Pinney and Arnoult's French grammar, a new method, combining both the oral and theoretic ...

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J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS J

| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. |

Preface

The superiority of the oral method for teaching the modern languages is now so generally understood, that little need be said in its favor. Years of experience have proved beyond all question that he who studies faithfully by this method, with a competent teacher, can, in no great length of time, not only translate the language which he studies, but can also write and speak it sufficiently for all necessary purposes, — a result which can seldom, if ever, be attained by the old methods. On this point, therefore, we need not dwell. But there are other characteristics of the present work on which more should be said.

It is now about twenty years since Ollendorff first published his improvement on Manesca's System. During this time various works have appeared on this method, which possess their merits and their use. But it is no disparagement to these to say that experience calls for important improvements in them all. Some, prepared chiefly for oral purposes, have had too much the character of mere phrase-books, lacking system and grammatical completeness. Others again have inclined to an opposite course, and have sacrificed much of oral ease and simplicity without attaining all that was to be desired in point of grammar.

It is to be borne in mind that the best grammar for the French learner is not the best grammar for the English, and that rules may be, and very often are, given, which, though perfectly correct, are absolutely detrimental to the learner. A rule, for instance, on a mere common phrase which is best learned by example, is worse than useless, as are, also, rules on those parts of the language where the French does not differ from the English, so that the unaided learner can not go wrong. Such rules, by presenting an appearance of difficulty where none exists, tend to confuse and perplex the learner, and to draw off his attention from things of real use. On the other hand, in those parts of the grammar where the languages differ, the rules and examples should be full. Too much pains can not be taken to present and illustrate

PREFACE.

these with clearness. Now an ordinary French Grammar, written for the French, is deficient in both these respects. Three-fourths perhaps of such a work are occupied with matters on which the English learner needs no instruction, while the remainder, where he needs all help, is passed over with a brevity, which, though sufficient for the French, is entirely inadequate to his wants, and much, too, which is of vast importance to him is entirely omitted.

This is a subject which deserves to be well considered ; for, we are apt at first to suppose that a French Grammar, which has reputation among the French, and is useful in their schools, must be good also for ours. But a little reflection shows us that this is by no means so. What the English learner chiefly needs is an explanation of the differences between the French language and his own. These must be clearly and carefully laid before him, and the rest he understands as a matter of course. Now these are precisely the points of which a foreign grammarian has no idea. They do not, and ought not to enter the mind of a Frenchman who is preparing a book for the schools of his own country. His sole object is to meet the wants of the French learner, and as these differ vastly from the wants of the English learner, his grammar of course contains much wdiich the latter does not need, and omits no less that he does need.* Hence, too, it is not strange that oral methods, though designed particularly for English learners, should have more or less of this character; that they should contain many rules which ought to be entirely omitted, while they pass over in silence equally much which is very necessary to the learner.

Here, then, is the first great advantage of the present work. Combining, as it docs, the united care of experienced native teachers in both languages, it will be found, we think, to unite an accurate knowledge of the idioms and pronunciation of the French with a more perfect adaptation to the wants of t!:j English learner. The lessons are comparatively short, the oral exercises easy, and very gradually progressive ; all superfluous matter, which tends only to perplex the learner, has been carefully avoided, while the peculiar difficulties which the language presents to the English student have been still more carefully explained. As a grammatical treatise, the improvements made in the present work can not here be specified \n detail ; but it will be found, we believe, on trial, to contain not only much of the ordinary grammatical mat-

* On this subject we quote from the preface of Dr. Arnoult's Pronouncing Reader, in which he says: "American grammars are necessary to teach the theory of the language, and notwithstanding some inaccuracies (which ought to be mended in subsequent editions), we certainly prefer them for teaching Americans to any French grammars, written in Taris solely for native learners, and reprinted in New York for the use of American students. French grammarians do not know a word of Engiish. Their books therefore can not contain the most necessary part, the corresponding idiomatic features of both languages. They give but one side of the subject. Hence it is that the worst American grammar, written for Americans, and containing the whole, is far more useful for teachers and scholars in American schools, than the best one-sided book published in Paris."

PREFACE.

ter presented in an easier form, but many useful rules and much valuable instruction on the use of the language, given in no previous book.

Another important advantage of the present work consists in its method of teaching the pronunciation. This, it will be seen by examining the preliminary lessons and exercises, is united with the matter taught in a peculiar way. After the simple vowel and the consonant sounds have been given, the words and phrases which form the oral exercises are selected and introduced in such a way that all the vowel-sounds, and such of the consonants as require practice, are called into use one at a time, and made familiar by repetition, until the whole are learned. Thus, without the sacrifice of any time, and without retarding in the least the learner's progress in the acquisition of words, phrases, and grammatical principles, he is exercised in a systematic course of pronunciation in all its parts. It is not to be supposed that any marked pronunciation can at all supply the place of the oral teacher ; but after the simple sounds have been given by the living voice, the annotation of each new word at the bottom of the page throughout the course, with its division into syllables and its silent letters, must be convenient to the teacher, and of much value to the learner.

Another advantage of the present work is its capability of abridgment without any sacrifice of grammatical system. The French language is studied among us by learners differing widely in age, talents, and attainments. Some, too, as children, who begin it young, have ample time for its acquirement. Others, as the students in our colleges and high-schools, can give but a brief period to the study. Now, no one book can be suited to all these various wants without the provision of longer and shorter courses. These accordingly are here provided in this way. At the end of each lesson, excepting a few of the first, are given a quantity of exercises termed optional, intended only for fuller practice on words and rules previously introduced. At the end, too, after the grammatical course is completed, is a series of lessons styled supplementary ; while at the beginning, those called preliminary are designed merely to facilitate the pronunciation, and make the oral exercises more gradually progressive. By the omission, therefore, of any or all of these, at the discretion of the teacher, and according to the wants of the learner, the work may be abridged to the extent of one-half, or even more, without destroying its completeness as a grammar, or breaking the chain of its oral exercises.

The introduction of the optional exercises is attended, also, with this further advantage. It gives opportunity for the use of connected dialogues of some length, on the same subject, of which they will generally be found to consist. This serves not only to give more reality and interest to the dialogue, but to call more into exercise that class of words whose chief use is to show the relation of sentences to each other, and which can not be so well employed in those disconnected questions and answers which are given merely to make exercises on certain words, or to illustrate the application of particular rules.

The last advantage of this work which we shall specify, i3 the dictionary of

PREFACE.

all the English words into French, given at the end. By the aid of this, the learner who has forgotten the French for any English word previously given, can recall it without resorting to the key. Learners in classes who chance from any cause to have lost a few lessons, may by the aid of this avoid falling behind their companions. And, as the place of introduction of each word is marked in it, it may serve as a complete verbal index when the book is to be consulted on the use of any term or phrase.

N. B. Teachers can omit at discretion all that precedes page 65 ; as that which follows contains the entire grammar, and presupposes a knowledge of nothing which precedes, except the table of pronunciation, page 8.

In the marked pronunciation at the bottom of the pages, some words will be found marked differently from the general rule. These are not misprints, but anomalous cases, where French usage differs from the general analogy of the language.

FEEZsTCH GEAMMAE.

ALPHABET.

A,

N,

B,

. . bay.

o,

0, c,

P,

. . pay.

Di

. . day.

Q,

E,

R,

. . air.

F,

Si

. . ess.

G,

. . jay (zhay).

T,

. . tay.

H,

. . ash.

u,

I, v,

. . vay.

J,

. . jee (zhee).

x,

. . eeks.

K,

. . kah.

. . e-grek

L, z,

. . zed.

M,

ACCENTS, AND OTHER SIGNS.

There are three accents in French ; the acute (a), the grave («), and the circumflex (a).

The acute accent is never placed over any vowel but e; as, de. The e is then always 60unded long at the end of words.

The grave accent is sometimes placed over a, e, u ; as, Id, pres, ou. Over a and u it marks no change ; over e it marks a change of sound.

The circumflex accent is used over any vowel except y; as, age, oete, epitre, hoie, flute. The vowel thus accented is long, with very few exceptions.

The cedilla (?•) is placed under c before a, o, u, to give it the sound of s.

The aposteopiie (') marks the elision of a final vowel before another vowel or silent h ; as, V animal, for le animal ; Vhomme, for le Iwmme.

Elision takes place in the following words : ce, de, je, la, le, me, ne, que, des que,jusque, parce que, vu que ; also in lorsque, puisque, and quoique, before il, Us, elle, elles, en, on,un,une; in entre and presque when compounded with other words, as entr 1 aider, presqiC ile; in quelque before un and autre, as quelqxC un ; in si before il, Us. E a&n be elided or not before eux, elle. Uof grande is always elided in grand? mere, grand? tanie, grand 1 chambre, grand 1 chose, grand' croix, grand' messe, and frequently in grand peine, grand? peur, grand piiie, and grand honte, when not immediately preceded by an article or pronominal adjective.

Ce, de, le, suffer no elision before otii, onze, Jiuit, and derivatives; as, le out, de huit d onze, ce onzieme chapitre.

Diuresis (••) is placed over e, i, v, to indicate that the foregoing vowel is to be sounded separately ; as, amMgue, knqne, Esau.

The hyphen (-) is used to connect words or syllables ; as, apres-midi.

PRONUNCIATION.

SIMPLE VOWEL SOUNDS.

r 1 a, sounded as a in a/?, represented by a, ca, a3 a, a, a?,

A"

a, a in am, "

an, nasal, "

en in encore, "

an, en, a?;?, e?n, ean, "

" 4 e* m in ms, "

e, ?«e, etc.

e,f e in ebb, "

e, e, et*, er, ess*, etc. M e, a in /ate, u e, ai, u'e, ey, cr, etc. "

Hi -< ai in air, "

e, cs, ez, er, aie, etc. "

e, e in where, "

e, ai, ue, eu, "

?t in ws, " cuyli in cuyhr, "

eu, oeu, oei, "

in

/>~)t f^P'ii P1I0 />)/ Ct*j Uc-ttj CctCj ttt', eu (before r), in sir, "

ci<, oen, "

{ VI e in pique, "

i, ui, y,

I< i, ee in ee/, "

an in anchor, "

en, im, a^'n, em, ym, yen, "

; 15 o,

o (before r\ o in «o/, "

o, oi, "

aw in av:e, "

o, an, eo, ao, "

6, o in no, "

6, au, can,

0< ou, ozf in "

ou, aou, oil, "

on, "

oo in mood, "

oii, owe, "

oi,§ wa in wash, "

oi, oy, noi, oie, ua, "

on, nasal, "

on in wrong, "

on, om, aon, "

z« in queen, u en, "

U*

[S if in queen, "

??, we, nie, un4 nasal, "

wn, ww, e*m, "

Remark. — Y is generally sounded as i ; between two vowels it is sounded as i i, forming two syllables. A cipher over e marks that it is entirely silent.

* This sound is distinguished from eu hy being pronounced like e in the before a consonant, as Vie man.

Eat the end of a word, at the end of a syllabic after a single consonant, and in combina-

oo o lions, is often silent; as, sale, gelera, lie me le.

+ E followed by a consonant in the same syllable, and e at the beginning or in the middle of a word, have commonly this sound.

X Eu and un have no very near representative sounds in English, and require tho especial instruction of the teacher.

§ Oi has the nature of a compound sound made up of the 15 and 1. In several instances, also, the sounds marked above with different figures may consist of the same elements, differing only in quantity and combinations.

PRONUNCIATION.

SIMPLE SOUNDS ILLUSTBATED.

a, la, ma, bal, sa, rat, place, hate, orgeat.

bas, gras, mat, blanc, tas, age, ame, temps, n age at.

an, banc, en, camp,

Jean, tante.

J e > ce, de, le, me, que, se, chef, ne.

est, es, edit, cle, met, net, ciocher, papier, bref.

ble, de, gue, j'ai,

Dey, ranger, chez.

mere, pere, - clier, ces, des, mer, chaine,

Agnez, craie.

bleme, meme, bete, neuf, tete, maitre, enquete, d'etre.

bleu, peut, jeu, boeuf, ceuf, ceil, seul. Eitrope

J. u j eune, peur, ardeur, rigeur, nageur, mosurs, tueur, terreur, meurs.

dix, lis, lit, prix, oui, y»

a.

dime, gite, ile, prie, scie, vie, cocyte, amie.

lin, vin, imbu, pain, saint, sein, nymphe, moyen.

col, bol, pot, oignon, poignet, mode, noce.

fort,

Tor, mort, tort, maure, aurai,

George,

Sadne.

dome, mole, faux,

1'eau, duo, vos, gros.

bout, fou, coup, foule, a out, ou, tout, vous, cou.

route, boue, loue, roue, coude, ours, soute.

bois, dois, long, roi, rond, toit, oncle, loyal, quoi, noie, quadrupede.

bon, nom, ombre, taon, ongle.

bu,

In, lue, vu, sur, tu, sut, eu, j'eus.

bue, vue, sur, mur, mure, plue, j"ge.

un, brun, chacun, humble, parfum, jeun, defunt,

Huns.

DIPHTHONGS.

ai as in mail.

ien as in rien.

ia

' diacre.

ien "

patience.

ie

' moitie.

ian u viande.

ie

' lumiere.

ieu "

Dieu.

iai

' biais.

ion "

occasion.

oi loi.

iou "

chiourme.

eoi

' villageois.

oe "

moelle.

ouai

1 ouais.

ouan "

louange.

oin

' soin.

ua "

equateur.

ouin

' baragouin.

oue "

ouest.

oui

' Louis.

ui "

lui.

ue

' 6cuelle.

uin "

juin.

io

' pioche.

1*

PRONUNCIATION.

CONSONANT SOUNDS.

Consonants, when not silent, are pronounced as in English, with the following exceptions :

C, before a, o, w, has the sound of k, as cap, col, cuve,- before e, i, that of s, as ceci ; c is only used before a, o, u, and has the sound of s, as

ca, lecon, recit.

D, F. At the end of a word, and preceding another word beginning with a vowel or silent h, d has the sound of t, and / of v ; as, grand ami, grand hommc, ncuf annees.

G, before c, i, y, has the sound of s in pleasure, as age, gite, gypse ; before a, o, u, and the liquids I, n, r, it has the hard sound, as gant, gond, aigu. When final, and followed by a word beginning with a vowel, it has the sound of k, as rang eleve. It generally forms a liquid sound with n. (See liquid sounds, below.)

II is said to be aspirated in words which do not require or admit of any elision of a vowel preceding them, and not aspirated (or silent) in words which require such elision. Thus h is aspirated in le hommard, and not aspirated (or silent) in Vhomme. It is hardly ever sounded in French.

J has the sound of s in pleasure ; as, jaloux, jeu,joue.

L is sometimes liquid (see liquid sounds), otherwise it is sounded as in English.

Q is always followed by ic. They are commonly sounded like k ; as, que, question. Sometimes qu is sounded as in English; as, quadrupede.

R is pronounced stronger than in English, and is always sounded as r in rose.

S. A single s between two vowels, and s final before a word beginning with a vowel, has the sound of z ; as, rose, pas ici.

T before ion, ial, iel, and before i in a few other cases, has the sound of s ; as, action, martial, partiel. In the final syllable tie, t has the sound of s, when preceded by a vowel, in all words except chdtie or a past participle ; as, dhnocratie, theocratic

X alone, or after e at the beginning of a word, when followed by a vowel, has the sound of gz, as Xerces, examen ; in a few word3 it has the sound of s, as soixante, six, dix, dix-sept, JBruxellcs. X final is silent when preceded by a diphthong or compound vowel, in words pronounced alone or preceding a consonant or aspirated h ; as, paix, maux, choix, jaloux, aux livrcs, aux hcros, deux mille. Before c it is always sounded like /.-, as in excite, etc. At the end of a few words, when preceding another word beginning with a vowel or // not aspirated, and in most compound numerals, x has the sound of z; as, deux enfants, six ans, dix hommcs, dix-huit, dix-neuf, also in deuxieme, sixihne, dixieme, and their derivatives. In other cases it is sounded as in English.

PRONUNCIATION.

W does not properly belong to the French alphabet. It is used only in words adopted from foreign languages, and then takes, in some words, the sound which it has in those languages ; as, whig, whiskey, whist, Washington, Wellington, Walter Scott. The French generally sound it as v.

LIQUID SOUNDS.

Gn is generally liquid in French, in which case it has the sound of ni in onion; as, mignon. In a few words gn is pronounced as in magnate.

L, 11, in the middle or at the end of a word, when preceded by i, have usually the sound of gli in seraglio, or Hi in brilliant. They are pronounced by many Frenchmen also with the sound of y in yoke.

TEBMINATIONS IN LE AND RE.

In English we pronounce the terminations le, re, like ul, ur, as if the consonant were placed last. Care must be taken to avoid this pronunciation in French as very harsh and erroneous. Such syllables must be pronounced as follows :

ble as blu in blush. fre as fru in frustrate.

bre bru brush.

gle glu glum.

cle clu clung.

gre gru grum.

ere cru crumb.

pie plu plum.

dre dru drum.

pre pru.

fie flu flung.

tre tru trump.

Important Remark. — Eis never silent in French, when two consonants are to be found before it : at the end of words, the three letters form a plain, distinct half-audible sound, as in all the above final syllables ; and, in the middle of words, the e is articulated in full sound with the last of the foregoing consonants, as in distinctament, par/Ement, paWEront, gouvemEment, etc.

PRELIMINARY LESSONS.

PKONOUNCING.

E. FOURTH SOUND.

4. E sounded as u in us ; Fourth Sound.

Je,