Beginning French

Preface

Beginning French is strictly an introductory book intended for first year work in schools and colleges.

Grammatical theory has been cut down to what seems to the authors the irreducible minimum. Much that is ordinarily included in similar books has been omitted. Attention is concentrated on a few cardinal facts in the hope that the student will thus acquire a sure knowledge of these, in place of the usual vague smattering of many rules.

A small concrete vocabulary of about 800 words dealing with matters of e very-day life has been used. These are so constantly repeated that the student is expected to end by handling the whole list with perfect readiness. The vocabulary of each lesson runs to about twenty words only, to be learned once for all.

The book, while insisting on a thoroughly mastered background of grammatical discipline, leans to the conversational method, and emphasizes the importance of repeated drill on the simplest elements and constructions of colloquial French. The principle of imitation has been utilized to an unusual extent. The Drills enable the student to study intelligently and to make sure that he rightly understands and applies his precepts. The Dialogues offer him the opportunity to do this in a larger and freer way — a thing which, without such guidance, he usually finds impossible. It is hoped they will particularly appeal to teachers who emphasize conversational work in the class-room, as they furnish not only subject-matter but a practicable device for preparation.

For the sake of variety, much more material for practise has been furnished than is needed. The teacher may pick and choose. Each lesson is divided into two parts, the first

IV PREFACE

sufficient in itself, the second supplementary. The latter may be largely or entirely omitted by those who desire only a rapid survey of the elements of French — or it may be reserved for use in going through the book a second time.

So far as is compatible with its purely elementary character, the French text offers to the student consecutive instead of disconnected matter, a feature whose advantages are now so commonly recognized as to require no comment. The Readings should be read aloud with accuracy and animation, and only occasionally and partly translated. The Résumés, prepared in advance, may be given with closed books, the teacher pronouncing the words one by one and calling on the first volunteer to amplify. They should not be allowed to consume much time.

The phonetic notation running through the book may be disregarded by those who prefer to adhere to the purely imitative method. It is hoped, however, that the extreme simplicity of the system here used will encourage both teachers and students to utilize an aid that affords such unquestionable advantages on very easy terms.1

1 In the choice of a phonetic alphabet, our aim has been practical, not scientific. The alphabet of the International Phonetic Association has been discarded, not only because of the symbols [3], [§], [ji] and certain vowelsymbols which repel the beginning student, but particularly on account of the confusion which results from the use of the symbols [u] and [y] alongside the letters u = [y] and y = [i]. We have preferred to return to something like the system used by Professor Grandgent in the early '90's. In our alphabet we have adhered as closely as possible to the normal spelling. When the student has learned the alphabet he already knows the important rules for pronunciation; e.g., the symbols [â], [a], [é], [è], [e], [ô], [o] teach him the usual ways of spelling these sounds: a circumflex over a means to him the sound [â], an acute over e means [é], etc. [y] and [w] are intelligible deviations from our scheme, as it is manifestly impossible to write these sounds as they are spelled: the corresponding English spelling has been used. It seemed advisable to write [u], not [u], to avoid the tendency on the part of the pupil to use the English sound of u [ou] or [iou], but the teacher may, if he desires, instruct his students to eliminate the dieresis. Particular care must be taken to teach that [ch] is not the English [tch].

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