CONSONANTS.
B has the same sound as in English; as bal, ball. It is pronounced in the middle and at the end of words.
C has the sound of k before a, o, u, l, n, r, except when it has a cedilla under it, in which case it is pronounced like s, as reçu. It is also pronounced like s before e, i, and y. Ch has the sound of sh, except when it is followed by a consonant, in which case it is pronounced like k; as in chronologie.
D has the same sound as in English. It is sounded in the middle of words, as in adverbe. When it is final, and carried to the following word, it sounds like t, as in grand homme, which is pronounced gran-tomme.
F is pronounced like the same letter in English, as in fleur, flower. It is sounded at the end of words; but in neuf it is pronounced like v when followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h mute, as in neuf enfants, which words are pronounced neu-van-fan.
G has the hard sound of g in the English word go, before a, o, u, l, m, r, as in gomme, gris, gum, gray. But it has always the soft sound of s as in pleasure before e, i, y, as in génie, gîte.
When combined with n in the middle of words, it has a liquid sound, somewhat similar to that of ni in the English word onion, as régner, saigner, agneau, compagnon, etc. Every word in which this sound occurs is preceded by a star (*) throughout this work. Whenever gn is not liquid, it sounds as in the English word ignorant.
H is sounded with a guttural impulse, when aspirated, as in héros, hero. When mute it has no use but that of showing the etymology of the word, as in honneur, honor. It is always silent after t, as in méthode, arithmétique, which are pronounced métod, a-rit-mé-tik. The aspirated h is marked throughout this work with a dagger (†).
J has always the sound of s in pleasure, and is subject to no irregularity.
K has always a hard sound, as in the English word king, and is subject to no irregularity.
L has two sounds. The first is precisely the same as l in the English word lily. The second is liquid. The liquid l, whether double or single, is always preceded by i. It is similar to the sound of the last i in William.
It is to be remarked, that i, followed by l or ll, and preceded by another vowel, is always silent in pronunciation; it only serves to indicate the liquid sound of the l, as in paille, soleil, patrouille, which ought to be pronounced pâ-i, solé-i, patrou-i. But when i is not preceded by another vowel, as in fille, it retains its natural sound, and serves at the same time to indicate the liquid sound of l. And here in fille, pronounced fi-i, we find both the i natural and the i which stands for ll.
Whenever i begins a word, as in illusion, the l’s are never liquid. The liquid l is marked throughout this work with a star (*).
P has the sound of the same letter in English, as in peine, pain. When combined with h, it has the sound of f, as in philosophe, philosopher.
Q has the hard sound of k, as in the English word quaker. Whether initial or medial, q is always followed by u, which is not sounded except in a few words that are noticed in the course of this work.
R has the same sound as in English, but is articulated much more strongly, as in rivière, river. It is always sounded at the end of words, when preceded by the vowels a, i, o, u. In substantives, adjectives, and verbs ending in er, it is silent, unless it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h mute, as in dernier ouvrage, which is pronounced dernié-rouvraj.
S has two sounds. The first is hissing, as in the English word sister; the second is soft, as in the English word please. It has uniformly the hissing sound at the beginning of words, and the soft between two vowels. Both sounds occur in saison. It preserves its hissing sound in compound words, as in parasol, vraisemblable; and when it happens to be sounded at the end of words, as in Pallas, Brutus, vis.
When s final is joined to the following word, it is always articulated like z, as in dans un cas important, which must be pronounced dān-zun-kâ-zin-por-tān.
T has two sounds; one hard, as in the English word tutor, and the other like the hissing s, as in sister. Both occur in situation, which is pronounced si-tuā-sion. It has the hissing sound before i, connected with some other following vowel or vowels, as in patience, factieux, which are pronounced pasian-s, fak-sieû.
When t, however, is immediately preceded by s, it preserves the hard sound, as in bastion, question, which are pronounced bas-tion, kès-tion.
X has generally the sound of ks. In all words beginning with x or ex, followed by a vowel, it has the sound of gz, as in Xavier, exil, which are pronounced gzavié, èg-zil. When final, it is joined to the following word, and sounds like z, as in beaux yeux, dix hommes, which are pronounced bô-zieû, dî-zom. X has the sound of ss in Auxerre, Auxonne, and Bruxelles.