising 
 from them ; faults against mere registering 
 accuracy will be passed over in consideration 
 of the sentiments to which they are made 
 to give place, and the paradox, that an error 
 which produces good, is no error at all, may 
 find advocates. 
 
 Therefore, in continuation of what has al- 
 ready been said of the violation of all rights 
 in respect to the utter destruction brought on 
 the confiding inhabitants of the new world, 
 it can unhesitatingly be added, that this 
 monstrous example of gratuitous cupidity, 
 inhumanity and irreligion, on the part of one 
 nation towards another, has not a parallel 
 in the records of mankind — and that, too, 
 against a people so meek, so new to intrigue, 
 so unsophisticated, as, in the simplicity of 
 their mind, and the open hospitality of their 
 nature, to give all — " asking but to spare. 55 
 
 The palaces of the Montezumas — the tem- 
 ples of the Incas — altars — priests — rulers — 
 people — traditions — all are swept into the 
 abyss of the past, " leaving not a wreck 
 behind," saving that which can never perish 
 — the conceptions of the mind portrayed by 
 language. 
 
 In the absolute annihilation of the empires, 
 and of the people of the new world, science 
 shall ever deplore the loss of the opportunity 
 of studying the last and most imnortant page* 
 
XXIV 
 
 which its discovery laid open in favour of a 
 farther, and perchance, final progress into 
 the knowledge of the history of mankind. 
 A page now so completely effaced as to 
 leave not the slightest trace whereby to 
 point out its origin, its antiquity, or by 
 what connecting index it could have been 
 booked in the volumes of any known na- 
 tion on earth. 
 
 It is not farther back than half a cen- 
 tury, since the aboriginal languages of Ame- 
 rica have become a serious subject of in- 
 quiry on the part of philologists. Among 
 these, none have shown a greater interest 
 than the learned jurist, and accomplished 
 scholar, the venerable Duponceau — and al- 
 though this curious subject presents itself 
 under the unfavourable form of the straggling 
 dialects spoken by the equally straggling re- 
 mains of the North American Indians, still 
 their claim to rank among the most perfect 
 models of human speech will not admit of 
 a doubt. They are grandiloquous in a 
 superlative degree, eminently polysyllabic, 
 and replete with grammatical forms, so ac- 
 curate and nice in their distribution, as 
 to seem — says Mr. Duponceau — to have 
 been composed by a set of philosophers. 
 On carrying this idea farther, we come to 
 the conclusion, that as philosophy is neither 
 more nor less than the knowledge of the 
 
XXV 
 
 principles of things together with their 
 use in producing a certain effect, the red 
 man of the forest, with the book of nature 
 open before him, was as likely to be a philo- 
 sopher, as we with our printed pages, by the 
 dubious light of a lamp. It has been admitted 
 by learned writers, that because men, in a 
 less advanced state of society, may have 
 had only few wants — it did not argue that 
 they had few ideas. Does not tradition tell 
 us that the first astronomers were shepherds ; 
 who, in the stillness and solitude of tending 
 their flocks, directed their minds to the con- 
 templation of the stars ? On the other hand, 
 it may not be unreasonable to suppose, that 
 language being the result of an intuitive 
 faculty whereby man gives a form to his 
 ideas, such forms will of consequence be 
 expected to convey graphic images of those 
 ideas to the mind — and in this consists the 
 superiority and precision of original lan- 
 guages over those of arbitrary adoption. 
 
 A distinctive feature of the aboriginal lan- 
 guages of America is said to rest on the fact, 
 that their compounded parts, when separated, 
 have not any meaning whatsoever. Not 
 presuming to dispute the ground on which 
 this opinion rests, I would simply point out 
 that the difficulty of analyzing the parts of 
 words for which there are no written signs, 
 and which are cognisant to the ear only, 
 
XXVI 
 
 and that in their combined forms, subjected 
 to all the accidents appertaining to utterance, 
 is great indeed. Suppose the English lan- 
 guage was not a written language — a fo- 
 reigner, who had got so far as to compre- 
 hend the words — pocket, book, fire, tongs, 
 pen, knife — would pass easily to the com- 
 prehension of the words — pocket-book, fire- 
 tongs, pen-knife — -whereas he would be at 
 a loss for some leading genera, to the com- 
 prehension of the words, assume, presume, 
 resume, consume, inasmuch as neither the 
 word sume, or its particles — as, pre, re, 
 con — could convey to his understanding the 
 various and accidental intentions of the mind 
 represented by the substantive verb sum, 
 subjected to the various features given to its 
 application by the prepositive a, meaning a 
 tendence to, the accidental requisition of the 
 s being to make it short; pre meaning in 
 advance of; re, meaning again; and con, 
 meaning with. However, there is hope that 
 the day is now approaching, in which we 
 shall see the red man take his rank among 
 the Christian nations — when in the cultiva- 
 tion of his lofty and sonorous language new 
 features in the science of human speech will 
 be developed. 
 
 From the date of the discovery of Ame- 
 rica, the face of society began to undergo 
 a rapid change. Its ancient habits were 
 
XXV11 
 
 broken down, and a resistless impulse of 
 enterprise stepped in advance of all other 
 incentives to action. Men, in tearing them- 
 selves from the homes of their fathers — 
 from the ties of kindred and of country — 
 from their mother -earth— fell on the sad 
 realities of life, unembellished, unsweetened 
 by the charms of sympathy, and the endear- 
 ments of early associations. In short, facts, 
 unadorned by the fond and poetic colours of 
 fancy, impressed their arid forms on the 
 mind, and on the heart of the new made man, 
 fitting him indeed for the more extended 
 operations of public concerns, but sadly 
 against the inclination to quiet and privacy 
 appertaining to the human mind, and at the 
 sacrifice of the best emotions of the heart. 
 
 The Reformation, without regard to the 
 weakness and wants of poor humanity, held 
 a mirror in which the seducing features of a 
 religion of charity and love were dimmed by 
 the sterner tenets of its imperative obligation 
 on the mind ; and whilst all things worked 
 to bring nations into one great whole — man 
 ceased to be united to man. 
 
 In the great walks of national enterprise, 
 England stood pre-eminent, under the sway 
 of a monarch, the most able, and the most 
 absolute of any that ever occupied the British 
 throne: a woman, who hesitated not to 
 sacrifice the highest destiny of her sex to the 
 
xxvm 
 
 welfare of her subjects, and to the enduring 
 advantages and prosperity of her realms. 
 Elizabeth laid the solid foundation of Eng- 
 land's greatness, and opened the way to the 
 extensive influence which she exercises on 
 the Christian as on the commercial world. 
 Under the patronage of this queen, who her- 
 self was versed in the Greek and Latin lan- 
 guages, the English tongue rose steadily on 
 towards the height of power which it now 
 possesses, and which gives it a universality 
 unknown in the annals of the languages of 
 all preceding ages. It is the language of the 
 greater portion of this vast continent, now 
 teeming with a population sprung from her 
 loins. It has spread its dominion in India, 
 and is taking root in the countless isles that 
 bebroider every sea. England, in her lan- 
 guage, as in her commerce, is emphatically 
 sustained by tributes paid to her activity and 
 usefulness ; whilst her insular position, and 
 the ascendency which she has justly ob- 
 tained through the prudence and foresight 
 of her statesmen, and the operating influence 
 of her writers in almost every field of 
 science, together with the opportunities 
 which her wealth and policy have given to 
 foreigners to serve her in serving them- 
 selves, promises her a long continuance in 
 the rank of nations. 
 
 On reading her poets, not imagination and 
 
XXIX 
 
 sentiments alone, but facts and practice 
 speak in their page •, whilst the tone of her 
 social intercourse, her free debates, her 
 courts of justice, her legislative halls, her 
 numerous incorporated, commercial, manu- 
 facturing, agricultural and scientific bodies, 
 are so many arena, in which her language is 
 schooled to take the several forms best fitted 
 to secure undisputed command in each. 
 
 The French, who, since the time of Clovis, 
 and more especially from that of Charles the 
 Great, had become first in the new empire, 
 were also the first, who, after the disuse of 
 the Latin, began to raise their language 
 above those spoken by the inhabitants of 
 modern Europe, as in the cultivation of the 
 language of Provence, and in the songs of the 
 Troubadours is seen the earliest dawn of light 
 breaking through the cloud of ignorance 
 in which the mind of man was enveloped. 
 This glorious nation, whose social, moral, 
 and intellectual sway on the character of 
 society has predominated over that of the 
 rest of Europe — practised an equal influence 
 through her language, which until within a 
 century past was the acknowledged language 
 of politeness and diplomacy; and although 
 now, that the English has risen to the emi- 
 nence which her boundless commerce, and 
 the talents of her writers justly claim for her ; 
 that the German has assumed the high station 
 
 C £ 
 
XXX 
 
 which her rich store of original words and 
 her abundant literature give her the right to 
 hold ; that the Italian rills the ear with her 
 melody ; that in the grandeur and sonorous 
 tones of her aspirated periods, Spain pre- 
 serves the relics of her ancient chivalric re- 
 nown — still the French language, through its 
 ease, its philosophy, and the clearness of its 
 diction, preserves its empire as the language 
 of courtesy, of conversation, of diplomacy, 
 and of the exact sciences throughout the 
 civilized world. 
 
 The perfect models of composition pre- 
 sented to us in the works of the French and 
 English writers of the 17th and 18th centu- 
 ries, as also those of the more recent writ- 
 ings of Franklin, Adams, Madison, Mar- 
 shal and others, cannot be made the subject 
 of too serious a study and emulation, the 
 more so, as out of works purely scientific, 
 the literature of the present day would seem 
 to partake more of the character of merchan- 
 dise than that of intellectual culture ; and is 
 withal hurried through the press with a 
 degree of recklessness proportionate to the 
 unreasonable thirst for novelty which is a 
 feature peculiar to all the concerns of life in 
 the present age. This might be passed over as 
 unimportant, and as an evil which in the end 
 would work out its own cure, were it not 
 that it has an influence disastrous to the 
 
purity of language. The necessary rapidity 
 of composition to meet the exigency and 
 competition of trade, together with the pre- 
 sent florid style used in public speaking, and 
 in writing, gives occasion to the most in- 
 congruous and grotesque* assemblage of 
 words, that could well be imagined — and 
 against the false glare of which, good critics 
 should employ a rigid check — the more so 
 as in Europe, and also in this country, this 
 evil has become general. 
 
 This Note having already trespassed on 
 the limits prescribed by the nature of the 
 work to which it is prefixed, it is found im- 
 practicable to enter on the important details 
 which would grow out of fixing the mind on 
 each of the successive and oft sad events, 
 which in rapid haste have followed each 
 other since the day that beheld a world given 
 to the Spanish crown, in return for which 
 the hands of the munificent giver were mana- 
 cled in chains. However, human speech 
 leaves not its task undone — this monstrous 
 example of ingratitude ! The moving spec- 
 tacle of the silent bark of the Pilgrim Fathers, 
 crossing an unknown sea towards an ice- 
 bound shore ; the solemn assembly of the 
 Fathers and Signers of the American De- 
 claration of Independence; the mournful 
 
 • See note (A), Page 100. 
 
XXX11 
 
 &te of the meek Louis the XVI. ; Napoleon 
 chained to the sea-girt rock — these, and 
 many more samples of the deeds of men 9 
 shall language indelibly trace on the leaves 
 of history. 
 
 With this great truth before us, and in the 
 spirit of Confucius, let us not trust to the 
 present, but take counsel from the Future, 
 and make the Past our Friend. 
 
MANUAL 
 
 OP 
 
 THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The word language is derived from the 
 Latin, lingua, meaning the tongue, this organ 
 being the principal one employed in producing 
 speech. In grammar, by the word language 
 is understood the faculty of speech in man. 
 The German term, & p x a c I) t, is more graphic, 
 and the Greek, Xoyo<;, more comprehensive of 
 its varied powers. 
 
 The elements of language are sounds and 
 articulations. Sound, derived from the Latin, 
 sonus, is produced by an impulse on the air. 
 Articulation, from the Latin, articulatio, is 
 the jointing of any organ. 
 
 In language the organs of sound are the 
 lungs and the breath ; those of the articula- 
 tions are the throat, palate, tongue, teeth, lips 
 and nostrils ; and although without the breath 
 the articulations could not be sounded, never- 
 theless it is through these last that the former 
 3 
 
receives the perfect utterance which distin- 
 guishes human speech. 
 
 Of the ancient language of the Francs or 
 French, dwellers on the right borders of the 
 Rhine, whence they are supposed to have 
 emigrated, under the guidance of their 
 king, Pharamond, at about the beginning 
 of the fifth century, not two hundred words 
 are left in support of its Celtic origin; 
 whereas, the abundance of Latinity in the 
 modern French, both in point of terminology 
 and grammatical forms, justly gives it the title 
 of being called a Latin dialect, improved to 
 a high degree of culture, systematically 
 studied from Latin and Greek models. 
 
 OF THE SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 The science of language is called gram- 
 mar, from the Greek, ygctpaTixt, meaning 
 learned in letters, as y^a^ocrmoq is equivalent 
 to what we understand by men of letters. In 
 its common acceptation, the word grammar 
 signifies the art of speaking and of writing 
 a language correctly ; that is to say, in ac- 
 cordance with good usage, and from a tho- 
 rough comprehension of the rules laid down 
 to that effect by grammarians. 
 
OP GRAMMAR. 
 
 This science is commonly divided into 
 four parts, namely, Orthography, Etymology, 
 Syntax and Prosody ; but as prosody, abstract- 
 edly considered, apart from its bearing on 
 quantity and measure in verse, stands in ab- 
 solute relation to orthography, it is as well 
 to treat of both under one head, leaving the 
 specific subject of versification to the after- 
 researches of each student individually. 
 
 In accordance with this view, the science 
 of the French language, practically, philoso- 
 phically, and grammatically considered, under 
 the separate heads of orthography, etymology 
 and syntax, makes up the contents of the 
 Manual, the first number of which, treating 
 on orthography, now claims the attention of 
 students. 
 
FIRST NUMBER. 
 
 Orthography. 
 
 The compounded term orthography, to 
 Which may be added its relatives, orthology 
 and orthoepy, is derived from the Greek, M q , 
 meaning straight, regular, right, correct, 
 
 WITH REASON, JUDGMENT, &C, and y. a (po 9 
 
 meaning, I write, trace, engrave, draw, enact 
 a law, &c, as the terminatives, logy, is 
 derived from ;\o W , meaning a thing spoken, 
 a word, an opinion, a treatise, definition, 
 reason, oration, proportion, thought, con- 
 struction, &c, and epy, from * m , I speak, 
 utter, pronounce, command, &c, all of which 
 terms, in their application to the science of 
 grammar, under the generic name " ortho- 
 graphy," teach the form and power of let- 
 ters, the correct method of combining them 
 into words, and of writing, speaking, and *. 
 
 pronouncing them in accordance with a just ^^ 
 
 understanding of their several faculties, re- 
 duced to fixed rules, originating in the wis- 
 dom of a preconceived system— namely, in 
 obedience to the laws of the philosophy of 
 that science. 
 
6 
 
 Of Letters. 
 
 The French derive the word letter from 
 the Latin liter a ; but as the Latins are said 
 to have received the art of writing from the 
 Greeks, it is not improbable that this term is 
 derived from the Greek, PuOo, meaning stone, 
 and TE*^y, to wear away, to stamp, to pic- 
 ture, &c. — hence the comprehensive term 
 lithography, to write, draw, or engrave on 
 stone. The German word, Backtab, is 
 equally graphic. 
 
 In grammar, letters are signs which repre- 
 sent sounds or articulations, and make the 
 least part of a word ; nor is it to be thought 
 that they are arbitrary either as to their forms 
 or the use of them in the composition of 
 words ; for, on a close investigation of the 
 subject, there appears an admirable nicety in 
 fitting the word to the object for which it 
 stands, as also in giving to each of the signs 
 that compose the word a shape imitative of 
 the form and action of the organ employed in 
 its pronunciation. 
 
 When the letters of any given language 
 are placed in a certain given order, such an 
 order of placing them is called the alphabet 
 of that language, a word composed of a\q>oi 
 and Qstci, the two first letters in the Greek 
 alphabet. 
 
Of the Alphabet of the French Language. 
 
 The alphabet of the French language con- 
 tains twenty-five letters, all of which are 
 masculine, and pronounced by means of the 
 final e mute. Their signs, names, and order 
 of place, is as follows : 
 
 a named Pa 
 
 n named le ne 
 
 b " 
 
 le be 
 
 o 
 
 44 
 
 Po 
 
 c " 
 d " 
 e « 
 
 le ce 
 le de 
 Pe 
 
 P 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 44 
 44 
 44 
 
 le pe 
 le que 
 le re 
 
 f « 
 
 lefe 
 
 s 
 
 44 
 
 le se 
 
 g " 
 
 h " 
 
 le gue 
 le he 
 
 t 
 u 
 
 44 
 44 
 
 le te 
 Pu 
 
 i « 
 
 Pi 
 
 V 
 
 44 
 
 le ve 
 
 J " 
 
 leje 
 
 X 
 
 44 
 
 le xe 
 
 k « 
 1 « 
 
 le ke 
 lele 
 
 y 
 
 z 
 
 44 
 44 
 
 Pi-grec 
 le ze 
 
 m " 
 
 le me 
 
 
 
 
 Of the Division of Letters. 
 
 Letters are divided into two distinct classes 
 of signs. Those of the first class are called 
 sounds, or vowels, Latin, vocalis, from vox, 
 voice ; and those of the second class, articu- 
 lations, or consonants, from the Latin, con- 
 sonanS) with-sounding. 
 
8 
 
 Of the Vowels. 
 
 In most of the languages of modern Eu- 
 rope, the English excepted, the name as also 
 the sound of the vowels is uniform ; and 
 from the full intonation of the a to the 
 softer sounding of the w, the operation of 
 a gradual ascent of the voice, from the 
 deepest cavity of the lungs to its echoing 
 murmur and final exit through the closing 
 lips, is sensibly felt ; whence it is conclu- 
 sive, that all the beauties and powers of me- 
 lody in the human voice arise from its capa- 
 city to vary this operation without offering 
 violence to any of its organs. 
 
 Of the Vowel-signs. 
 
 The simple vowel-signs of the French 
 language are, a, e, i, o, w, but as in speaking 
 this language, numerous pure, simple vowel- 
 sounds strike the ear, for which sounds there 
 are no specific simple signs in the alphabet, 
 it is thought advisable to classify the whole 
 of the French simple vowel-sounds in the 
 following order of signs : 
 
 1. Alphabetic simple signs, ja, e, i, o, u. 
 
 2. Compounded 
 
 u 
 
 — eu, y, au, oa 
 
 3. Aigu accented 
 
 u 
 
 — e. 
 
 4. Qrave " 
 
 U 
 
 — e. 
 
9 
 
 5. Long accented signs, si, e, 1, 6, u, 
 
 au, eu, ou. 
 
 6. Nasal " an, in, on, un. x 
 
 As in the French language the y represents 
 either the sound i, or that of double u, it is 
 fittingly placed in the order of the vowels. 
 This letter is in fact the sign of the pure 
 vowel &, in the Greek alphabet. In the use 
 of this vowel the moderns have adopted the 
 vicious pronunciation of i given to it in the 
 Doric and (Eolic dialects ; whereas the Attic 
 or Ionic accent, which was the standard of 
 purity respecting the Greek language, gave 
 to this letter the mellifluous sound w, or ou. 
 The Athenians were too nice in their lan- 
 guage to have allowed of two different signs 
 for the meager sound z, and not any to re- 
 present the w, one of the melodious and radi- 
 cal sounds of the human voice. They also 
 were averse to a plurality of separate signs 
 to represent one and the same sound or arti- 
 culation, hence their complex £, |, •vf'? <p> 
 $, X, to represent those double actions of 
 the organs in producing one utterance. The 
 French alphabet, notwithstanding its poverty 
 of words, contains nineteen simple signs for 
 consonants, besides the adoption of the ph, 
 th, eh, ps and x of the Greek ; whereas the 
 Greek counts only eleven simple consonants 
 in addition to its three composites, £, |, 4^ 
 d 2 
 
10 
 
 and three aspirates, $, <p, %, making its 
 entire alphabet to consist of seven signs for 
 vowels and seventeen for consonants, each 
 having its appropriate voice and articulation, 
 subjected to the changes which arise from 
 diphthongal or euphonic accidents* 
 
 From this exposition of how few are the 
 signs that constitute the alphabet of a tongue, 
 which, next to the Sanscrit, is said to have 
 been the most perfectly spoken language, it 
 is not unreasonable to infer that the perfecti- 
 bility of a language depends, not so much on 
 the multiplicity of its simple signs, as on the 
 correct knowledge of the laws that govern 
 the combination of any number of them. 
 
 Of the combined vowel-signs which in sound 
 correspond with that of the simple voweU 
 signs. 
 
 In the French language, the combined 
 vowel-signs, which in sound correspond with 
 that of the simple vowels are, 
 
 eu, 
 
 i ceu 
 
 sounded 
 
 e,* 
 
 lefeu, le vceu. 
 
 ai, 
 
 aie 
 
 u 
 
 *, 
 
 fai Vame gaie. 
 
 ai, 
 
 ei 
 
 a 
 
 *> 
 
 aimer, peiner. 
 
 ai, 
 
 aie, 
 
 ei " 
 
 *> 
 
 la vraie peine par ait* 
 
 * The radical sound of the vowel a is not found in 
 y >Mon with any of the other vowels. 
 
t 
 
 • 11 
 
 ie, y sounded i, la mie, Vyvoire. 
 
 aii, eau u o, aw ruisseau. 
 
 oti, oue " om, ow, est la fowe. 
 
 eu, eue, ue " «, j , aiewlai?ttequ , ilaew0* 
 
 am, en, em " an, Varnbre en temps. 
 
 im, aim, ein " in, impure, faim, sain, sein* 
 
 om u on, son, ncwi, est bon. 
 
 11m, eum " un, le parfum, a jeiin. 
 
 Of the Diphthongs* 
 
 The word diphthong is from the Greek, 
 SitpQoyyos, meaning a double sound. Some 
 grammarians have divided the diphthongs 
 into proper and improper— namely, oral and 
 visual. Such a classification, if not absolutely 
 incorrect, is at least paradoxical. A few 
 celebrated philologists do not hesitate to 
 assert that the diphthong does not depend 
 on the number of contiguous vowels pre- 
 sented to the eyes in one syllable, but on the 
 ear being sensible of the union of two of 
 these vowels in a single syllable and during 
 a single space of time ; therefore the ear, not 
 the eye, is the judge of the diphthong. " The 
 essence of the diphthong," says a learned 
 critic, " consists in two points : 1st, that there 
 shall not be two successive movements of 
 the organs of speech ; 2d, that the ear alone 
 shall distinguish two vowels by a single 
 (emission of the voice ; as, for example, in the 
 
12 
 
 word Dieu, we hear the vowels i and u, and 
 these two distinct sounds are found united 
 in a single syllable, spoken in a single space 
 of time." A diphthong is therefore a sylla- 
 ble in which two words are distinctly uttered 
 by a single action of the organs, as in the 
 English words you, voice, beauty. The 
 French have not any triphthong. I doubt if 
 any language have. The Greeks, from whom 
 the nations of modern Europe have received 
 the science of grammar, have not even a 
 name for it. 
 
 Admitting the correctness of the foregoing 
 decision on the essential properties of diph- 
 thongs, it follows that not any combination 
 of vowels departing from the rules laid down 
 in it, can be named in that class of sounds. 
 Nevertheless, as the conflicting opinions ex- 
 isting among grammarians, on the identity of 
 those essentials, do in their turn leave the sub- 
 ject open to argument, it is with caution, and 
 more from a desire of eliciting inquiries, in 
 a matter important to the acquisition of a 
 pure French national accent, than from self- 
 confidence, that the idea is here advanced that 
 two successive vowel-sounds, however much 
 blended into one through the rapid utterance 
 of syllables or words in familiar speaking, or 
 through the liquidity of its component parts, 
 cannot be named a diphthong, without such 
 successive vowel-sounds form an indivisible 
 
13 
 
 syllable, or constitute the root of a word 
 under all its accidents, those occasioned by 
 the use of the double ii or the y excepted. 
 Effectively, whilst several orthoepists and 
 professors of languages place the union of 
 the letters ien, components of the substantive 
 liens, in the class of diphthongs ; others, 
 learned in criticism, deriving that assem- 
 blage of letters from the verb Her, exact 
 that it shall be pronounced in two distinct 
 syllables, and as if written li-en, the nasal 
 en, in accident, taking the sound of the na- 
 sal in. Again, the former, in support of the 
 title of ia to diphthongal sound, give the 
 word lia, (passe simple of the verb,) which 
 word departing as it does from the principles 
 established, proves equally objectionable. 
 
 The indivisible root of the verb Her, 
 is IL It remains invariable throughout, the 
 whole conjugation of the verb, and even 
 preserves its identity in all words derived 
 from it. To illustrate this fact, parts of the 
 verb itself, and a few derivations, will suffice. 
 
 Temps primitifs, infinitif, Zi-er, particip pre- 
 sent, Zi-ant, particip passe, Zi-e, indicatif pre- 
 sent, 1st person sing, je He* indicatif passe, 
 simple, 1st person sing, je Zi-ai. 
 
 * This final e simply designates the person of the 
 verb, and in accordance with a general rule gives du- 
 ration to the preceding vowel, but as to sound it ia 
 absolutely null. 
 
14 
 
 Complete conjugation of the passe simple. 
 Je Zi-ai, tu Zi-as, il li-a, nous Zi-ames, vous 
 Zi-ates, ils Zi-erent. — Words derived from the 
 verb. Les Ziens, les Ziaisons, la Zigature, une 
 Ziasse. — The syllabic division of which is : 
 Les Zi-ens, les Zi-ai-sons, la Zi-ga-tu-re, une 
 Zi-as-se. 
 
 It is doubtful if, in French, a word in 
 ia* be found, the title to a diphthong of 
 which may not be questioned, without it pre- 
 sents itself in the form of ya, where the y 
 has the value of double ii, as in essa^/tf, pa#a ; 
 pronounced as if written essai-ia, pai-ia. 
 
 Presuming that what has been said, to 
 substantiate a reasonable doubt of ia pos- 
 sessing the requisites to form a diphthong, 
 will serve to awaken attention to similar de- 
 fects in the like close union of other vowel- 
 sounds, it remains to be said that French 
 critics are equally against admitting in the 
 
 * The combination ia cannot, from its nature, make 
 a diphthong, nor can the full tone a blend with an 
 inferior sound without the aid of an articulation to 
 facilitate its union. In ale and in ya — the only form 
 in which the a may be said to lend itself to a diph- 
 thongal effect — the i and the y are pronounced as if 
 those syllables were written a-i-ye, i-ya, the y having 
 a semi-guttural articulation; and even then, the 
 speaker in uttering those syllables will be sensible 
 that they are wanting in that absolute, single, indivi- 
 sible action of the organs, in which the properties of 
 the diphthong especially consist. 
 
15 
 
 class of diphthongs any of those special 
 sounds produced by the liquid il or ill. 
 
 By perusing all the words in which these 
 liquids enter, it will be seen that with the 
 exception of those in which the ill is pre- 
 ceded by gu, having for initial the sound 
 of the aigu-accent, as in the words eguil- 
 lette, aiguille, where the vowels u, i, are 
 distinctly heard, all others are purely liquid, 
 which liquid sound is caused by the strug- 
 gling of the organs to utter the il, and yet 
 allow of the sensible presence of the final 
 e mute, indispensable to the utterance of the 
 I. While the antipathic character of such 
 combination is the cause of the effort of the 
 organs, whereby an accumulation of the sa- 
 liva takes place, whence its name, mouille, 
 is derived : a class of sounds peculiar to the 
 French language. 
 
 By pronouncing any of the liquid words in 
 il or ill, the speaker will become sensible 
 that, so far from the vowels preceding the I 
 making a diphthong, the diphthongal sound 
 would seem to present itself after the Z. For 
 example : if the words betail, gouvernail, 
 orgueil, &c, be pronounced slowly, the 
 sensibility of the sound will be as if written, 
 be-taZ-Ziew, gou-ver-naZ-Ziew, or-guei Z-Ziew. 
 The same effect, only with less force, is per- 
 ceivable in the liquid gn, named le mouilU 
 faibU) in opposition to the il or ill, desig- 
 
16 
 
 nated le mouille fort, the liquid sound of the 
 gn being also caused by the struggling of the 
 organs to soften the g through the inter- 
 sounding of the e mute. 
 
 As the correct pronunciation of the diph- 
 thongal sounds can be obtained only by imi- 
 tation from the lips of a competent teacher^ 
 it will here suffice to give a list of them. 
 
 List of the Diphthongs. 
 
 aie! 
 
 a-ve, 
 
 Exclamation of pain. 
 
 ie 
 
 le pied, &c. 
 
 ie 
 
 i-e, 
 
 la mienne, le tier. 
 
 ieu 
 
 i-eu, 
 
 Dieu, mieux, le lieu. 
 
 ien 
 
 i-in. 
 
 le bien, le tien, rten. 
 
 ya 
 
 i-a, 
 
 il ipaya, loyal. 
 
 yan 
 
 i-an. 
 
 ay ant, voyawt. 
 
 yau 
 
 i-o, 
 
 le tuyau, le loyaume. 
 
 y e 
 
 i-eu, 
 
 les yeux. 
 
 ye 
 
 i-e, 
 
 ployer. 
 
 ye 
 
 i-ey 
 
 une voyelle. 
 
 oi 
 
 ou-e ! 
 
 soft, la voyelle, le moyen. 
 
 oi 
 
 ou-e j 
 
 stronger, moi, toi, loi, la soie* 
 
 oi 
 
 ou-a, 
 
 le mois, le pois, le bois. 
 
 oin 
 
 ou-in. 
 
 i loin, point, joindre. 
 
 oin 
 
 ou-in, 
 
 , omdre. 
 
 oui 
 
 ou-i, 
 
 oui I le oui et le non. 
 
 ouin 
 
 ou-in, 
 
 le maringowin. 
 
 ua 
 
 ou-a, 
 
 Peqwateur. 
 
 ue 
 
 u-e, 
 
 eqwestre. 
 
 ui 
 
 u-i, 
 
 a lui, le bruit. 
 
 uin 
 
 u-in, 
 
 le moi de jwin. 
 
1? 
 
 Finally^ it must be borne in mind that the 
 y has the sound of the single i$ 1st) when it 
 makes a syllable of itself; 2d 5 when it be- 
 gins a word, les yeux, excepted ; 3d, when 
 it is in the body of a word between two 
 consonants. Example- — J'z/ suis, y est-il ? Le 
 tti2/stere 5 le style, Pi/voire, Sec. 
 
 Of Sound. 
 
 By the word sound is understood diverse 
 vibrations which strike the ear. In language^ 
 it implies the various inflections and dura- 
 tions of the voice in the pronunciation of 
 simple or combined vowels, or in the utter- 
 ance of syllables and words. In grammar, 
 these several operations are called accents. 
 
 Of Accents. 
 
 Eminent French grammarians, in recom* 
 mending attention to the accents as being the 
 base of the harmony of the discourse, distin- 
 guish them into national, grammatical* ora-* 
 torical, prosodic and orthographical accents^ 
 illustrating the specific character of each in 
 the following manner : 
 
 u By the national accent is understood the 
 manner of articulating and pronouncing the 
 words of a language in accordance with good 
 usage and the rules of pronunciation." 
 
18 
 
 u By the grammatical accent is understood 
 the divers modifications of the voice which 
 serve to distinguish certain tones in the dis- 
 course, and make of it a whole, which has a 
 beginning and a termination; an elevation 
 and a fall, and renders it sonorous. It would 
 be difficult to reduce the use of either of 
 these accents to specific rules, as usage alone 
 can facilitate the understanding of them in 
 each language. All words of more than one 
 syllable have more than one grammatical ac- 
 cent, whereas monosyllables do not admit 
 of any." 
 
 u By the oratorial accent is understood 
 the various modifications of the voice "which 
 are meant to indicate more particularly the 
 sense of the discourse, or point out with pre- 
 cision the principal idea to which the orator 
 wishes to call the attention of his hearers. 
 Monosyllables admit of this accent, and in 
 polysyllables it strengthens or weakens, or 
 even often effaces the grammatical accent al- 
 together. The use of this accent depends 
 on the view which an orator, a reader or a 
 declaimer takes of the sense of the subject 
 on which he operates." 
 
 "By the prosodic accent is understood 
 that species of modulation which renders the 
 voice grave or sharp. It differs from the 
 oratorial accent, inasmuch as it influences 
 each syllable of a word, and is invariable in 
 
19 
 
 the midst of all the variety of oratorial re- 
 quisition ; and this from the fact, that in each 
 word each syllable preserves the same me- 
 chanical relation to the other ; whereas, the 
 same word, in different phrases, does not 
 keep the same analytical relation to the other 
 words which compose them. It is in the 
 correct use of this accent that the harmony 
 and liquidity of a language principally de- 
 pend. 
 
 " By the orthographical accent are under- 
 stood certain signs brought in, in aid of the 
 prosodic accent, and which are placed on the 
 vowels, either to point out their pronuncia- 
 tion or to distinguish the meaning of one 
 word from another, written alike as to let- 
 ters. 55 Their names and signs are : V accent 
 aign, ( ' ) placed on the e only; V accent grave, 
 ( ^ ) placed on e, a, u ; V accent circonflexe, ( \ ) 
 placed on all the vowels. To these may be 
 added four other orthographical signs, which, 
 although not Galled accents, have nevertheless 
 considerable influence on the word or letter 
 to which they are affixed; they are, la ce- 
 dille, ( i ) l' 'apostrophe, ( 5 ) le trema, ( •• ) le 
 trait-d 'union ( - ). 
 
 Of the application of the French Accent 
 
 The manner of articulating and pronoun- 
 cing the French language in accordance with 
 
20 
 
 good usage and the rules of pronunciation 
 is called the French national accent. 
 
 The national accent of the French lan- 
 guage, in common with that of all other 
 foreign languages, can only be acquired by 
 imitation of it, from the lips of a competent 
 teacher, and a thorough knowledge of its 
 rules ; therefore it is an error to think that 
 students will obtain the pure utterance of the 
 sounds and articulations of any foreign lan- 
 guage by means of comparison with those 
 of their vernacular tongue : for although 
 comparison essentially facilitates the under- 
 standing of the words and grammatical con- 
 structions of different languages, in point of 
 pronunciation the use of such means only 
 serves to perplex a student, and give him a 
 false, or at best, a constrained accent. 
 
 This fact is especially applicable to the 
 English student, whose vernacular tongue, 
 from the abundance of its hissing and inarti- 
 culated vowel-sounds, is antipathic to that 
 of the French ; nor can there be too explicit 
 an objection made to the method of restrict- 
 ing to fixed numerals the varied modifications 
 of sounds of which the French vowels are 
 capable. Such a method only serves to em- 
 barrass the students, force them to the vexa- 
 tious operation of turning from page to page, 
 encumber their memory with uninteresting 
 
21 
 
 calculations, and in the end rather obscure 
 their comprehension than quicken it. 
 
 As it has already been stated, the French 
 language counts twelve distinct vowel-sounds, 
 namely, a, £, e, i, o, n, on, an, in, on, nn. Of 
 these, e, an, in, on, nn, are invariable ; the 
 others are susceptible of more or less dura- 
 tion, namely, softer or stronger *, duration of 
 tones being necessarily accompanied by a 
 proportionate swell or force of the voice, in 
 accordance to the words into which they 
 enter demanding more or less emphasis. 
 
 By way of example — any pupil, of what- 
 ever grade of talent, will easily be made to 
 understand that e, in the word demandons, 
 being intended simply to give utterance to 
 the mute dental e, and serve as a band of 
 union in passing over to that of the soft la- 
 bial m, it is not required that the voice should 
 rest on it with the same force as on that of 
 the monosyllabic prepositive le. This one 
 example will suffice to prove the in sufficiency 
 of numeric classification to designate the va- 
 rious durations of tones appertaining to em- 
 phasis, which in their turn are subjected to 
 a multiplicity of accidents, that only can be 
 met by a philosophical understanding of the 
 nature and use of language. 
 
 e 2 
 
22 
 Of the sound of the Vowels. 
 
 OF THE A. 
 
 The sound of the vowel a is more sono- 
 rous, and capable of a longer duration than 
 that of any other vowel. It is stronger 
 when making a syllable of itself, and when 
 in the final of words, alone, or in conjunc- 
 tion with p, s, t, with or without the plural, 
 or with a consonant, in the body of a word, 
 the nasal m, n, excepted. Example — 11 a, tu 
 as, le drap, le pas, P achat, P amour, alter, la 
 cravate* The grave accent is placed on a, pre- 
 position, and la, adverb, to distinguish these 
 words from a, verb, and la, prepositive. This 
 vowel has its strongest sound when sur- 
 mounted by the circumflex accent. The 
 following is a list of the words in which this 
 accent is used on the a. According to the 
 old orthography such words were written and 
 pronounced as, without any written accent. 
 
 Acre, Page, Pame, Pane, Pappat, apre, le 
 blame, le crane, le degat, batir, le gateau, 
 gater, lache, la tache, tacher, fasheux, le cha- 
 teau, le male, pale, le mat, nous aimames, 
 vous amates, qu'il chantat, and in all the 
 verbs of this termination in the first and 
 second person plural of the passe simple, and 
 the third person singular of the imperfect of 
 
23 
 
 the subjunctive. The a is silent in sabne^ 
 taon, aoiit, aoriste, and it forms the nasal am v 
 an, as in Pambre, le banc. The a lends it- 
 self to a diphthong in ya and ua. Example 
 — il paya, equateur. The combined letters 
 that have the sound a, are the final ap, as^ 
 at, ha. Example — le drap, le has, le chat, ha ! 
 The a is stronger in monosyllables, in the 
 plural, in the feminine, and in the persons of 
 verbs, than in the body of a word, in the sin- 
 gular, in the masculine, or in the infinitives 
 and participles. The a, in la, is suppressed 
 by the apostrophe before a vowel, or mute A, 
 as in Pdme, Pile, &c. 
 
 OF THE E. 
 
 The important function of the vowel e in 
 the French language, its variation of accents 
 and of gradation of sounds, and the difficulty 
 which students meet with in the use of it, 
 are strong reasons in support of the present 
 endeavour to explain the subject with more 
 certainty than has been done in most of the 
 common school books. In the French lan- 
 guage we distinguish three sorts of e\ 1st, 
 Pe muet — the mute e, which in its simple 
 form is never surmounted by any written ac- 
 cent ; 2d, Pe ferme — the close e, which in 
 its simple form is always surmounted by the 
 aigu accent, thus, e ; 3d, Pe ouvert — the 
 
24 
 
 open e, which in its simple form is often 
 surmounted by the grave accent, thus, e. 
 
 1st. L^E muet — mute JE. 
 
 This e, pronounced according to its com- 
 pound ew, is named mute, from its capacity 
 of modulation to so low a key, as to sound 
 scarcely above a breath. Some writers have 
 compared the soft natural sound of this vowel 
 to a whisper. This comparison is not admis- 
 sible. A whisper is an unnatural and forced 
 action of the organs of utterance, hurtful to 
 the lungs, offensive to the ears, and agitating 
 to the nerves ; nor can it admit of duration ; 
 whereas, the sound of the mute e is not only 
 natural to the breath, but it constitutes its 
 softest sensible exit from the lungs to the 
 lips, over which it murmurs more like a 
 sentiment than a perceivable action. This e 
 is formed by a pure emission of the voice, 
 the softest impression of which a French ear 
 easily feels, and the various and delicate ut- 
 terance of which only the French can teach. 
 It is also called the feminine e, because it is 
 used in forming the feminines of adjectives. 
 Tfiis e gives utterance to all the consonants, 
 and serves to smooth the approach of sylla- 
 bles and words. " This e," says Voltaire, 
 " is precisely what forms the delicious har- 
 mony of our lauguage, leaving in the ear a 
 
25 
 
 melodious sound, like that of a bell which 
 still rings after it has ceased to strike." The 
 acquirement of a pure French accent chiefly 
 depends on the nice pronunciation of this e. 
 It was the absence of such delicate impres- 
 sion of the sounds appertaining to a language, 
 that occasioned the practised ear of the Athe- 
 nian apple-woman to judge the man who 
 was addressing her to be a stranger, not to 
 the Greek language, but to its pure Attic 
 accent. 
 
 Rules for the use of the mute E. 
 
 1. This e never begins a syllable. 2. It 
 is not sounded in the final of words when 
 immediately preceded by one or more vow- 
 els; as in la joie, la vue, which are pro- 
 nounced as if written la joi, la vu, the e in 
 these words being to designate the feminine, 
 and although it lengthens the preceding diph- 
 thong oi and the vowel w, it is null as to 
 sound. 3. When in the final of words this 
 e is immediately followed by a vowel, it is 
 suppressed either in the pronunciation only, 
 or its suppression is marked by the apos- 
 trophe. Example — une bonne amande, pro- 
 nounced as if written une bon-na-mande. J^ai 
 Vamandier, where the e of je and le is sup- 
 pressed by means of the apostrophe. This 
 e is not sounded in je mangeais y il mangeaj 
 
26 
 
 nous ma?igedmes, and words of similar con- 
 struction, because the e enters into their 
 composition as a mere auxiliary sign, to in- 
 dicate that the g must take the soft sound of 
 j before a, o, u. 
 
 In every other situation the mute e pre- 
 serves its natural sound ; hence it is wrong 
 to advance that in the body of words, such, 
 for example, as demander, je demande, the 
 e is null, and pronounced as if written dman- 
 der, je dmande. The antipathic formation 
 of the dental d and of the labial m forbids 
 their union. These two consonants, not 
 having the slightest affinity to each other, 
 must be pronounced separately, and that by 
 means of the vowel which, of all others, 
 from its facility of modulation, has been 
 chosen to give utterance to all the conso- 
 nants, and be their band of union — namely^ 
 the mute e. 
 
 The exceeding softness inherent to this 
 vowel is the cause of its scarcely perceptible 
 impression on the ear in the rapidity of 
 common and familiar talk ; but let the con- 
 versation rise above familiarity, or assume 
 any degree of emphasis, and forthwith a pro- 
 portionable increase in the force of the mute 
 e is sensibly felt, and that even in those very 
 words in which its function seemed so tame. 
 
27 
 
 General rules for the pronunciation of the 
 mute E* 
 
 1. The softest sound of this e is heard in 
 the body and final of polysyllabic words, as 
 in je demande, mener, je trouve, je suis venu, 
 prenez cette pomme, &x. 
 
 2. This e is stronger in the monosyllables, 
 je, me, te, se, le, ce, ne, de, que ; as also in 
 its union with the nt, final of the third person 
 plural of verbs, where the nt being two con- 
 sonants, which from their organic formation 
 cannot unite, serve merely as a written sign 
 to indicate the person of the verb, but remain 
 null as to sound. Consequently the ent in 
 Us aiment, elles prennent , is pronounced as 
 if written Us ai-me, elles pren-ne, only with a 
 longer sound, the necessity of which will be 
 felt by the speaker or reader, from the sen- 
 sible augment of the preceding syllables, ai, 
 pren. 
 
 3. The strongest sound of the mute e is 
 observable in its compounded and in its 
 diphthongal form, as in eu, <zu, ieu, in the 
 "words, le feu, le vceu, le lieu. 
 
 4. litis e, in common with all the sounds 
 in the French language, has a stronger sound 
 in the feminine and in the plural, as also in 
 verbs governed by their nominatives, than in 
 like words in the masculine and in the sin- 
 gular, or in the abstract of. verbs ; therefore. 
 
28 
 
 in de bonnes pommes, des lieux creux^ elle 
 est pieuse, Us sont pieux, des feux, des ceufs, 
 des vozux, je demeure, elles pleurent, &c, the 
 sound of the mute e is stronger than in like 
 words in the singular or in the masculine, or 
 in the verbal terms, demeurer, demeurantj 
 demeure, pleurer, pleurant, pleure. 
 
 Rules for the suppression of the mute E by 
 the apostrophe. 
 
 The words in which the mute e is sup- 
 pressed by the apostrophe are, i 
 
 1. The monosyllables je, me, ie, se, le, ce> 
 que, de, ne, when followed by a vowel, or a 
 silent h. Example — fentends, il m?adresse f 
 elle fecrit, il s'etonne de Vesprit quHl a, 
 c'est tfetre rien que d^eire si peu. 
 
 2. Jusque, before a, au, en, ici. Example 
 — jusqu'd Boston, jusqu^au jardin, jusqu*- 
 alors,jusqu ) en France, jusqu'ici, jusqu'en Al- 
 lemagne. 
 
 3. Puisque, et quoique, before il, elle, on f 
 un, en, or before words with which these 
 conjunctions are coupled. Example — puis- 
 quHl Paime, puisqu' } elles viennent, puisqu* on 
 chante, quoiqtfon dise, puisqtfune seule y 
 est, quoiqii'un seul y soit, puisqtfen venant y 
 quoiqu } ainsi, &c. 
 
 4. Enire, in reciprocal verbs. Example — - 
 s^entre aimer, s'entre aider. 
 
29 
 
 5. Quelque, before un, une. Example—* 
 quelqu'un, quelqiCune, 
 
 6. Quel que, quelle que, before il or elle 
 soit. Example — quelle quHl soit, quelle 
 quelle soit. 
 
 7. The mute e is also suppressed by the 
 apostrophe in the words presqu'tle, au- 
 jourdViui, grand? mere, grandmother. 
 
 The French words in which the sound of 
 mute e in eu takes the circumflex accent are, 
 le jeune, jeiiner, and their compounds. Fi- 
 nally, it is well to recapitulate that the syl- 
 labic combinations which in a greater or less 
 emphatic degree have the mute sound e, are 
 eu, eus, eue, eues, eut, eux, oe, oeu, oeud, ceuds, 
 ceux, lieu, es, ent, as in le bleu, les bleus, 
 la bleue, les bleues, il pent, tu peux, peureux, 
 Vail, le vceu, les vozux, le nceud, les nozuds, 
 heureux, nous fumes, vous futes, ils aiment. 
 
 The mute e, in its compounded form eu, 
 makes a diphthong with i, in Dieu, lieu, and 
 with y, in yeux. The mute e forms the nasal 
 em, en, as in empechemenL 
 
 2. OfVEferme. 
 
 L'e ferme (the closed or sharp e) receives 
 its name from the organs of articulation being 
 slightly closed in pronouncing it, whereby 
 the passage for the breath being narrower, 
 the voice acquires the sharp or aigu accent 
 
30 
 
 which distinguishes the sound of this voweL 
 The pronunciation of this e is invariable, and 
 its function is the reverse of that of the mute 
 e, the unctuous qualities of which serve to 
 unite and smooth the approach of letters* 
 syllables and words, interposing their soften- 
 ing influence between all antipathic members 
 of speech ; whereas the aigu accented e lends 
 itself to no other sound, but retains its dis- 
 tinct, absolute, sharp utterance, seemingly to 
 mark out the precise limits in the division of 
 syllables and words. The sharp e, in its sim- 
 ple form, being always surmounted by its 
 orthographical sign, the aigu accent, it follows 
 that the rules for its use may be compre- 
 hended under those adopted in the applica- 
 tion of its characteristic accent. Pursuant 
 with this, the aigu accent is placed on the e 
 only, and as follows : 
 
 1. When at the beginning of a word it 
 makes a syllable of itself, which it always 
 does before the combined articulations £7, Ir, 
 pi, pr, tr, cl, cr, gl, gr, as also when fol- 
 lowed by any one single consonant. Ex- 
 ample — ehlouir, ebranler, eplorer, epris, 
 etrange, eclore, ecraser, eglise, egruger, 
 e change ) iter net, etais, ecole, etoile, eclat. 
 The only exceptions are, 1, in words where 
 the e is followed by the compounded Greek 
 articulation | ; 2, in those in which it enters 
 with n in the prefix particle en; 3, in the 
 
31 
 
 infinitive, and in the second person plural of 
 the verb to be. Example — examen, executer, 
 exile, exotique, enyvrer, etre, etes. 
 
 2. When in the body of a word it ends a 
 syllable before any one or more vowels or a 
 diphthong. Example — P ocean, le Jieaux. 
 
 3. When in the body of a word it ends a 
 syllable, not followed by one with the mute 
 e. Example — la verite, Pamenite, la deca- 
 dence, Pobeissance. 
 
 4. When it is in the final of words, with 
 or without the feminine or plural. Example 
 — la verite, la bonte, Pepee, Pete, les annees, 
 les soirees. 
 
 5. To distinguish words alike in spelling, 
 but different in meaning. Example — Paveug- 
 lement, blindness ; aveuglement, blindly. 
 
 The combined letters that have the sound 
 of the aigu e are, et conjunction, the final er 
 of all substantives with or without the plural. 
 The final er of verbs when not sounded with 
 the initial vowel of the word that follows. The 
 final ez, ger, cker, ier, ied, ai. Example — le 
 danger, le boulanger, aimer, chercher, venez, 
 prenez, cacher, le barbier, le pied, les pieds, 
 fax, faimerai, faimai. The only excep- 
 tions to these rules are the words amer, le 
 belveder,le cancer, la cuiller, Penfer, la mer, 
 lefer, hier,jier, vrai,Pessai, le delai, where 
 the final er and ai take the sound of the 
 grave accent. The word clef is pronounced 
 
32 
 
 as if written la clee. The aigu accent is 
 placed on the final e of the first person sin- 
 gular of verbs when preceding its nomina- 
 tive, to which it is joined by le trait-d'union. 
 Example — j'aime, aime-je ; que je dusse, 
 dusse-je ; je veille, veille-je. This e forms 
 a diphthong with i, as in pied. 
 
 VE OuverL 
 
 L?e ouvert, the open e, is thus named, be- 
 cause in pronouncing it the organs of articu- 
 lation leave a greater opening to the voice. 
 This e is susceptible of various durations, 
 and acts under mutual influence with the 
 mute e, both constituting the majority of 
 French sounds, whilst only a correct pro- 
 nunciation of them can insure the acquisition 
 of a pure French national accent. As the open 
 e is mostly surmounted by its characteristic 
 sign, the orthographic grave accent, the rules 
 for the use of it had best be treated under the 
 head of those of its accents. Consequently, 
 
 1. The grave accent, in its specific cha- 
 racter of accent, is placed on the e only. 
 
 2. It is never placed on either the initial 
 or the final e. 
 
 3. As the prosody of the French language 
 will not admit of the mute e sound twice in 
 succession at the end of a word, inasmuch 
 as the voice not being supported by the final 
 
33 
 
 e mute, it follows of necessity that it must 
 rest on the penultima, which of consequence 
 becomes grave. For example — in the infini- 
 tive mener, the voice being supported by the 
 aigu sound of e in the final er, the penulti- 
 mate e preserves its mute sound ; whereas, 
 in je mine, the final e being mute, and thereby 
 unable to give support to the voice, it follows 
 that it has to rest on the penultimate e, which 
 of consequence becomes grave. Hence the 
 grave accent is placed on the e. 
 
 1. When the final e of the penultimate 
 syllable is followed by a mute syllable. Ex- 
 ample — la mere, le pere, je pese, celebre, 
 premiere, Vetr anger e, ils aimer ent. The only 
 exceptions to this rule are in the final ege, 
 and in the final e mute of verbs, when fol- 
 lowed by their nominative je, and joined to 
 it by a hyphen. Example — le sacrilege, le 
 sortilege ; aime-je, parle-je. 
 
 2. When at the end of a word the final e 
 is followed by an 5. Example— Vacces, 
 Voices, le proces, le deces, and in the prepo- 
 sitions des, pres, tres, apres, and their com- 
 pounds. 
 
 The combined letters which have the 
 sound of the grave accent are, 1. the final es 
 of monosyllables. Example — les, des, mes, 
 ses, ces. 2. The e making a syllable with 
 any of the consonants, other specific rules 
 excepted. Example — la mer, la terre, Veffet 7 
 
 f 2 5 
 
34 
 
 belle, que je premie, infecter, mettre, Vessai, 
 le respect, la chandelle. 3. The combined 
 letters ai, ei, est, ait, aid, when in the sin- 
 gular, and not emphatic. Example — il fait, 
 faime, le peigne, laid, il est This e forms 
 a diphthong with i, as in mienne. 
 
 The various degrees of force of which the 
 grave accent is susceptible, will be under- 
 stood by practice, and the aid of a competent 
 teacher ; but above all, by the study of its 
 philosophical properties. Therefore, in re- 
 lation to its minute gradation of sounds, it is 
 left to recapitulate what has already been 
 said respecting that of other vowels — namely, 
 that the grave e, followed by two or more 
 consonants, is stronger than when followed 
 by one, or making a syllable with one only ; 
 consequently, in celebre, respect, the grave e 
 is stronger than in pere, belle. Also the 
 final es accented is stronger than when in 
 addition to its latent sound it has not the 
 written accent ; hence es, in succes, des, is 
 stronger than in les, mes .* The same in 
 
 * This is considered a favourable opportunity to 
 call the attention of teachers to the necessity of point- 
 ing out to their pupils, that in not any instance is the 
 final es of monosyllables to be pronounced with the 
 aigu accent, and as if written es. Of the two it were 
 better they should adopt the strong grave accent, as 
 m des, mes, &c, than be allowed to habituate them- 
 selves to the vicious use of the sharp sound i; a ma- 
 
35 
 
 verbs governed by their nominative — as the 
 grave sound in je mets, ils aiment, is more 
 emphatic and consequently stronger than in 
 mettre, aimer. 
 
 The words in which the e takes the cir- 
 cumflex accent are, les ancetres, Pappret, 
 Varene, Varete, la beclie, la bete, la fete, 
 Paret, beler, champetre, le chene, la couquete, 
 le crepe, la crete, la depeche, empecher, 
 P ev e que, hi fenetre, la fete^h: fore t,frilt\ le 
 frene, la gene, la grele, le Mtre, honnete, 
 Pinteret, meler, la peche, pecker, pele-mele, 
 precher, pret, prefer, le pret, la quite, les 
 renes, reveche, le reve, le salpetre, la lempete, 
 les vepres, vetir. 4 
 
 Use of £7*e Circumflex Accent 
 
 This accent, from the Latin, circumjlexus, 
 Greek, meiwopuii, as its name designates, 
 takes full hold of the entire compass of the 
 voice. It is placed on all the vowels, and 
 
 thod which, in my late practice, I had the opportunity 
 to discover had been general. Les, ces, ses, mes, des y 
 ies, are prepositive adjectives, to be pronounced as if 
 making a part of the substantive, which it is their 
 function to determine ; hence their duration, and con- 
 sequently their sound, is softer and shorter than that 
 of the prepositions des, pres, tres, &c. Nevertheless, 
 however modulated be the sound of the grave e, which 
 enters in the composition of those prepositives, still it 
 must preserve its characteristic accent. 
 
36 
 
 used where the grave accent would not have 
 sufficient force : hence it is placed, 
 
 1. On the penultimate e, when followed 
 by the final me, the numeral adjectives in 
 ieme excepted. Example — le systeme, le 
 probleme. 
 
 2. On the penultimate e when long, as in 
 bete, tele, Sic, words which, according to 
 the old orthography, were written best, teste. 
 
 3. On a long, before ch and before t, when 
 this last has its natural sound. Example — 
 le Mche, la tdclie, faclieux, le chateau, getter, 
 bcitir. 
 
 4. On the i, of the verbs in aztre, and in 
 all the terms where the i is followed by a t. 
 Example — conrmitre, naitre, il nait, ils pa- 
 raitront, vous croitrez. 
 
 5. On the o which precedes le, me, ne. 
 Example — le pole, le dome, le Irbne, also on 
 that of the adjectives le nbtre, le votre. 
 
 6. On a, i, u, in the first and second person 
 plural of the passe simple, and in the third 
 person singular of the imperfect of the sub- 
 junctive. Example — nous aimdmes, vous 
 regiites, nous vzmes, qu y ilfut, qu'elle airndt^ 
 qu'il vit. 
 
 7. On miir, sur, dii, past participle, mas- 
 culine, to distinguish these words from le- 
 mur, sur-on, sur-sauer* 
 
 The compounded letters that have the 
 sound of the circumflex accent are, 
 
37 
 
 1. All the feminines, and all the plurals of 
 words that are grave in the masculine and in 
 the plural. Example — la laide, les sujets, 
 qu'ils prennent, les peihes. 
 
 2. JEs, est, in the second and third person 
 of the verb to be. Example — tu es, il est. 
 
 3. All syllables of two vowels terminated 
 by s or x. Example — favais, la paix ; also 
 syllables of three vowels, with or without 
 the plural. Example — la plaie. 
 
 OF THE I. 
 
 The i is the most acute of the French 
 vowel-sounds *, hence its syllabic precision, 
 and the facility of its diphthongal accord with 
 its kindred sound, the aigu accented e. The 
 i invariably preserves its natural sound. 
 
 1. In the initial of words. Example — ici, 
 Videe, ideal, les ides, Vidiome, &c. 
 
 2. In the final of syllables and words, or 
 in the body of words between two conso- 
 nants. Example — le roti, liardi, le vivre^ les 
 limites, ecrire, la vitre, le vitrier, &,c. 
 
 3. When not being preceded by a vowel, 
 the u of gu and qu excepted, it makes a syl- 
 lable with any consonant, the nasal m, n ex- 
 cepted. Example — illustre, irresolu, le ju- 
 riste ; also when making a syllable with one 
 of two m's following it, or with n followed 
 by a vowel or a silent h. Example — tm- 
 
38 
 
 mense, immuable, Vinaction, inanime, les iw- 
 habitans, inhabile, inherent, &c. 
 
 4. When preceded by gu or qu, which u, 
 being merely to designate that the g, q must 
 each preserve its proper articulation, is other- 
 wise absolutely silent. Example — le guide, 
 guider, quitter, acquitter, &c. 
 
 The combined letters that have the sound 
 i are, 
 
 1. Ie, final of feminine words, with or 
 without the plural. Example — la mie, la 
 pie, la vie, la scie, la folie, la maladie, la 
 sorcellerie, &c. 
 
 2. Ie, in words derived from verbs in ier. 
 Example — le maniement, le renter 'dement, il 
 liera, elle prie, nous remercierons, &c. — all 
 derived from the verbs manier, Her, prier, 
 remercier. 
 
 3. Is, final, as in je vis, le vis-a-vis ; also 
 id and it, final, with or without the plural, 
 as in le lit, les lits, le md, les nids ; also wi. 
 
 4. F, 1. when it makes a word ; 2. when 
 being the initial of a word it is followed by 
 a consonant; 3. when between two conso- 
 nants, or in the body of words of Greek ori- 
 gin. Example — il y a, y suis-je ? Vyvoire, le 
 crystal, la stereotype, le mystere, le tyrant, &c. 
 
 The vowel i changes into y in words in 
 which, between two vowels, the sound i is 
 doubled, as in payer, employer, essayer y 
 moyen. 
 
39 
 
 The i, in the conjunction si, is suppressed 
 by the apostrophe before the pronoun il, as 
 sHl veut, sHls aiment. 
 
 The i takes the circumflex accent in the 
 words Pabime, Paine, le puisne, le diner, 
 Pepitre, le registre, le gite, Pile, le fait, 
 fratche, naitre, le maitre, le surcroif, trainer, 
 le traitre, vzte, se paitre, croitre, and all their 
 derivations. 
 
 T/je i makes a diphthong with the aigu e, 
 as in pied ; with the grave e, as in mienne ; 
 with the ew, as in Dieu ; and with the sound 
 of the nasal in, under the form ien, as in 
 Men; and is the suffix to the diphthong oi, 
 as in moi, bois, &c. It also forms the nasal 
 sound, im, in. 
 
 of the o, 
 
 u Tlie 0," says a learned French critic, 
 M is often pseudonyme, inasmuch as it is the 
 sign of a different sound from that for which 
 it was instituted. 55 Effectively, this happens 
 whenever the o is the prepositive of i, in a 
 diphthong, as it then represents the sound 
 ou, heard in le bois, le foin, pronounced as 
 if written le bou-a, le fou-in. The same ac- 
 cident takes place when employed as an 
 auxiliary to the letter u, to represent the 
 sound ou. On the other hand the combina- 
 tion of au, eau, is seen marked out to repre- 
 
40 
 
 sent the simple sound o. Whether these 
 contradictions are the result of a well studied 
 plan, or the mere accidental consequence of 
 a gradual transmutation of letters in striving 
 through the lapse of time to soften or enrich 
 the harsher or less studied sounds inherited 
 from kindred dialects of a remote age, is a 
 question not easily solved. Still the mind 
 cannot forego the gratification of dwelling 
 on this curious subject, and seek to compre- 
 hend its philosophy. On lending an atten- 
 tive ear to the sounds of the human voice, 
 three distinct operations, seemingly inherent 
 to the breath, are perceptible. 1. Its twofold 
 action of inspiration and respiration^ heard 
 in the sound occasioned by the organic action 
 w-y.* 2. Its full volume of aspiration from 
 the lungs, heard in the sound produced by 
 the organic action a-oc. 3. Its murmur and 
 final exit, heard in the sound produced by 
 the organic action e-t. But the duration of 
 sound being in proportion to its force, it is 
 evident that as in the production of the sound 
 «, the breath only faintly aspirates from the 
 lungs, this vowel is wanting in the essential 
 to duration ; hence the want of an auxiliary 
 power given to the breath under the second- 
 
 * It has already been said in the body of this work, 
 that the forms of the letters were not arbitrary, but that 
 they bore a likeness to the attitude taken by the or- 
 gans in composing them. 
 
41 
 
 ary sound produced by the organic action o, 
 which in its union with the u, gives the fuller 
 sound heard in the organic action ou. The 
 same may be said of the compounded au or 
 eau, which is a variety of the sounds a, e, u, 
 so indefinite in the delicacy of its impression 
 on the ear, as to be beyond the power of 
 specification. By it the o is rendered less 
 absolute, the u more sonorous and yet sub- 
 dued by the mute e, whilst from the percepti- 
 ble aspiration a the whole obtains duration. 
 The alphabetic sound of the o is heard, 
 
 1. In the initial, the finals or in the body 
 of words, when not preceded or followed by 
 a vowel, or not making a syllable with the 
 nasal m, n. Example — obeir, Voce an, V odor a, 
 Peconome, le monopole, le homare, Porloge, 
 honorable, Phonoraire, observer, &c. 
 
 2. When followed by two consonants the 
 sound of the o is less strong. Example — de 
 bonnes, pommes, un honnete homme, une 
 somme d'argent. 
 
 The vowel o is silent in le paon, lefaon, 
 Laon ; pronounced as if written le pan, le 
 fan, Lan* 
 
 The combined letters which represent the 
 simple sound o are, 
 
 Oc, op, ot, os, au, eau, and, aut, with or 
 without ihe plural. Example — Paccroc, le 
 repot, trop, le dos, les os, le mot, le pottle 
 
42 
 
 repot, Paurore, se shauffer, les Jlanbeaux, au 
 chateau, la-haut, le chaud, la cliaux, &,c. 
 
 The o takes the circumflex accent in 
 Papbtre, la cloture, le cote', la cote, le depot, 
 Pentrepbt, Phbpltale, Vhbte, Phbtesse, P hotel, 
 Pimpbt, bter, rbder, le rot, le rbti, tot. 
 
 The o makes a diphthong with i, in ui, 
 uin. It also forms the nasal om, on. 
 
 of the u. 
 
 The pure French alphabetic sound u is 
 heard, 
 
 1. When it is initial before a consonant. 
 Example — utile, Pusage, unique, une, Sic. 
 
 2. When it makes the initial of a syllable, 
 the nasal m, n excepted, or when in the body 
 of a word between two consonants, or when 
 the final of a word with or without the femi- 
 nine or plural. Example — Purne, urgent, 
 Pustensil, Pusure, Pusage, le tumulte, le 
 recu, nu, pourvu, &c. 
 
 The combined letters which have the pure 
 sound u are, ue, us, ut, eu, eus, exit, eue, cues. 
 Example — la nue, la grue, je fus, il fut, j'ai 
 eu, feus, il eu, la robe qu'elle a eue, les 
 robes qu'elles ont cues. 
 
 The u forms a diphthong with ie, as in 
 Dieu, with i, as in lui, with in, as in juin, 
 with ya, as in tuyau, with ye, as in yeux, 
 with o-i, as in oui, with o-in, as in marin- 
 
43 
 
 gouin, with a, as in equateur, with e, as in 
 equestre. 
 
 The w suffix to o, forms the sound ow, 
 when suffix to a, it forms the softened yet 
 sonorous sound o, as in au, aw.r, the contrac- 
 tion of a le, a Zes. It has also the same so- 
 norous sound o, when suffix to ea, as in 
 Veau, les eaux. With m, n, it forms the na- 
 sal urn, U7i) as in le parfum, le Z>rwn. 
 
 The u is silent when suffix of g, where it 
 only serves to designate that the g is hard 
 before i, e, as in guise, guerir, le guide, la 
 guitar e, prodigue, &x. hi some Latin terms 
 of Greek origin excepted, the w, inseparable 
 suffix of a, when this consonant is not final, 
 is generally silent, it being a mere auxiliary 
 to show that the q must have the pronuncia- 
 tion of k. Example — un quart, que, quel, 
 qui, quinze, quotidien, pronounced as if writ- 
 ten kart, ke, kel, ki, kinze, kotidien. However, 
 in pronouncing the word quart, comparing it 
 with kart, and so on with the rest, the speaker 
 must become sensible that although the u is 
 silent, it mellows the harshness of the q, 
 causing the voice to pass and rest on the 
 vowel-sound to which it is joined. A proof 
 of this is found in q final, which being di- 
 vested of the mellowing influence of the u, 
 produces the harshest articulation in the 
 French language. This fact offers a striking 
 illustration of the affinity existing between 
 
44 
 
 the various impressions made on our senses, 
 and their mutual influence on each other. 
 Hence in language the voice seeks to follow 
 the impression made on the eye, as in read- 
 ing, or on the memory, as in speaking; and 
 it were well that we should pause ere we 
 prune off any branch of the compounded 
 sounds and articulations of a language, lest 
 we take from it much of its latent powers 
 of modulation and harmony. 
 
 By extending this field of observations, it 
 would seem that the constitution of things is 
 not based on numerous parts, distinct in 
 kind, but on the various combinations of a 
 few elementaries. The brain becomes con- 
 fused in the perplexing variety and infinitude 
 of numbers compounded of only ten separate 
 figures; Language, in man, is composed of 
 not more than three vowels and nine conso- 
 nants, which can be termed radical ; and 
 yet where is the mind, however strong, that 
 could compute the variety of words which 
 these twelve simple elements serve to utter, 
 in all the languages that have been spoken, 
 are now spoken, and may hereafter be spoken 
 by man ! 
 
 The u takes the circumflex accent in aout, 
 Vaffiit, briiler, le bucher, confer, la flute, le 
 gout, la joiit, la piciire. 
 
45 
 
 OF THE NASAL SOUNDS. 
 
 The nasal sound is peculiar to the French 
 language. It is represented by the combina- 
 tion of m or n with any of the single vowels, 
 a, e, i, o, u. Example — am, an, em, en, im, 
 in, om, on, urn, an. It must be noticed that 
 the nasal n, of the particle en, changes into 
 the nasal m, before b, m, p. 
 
 Rules for the application of the nasal sounds, 
 
 1. The m communicates its nasality to the 
 preceding vowels in the beginning or in the 
 body of a word before a consonant, or when 
 it is final. Example — Vamhrosie, Vembarras, 
 Vimprudence, emmener, Vombre, humble, le 
 champ, le temps, tomber, le nom, le parfum. 
 The exceptions to this rule are the initial 
 imm, the double m in the body of a word, 
 or when the nasal m is followed by n, in 
 either of which cases the m loses its nasality. 
 Example — immuable, comme, indemniser. 
 The m is silent in damner, automne. It is 
 not nasal in the interjection, hem ! nor in 
 most foreign proper names, as Sem, Cham, 
 Amsterdam, Ammon, Emmanuel; nor in the 
 terms, abdomen, amen, hymen. 
 
 2. The n communicates its nasality to the 
 preceding vowels in the beginning or in the 
 body of a word, before a consonant, or when 
 U is final. Example — Vancre, enfin, incapa- 
 
 1 g2 
 
46 
 
 Me, Vonde, la lanterne, la pente, le cinge, 
 Veponge, lundi, le plan, le irm, on, en, aw, nn, 
 Ze Jin le bran. Exceptions — en is not nasal 
 before a vowel, except in enivrer, enorgueil-* 
 lir ; nor is it nasal before n, except in enno- 
 Mi, ennui. 
 
 The combined letters that have the nasal 
 sound an or en are, anc, and, ang, amp, anp, 
 ans, ant, end, ends, emps, ens, ent. Example 
 — le Mane, grand, le sang, le champ, I'en- 
 fant, les enfans, il prend,je prends, le temps, 
 il est content, ils sont contens. 
 
 The combined letters that have the nasal 
 sound in, are, aim, ain, aini, eim; ein, eint, 
 int, inst, ingt. Example — la faim, le pain, 
 je p Jains, craindre, le sains, saint, je teins, 
 il feint, l r instinct, vingt. 
 
 The combined letters that have the nasal 
 sound on, are, one, omb, ond, omps, omp, ont. 
 Example — done, les dons, le plomb, le rond, 
 je romps, il ra/np, ils on/. 
 
 The combined letters that have the nasal 
 sound of un, are eun, in a jeiin. 
 
 OF OTHER ORTHOGRAPHICAL SIGNS ESSEN- 
 TIAL TO PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 The other orthographical signs essential 
 to a correct French pronunciation, are the 
 aposlropJie, the cediJJe-, the trema and the 
 
47 
 
 trait-d*union. The nature and use of the 
 apostrophe having been explained under the 
 respective articles treating of the vowels, a, 
 e, l, it now remains to explain the nature 
 and use of the cediUe, the trema, and the 
 trait-cPunion. 
 
 Of the Cedille. 
 
 The cedille is a small c thus (c) placed under 
 the c, when by reason of etymology the c is 
 preserved before a, o, u — as for example, 
 from glace, glacer, is written glacon, glagant; 
 from menace^ la France recevoir^ is written 
 menacanU Francois regit, il regoit, where the 
 cedille shows that the c must have the same 
 soft pronunciation of s which it had in the 
 primitive words. 
 
 Of the Trema. 
 
 The trema is represented by two dots 
 placed on the vowels e, i, u, to show that 
 these vowels are to be pronounced separately 
 from the one immediately preceding either 
 of them. Example — Adelaide, hair*, herozque, 
 Esau, Antenous, laique, naifambigue, exique, 
 &,c. The trema need never be placed on the 
 vowel preceded by the aigu accented e, as 
 the written accent is a sufficient indication 
 
48 
 
 of its separate pronunciation. Example — 
 deifie\ deiste, plebeisle, lie* &c. 
 
 Of the Tiret, or Trait-d' union. 
 
 The tiret, or trait-d'union, is a small line 
 which unites two separate words into one, 
 or the different parts of one word ; hence it 
 is used, 
 
 1. When at the end of a line there is not 
 sufficient room to write the whole word, 
 having a care, however, not to introduce the 
 dividing line between the initial letter and 
 the body of a word, or between the members 
 of one syllable ; therefore, write eter-nite, 
 eblou-issement, cause, cla-rijier, and not 
 e-ternite, e-blouissement, ca-use, clar-ifier. 
 
 2. The tiret serves to connect the primi- 
 tive parts of compounded terms. Example — 
 Parc-en-ciel) le porte-manteau, tfest-a-dire, 
 le vis-a-vis. 
 
 * This participle form of the verb Her comes in 
 support of the reasonableness of my objecting to the 
 vowel combinations which enter into the formation of 
 any of its parts or derivatives, being received in the 
 class of diphthongs — for, according to the rule for the 
 division of French syllables, the e when surmounted 
 by the aigu accent, must, as this accent indicates it, 
 be pronounced distinctly and apart from any other 
 vowel sound. Consequently, this participle must be 
 spoken as if written li-e, and not like the sound of 
 the diphthong ie in the word pied. 
 
49 
 
 3. It is used after a verb, followed by its 
 pronoun, transposed through the form of in- 
 terrogation. Example — que dites-vous ? que 
 v ous fait-il ? que boit-on, qu'a-t-il? 
 
 4. The word ce, after the verb etre or 
 pouvoir, must be attached to these verbs by 
 the tiret. Example — qu'est-ce que je vois ? 
 etait-ce mon frere qui vous a parle ? sont-ce 
 vos livres ? qui pourrait-ce etre qui frappe ? 
 eut-ce ete lui-meme, je Paurais cru. 
 
 5. When after the first and second person 
 of the imperative there is for complement the 
 words moi, ioi, nous, vous, Ze, la, lui, les, 
 lew, en, y, these are joined to the verb by a 
 tiret, and even by a second, if two of these 
 words follow each other. Example — done- 
 le-moi, regarde-toi, rendez-la-lui, transportez- 
 vous-y, jlattons-nous-en, depechez-vous, par- 
 lez-leur-en, cherches-les, &c. 
 
 6. It is also used to connect ci, la, ce, 
 when these are joined to whatever word in 
 a manner that they cannot be separated in 
 speaking. Example — j'ai celni-ci, il demande 
 celui-la, est-ce cet homme-ci, ou celui-la? je 
 vais Id-liaut, il va la-bas, ci-dessus, cl-dessous^ 
 quel gens sont-ce-ld? quel discours est-ce-ga? 
 
 7. The tiret is also placed between the 
 personal pronouns and the word meme. Ex- 
 ample — moi-meme, toi-meme, lui-meme, elle- 
 meme, 'nous-meme, vous-meme, eux-meme, el- 
 les-meme. 
 
 6 
 
50 
 
 OF THE CONSONANTS 
 
 In language consonants are certain facul- 
 ties of articulation appertaining to the utter- 
 ance of human speech. These faculties, in 
 common with all those that distinguish man, 
 cannot be subservient to the perfect accom- 
 plishment of the intention for which they 
 were given him, but by a correct understand- 
 ing of their nature, power, and relative posi- 
 tion. If to this is added the further consi- 
 deration of the importance of speech to 
 man, (for what were man without speech !) 
 it becomes evident that too much attention, 
 too great a research, cannot be devoted to 
 a subject, on the manifest power of which 
 depends the paramount means employed in 
 the fulfilment of the intention of human 
 existence. 
 
 Quintilian, in the dedication of his work 
 on oratory to Marcellus, recommends the 
 earnest study of the first elements of lan- 
 guage, and blames those writers on oratory 
 who make no mention of them, expecting 
 no compliments on things which, although 
 indispensable, are removed from ostentation. 
 " For my part," continues this sound rheto- 
 rician, u being of opinion that there is no 
 possibility of arriving at any thing without 
 first laying a proper ground-work, I shall 
 not refuse my care to things of lesser mo- 
 
51 
 
 merit, the neglect of which may exclude 
 things of greater one." 
 
 Quintilian speaks well ; nevertheless, as it 
 is from the study of the parts, that we arrive 
 at the comprehension of the philosophical 
 certainty of the effect which the whole must 
 produce, the term " lesser moment," em- 
 ployed by the learned Latin critic, and which 
 there means, " of less importance," can be 
 taken only in a comparative sense, with the 
 necessity of an immediate practical use of a 
 faculty, ere there is time to arrive at the 
 knowledge of its philosophical principles. 
 Man must speak, must plant, must build, 
 ere he has leisure to study the philosophy 
 of sound and articulation, that of chemical 
 affinity, or that of mechanics and proportion ; 
 but. no sooner are the absolute requisites of 
 his immediate wants provided for, and him- 
 self thereby relieved from the pressure of 
 mere animal necessities, than, in obedience 
 to the impulse of his mind, he begins to 
 ponder on the nature of the means whereby 
 this relief has been obtained. He then ar- 
 rives at some conclusions ; he wishes to 
 transmit these conclusions to others of his 
 own species ; and to facilitate their acting up 
 to them, he lays down rules to go by in 
 speaking, planting or building. Henceforth 
 these several operations acquire the title of 
 science, and become the object of philoso- 
 
52 
 
 phical inquiry. Is not the science of Ian* 
 guage paramount to all others, and may not 
 the thorough understanding of its philoso- 
 phy be the surest guide to that of the great- 
 est amount of knowledge which the human 
 mind can grasp ! A French writer says that 
 all our faults are the result of ignorance. 
 Perhaps it will not be out of place to add, 
 that many, if not most of the evils which 
 afflict mankind, have originated either in the 
 ignorance of words or the misconception of 
 their meaning. 
 
 A disadvantage attendant on many of the 
 modern languages is their abundance of 
 words composed of parts not seldom at va- 
 riance with their homnie dialect, and from 
 which often results a harsh and conflicting 
 inflection and utterance, inimical to improve- 
 ment, without, indeed, it be taken hold of by 
 a master hand — -one, whose studied touch 
 will communicate harmony to the most dis- 
 cordant strings. From among the ancient 
 languages, still familiar to us, we behold 
 that of the Greeks holding the first rank. 
 Favoured by localities, by climate and by 
 political advantages, this gifted people in 
 their works of arts, of which they have 
 left us so many models of surpassing ex- 
 cellence, proved that they were possessed of 
 an exquisite sensibility to harmony, which, 
 when applied to the cultivation of their Ian- 
 
53 
 
 guage, will have induced them to study 
 every means that could prove most con* 
 ducive to render its signification perfect^ 
 and modulate its utterance from the most 
 elevated and sonorous to the most melting 
 and softest cadence, 
 
 Bringing the foregoing remarks to bear 
 on the study of the French language, it were 
 well to call the attention of students to the 
 fact, that the same evidence of the capability 
 of perfecting the harmony of speech, by 
 means of an attentive and a nice study of 
 the fitting union of its parts, is more ob* 
 servable in the French language than in any 
 other now spoken by people of European 
 origin; inasmuch as this language, in itself 
 poor, has, through the consummate cultiva- 
 tion of its limited powers, become the most 
 fluent, the most exact, the most distinct^ 
 and, if I may be permitted to use the ex- 
 pression, the most amiable language spoken 
 by cultivated nations. 
 
 Of the Consonants of the French language. 
 
 The French alphabet contains nineteen 
 single consonants and three compounded 
 ones. They are : £, c, d, f g, h, j, k, Z, m, 
 7z, p, q, r, 5, t) r, #, z, eA, _p/j, th. As the 
 c, £, jf, r, j, are not found in the Greek 
 alphabet, without it be under the form of 
 x, £, 7T, p, 7, it is evident that these signs in 
 
 > H 
 
54 
 
 the French alphabet are the facsimile of 
 those of the Latin. Effectively, we find that 
 with the exception of about fifty words in 
 c, q, f the initial c, </, f v,jj are attached 
 to words of Latin derivation, 
 
 Of the Classification of the Consonants. 
 
 The nature of consonants demanding the 
 most serious inquiries, inasmuch as on them 
 alone depends the power of utterance which 
 produces speech, the student cannot be too 
 earnest in the study of them. Those of the 
 French language admit of being considered 
 in the order of seven distinct classes: 1. 
 Their nature. 2. Their organic formation. 
 3. Their duplicate. 4. Their syllabic union. 
 5. Their euphonic grammatic union. 6. Their 
 affinity. 7. Their tendence to harmony. 
 
 1. Consonants, in accordance with their 
 nature, are either mute or semivowels, from 
 the Latin " mutus," and " semivocalisP The 
 mutes only can be pronounced by the explo- 
 sion of the breath ; they are : £, c, d, g, k, 
 m,n, p, q, /, #, z. 
 
 The semivowels lend themselves to the 
 sound of the voice through the less rigid ad- 
 herence of the articulating organs : they are : 
 /, hjj l,r, s,v. 
 
 2. Conformably to their organic forma- 
 tion, the consonants are divided into the 
 
55 
 
 labial, the guttural and the Ungual, this last 
 embracing the liquid, the dental, the palatal 
 and the siffi antes, 
 
 1. The labial are those which are pro- 
 duced by the action of the lips, they are : 
 
 b, p,f, v, m, and ph. 
 
 2. The guttural is the strong aspiration h. 
 
 3. The lingual are those the action of 
 which is more particularly produced by the 
 tongue, they are: 1. The liquid, 1, r, rh. 
 2. The dental, d, t, n, th. 3. The palatal, 
 
 c, k, g, q. 4. The sifflante, j, s, z, x, ch. 
 
 3. By duplicate consonants is understood 
 that class of consonants which admit of 
 being doubled, they are : b, c, d, f, g, 1, 
 m, n, p, r, s, t, and the q, which receives its 
 double power of articulation by the prefix 
 c, cq. 
 
 4. Under the term syllabic union, is un- 
 derstood that class of consonants which, 
 when initial, can or cannot unite in one syl- 
 lable. Those that can unite are : 1. The 
 labial bl, br, pi, pr, ps, pn, pt, ph, phi, phr, 
 fl,fr, vr ; the dental dr, tr, th ; the lingual 
 rh ; the palatal cl, cr, chr, gl, gr, gn ; the 
 siffiantes ch, sc, sch, scr, sp, sph, spl, spr, sq, 
 st. The consonants which cannot begin a 
 syllable with another consonant are : h, j, 
 Jc, I, m, n, q, x, z, as also the r — the h in rh, 
 being merely etymologic, and designated to 
 represent the spiritus asper of the Greek. 
 
56 
 
 5. By the euphonic grammatic union of 
 consonants is understood that class of con- 
 sonants, which, in the final of words, may, 
 in the pronunciation, unite in sequence with 
 the initial vowel of the following word. 
 They are : d, n, r, s, t, x, z, also p, in the 
 words coup, beaucowp, trop, and q, in the 
 numeral sinq. 
 
 6. By the affinity of consonants as a class, 
 is meant those which are pronounced through 
 the similar movements of the same organ, 
 with only slight shades of difference in mo- 
 dulation, and in the force of the explosion 
 of the voice ; they are : 
 
 <o *, q, g, I kj } x b,f v, ph, p, ) 
 
 h h *i ch "> ) s i ) ' 5 > 3 F ' 
 
 d, % th, ) m, 72, ) 
 
 Z, r, rh, S g>$ ** ' 
 
 7. The class of consonants that conduce 
 most to harmony are the labial, the denial, 
 the liquid and the single palatal ; namely, 
 h, p, v, f m, d, t, n, c, k, Z, r. 
 
 Of the Formation of the Consonants. 
 
 1. The labial are those the articulation of 
 which is produced by the diverse action of 
 the lips. They are b, p, m,f v, and are all 
 favourable to harmony. 
 
 The formation of b, p, demands that the 
 lips should approach and press against each 
 
57 
 
 other as if to retain the breath, when, if not 
 any other movement intervene, on separating, 
 an explosion will take place, more or less 
 strong, in proportion to the degree of force 
 which the mutual pressure of the lips will 
 have opposed to it, and in this consists the 
 greater force of the p over the &, both being 
 alike in their organic formation ; but if during 
 the reunion of the lips a portion of the 
 breath be left to escape through the nose, 
 the explosion will give the utterance m ; 
 hence it is that this consonant is called 
 nasal. 
 
 The formation of/, t?, requires that the 
 under lip should approach the upper teeth 
 and press against them as if to retain the 
 voice, which on their separating will cause 
 an explosion, more or less strong, in propor- 
 tion to the pressure being more or less so, 
 and this difference of tenuity is what renders 
 the v softer than the/, these two consonants 
 being equally alike in their organic forma- 
 tion. The compound ph is a consonant of 
 this class, and has the strong articulation f. 
 The letters v,f y ph, and Z>, j>, have with each 
 other the greatest affinity. The mutation of 
 £, j>, and ph) was used with especial view to 
 euphonic requisition by the Greeks. 
 
 2. The lingual are those to the formation 
 of which the tongue more particularly con- 
 tributes. In the French language, as in every 
 h2 
 
58 
 
 other, this class of consonants is the most 
 numerous, inasmuch as the tongue is the 
 principal organ necessary to produce speech. 
 Consequently all the consonants, the labial 
 and guttural excepted, are lingual, suscepti- 
 ble however of a secondary classification 
 accordant with the modifications arising from 
 the joint action of the tongue and the other 
 organs of speech. This second classifica- 
 tion embraces the liquid, the dental, the 
 palatal and the sijjlantes. 
 
 The liquid are Z, r, and are thus called 
 from the semivocal facility of their utterance. 
 From the softness of the first, and the grave 
 character of the second, they both lend them- 
 selves to the production of melody, and are 
 heard in that of birds, The I is produced 
 by a single stroke of the tongue against the 
 palate. The r is the effect of a reiterated 
 fluttering of the tongue. These two articu- 
 lations are the principal organs employed in 
 the inimitable perfection of melody in the 
 human voice. The Z, from its fluency, the r, 
 from its sonorous and reverberant power, 
 this faculty in the articulation of r is strikingly 
 proved in the fact, that of all the consonants 
 that can double in the body of a word, the 
 double r alone has the power of lengthening 
 the sound of the preceding vowel in lieu of 
 shortening it. 
 
 The dental are those which seem to re- 
 
quire that the point of the tongue should 
 tend towards the upper teeth in a more 
 marked manner. They are d, f, n. In the 
 formation of these three consonants, the 
 tongue should tend towards the upper teeth ? 
 and press against them as if to retain the 
 sound of the voice, when on separating an 
 explosion will take place, strong or less so, 
 in proportion to the degree of pressure. The 
 softest will give the utterance d, the other 
 that of the /, both being alike in their or- 
 ganic formation. But as the n in its utter- 
 ance returns back a portion of the air through 
 the nose, it is also called nasal. The com- 
 pounded th is of this class, in the French it 
 is simply etymologic, and pronounced as t. 
 The letters d, £, ZA, have with each other the 
 greatest affinity, and their mutation was in- 
 strumental to euphony in the Greek language. 
 This class of consonants is favourable to 
 harmony. 
 
 The palatal are those the articulation of 
 which is executed in the interior of the 
 mouth towards the middle of the tongue and 
 of the palate, they tend to harmony. Their 
 signs are c, &, g, q, and their utterance is pro- 
 duced by the middle of the tongue rising to- 
 wards the palate, as if to close all passage to 
 the breath, which explode with more or less 
 force in proportion to the degree of force 
 acting against it — whence originates the 
 
60 
 
 gradual increase of the force of utterance 
 from c to &, g, q, all five being similar in 
 their organic formation, and having the great- 
 est degree of affinity with each other. The 
 gn is a compound of the dental, palatal and 
 nasal articulation. The Greek pronuncia- 
 tion of c/i, places it in this class, and both ch 
 and c, &, q, are represented in the Greek al- 
 phabet, by x, Xi tne mutation of which was 
 of paramount importance in producing the 
 perfect system of Greek utterance. 
 
 The sijjtantes are those which differ from 
 the palatal, inasmuch as a slight aperture 
 being left between the organs employed in 
 their utterance, they are susceptible of a 
 longer duration, accompanied by a loud hiss- 
 ing sound from which they derive their 
 name. They are jf, s, z, a?, their formation 
 takes place in the interior of the mouth, be- 
 tween the tongue and the palate. They do 
 not incline to harmony, and are easily dis- 
 tinguished in the twitter and hissing of some 
 insects, inferior birds, mean quadrupeds and 
 reptiles. The accidental c, g, and the French 
 pronunciation of the compounded ch are ar- 
 ticulations of this class. They all have a 
 close affinity to each other, and s, z, #, 
 greatly facilitate the union of words, in 
 which case all three are sounded z. 
 
 The guttural. — The French alphabet has 
 only one guttural articulation \ namely, the /*, 
 
61 
 
 and it is thus called, because, when sounded? 
 it presents itself in the form of a strong 
 aspiration issuing from the depth of the 
 throat. It is the spiritus asper of the Greek. 
 The diphthongal ya, ye, yau, yan, yen, if diph- 
 thongs at all, have a semiguttural utterance. 
 
 Of the articulation of the Consonants, and 
 their use in words. 
 
 As in the composition of French words 
 the consonants are subjected to various mu- 
 tations, suppressions and modifications, the 
 following alphabetic order in which these 
 grammatic accidents are treated may prove 
 of much utility to the student, as also to 
 persons curious in such matters. 
 
 B is a soft harmonic labial which preserves 
 its natural articulation be, except before s, t y 
 where it takes that of the stronger labial pe 
 as in absent, obienir, which is pronounced 
 as if written apsent, optenir — only with a 
 sensible softening of the p.* The b is silent 
 in the word plomb. The words in double 
 b are : Vabbe, le rabbin, le sabbat, abbatre 
 and their derivatives. In these words the b 
 of the first syllable is only faintly sounded, 
 
 * The cause of this mutation of sound from that of 
 b to its relative p, originates in the necessity of a 
 stronger effort arising from the incapacity of union 
 between the b proper, and the consonants s, t. 
 
62 
 
 its function being simply to make the pre- 
 ceding vowel short ; the final b never unites 
 with the vowel of the following word. The 
 initial syllabic union of b with another con- 
 sonant is found in 6Z, &r, only. 
 
 C is a strong harmonic lingual palatal. 
 This consonant has two articulations, its 
 natural one ke, and its accidental one se 
 of the nature of a labial sifflante, in which 
 character it loses its tendence to harmony. 
 C initial or in the body of a w r ord keeps its 
 natural articulation before <?, o, U, /, r, t. 
 Before e, i, it takes its accidental one, as also 
 with a cedille before a, o, u. In the doubling 
 of o before e, i, the first c takes its natural, 
 the second its accidental sound. In the word 
 second and its derivatives, the c takes the arti- 
 culation of g natural. C final is not sounded 
 in PestomaC) Paccroc, le marc, le tabac, le 
 jonc, les echecs. The final c does not unite 
 with the initial vowel of the following word 
 except on very rare occasions, and its initial 
 syllabic union with other consonants is found 
 only in cA, chr, cl. 
 
 I) is a soft harmonic lingual dental. This 
 consonant has two articulations, its natural 
 one de, and its accidental one of the stronger 
 lingual dental t. It is always natural at the 
 beginning of a word or syllable. D final is 
 silent, except when followed by a vowel 
 attached to a word with which the word 
 
63 
 
 of which it is the final has a necessary 
 grammatical connexion^ ill which case it 
 takes the articulation of the strong dental t* 
 Example — tin grand homme, entend-il ? re- 
 pond on ? pronounced as of written, un gran* 
 thomme,, enten-til? repon-ton? The d doubles 
 only in the words addition and reddition^ 
 and their derivatives, and its syllabic union 
 with another consonant is found in dr only. 
 F is a strong harmonic labial. This letter, 
 with very few exceptions, keeps its natural 
 sound fe in the beginning and in the body 
 of a word, as also in the final of words, be 
 these in the singular or in the plural. The 
 final/* of masculine adjectives forms the femi- 
 nine by the f changing into its relative i? 5 
 followed by the feminine e mute, as in un 
 homme oisif, vif, naif; une femme vive, naive, 
 oisive. The cause of this mutation is evi- 
 dent^ inasmuch as the ear is at once sensible 
 that the strong articulation, fe, is antipathic 
 to the soft breathing of the final feminine e. 
 The f generally doubles after «/*, ef, and al- 
 ways so after of. The f never unites with 
 the vowel of the following word, and its 
 
 * This mutation from the softer sound c?, to the 
 stronger one of its cognate t. originates in the 
 stronger effort required of the organs to enable the 
 utterance to pass from the nasal sound which si- 
 lences the d to its utterance with the vowel of the 
 following word. 
 
64 
 
 only initial syllabic union with other conso- 
 nants is found mjl,fr. 
 
 G is a strong harmonic Ungual palatal. 
 This letter has two sounds, its natural sound 
 gue, and its accidental one of the soft 
 lingual sifflante j, under which latter sound 
 it loses its harmonic faculty. The g keeps 
 its natuial sound in the beginning, and in the 
 body of a word before a, o, w, Z, r, before 
 e, i, it takes its accidental pronunciation. 
 The g doubles in agglomerer, aggraver, ag- 
 glutiner, suggerer, and their derivatives. It 
 never unites with the initial vowel of the 
 word that follows it, and its initial syllabic 
 union with other consonants is seen in 
 
 Gn. The g in its syllabic union with the 
 nasal n acquires either a double syllabic 
 nasal, or a semidiphthongal liquid nasal 
 sound, the first of which can be represented 
 as if making two separate articulations pro- 
 nounced by the joint movement of the dental 1 
 palatal and nasal organs, and as if written 
 giie-ne^ which double articulation it always 
 preserves at the beginning of words. The 
 semidiphthongal liquid nasal sound of the 
 gn is mostly heard in final syllables, and 
 may be represented as forming two separate 
 syllables, thus: gni-eu, as in Jegagne, il signe. 
 
 jff, is the only guttural articulation belong- 
 ing to the French language, and it repre- 
 
65 
 
 sents the Greek aspirate j. This letter is 
 always initial in its compound form, c/*, jplu 
 thj rh, excepted. When aspirated at the be- 
 ginning of a word, it prevents the elision of 
 the final vowel which precedes it, as in 
 le hameau, le haul, la honte. When the h 
 is silent it does not promote an articulation 
 to the following vowel, which of consequence 
 remains in the actual state of a single emis- 
 sion of the voice, and thus the h not having 
 any more impression on it than if it had 
 never been written ; if it commences a word, 
 the final letter of the preceding one, be it a 
 vowel or a consonant, is reputed as being 
 immediately followed by a vowel — hence 
 you will pronounce etre honorable dans toutes 
 les actions de sa vie est un homage fait a 
 vos ancetres, as if written etr'-onorable, un- 
 nomage. The mute h is purely etymologic, 
 being preserved solely to trace the radical 
 word to which it belonged. However, not- 
 withstanding the admitted nullity of the 
 silent h as to sound, still it gives a sentiment 
 of sonorousness to the word to which it is 
 prefixed, the absence of which would be as 
 evident to the ear, as its elision in writing 
 would be so to the eye. To persons familiar 
 with the Latin language, there are two rules 
 sufficiently general to make it easy to ascer- 
 tain the words in the Freneh language where- 
 in the h is or is not to be aspirated. I, In 
 I 7 
 
66 
 
 all the words in A coming from the Latin, in 
 the French use of them the A is silent ; as 
 in homme, honneur, derived from the Latin, 
 " homo, honor." The exceptions are, heros, 
 hennif, harpie, where the h is aspirated not- 
 withstanding its Latin origin. 2. In French 
 words beginning with A, derived from Latin 
 words which have it not, the A must be 
 aspirated, as in la haine, la honte, of which 
 the corresponding Latin words are odium, 
 pudor. The words heureux, huit, Vhuile, are 
 exceptions. The elision of the final vowel 
 does not take place before huit, which is 
 written and pronounced le huit, le huitieme, 
 la huitieme. The A never doubles, nor 
 when initial can it unite with any other 
 consonant. It is final only in the inter- 
 jections, ah ! eh ! oh ! The consonants with 
 which the A makes a syllable are seen in 
 ch, chl, chr, ph, phi, phr, rA, sch, /A, as in 
 chaos, chloris, Chretien, philosophe, phlegme, 
 phrase, rheteur, schisme, theme, all words of 
 Greek or oriental origin, in which the A was 
 aspirated ; hence in the incorporation of these 
 and other like words in the French, the c 
 keeps its natural sound k. Whereas in words 
 purely French the ch becomes the type of 
 the strong articulation, the weak of which is 
 represented by the soft lingual sifflante j, as 
 in the word chapeau, cheval, chose. Ph has 
 the sound of the strong labial /. In rh and 
 
67 
 
 ih, the h gives a strong aspiration to the syl- 
 lable. T final unites with the initial h 
 mute as in savant homrae, pronounced as 
 if written savan-tJwmme. In compounded 
 words the h preserves the aspiration which 
 it had in their simple forms. The French 
 pronunciation of eh is not conducive to 
 harmony. 
 
 J is a lingual sifflante not conducive to 
 harmony. This letter always preserves its 
 pronunciation je. It never doubles ; never 
 precedes a consonant, and never ends a 
 word. From the narrow circle of operation 
 appertaining to this letter, it may be con- 
 sidered in the light of an accidental sign, in- 
 tended to serve as an auxiliary to supersede 
 the i in the initial of words before a vowel, 
 and to which, by preventing the approach of 
 g, it gives a soft consonantal utterance as in 
 the words, jardin, jeu, joli, just, &x. The 
 Germans and the Italians give to this letter 
 the sound of y as heard in the French words 
 paya, royal, royaume, or in the English 
 word you. From its twofold capacity of a 
 vocal articulation it equally releases the word 
 to which it is attached from the diphthongal 
 effect of the i, or the harsh articulation of 
 the g. The j never comes before the i or 
 the y except in the pronoun je by cause of 
 the elision of the mute e, as in the words 
 jHrai jHgnore, j^y suis, j^y vais. Finally^ 
 
G8 
 
 it is the j and not the g that is heard in ja, 
 jo, ju, as in la jartiere, la jalousie, jolie, 
 joindre, jujubier, le jonc, le jour, &.c. 
 
 K is a strong lingual palatal harmonic. It 
 always keeps its natural sound que. The 
 French use it only in foreign words, and in 
 common practice it is seen only in the word 
 une kyrielle, meaning a series of tiresome 
 or disagreeable things, a tedious story, &c. 
 This letter never precedes a consonant, it 
 never doubles, nor does it ever make the 
 final of a word. 
 
 L is a lingual liquid of consummate har- 
 mony. u The Z," says an eminent French 
 lexicographer, " is the mildest of the articu- 
 lations, and seems to communicate its deli- 
 cacy to the harsh syllables which it sepa- 
 rates, acting as an unctuous oil, which being 
 poured over the style, softens its friction." 
 The natural sound of the Z is heard in le, la, 
 les, lui, leur. At the beginning of words, 
 and in the final of adjectives it always pre- 
 serves its natural sound. It preserves it 
 equally in the body of words between two 
 vowels ; the Z is equally silent in le fusil, le 
 jils, le sourcil, Ventil, le baril, le gril, le 
 persil, gentil. II final is not liquid, in le 
 fil, and mil, abbreviation of mille, when 
 followed by other numbers. Ill in the be- 
 ginning of a word is never liquid, as in illu- 
 minee, illusion, illustre, &c. Nor is it liquid 
 
69 
 
 in the body of the words, gilles, mille, mile * y 
 nor in the pronouns il, Us. In every other 
 situation il, or ill has its accidental, namely, 
 its liquid sound, in French called mouille* 
 Le col, meaning the neck, is now written 
 le cou ; fol preserves the I before the initial 
 vowel of the substantive which it qualifies, 
 otherwise it is written fou, as in un fol 
 espoir, un fol appel ; cet homme est fou. 
 The I doubles in the body of a word be- 
 tween two vowels, but it never can be the 
 initial of a consonant in a syllable or word. 
 The semivocal flexibility of the I is such as 
 not to occasion a hiatus between its sepa- 
 rate utterance in the final of a word, and 
 the sound of the initial vowel of the follow- 
 ing word. 
 
 M is a labial and also a nasal articulation, 
 This letter has two sounds, its natural sound 
 me, and its nasal sound an, as a pure labial 
 it lends itself to harmony. At the beginning 
 of a word the m always keeps its natural 
 sound me, but when followed with one of 
 the three letters m, b, p, it is a sign of na- 
 sality, except in words beginning with imm 
 as in immense, immortel. The m preserves 
 its natural sound before n as in Vamnistie, in- 
 demniser. In the final of words it is a sign 
 of nasality, as in la faim, le parfum, when 
 double in the body of a word it is not nasal. 
 It never unites with a consonant in the same 
 
 ; 12 
 
70 
 
 syllable, nor when final does it unite with 
 the initial vowel of the following word. 
 
 N is a lingual dental, also nasal ; as a pure 
 dental it tends to harmony. This letter has 
 two sounds, its natural one ne, and its nasal 
 one an. When followed by a vowel at the 
 beginning or in the middle of a word, it pre- 
 serves its natural sound, except in the words 
 enivrer, enorgueillir, and their derivatives, 
 which are pronounced as if written with 
 double n, the first of w r hich takes the nasal, 
 the second the natural sound. N followed 
 by a consonant, the n excepted, loses its 
 natural sound, and becomes nasal, as in 
 Vancre, engraver, Vincendie, mon oncle, 
 Vonde. The n when doubled is not nasal, 
 except in the words ennobli, ennui, and their 
 derivaties, the first syllable of which is nasal. 
 The nasal n changes into m before the let- 
 ters m, p, b, as, for example, the n will be 
 used in ancien, enfant, insigne, onze, but its 
 mutation into m takes place in ombre, impuni, 
 empire, emmener. N final has its natural 
 sound in amen, himen, abdomen, and in all 
 the words where it grammatically unites 
 with the initial vowel of the following word, 
 as in un bon enfant, pronounced as if writ- 
 ten un bon-n^ enfant. The n never precedes 
 a consonant in the same syllable. 
 
 P is a strong labial harmonic. The na- 
 tural pronunciation of this letter is pe, which 
 
71 
 
 pronunciation it always preserves in the be- 
 ginning and in the body of words, except 
 when followed by and making a syllable with 
 h, in which case it takes the strong labial 
 sound f. P final is always silent except in 
 alep, gap, jalap, julep, cap, as also in coup, 
 beaucoup, trop when united to the initial 
 vowel of the following word. The p is 
 silent in the w^ords baptiste, compie, dompter, 
 prompt, and their derivatives. Jn words of 
 double p, the first is only very faintly heard, 
 being a mere auxiliary to show that the pre- 
 ceding vowel is short ; nor is it pronounced 
 when simply etymologic, as in loup, coup, 
 sept, temps. Its syllabic union with other 
 consonants is found with I, r, s, n, t, h, hi, hr. 
 
 Q is a lingual palatal harmonic, pro- 
 nounced que, when not final it is always 
 followed by u when initial or in the body of 
 a word it always preserves its natural sound. 
 Q final is always sounded except in cinq 
 when followed by its substantive beginning 
 with a consonant, as in cinq cavaliers, cinq 
 garcons. The q never doubles except in the 
 form cq as in acquerir, nor can it precede a 
 consonant in the same syllable. In cinq the 
 q unites with the initial vowel of the follow- 
 ing word as cinq enfans, cinq hommes. 
 
 R is a pure harmonic liquid lingual. The 
 natural sound of this letter is re, in the be- 
 ginning or in the body of words it is invari* 
 
72 
 
 ably sounded full, although in noire, voire*, 
 it is softened in common conversation, but 
 never when these words are followed by a 
 vowel or rendered absolute by being prefixed 
 with le, la, les, as in voire ami, noire enfant, 
 le vbtre y la nbtre, les nbtre, les vbtres. R 
 final is sounded in the monosyllables, fer f 
 mer, cher, mur, as also in sieuk, but not in 
 the compounds of mon, mes, and sieur, as in 
 monsieur, messieurs, which are pronounced 
 as if written mosieu, messieus. R final is 
 sounded when immediately preceded by f, 
 m, v, as in enfer, amer, hiver, also in ma- 
 gister, cancer, beheder, in proper names as in 
 Jupiter, Ester, Munster, Niger, and in words 
 in ir, as plaisir, loisir, repartir. But the r is 
 never pronounced in polysyllabic substan- 
 tives or adjectives in ier or er not preceded 
 by f, m, v. Example — officier, tinturier, cor- 
 donnier ; Vender, le danger, le verger. The 
 r is never silent in the infinitive of verbs in 
 er or ir, when followed by the initial vowel 
 of a word with which it has a grammatical 
 union, as in aimer la verdure, aimer a sorter. 
 It is an error to suppose that the final er and 
 ir of verbs must not be sounded in familiar 
 conversation ; such false opinions must be 
 guarded against, as it is contrary to the usage 
 of all well instructed persons, only it should 
 be noticed that in the rapidity of conversa- 
 tion the r, in common with all articulations, 
 
73 
 
 sounds and accents, is less absolute. The 
 double r, in the body of words, in lieu of 
 shortening the preceding vowel sound, gives 
 it duration, although the final r is faintly 
 sounded, but when, in verbs, or when one 
 r is a member of an inseparable prepo- 
 sitive, both must be distinctly sounded, as 
 in errer, je mourrai, errata, irregulier. 
 Rh being the spiritus asper of the Greek,, 
 in the French it has simply the strong sound 
 r. The h excepted, which is purely ety- 
 mologic, the r cannot precede a consonant 
 in the same syllable, 
 
 £ is a soft lingual sifflante, and although 
 not harmonic, it possesses great facility of 
 union in the same syllable with other conso- 
 nants, and particularly so in the union of 
 words. This letter has two sounds, its na- 
 tural sound se, and its accidental one ze. It 
 preserves its natural sound, 1. At the be- 
 ginning of words followed by another con- 
 sonant, as in scorpion, statue, scandale, 
 squelette. 2. Tn the body of a word when 
 preceded or followed by a consonant, as in 
 conserver, bastonna.de, lorsque, puisque ; in 
 the first example, the v or ce passing so rapidly 
 on the mute e sound of the 5 as to be insen- 
 sible to the ear; a blending qualification 
 especially appertaining to the organic forma- 
 tion of this letter, and which is the cause of 
 its exceeding fluency of union with other 
 
74 
 
 letters. S initial, when followed by ce, ci f 
 cki, is silent, and evidently so from the c in 
 these words having its accidental sound 
 which is precisely similar to that of the s, as 
 in sceau, seel, scene, scie, schisme. The 
 first of these letters, in the body of a wordy 
 when doubled, is passed over lightly as in 
 the words passer, bossu. In the words 
 alsace, balsamic, the s takes the accidental 
 sound z. The following rules will show 
 when, and when not, the mutation of the 
 sound s to that of z must take place. 
 
 1. As a general rule the s takes the sound 
 z when single in the body of a primitive 
 word between two vowels, as in hesiter y 
 misere, rose. 
 
 2. In compounded terms, wherein the ini- 
 tial s of the primitive is preceded by an in- 
 separable particle, the s keeps its natural 
 sound, as in desuetude, monosyllable, para- 
 sol, polysyllable, preseance, vraisemblance, 
 &c, all of which terms are compounded of 
 the particles de, mono, para, pre, vrai, and 
 the primitives suetude, sol, seance, sem- 
 blance. 
 
 3. The final s of adjectives takes the pro- 
 nunciation z when grammatically united to 
 the initial vowel of the following word, aK 
 though, from its great facility of union, it is 
 also sounded with words to which it has not 
 a grammatical union. 
 
75 
 
 4. When words having the double s are 
 compounded of a verb, and an inseparable 
 particle, only the second of them is sounded, 
 having a care however to give it emphasis, 
 as in desservir, dessoudre ; words com- 
 pounded of de and servir, de and soudre ; 
 and where it is evident that the additional s 
 is introduced for the double purpose of 
 making the first vowel short, and showing 
 that the initial s of the primitive word must 
 preserve its natural sound, it being a general 
 rule that all compounded terms must pre- 
 serve the sound of their primitive. But when 
 two ss enter in the composition of a word, 
 without the one having been added to the 
 other by reason of rectifying the pronuncia- 
 tion, then both 55 must be distinctly sounded, 
 as in essieux, essence. In syllabic union, the 
 s precedes c, ch, cr, p, plu pl^ pr^ q, t, and it 
 also follows p* 
 
 T is an harmonic lingual dental, which has 
 two sounds, its natural sound te, and its 
 accidental one ci ; at the beginning of a 
 word it invariably keeps its natural sound, 
 as in la table, la fete, or in the final of words 
 when sounded. Its accidental sound is heard 
 when making a syllable with i, as in abbatial, 
 patient, captieux. By the aid of the follow- 
 ing rules the student will be enabled to 
 ascertain when the t of ti has or has not the 
 accidental sound, 
 
76 
 
 The t of ti preserves its natural sound be- 
 fore a second vowel. 
 
 1. In all the words where it is preceded 
 by 5 or x, as bestial, mixtion. 
 
 2. In all the words terminated in tie or 
 tie, as pitie, partie. 
 
 3. In the verb chatier, and in the verbal 
 termination tion, as nous citations, vous cha- 
 tiez. 
 
 4. In all the words terminated in tien, and 
 tienne, as le soutien, Pentienne. 
 
 The t of ti takes its accidental sound be- 
 fore a vowel. 
 
 1. In the word patient and its derivatives, 
 and also in all the words terminated in Hal, 
 tiel, Hon, as partial, essentiel, ration, per- 
 fection, portion. 
 
 2. In proper names terminated in tien, as 
 Gratien, Diocletien, as also in those desig- 
 nating the country from which a person dates 
 his birth or citizenship, as un Venitian, une 
 Venitienne ; un Parisien, une Parisienne. 
 
 3. In the words ineptie, inertie, minutie* 
 prophetie, and in those terminated in atie, 
 as primatie, Democratic, aristocratic. 
 
 4. In the words satiete, insatiable, and in 
 the verbs initier, balbutier ; all the other 
 verbs terminating with the sound ier, are 
 written with c, as apprecier, negocier, remer- 
 cier, romancier. 
 
 Among the many words in which the t is not 
 
77 
 
 sounded, are; et conjunction, Jesus- Christ 
 Vingt at the end of a phrase, or when fol- 
 lowed by a consonant, as vingt soldats, or 
 in the series de quatre-vingt a cent, as quatre- 
 vingt-un, &c. ; but it is sounded in the series 
 de vingt a trente, and when followed by a 
 vowel, as in vingt quatre, vingt abricots. 
 The t in sept is silent before a consonant, as 
 sept chemises, sept robes ; but if alone or be- 
 fore a vowel, or taken substantively, it is 
 sounded, as in Je partirai le sept, J'ai sept 
 ecus, le sept de coeur. The final t in huit is 
 sounded as also in the word Christ when 
 employed alone as le Christ. In ent final of 
 verbs, the letters nt are null as to sound. The 
 final t unites with the initial vowel of the fol- 
 lowing word when grammatically drawn to 
 it. Th has the value of simple t, but it has a 
 stronger aspiration. The t of monosyllables 
 in ant and ent, is suppressed when in the 
 plural, as un enfant charmant, des enfans 
 charmans. In syllabic union the t precedes 
 r and h only, and it follows p. 
 
 V is a pure harmonic labial, and is in af- 
 finity with the softer articulation f. This 
 letter is sounded ve from which sound it 
 never varies, as in valeur, ville, voie, voix, 
 vivre, it is never final, and its only syllabic 
 union with another consonant is in vr. 
 
 X is a lingual siffl ante not conducive to har- 
 mony. This letter represents the Greek £ f 
 
 K 
 
78 
 
 articulated xi. In the French language its 
 sound is equally compounded, and as if 
 written que-se. In the composition of the 
 terms of ordinal numbers it has the sound 
 of z, as in sixieme, dixieme ; whereas in the 
 final or cardinal numbers it has the sound 
 of c£, as six, dlx. X final in its union with 
 the vowel of the following word has the 
 sound z, as six hommes, deux enfans. The 
 x never doubles, nor is it capable of union 
 with any other consonant. 
 
 Z is an exceedingly soft lingual sifflante, 
 pronounced ze. When final it unites with 
 the following vowel precisely as does the s. 
 When not followed by a vowel it is mute, 
 but when it is preceded by the vowel e, it 
 gives to that vowel the sound of its aigu 
 accent, as in le nez, chantez, venez, which 
 are pronounced as if written le nez, chante% 
 venez. This letter never has a syllabic union 
 with any other consonant. 
 
 Of the Grammatical Union of the final 
 Consonants. 
 
 The importance of the harmonic union of 
 words in the French language cannot be too 
 impressively recommended to the attention 
 of the student. As a preliminary to the few 
 remarks which are to follow on this essential 
 point appertaining to a pure style in speaking 
 
79 
 
 the French language, it is well to recapitulate 
 what has already been said, and urge on the 
 attention of the reader, that of the consonants 
 of the French alphabet only nine can be used 
 to unite in the sequence of words, and of these 
 nine separate signs, only six distinct articula- 
 tions are pronounced. The nine visual con- 
 sonants which in the final of words unite with 
 the initial vowel of the word following it, 
 are d, £, w, r, s, x, z, and p in three words, 
 and q in one only. The d final in its union 
 with the initial vowel of the following words 
 takes the stronger articulation of its correla- 
 tive £, whilst the final s, #, z, in their union 
 with the initial vowel of the following word, 
 are all three blended into the one soft articu- 
 lation z. The p, as it has been shown, only 
 unites from the final of the three words, coup, 
 beaucoupi trop, and the q from the word 
 cinq, as in beaucoup a apprendre^ trop a man* 
 ger, cinq enfans. 
 
 Rules for the Grammatical Union of Words. 
 
 A general rule to be observed in the union 
 of words in sequence is, that a word cannot 
 properly be united to another without the 
 preceding word, by its grammatical nature, 
 calls for the following word with which it 
 has a necessary connexion, and which it 
 modifies, as, for example, an adjective of 
 
80 
 
 itself is a vague term, hence it grammatically 
 calls for a substantive. Whereas a substan- 
 tive being an absolute term, it does not 
 grammatically call for an adjective, and is 
 not necessarily connected with it, hence the 
 union of d, n, with a, in un grand arbre, un 
 certain auteur, un bon ami, will be correct, 
 because the adjectives grand, certain, bon, 
 call for the substantives arbre, auteur, ami, 
 in a grammatical order ; but the n, t, in une 
 expression absolu, un gant etroit, could not 
 be united to absolu, etroit, because the sub- 
 stantives, gant, expression, are absolute in- 
 dependent terms which do not necessarily 
 call for another word, and are not grammati- 
 cally connected with any. As another ex- 
 ample, the n in on a, on aime, is united to the 
 verbs a, aime, because the synonyme on is 
 followed by verbs which it grammatically 
 calls for, and with which it is necessarily con- 
 nected; but in a-t-on eu soin? est-on ici? 
 the n is not united to eu, ici, because it does 
 not grammatically require these words, and 
 is not necessarily connected with them. The 
 same with the n in en Europe, en Amerique, 
 en Espagne, en un moment, Je ri>en ai point, 
 because this word is followed by other words 
 with which it has a necessary connexion ; 
 but the n in parlez-en a ma soeur, donnez-en 
 a mon frere, is not united with a ma soeur, 
 a mon frere, because it has not any neces- 
 
81 
 
 sary connexion with those words. Conse- 
 quently ; 
 
 1. The final iitasal ?z, be it attached to an ad- 
 jective or be it the compound of a preposition 
 or adverb, is never united to the initial vowel 
 of the following word without it is gram- 
 matically called for, or is necessarily con- 
 nected with it. The final (7, /, are subjected 
 to the same rule, the d taking the sound t. 
 
 2. The final n in Men or rien must unite 
 with the following word, if that word be an. 
 adjective or an adverb, or a verb which it 
 modifies, as in Men ecrire. Men aimable, Men 
 inutilement) rien est bon, rien aimer ; but if 
 Men and rien are followed by any other 
 words than a verb, an adverb, or an adjective, 
 the union of the n does not take place. 
 
 3. From the rules laid down that a sub- 
 stantive is a term absolute, and independent 
 of any other term, the reason why the 
 final r of substantives never unites with the 
 initial vowel of the following word will be 
 evident ; for with what word could it unite ? 
 Er final of verbs always unites with the 
 initial vowel of the following word When 
 called for in a grammatical order, as in 
 chercher oil il va. 
 
 4. The final articulation s, i\ z, blended 
 in the one articulation z, has, from its soft- 
 ness and fluency, received the advantage of 
 uniting with the initial vowel of every fol- 
 
 k2 8 
 
82 
 
 lowing word, whether grammatically called 
 for or not, and the absence of the union of 
 this letter would be considered a fault against 
 good usage, especially in conversation above 
 familiarity. 
 
 Of the doubling of Consonants. 
 
 General rule, It has already been stated, 
 that the consonants which admit of being 
 doubled are : &, c, d, f g, Z, m, w, p, r, s, U 
 A general rule, and which admits of only 
 very few exceptions, is, 
 
 1. When the doubling of any of those con- 
 sonants does not take place by reason of 
 etymology, it is because the syllable which 
 it makes is short. 
 
 2. The consonants which more ordinarily 
 double are, Z, m, w, p, £, as in la moelle, la 
 pomme, la couronne, ft upper , la trompette. 
 The same consonants are single in poete, 
 dome, trbne, tempete, because the preceding 
 vowel is long, nevertheless, these consonants 
 do not always double equally after all the 
 vowels : a, e, and particularly the last of 
 these two vowels commonly double the I ; 
 the e not only doubles the Z, and thereby 
 renders the vowel short, but it gives it the 
 grave accent, as in belie, chandelle, which 
 is necessarily pronounced as if written belle, 
 ehandelfo) the grave accent on the penultimate 
 
83 
 
 e being requisite to sustain the voice before 
 the first e mute ; m, n, double after a, e, 0, 
 when the vowel is short. The p doubles at 
 the end, and often at the beginning of a word 
 after a, 0. The t doubles after a, e, 0, u, but 
 principally after e, not only to advertise that 
 the vowel is short, but that it is also grave. 
 Often reasons of etymology prevent the 
 doubling of the consonants although the 
 vowel is short, as in scandal, operer, dispute. 
 
 3. It may also be admitted as a general 
 rule for the doubling of the consonants, that 
 every time a word begins by a, 0, and that 
 either of these vowels are then employed as 
 inseparable prepositives, the following con- 
 sonants must be doubled. The student will 
 ascertain when a prepositive is inseparable, 
 if on separating it from such words, what 
 remains is a pure French term : for example, 
 in retrenching the vowel a from apprendre, 
 there is left prendre, which is a pure French 
 word. Consequently a is an inseparable 
 prepositive, and apprendre being derived 
 from prendre, the inseparable preposition a 
 demands the doubling of the p. From this 
 view it can be received as a general rule, 
 that compounded terms beginning with a 
 vowel double the consonant. 
 
 3. When in the root of a verb the conso- 
 nants are doubled, they must continue so 
 throughout all their tenses. 
 
84 
 
 Lastly, having established that the doubling 
 of the consonants, when not by reason of 
 etymology, renders the preceding vowel 
 short, it follows that it never takes place after 
 a long vowel ; hence we write cote and cotte, 
 bailment and battement. 
 
 As the doubling of consonants often embar- 
 rasses instructed persons, the following ob- 
 servations will serve to remove many doubts : 
 
 1. B doubles only in sabbat, abbatial, and 
 in abbe, rabbin, and their derivatives. 
 
 2. D doubles only in addition, reddition^ 
 and their derivatives. 
 
 3. F doubles in words beginning by of, 
 except in afin, by ef, except in efaufiler, and 
 by of without exception. 
 
 4. G doubles in ag graver, agglomerer, 
 agglutiner, suggerer, and their derivatives. 
 
 5. L doubles in most words beginning by 
 al, el, and in all those by il ; the pronouns 
 il, Us, and the substantives Pils, Pilot ex- 
 cepted. In the body of a word before a 
 vowel the I is always doubled except in 
 bilieux, bilieuse. 
 
 6. M is doubled in all the words beginning 
 by com before a vowel. The words comete, 
 comique, comite, comestri, and their deriva- 
 tives excepted ; also in all those that begin 
 by im, the word image and its derivatives 
 excepted; also in all those wherein the 
 m is preceded by the short o, as homme^ 
 
85 
 
 potnme, sommeil, assommer. M is doubled 
 in the word femme, and in all the words in 
 gramm. The n of the prepositive nasal en 
 changes to m and doubles with the initial m 
 of the primitive word, as in emmaiUoter. 
 
 7. N doubles most generally after #, e, 0, 
 short, as in bannir, also when en preceded 
 by i or % loses its nasality, as from the mas- 
 culine pa'ien, the n of which is nasal, is 
 formed the feminine pa'ienne, in which the n 
 loses its nasality, as also in it vient, nasal ; 
 Us viennent, not nasal ; en initial doubles the 
 n in ennoblir, ennuyer, and their derivatives. 
 
 8. P doubles without exception in words 
 beginning with oppo, oppr. 
 
 9. Q. The double sound of this letter is 
 produced by prefixing it with c, as in ac- 
 querir, acquiter, words compounded of the 
 prepositive a and the verbs querir, quiter. 
 The a becomes prepositive by the doubling 
 of the consonantal articulation q, through 
 the adoption of the c. 
 
 30. R. It has already been observed that 
 the r was the pure spiritus asper of the 
 Greek, and when not silent as in the final er 
 of substantives, it always gives sonorousness 
 to the syllable in the composition of which 
 it enters, whilst in doubling its reverberating 
 attribute communicates itself to the preceding 
 vowel which hence becomes long, as in 
 horreur, horrible, pere, mere, frere. The 
 
86 
 
 r after ar is always doubled except in Arab, 
 aromat, araigner, aride, arene, arete. The 
 r of er is double in errata, errer, and through- 
 out all its derivatives. In all the words be- 
 ginning with ir, the r is doubled, except in 
 irasible, ire, ironie, Iris. The r is always 
 doubled in the future and in the conditional 
 of the verbs mourir, acquerir, courir. Cor 
 always doubles the r before a vowel, except 
 in corail, coriace, coriande, condor, coral- 
 lair, coronal. 
 
 S doubles always in the body of a word 
 between two vowels, when it has not its ac- 
 cidental sound z, as in succession, remission, 
 essieu, essence, or when compounded of a 
 word the initial of which is an s preceded by 
 a preposition, the vowel of which is short- — 
 as in desservir, dessoudre, desser ; but if in 
 such a compound word the vowel of the pre- 
 position is long, the 5 is not doubled, as in 
 desuetude. When, however, the s does not 
 make a part of the primitive word, the s of 
 the prepositive follows the rule of the union 
 of the final s with the initial vowel of the 
 following word, and takes its accidental 
 sound z, as in desarr anger, desarmer ; words 
 which are compounded of the words des, 
 and arranger, armer, and are to be pro- 
 nounced as if written de-zarr anger, de- 
 zarmer — the grave accent des changing into 
 the aigu de. 
 
87 
 
 12. T never doubles after a, e, 0, ft, ex- 
 cept it be to advertise that the syllable is 
 short, or that it communicates the grave 
 sound to the e, as in navette, admettre, 
 mettre, &c. 
 
 CLOSING REMARKS ON PRONUNCIATION IN 
 GENERAL. 
 
 On this subject, a learned French gram- 
 marian expresses himself thus : u In gram- 
 mar, pronunciation is the art of articulating 
 the letters and the syllables of words con- 
 formably with good usage, and in the dis- 
 course it presents a succession of varied 
 movements, on the painful or fluent passage 
 from one to the other of which depends the 
 harsh or pleasing sentiment made on the ear. 
 It is, therefore, necessary to examine with 
 care which are the sympathic and antipathic 
 articulations in already existing words, so as 
 to seek or avoid their contact in passing 
 from one word to another. It is admitted to 
 be easier to double a consonant by strength- 
 ening and resting on it than by changing its 
 articulation. Hence it should be the study 
 of the speaker to choose such words as will 
 unite with the least possible violence to the 
 organs of articulation, and thereby occasion 
 an harmonious effect on the ear, an advantage 
 
88 
 
 which will be obtained, if care be taken to 
 avoid a concourse of harsh syllables." 
 
 Although, to further this object, the French 
 language does not possess the facility of mu- 
 tation used with such nicely understood de- 
 licate sensibility to harmony by the Greeks, 
 who no doubt had themselves received it 
 through some channel from the Sanserif 
 still, in the course of the foregoing pages, the 
 student will have had occasion to become 
 convinced of the facility given to it by the 
 mutation of its sounds and accents, the rules 
 for which are precise and distinct. The arti- 
 culations of human speech are subjected 
 to one general law, on the observance of 
 which will depend the value and the har- 
 mony of a language. The aim of the fore- 
 going pages has been to facilitate students 
 in the attainment of its first principles — it 
 is now left to recommend to them that, on 
 their entrance on the study of the pronuncia- 
 tion of a foreign tongue, their first care is to 
 utter each letter and syllable distinctly and 
 slowly, as in the course of general conversa- 
 tion, the duration of time in passing from 
 one articulation or one word to another will 
 speedily lessen. 
 
89 
 
 OF THE PUNCTUATION. 
 
 Punctuation is the art of designating in 
 writing, by certain accepted signs, the pro- 
 portion of the pauses which must be made 
 in speaking, so as thereby to distinguish the 
 partial meaning that constitutes a discourse, 
 and mark the different degrees of subordi- 
 nation suited to each. The usual characters 
 of punctuation, and their names in the 
 French language, are : 
 
 1. La virgule (,) which designates the 
 shortest pause, or till you can count one. 
 
 2. Le point et virgule (;) designating a 
 longer pause, or till you can count two. 
 
 3. Les deux point (:) designating a longer 
 pause still, or till you can count three. 
 
 4. Le point (.) designating the longest 
 pause, or till you can count four. 
 
 5. Le point d 5 interrogation (?) > \r\r e n 
 
 6. Le point d'exclamation (!) $ 
 pause with (.) 
 
 As punctuation must be made to agree 
 with the discourse, the respiration and the 
 logical sense, it follows that the duration of 
 pauses is susceptible of numerous variations 
 which cannot be given by signs, and is con- 
 sequently left to the judgment or impulse of 
 the speaker. The rule for the use of the 
 pauses designated by the written signs are : 
 
 1. La virgule is intended to divide the 
 h 
 
90 
 
 several parts of a proposition with the least 
 possible interruption to the truth and unity 
 of the idea ; as, Health, knowledge, beauty, 
 fortune, and good humour are desirable ad- 
 vantages. I went into the garden, plucked 
 some fruit, and gave it to my sister. 
 
 2. When the principal parts of a proposi- 
 tion first divided, are subdivided into subor- 
 dinate parts, these subordinate parts must be 
 divided from the first by le point et virgule, 
 endeavouring the while to keep the unity 
 of the whole proposition as much as possi- 
 ble ; as, Health, beauty, and fortune are de- 
 sirable advantages ; but virtue is preferable 
 to them all. 
 
 3. The same proportion which regulates 
 the respective use of the virgule, and the 
 point et virgule in dividing the partial sense, 
 must govern when a third division is required ; 
 as, If you do not study, you, who have so 
 much leisure ; if you do not improve ijour 
 time at something useful : I fear it will not 
 be leading a rational life. 
 
 4. Le point is placed at the end of a 
 phrase, the sense of which is completed ; as, 
 The happy conformation of the organs of 
 language announces itself by the ease, smooth- 
 ness, and suavity of the discourse; that of 
 the fluid by an air of vigour ; a mild aspect 
 
 » promises a pleasing intercourse ; a noble 
 
91 
 
 bearing demonstrates elevation of mind : a 
 kind look is the guarantee of friendship. 
 
 5. Le point d"> interrogation is placed after 
 a question *, as, Ou allez-vouz ? 
 
 6. Le point d^ exclamation is placed after 
 a word of surprise, joy, or grief; as, What 
 do you tell me ! Mas ! What disaster ! 
 
 The subject of punctuation will be treated 
 more at large under its proper item in the 
 division of the study of grammar, namely, 
 syntax. These few remarks being given 
 simply for the use of the student in reading. 
 
SUMMARY 
 
 THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK. 
 
 Address to the Student. 
 Prefatory note on the Origin and History of 
 Language. 
 
 MANUAL. 
 PAGE 
 
 1. Introduction. — Language, its derivation, ele- 
 
 ments, organs. 
 
 2. Language of the Franks, that of the mo- 
 dern French. — The Science of language. 
 
 3. Grammar — its derivation, division. 
 
 FIRST NUMBER. 
 
 5. Orthography — derivation, extended view of 
 its meaning. 
 
 6. Letters — derivation of the term. Philosophy 
 
 of Letters. 
 
 7. French Alphabet. 
 
 8. Vowels — their uniformity, signs, classifi- 
 cation. 
 
 9. The y — its Greek sound, argument on the 
 Greek alphabet, its culture. 
 
 92 
 
93 
 
 PAGE 
 
 10. Combined vowels corresponding in sound 
 with the simple vowels — # Note on the a. 
 
 11. Diphthongs — derivation, their identity, rules 
 to know them> — the rapid utterance of two 
 successive vowels not to be mistaken for a 
 diphthong — neither the verb Her, nor any 
 of its parts, nor nouns derived from it can 
 be received as diphthongs — examples and 
 argument in support of this fact. 
 
 14. *Note on the combination ai, aie, ya. 
 
 15. Tfie mouille il, ill, gn, are not diphthongs. 
 
 16. List of diphthongs. N. B. From a lapse of 
 memory, I omitted to mention, in the body 
 of this work, that most teachers and gram- 
 marians designated the combination oi to 
 be an irregular diphthong. If by irregular 
 is to be understood that its utterance is in 
 opposition to either of the radical sounds o, i, 
 this designation is correct ; but, as on look- 
 ing into the formation of the sounds o, i, it 
 is found impracticable that each could pre- 
 serve its radical sound, in the combined 
 form of one single emission of the voice, 
 it follows that the absolute sound o, calls 
 for the modulating medium u, to facilitate 
 its approach to i, which last, dropping its 
 sharp sound, assumes that of the grave e, 
 the result of which is the regular diph- 
 thongal sound ou-e, which, in the word 
 voyel, is softened by the grave accent of the 
 final syllable; whilst it becomes stronger 
 in moi, toi, hi, soie, in accordance with the 
 rule which says, that the vowel sounds of 
 terms absolute, of monosyllables, of finals, 
 or of femi nines, are stronger than those of 
 
94 
 
 PAGE 
 
 other words. In bois, mois,*pois, the oi 
 being enclosed by the final consonant s, it 
 takes the more concentrated sound ou-a. 
 To conclude, although eminent writers 
 have designated oi to be a pure diphthong 
 in the words voyel, after the most care- 
 ful attention to the sound of this and other 
 similar words, I cannot discover the slight- 
 est leaning of the pure sound o to that of i, 
 their separate formation being antipathic 
 to each other. To preserve the o, it would 
 be required to separate it from the y alto- 
 gether, and pronounce the word as if 
 written vo-yel, and not voi-yel. In my 
 opinion, this word must be pronounced as 
 the word voix, only in a softer tone, ac- 
 cording to the rule already given. 
 17. Of the y — when sounded as single i. 
 
 — Of sound — its general application, its gram- 
 matical meaning. 
 
 — Of accents — their divisions — the national, 
 the grammatical, the oratorial, the pro- 
 sod ic, the orthographical accent — other 
 orthographical signs. 
 
 19. Application of the French accents — the im- 
 portance of a pure national accent — how 
 to be acquired — their emphasis, not to be 
 taught by comparison with those of other 
 languages, nor limited to specific numerals. 
 
 22. Of the vowel sounds — of the a — its duration, 
 when nasal, when silent, when circum- 
 flex, when suppressed by the apostrophe, 
 combined letters having this sound. 
 
 23. Of the e — its importance, sorts, organs, 
 functions. 
 
95 
 
 PAGE . 
 
 24. 1st, VE mnet— its nature, modulation, para- 
 mount use— Voltaire's eulogy— on it de- 
 pends the purity of the French accent. 
 
 25. Rules for the use of the mule e— when silent, 
 when suppressed, when sounded. 
 
 27. General rules for the pronunciation of the 
 mute e. 
 
 28. Rules for the suppression of the mute e by 
 the apostrophe. 
 
 29. When its combined form eu, takes the cir- 
 
 cumflex accent, when it forms a diph- 
 thong, when nasal. 
 
 — 2d, Of VEferme—hs formation, its accent, 
 its function the reverse of that of the 
 mute e, when used, when uniting in a 
 diphthong, combined letters having this 
 sound. 
 
 32. 3d, OfVE ouvert— its formation, its func- 
 tion, its mutual influence with the mute e, 
 ' its accent, when surmounted by its written 
 accent, of the combined letters that have 
 this sound, when it forms a diphthong, its 
 various degrees of force. 
 
 34. # Note on the pronunciation of the grave e 
 
 accent m 
 
 35. When this e takes the circumflex accent. 
 
 — Of the circumflex accent in general, its de- 
 rivation, when used. 
 
 37. Of the I — it is the most acute of the 
 French sounds, its kindred character with 
 the aigu accented e, when its natural sound, 
 combined letters that have the sound i, 
 when suppressed by the apostrophe, when 
 it takes the circumflex accent, when it 
 forms in a diphthong, when nasal. 
 
96 
 
 PAGE 
 
 39. Of the O — argument on the combined 
 form of this vowel, on its mutation into 
 ou, and its total eccentricity from its na- 
 tural sound, philosophy of the sounds of 
 the human voice, when silent, the com- 
 bined letters that represent its natural 
 sound, when it takes the circumflex ac- 
 cent, when it joins in a diphthong, when 
 nasal, when circumflex. 
 
 40. # Note on the philosophy of the forms of 
 letters. 
 
 42. Of the U — its natural sound, the com- 
 bined letters that have it, when it joins in 
 a diphthong, when suffix to o, a, when 
 nasal, when silent, its mellowing influ- 
 ence, argument on the countless multi- 
 plicity of words, when the a takes the 
 circumflex accent. 
 
 44. Of the nasal sounds, mutation of n into m 
 before b, m, p, exceptions, combined let- 
 ters having the nasal sound. 
 
 46. Of other orthographical signs essential to a 
 correct pronunciation. — The cedille, the 
 trema, the tiret or trait-d' union. JY. B. 
 In the enumerations which I have made 
 of all the occasions for the use of the 
 trema, the single one of the particle 
 tres has escaped me, this particle which 
 marks the highest degree of quality, that 
 is to say, designates an absolute superla- 
 tive, is always joined by a tiret to the ad- 
 jective or adverb which it qualifies, as 
 elle est tres-belle, il est tres-bien fait. It is 
 also joined to a participle which marks an 
 action or a state relating absolutely to the 
 
97 
 
 PAGE 
 
 subject of the verb, as in elle est tres-aimce, 
 nous sommes tres-occupes ; but if the parti- 
 ciple has a marked relation to a cause dis- 
 tinct from the subject of the verb, tres 
 would be ill placed, as in cette personne 
 est trcs-attaquee ; here it is evident that 
 the participle attaquee indicates a relation 
 to a distinct agent, namely, to the one who 
 attacks, and that the correct sense of the 
 sentence is — cette personne est beaucoup 
 attaquee par les medians — that is to say, 
 les medians Vattaquent beaucoup. 
 50. Of the consonants — their paramount im- 
 portance, precepts of Q,uintilian, further 
 argument on the subject. Disadvantages 
 of some of the modern languages, eminent 
 degree of culture discoverable in Grecian 
 arts, and in the Greek language, the advan- 
 tages and polish of the French language. 
 
 53. Of the consonants of the French language — 
 their number and signs. 
 
 54. Of the classification of the consonants — 
 1, their nature ; 2, their organic formation ; 
 3, their duplicate ; 4, their syllabic union ; 
 &, their grammatical union ; 6, their af- 
 finity ; 7, their harmony. 
 
 56. Of the formation of consonants — 1, the la- 
 bial ; 2, the lingual, the liquid I, r, the 
 dental, the palatal, the Greek palatal an- 
 swering to those of the French, the sif- 
 flantes, the guttural. 
 
 61. Of the articulation of the consonants, and 
 their use in words. 
 
 — The B # — note on the cause of its mutation 
 of articulation, when silent, when doubled, 
 its initial syllabic union. 
 
PAGE 
 
 62. The C — its nature, sound, mutation of ar- 
 ticulation, when silent, its syllabic union. 
 
 — ■ The D — its nature,, sound, mutation of ar- 
 ticulation, when silent, when double, its 
 syllabic uuion, *note on its mutation. 
 
 63. The F — its nature,, mutation and cause, 
 
 when double, its syllabic union. 
 
 64. The G — its nature, mutation of articula- 
 tion, when double,, its syllabic union gn, 
 its nasal, its liquid sound. 
 
 — The H — its nature, use, influence, how to 
 judge when aspirated and when not, its syl- 
 labic union — French pronunciation of ch. 
 
 67. The Y — its nature and sound, the narrow 
 
 circle of its operation, argument on its 
 character of auxiliary to the I and G, the 
 articulation given to it by the Germans 
 and the Italians. 
 
 68. The K — its nature and articulation, used 
 
 only in foreign words. 
 
 — Th e L — its liquidity and harmony, quotation 
 . from an eminent French writer, its sound, 
 
 when silent, when not liquid, when liquid, 
 as mouille, when the words col, fol, are 
 written cou, fou, it doubles, its facility of 
 union in the sequence of words. 
 
 69. Op the M — its nature and articulation, 
 when nasal, when not, it doubles. 
 
 70. Of the N — its nature and articulation, its 
 mutation, when nasal, and when not, it 
 doubles, its grammatic union in the se- 
 quence of words. 
 
 — Of the P — its nature and articulation, 
 when silent and when not, its syllabic and 
 its grammatic union. 
 
99 
 
 PAGE 
 
 71. Op the Q, — its nature and articulation, 
 when silent, when not, it doubles by- 
 means of the prefix c, its suffix u, its 
 grammatical union. 
 
 — Of the R — its nature, harmony, and the 
 sonorousness of its articulation, when si- 
 lent and when not, mutation of the sound 
 er into e, efFect of its doubling, the import- 
 ance of the use of its grammatical union 
 in the sequence of words. 
 
 73. Of the S — its nature, exceeding softness 
 and consequent facility of union, its arti- 
 culation and mutation of articulation, 
 when silent, rules for the use of it, rules 
 to know when its mutation must or must 
 not take place. 
 
 75. Of the T — its nature and articulation, 
 rules for the use of its natural and of its ac- 
 cidental articulation, when silent and when 
 not, its syllabic and its grammatical union. 
 
 77. Of the V — its nature, harmony, articula- 
 tion, its syllabic union. 
 
 — Of the X — its nature, harmony, com- 
 bined articulation, mutation of articulation. 
 
 78. Of the Z — its exceeding softness of arti- 
 culation, its grammatical union, its per- 
 sonification of the aigu accent, when 
 making a syllabic final to e. 
 
 — Of the grammatical union of the final 
 
 consonants — its importance, the conso- 
 nants that admit of this union. 
 
 79. Rules for the grammatical union of words 
 
 — illustration of the grammatical union, 
 when the union of the n of the synonyme 
 on takes place, when not, when the final n 
 
100 
 
 PAGE 
 
 admits of union in the sequence of words, 
 the union of the final n in Men, rien, the 
 union of er final of verbs, why the final er 
 of substantives never unites, why s, x, z, 
 always unite,, not to do so would be 
 inelegant. 
 
 82. Of the doubling of the consonants— general 
 rules, the consonants which more ordi- 
 narily double, double consonants in the 
 roots of verbs. 
 
 84. Especial rules for the doubling of the con- 
 sonants. 
 
 87. Closing remarks on pronunciation in gene- 
 ral to be carefully read. 
 
 89. Of the punctuation — its general application, 
 it must agree with the discourse, the re- 
 spiration, and the logical sense. 
 
 NOTE (A) — "The most incongruous and 
 grotesque* assemblage of words." — Page 
 xxxi. 
 
 * Some time back, there appeared in one of the 
 weekly papers, the Report of a lecture purporting to 
 exalt the advantages of literature — It said :— " The 
 Americans have many avocations, and being filled 
 with the energy of business, furnish but few citi- 
 zens who are enabled to devote much time to litera- 
 ture; and, perhaps, it is well for them thai they 
 do not, as it would bt injurious to their interest — 
 
101 
 
 they might share the fa bleu fate of Acteon, and 
 be destroyed by the very means they employed in 
 the pursuit, as he was by the dogs which he used in 
 his favourite pursuit of hunting,' or, like the dogs 
 of Egypt, be devoured by the crocodile, whilst quaff- 
 ing the waters of the Nile." 
 
 Appalling, indeed, is this tremendous image of the 
 dire effect which would result were the man of business 
 to withdraw a minor portion of his time from the ac- 
 cumulation of wealth, to the advantage of storing his 
 mind with knowledge — the great end of his existence. 
 Nevertheless, I cannot see the keeping of the simile 
 between this laudable desire on the side of the merchant, 
 and the tale of the immoderate ire of Diana, against the 
 luckless youth, Acteon ; or, the casual destruction of 
 dogs for drinking water at the only place where it was 
 likely to be had. However, after having thus warned 
 the business man against what would inevitably be 
 be the consequence of his attempt to rest from the 
 lassitude of business by cultivating his intellect, the 
 Report goes on to enumerate the advantages result- 
 ing from that very literature, which can be acquired 
 only at the risk of being poor : " It softens the heart r 
 and humanizes the mind. It upholds the supremacy 
 of the law — the mother of peace and joy " And yet 
 the business man is to forego not only the advantage 
 of being humane, but also that of the paramount con- 
 sequence of fitting himself to the fulfilment of his 
 social duties, and be the supporter of the laws. It 
 would have been difficult to have found a passage 
 more at variance with the present liberal view of all 
 nations. Nearly fourteen years ago, I was present at 
 a lecture delivered by the late Judge Hopkinson, in 
 which, with an impressiveness of language peculiarly 
 his own, this truly liberal and patriotic man urged the 
 merchants to send their sons to colleges, and thereby 
 M 
 
102 
 
 fit them to be not only respectable and intelligent 
 merchants, but also Legislators, and thereby render 
 them efficient supporters of the institutions of a 
 country, to the honours and privileges of which all 
 its citizens have an equal right. 
 
 I would not be thought disposed to burlesque any 
 man's composition — " mine own" being of very hum- 
 ble pretence — nevertheless, a matter of so extensive 
 an influence as language, should be guarded by the 
 watchful eye of sound criticism. In the form of this 
 most singular composition, the Report is equally at 
 fault in the use and union of words. The " buts," 
 "fabled fate," "boldness to virtue," "almost 
 immortal :" " Woman possesses the lever of Archi- 
 medes — let her be well educated, and use it, and 
 she will raise the world" These and many more 
 similar expressions, throughout the whole Report, are 
 wanting in the requisites which an Addison, a Gold- 
 smith, a Franklin, a Blair, and others of that school, 
 would have thought indispensable. 
 
 In the use of " but," the Report would seem to 
 make light of the precepts of the standard Eng- 
 lish Lexicographer* According to my judgment, 
 it is not correct to use the word " but" in any 
 other form than as an adversative conjunction — it 
 should never be used adverbially, the term "only" 
 being the proper one. In the words " fabled fate," 
 the ear is unpleasantly affected by the shock of the 
 antipathic articulation. The expression, " almost 
 immortal," is inadmissible, there is no modulation 
 of degree between the word m.ortal, and immortal — 
 a mortal or an immortal being, is precisely the one or 
 !he other — neither of which can be more or less so. 
 As respects the lofty renown promised to woman, if 
 she be well educated, and uses it well — I, for one, in 
 my simple womanly feelings would rather be made 
 
103 
 
 to represent Athena, and in producing the olive 
 emblem of peace and plenty, confer benefits on man- 
 kind, than be adjudged to the performance of the 
 uncouth task of raising this " firm-set" world — par- 
 ticularly, as the great mathematician of old left no 
 direction whereby the spot on which to rest his 
 lever could be found. 
 
 FINIS. 
 

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