OBS. Q, in French words, (except when terminal, as in coq and cinq,) is always followed by u, though it is sometimes employed without this letter, in writing certain foreign names. Thus Balbi and several other authors, both French and English, write Qené for Keneh; Qoum for Kooм, &c. In such cases, q is used to denote a sound like that of k, but somewhat more guttural.

24. R is like the English, but is trilled more strongly, especially when it precedes another consonant, or stands at the end of a word, as in vertu, punir: in similar cases the English r is but very slightly sounded. This sound is indicated by a small capital R.

25. S, when single and between two vowels, sounds like z ; in other cases, it is the same as in English.

26. X generally has the same sound as in English, but is sometimes sounded like s; e. g. in six, pronounced seece, and Bruxelles (Brussels), pronounced brü`-sell'; and occasionally like z, as in dixième, de`-ze`-ame'. 27. Ch is like sh in English: th is like t.

28. Gn (the same as in Italian), has a sound which blends that of n and y (consonant), or in other words is equivalent to the sound of ni in minion. Thus, AVIGNON is pronounced å`-veen`-yon'.

OBS. This sound is represented in Spanish by ñ, and bears the same relation to n that the liquid (1) does to the ordinary l. In Hungarian it is expressed by ny, and in Portuguese by nh.

When it occurs in the middle of a word, we have represented it by n and y, as in the example above given; but when it stands at the end of a word, as it cannot then be expressed by any letter or combination of letters in English, it has been indicated by the Spanish ñ: accordingly the French pronunciation of such names as COLOGNE and BouLOGNE, are thus given-ko'-loñ', boo'-loñ'.

SILENT LETTERS.

29. The vowel e at the end of a word, when not marked with an accent, is invariably mute, e. g. in parle, contente,* &c.

30. The French consonants, when occurring at the end of a word are generally not pronounced, unless they are immediately followed by a word beginning with a vowel; e. g. in content, Bordeaux, and dents. If, however, they are followed by a mute e, or any other vowel, they must always be articulated, e. g. in contente, denté, &c.

The particles le, ne, and the pronouns je, me, te, &c., are perhaps, strictly speaking, exceptions: but though the e in these words is not always absolutely mute, It is very often so; thus, the sentence vous me trouverez le meme, is pronounced voom troov rel mame, the vowel in me and ne being entirely suppressed, and the consonants attached to the preceding words.

OBS. 1. The letters c, f, l, and r, are, when final, very often pronounced; e. g. in avec, neuf, il, and punir.

OBS. 2. The French articulate the final consonants in almost all foreign and classical names; e. g. in AMSTERDAM (m not nasal) Vénus, &c.

REMARKS ON THE FRENCH ACCENT.

It may be observed that the French language has no accent in the sense in which we employ this term. The marks called accents, that are placed over the different vowels, serve only to indicate some particular sound of these letters, and not that peculiar impulse of the voice, which characterizes an accented syllable in the English and most other European tongues. Thus, the accent over the e in parlé serves to show that this vowel has its first French sound, and at the same time distinguishes it from parle, another form of the same verb, in which the e is mute. The circumflex imparts to the vowels over which it is placed, a longer and deeper sound than ordinary; e. g. in hâte, tempête, gîte, and apôtre.

It is commonly said, that the French pronounce all the syllables of a word with an equal stress of voice, but that they seem to an English ear to accentuate the last, because, in our language, the universal tendency is to throw the accent towards the beginning of the word. (See XII. Obs. 2.) Others, on the contrary, maintain that in pronouncing words of a number of syllables, the voice of a native French speaker almost invariably rises and dwells on the last, and that this peculiar terminal intonation is very analogous, and nearly equivalent, to our accent. This last opinion appears to us to be not without a real foundation. But, however the question may be settled, the fact that the English, who have learned the pronunciation of names from hearing them spoken by the French themselves, almost invariably throw the accent on the final syllable, furnishes, in our judgment, sufficient ground for establishing a general rule on this subject. Accordingly, in the present work, we have, with very few exceptions, placed the principal accent on the last syllable of French geographical names; at the same time, it has been thought proper to mark the others with secondary accents, in order to prevent them from being pronounced too slightly or indistinctly, as is usually the case with unaccented syllables in English. The pronunciation of ORLEANS, for example, has been thus given—-on-là-dn.

OBS. Particular care, however, should be taken not to break such

C

names into as many isolated sounds as there are different syllables, but, while pronouncing these syllables with a stress of voice nearly equal, to let each glide smoothly into that which follows it. It may be observed, that the French, in uttering short sentences, usually make the different words run into each other, as if they were parts of the same word.

GERMAN.

XX.

1. A, in German, usually sounds as in the English word far, though sometimes approximating the a in fat.

2. E, when long, sounds like a in fate; when short, like e in met: frequently, however, it has an obscure sound, like e in battery.

3. I, long, sounds like i in marine (or ee in English); i, short, like i in pit.

4. O, long, is like that in no; o, short, like that in on.

5. U, long, is like oo in cuckoo; u, short, like oo in good. 6. Y sounds like the German i.

7. Ae, or ä, is similar to the German e, or to the English a in fate. 8. Oe, or ö, nearly resembles the eu in French, but has no parallel sound in English; the sound in our language nearest to it is that of e in her, or u in fur; the German poets often rhyme it with e (à or ẻ). 9. Ue, or ü, is like the French u.

10. Au is equivalent to the English ou in our.

11. Äu and eu resemble in sound the English oi, as in oil.

12. Ei and ey have the sound of i in mine, as pronounced by the Americans (the English draw the corners of the mouth farther back). 13. Ai is similar to the preceding, but somewhat broader.

OBS. It may be observed, that ai and au, in German, as well as in several other languages, are proper diphthongs, the vowels preserving their distinct and proper sound; thus, ai is equivalent to '-e, and au to à'-oo, in English.

14. Ui sounds like oo-e.

15. Ie is equivalent to ee in English.

16. The consonants ƒ, k, l, m, n, p, q, t, and x, are pronounced as in English.

17. B and d, at the beginning of a word, have the same sound as in English; at the end of a word, b is pronounced like p, and d like t.

18. C, before a, o, and u, sounds like k; before e, i, and y, like ts. 19. Ch has a sound unknown in our language, and which, conse quently, can be learned from an oral instructer only. It somewhat resembles that of our h, with a strong aspiration; after a, o, and u, it is guttural; for example, in the word ach.* When it follows e, i, ä, ö, ü, äu, or eu, it seems to be sounded more in the palate, as in ich.* We have represented this sound in the present work by K, distinguished as a small capital.

OBS. Ch, before s, radical, (i. e. forming a part of the root of the word,) has the sound of k; e.g. Ochs is pronounced oks; Sachsen, såk'-sen, &c.

20. G, at the beginning of a word, sounds as in the English word get. In other situations, it should be pronounced like the German ch. In some German dialects, however, it is sounded, in all cases, nearly like g hard, in English.

21. His pronounced only when it begins a word.

OBS. 1. When g and h occur in the middle of a compound word, they have the same sound as when they are initial, provided they begin any part which is a complete word in itself; thus, in the participle gegeben (given), the latter g has the same sound as the former, because it begins the verb geben (to give), from which that participle is derived. It is sounded in like manner in aufgeben (to give up), and vergeben, (to forgive), &c. H, in similar instances, is pronounced; e. g. in gehabt, aufhalten, &c.

Овз. 2. G and h, occurring after a vowel, lengthen its sound; e. g. in Tag, Zähl, Flōh, &c.

22. J has the sound of the English y (consonant).

23. Q is only used before u, and sounds as in the English word quit. 24. R is pronounced like rr in the English word terror, but somewhat more strongly. (See XIX, 24.)

OBS. Care should be taken to pronounce the r, in German, distinctly and forcibly. In such words as berg and werth, the learner should be particularly on his guard against allowing the e to become like short u, as in similar words in English. The e, in such cases, should have the same sound as in our word merit, so that berg should be pronounced almost as if written bairg (not burg); werth, as Wairt (not Wurt), but somewhat shorter.

Those who have no opportunity of acquiring this sound from a German, might, perhaps, learn it from a Scotchman, as the Scotch ch is essentially the same with the German, though pronounced somewhat more strongly.

25. S, at the beginning of a word, or between two vowels, is like z; in other cases it is sharp, as in this. Ss is always sharp.

26. Sch sounds like the English sh; sz like ss.

27. Th is pronounced like t.

28. V sounds like ƒ in English, except when between two vowels; it is then usually pronounced like our v.

29. W resembles our v, but in pronouncing it, the upper teeth should not be allowed to touch the lower lip, as is done in uttering the English v. This sound is indicated by a capital W.

6. Tv (upsilon) is nearly like the French u (or ü).

7. (ōměga) is like o in English, there being no difference between this and omicron in prose; in poetry w is longer.