9. OBSERVATIONS

UPON THE TWO FIRST TABLES (SEE ALSO LETTERS M.N.)

Am, an, do not take the nasal sound when m or n are doubled, as in constamment, année. Am is not nasal at the end of some foreign names, as Abraham, Roboam, Rotterdam, Potsdam, Cham, &c. ; except

Adam.

Em and en are articulated as in the English words hem and men :

1. In words from Latin, as abdomen, amen, solen, hymen, item, décemvirat, décemvirs, and proper names Jérusalem, Sem; except examen, memento, agenda, mentor, in which en has the sound of in.

2. E before double nn, is sounded like è, as étrennes, ennemi, moyennant; also in some persons and tenses of the verbs, tenir, venir, prendre, and their compounds, as que je vienne, que tu soutiennes, qu'il comprenne, &c. in the pronouns feminine, la mienne, la tienne, les siennes, in many other words, as antienne, magicienne, Vienne en Autriche, &c. See letter N.

Also in many nouns and persons of verbs ending in ène, ème, as in arène, ébène, je me promène, il égrène, il sème, where, however, the e is somewhat more

open.

Aen has the sound of the French nasal an in Caen, a town of Normandy. Aon is sounded an in Laon, another town of France, in faon, a fawn, and in paon, a peacock; but these letters have the sound of on in taon, an ox-fly.

N, in the monosyllable en, both when a preposition and when a pronoun, in on, mon, ton, son pronouns, and in bon, bien, rien, ceases to be nasal when these words are immediately followed by a

vowel or an h mute, as en Italie, on en aura, mon

bien essayé, je suis But en and on reafter the verbs; as

ami, c'est un bon homme, on a bien aise qu'il n'ait rien oublié. main nasal, when they are placed donnez-en à votre sœur. A-t-on essayé? Va-t'-en au logis.

1. Im, in, are not nasal, 1. in the word intérim, and in proper names taken from foreign languages, as Sélim, Ephraïm, Ibrahim. However the nasal sound is preserved in Benjamin, Joachim.

2. In the beginning and middle of words, when m or n is followed by a vowel or an h mute, as inanimé, inimaginable, unanimité, &c.

3. Whenever m or n is doubled, as immoler, immersion, innover, inné, innocent, though in this latter word only one n is sounded.

Un has the sound of u close, as in une, unième, unanime, when followed by a word beginning with a vowel or an h mute, as un homme, un esprit, aucun ami, commun accord.

Um is pronounced omm in some words adopted from the Latin, as centumvirs, album, quinquennium, ladanum, laudanum, géranium, except pensum, factotum.

U after the consonants q and g is generally silent, as in quatre, guerre, &c. See those letters.

10. OF THE Y.

This letter has the sound of i, in all words derived from Greek; lyre, physique, and in y adverb. In pays, paysan, paysage, it is sounded like two i, as if these words were spelled pai-is, pai-i-san, pai-isage. Y, placed between two vowels, is also pronounced as two i, one of which alters the sound of

the first vowel, and the other making a diphthong with the second, thus, payer, is pronounced as if it were spelled pai-ier, monnoyer or monnayer, as if mo-nai-ier.*

B, b, at the beginning of a word or of a syllable, is sounded as in English.

B is sounded in the middle of words, as ab-diquer, sub-ve-nir, ob-vi-er: and at the end of proper names, as Job, Caleb, Moab; also in the words, radoub, the refitting of a ship; rumb, point of the compass; but it is not sounded in plomb, lead.

Double bb is not sounded, abbé, abbot; rabbin, rabbin; sabbat, sabbath; which pronounce a-bé, rabin, sa-bat, but it is heard in Abbatial, Abbeville.

Hard, as in English, before a, o, u, l, n, r. C, c, is Soft, before e, i, y, and also before a, o, u, when it has the cedilla

• Baïonnette, biscaien, païen, are sometimes spelt bayonnette, biscayen, payen, but the y must be sounded as one i.

Double cc and cq, in the middle of words, are sounded as one c before a, o, u, la, le, li, lo, lu, ro, re, ri; thus a-cabler, &c. except, pec-cable, pec-cant, pec-cadille, pec-cavi, sac-cholactique, in which the sound of the double c is distinctly heard. But before é, i, the two cc are heard distinctly; succès, accident, vaccine, are, therefore, pronounced, suc-cès, ac-cident, vac-cine, &c.

Cis sounded as g hard in second and its derivatives, and by many in Claude, and Reine Claude, and even by some, but improperly, in secret.

C, at the end of words, is usually sounded harsh, as in cognac, lac, (a lake), avec, bec, pic, syndic, roc, froc, estoc, duc, aqueduc, agaric, arc, zinc, &c. and in the singular of échec: but it is not sounded in croc, accroc, arc-boutant, banc, broc, clerc, marc d'argent, cric, estomac, flanc, jonc, lacs (toils,) tabac, tronc, échecs, nor in donc before a consonant; but

It is always sounded in croc-en-jambe, franc étourdi, du blanc au noir, and in both syllables of micmac, tric-trac, ric-à-ric, and porc-épic.

In words ending in ct, both consonants are generally sounded; as in tact, contact, intact, exact, inexact, abject, correct, direct, infect, strict, succinct; c alone is heard in respect; ct are silent in amict, instinct, respects; both letters are always heard in suspecte, circonspecte, respecte, distincte, as well as