OBS. 4. Gh in the Arabic and some other oriental tongues, is not merely a hard g, as in the Italian, nor an aspirate like the German ch, as in the Irish language, but a harsh guttural, bearing the same relation to the German ch that g bears to k. As it has no equivalent in any European language, we have not attempted to distinguish it in pronunciation, having represented it merely by a hard g.

Kh is equivalent to ch in German, and accordingly has been represented by K, distinguished as a small capital.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PRONUNCIATION OF THE MORE IMPORTANT EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

It may perhaps be proper to remark that this brief exposition of the peculiar sounds of the different European languages, has been prepared solely with reference to the work before us. The object has been twofold: first, to enable the reader more fully to understand the system of geographical pronunciation adopted in this gazetteer: secondly, to furnish some general hints for the proper pronunciation of those European names which are not found in the present work. Some explanation of the kind has been deemed indispensable; and imperfect as this may be, it is hoped that it will be found to answer, in a great measure, the particular object proposed.

BOHEMIAN.

[See OBSERVATION at the end of Section XXV.]

DANISH.

XVII.

1. A is pronounced generally as in the English word far, though it frequently approaches the sound of a in fat.

2. E at the end of an accented syllable usually has a sound like that of i in pin; in other cases it is sometimes like e in met, and sometimes like e in battery.

11. The consonants b, c, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, s, t, x, z, are like the English.

12. D, between two vowels, or at the end of a syllable in which it follows a vowel, sounds like th in this; in other situations it is usually the same as in English.

13. G is always hard; at the end of a word it is sounded very slightly so as to resemble h; e. g. AALBORG is pronounced nearly ol'-bor'h.

14. J is like the English y (consonant).

15. R is similar to the German.

16. V is usually like the English, but it sometimes appears to have a vowel sound; thus, havn is pronounced almost houn.

17. W has a sound similar to the German.

DUTCH.
XVIII.

1. The vowels a, e, i, o, and u, are similar to the French.

2. Y is like long i in English, as in nigh.

OBS. Ij is sometimes made use of instead of y: thus, OVERYSSEL is not unfrequently written Overijssel.

7. Ui or uy is similar to oi in English, or eu in German.

8. The consonants b, c, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z, are similar to the English.

9. D, at the end of a word, is like t; in other cases it is the same as in English.

10. G resembles in sound a strongly aspirated h, or the German ch 11. J is equivalent to the English y (consonant).

12. W is like the German.

13. Ch is similar to the German ch. (14.) Sch, however, has not, as in German, the sound of the English sh, but the pure sound of s, followed by the guttural ch, resembling sk in English.

OBS. The FLEMISH is so closely allied to the Dutch, that it may be regarded as essentially the same language.

FRENCH.

XIX.

1. A, in French, is generally considered to have two sounds; the first long, as in the English word far, e. g. in pas; the second short, almost like a in fat, e. g. in bal. A, circumflexed (â), however, has a sound broader than the a in pas, being intermediate between that in far and that in fall. In giving the pronunciation of French names containing an â, we have used the same letter, as we have no equivalent in English.

OBS. The French a would frequently seem to be intermediate between its second English sound and that of short u.* However this may be, the French writers often employ a in spelling oriental names. when the English make use of u, e. g. in CUTCH (Fr. Catch); FUR RUCKABAD (Fr. Farrakâbâd); MUSKAT (Fr. Mascate).

2. E has three sounds: (1.) close, like a in fate, e. g. in été; (2.) open, nearly as in met, but more prolonged, e. g. in procès and tête ;† (3.) obscure, as in battery, e. g. in retour, devrait.‡

3. I has two sounds; the first nearly as in the English word fig, e. g. in il, ami; the second like ie in field or ee, e. g. in gîte.

4. O has three sounds: (1.) nearly as in robe, e. g. in trône; (2.) as in rob, e. g. in parole; (3.) as in lord, e. g. in corps.

OBS. O circumflexed, in French, has a deeper and fuller sound than o long in English: in giving the pronunciation of French names containing this letter, we have used the same, as no English vowel or

*The late Mr. Du Ponceau, who, though a native Frenchman, was an accomplished and thorough English scholar, in giving in English the French pronunciation PARIS, wrote it pur-ree. He remarked, however, that it might be written par-ree.

+ In pronouncing this sound, the mouth must be freely opened, whence the

name.

The e in these and similar cases is often scarcely sounded at all, and appears to pass imperceptibly into e mute: retour and devrait may be pronounced r'toor and d'vray.

vowels could accurately indicate its sound, e. g. PUY DE DÔME, pwe d'dôme.

5. The sound of the French u has no equivalent in English. It may be said to be intermediate between ee and oo; but it can be learned from an oral instructor only. In the present work it is represented by the German ü (or ue).

OBS. U, before n, nasal, has its second English sound nearly, un being pronounced almost ung.

10. Eu is similar to the English u in tub, but the sound is more prolonged, nearly resembling u in fur.

OBS. Eu in the different parts of the verb avoir, "to have,” always has the sound of simple u.

11. Ie is like ee in English, or î.

12. Oi usually sounds like wå, e. g. moi is pronounced mwå or mwõk.

66

OBS. Oi was formerly used in the termination of the French verbs, e. g. avois, avoit, avoient; also, in the final syllable of a number of adjectives, as Polonois, Polish," and Lyonnois, "belonging to Lyons." The oi in these words,-which are now usually written avais, avait, avaient, Polonais, Lyonnais,-sounds like ai (or è).

13. Ou sounds like oo in English.

14. B, c,* d, f, k, p, t, v, and z, are the same as in English.

15. G, before a, o, and u, is hard, as in the English word gap; before e, i, and y, it is soft, having the sound of zh, or of s in pleasure. Gu sounds like g hard; thus, gue', guide, are pronounced gå, gheed.

16. H is never pronounced in French so forcibly as in English. Some orthoepists say that h has no sound in French.t

17. J sounds like soft g in French, or zh in English.

18. L has usually the same sound as in English; but when it ends a word, being preceded by i, or when I follows i, in any situation, it usually has what is called its liquid sound. This may be said to

C, with a cedilla (c), before a, o, and u, sounds like s; thus, ça, ço, çu, are pronounced sa, 30, su.

+ See Bolmar's Fables-Remark on the letter ǹ, page 4.

answer nearly to the sound of lli in million, the sound of l in such cases being blended with that of y (consonant); e. g. papillon is pronounced på'-peel-yon'; CHANTILLY, shản`-teel'-ye', &c. It should, however, be observed that, according to the present practice of the more polite French speakers, the sound of l is scarcely heard at all in such words, so that their pronunciation might rather be indicated thus-på-pe`yoN'; shåN'-te'-ye'.

19. M and N, when followed by a vowel, or when double, have the same sound as in English; but when at the end of a word (not immediately followed by another word beginning with a vowel), or when followed by another consonant in the middle of a word, they have what is termed the nasal sound, which resembles that of ng, as in long, pang, &c., but is somewhat softer; thus, m and ʼn are nasal in such words as comparer, contexte, but have their natural sound in such as commune, connu. MELUN, before a consonant, or standing by itself, would be pronounced almost m'lung; but if followed immediately by a vowel, as in the sentence, Melun a six mille habitans, "Melun has six thousand inhabitants," the final n is sounded distinctly like nn: the pronoun sien, when not followed immediately by a vowel, is pronounced nearly se-âng'; but when it takes the feminine termination, the n being doubled, has the same sound as in English, so that sienne is pronounced se-enn'.

20. M or n, nasal, when preceded by e, usually causes this vowel to assume the broad sound of a: thus, dents, sens, are pronounced like the French words dans and sans, almost as if written in English, dong and song.

21. In, im, ain, aim, ein, oin, and en preceded immediately by i, when nasal, have a sound nearly resembling that of ang in the English word pang. In such cases in, im, ain, aim, ein, and en, are pronounced alike, âng; the o in oin has the sound of our w, so that loin and soin are pronounced almost lwâng, swâng.

22. In om and on, nasal, the o is long, as in won't.

OBS. The French nasal sound is represented in the present work by N or M distinguished as a small capital, e. g. CHAUMONT, sho'-m&N'; QUIMPER, kâм`-pare'.

23. Q or qu, in French, always sounds like k; e. g. quel is pronounced kel; qui, kee, &c.

In uttering this sound, care should be taken not to press the back part of the tongue against the palate, as is done in pronouncing the English ng.