s = ss (1) after a vowel or cons. and before a hard cons. : espion, alpestre, substance, etc. or (2) after any cons. and before a Vowel : 8=z, between two vowels:ruse, maison, visage, etc. or after a vowel and before a soft consonant : asbeste, Lisbonnne; between 1 and a -Alsace, etc. s = ss in- also in- Israël. observer, catalepsie. Notice especially -asme, -isme :enthousiasme, prisme, etc. [s between two vowels = ss, in most compound words :-cosinus, parasol, preséance, vraisemblance, etc.] plus-que-parfait, presque, puisque, etc. Observation.-sc-ss-science. I Exceptionally=z, in compounds of trans: transaction, transitif. s is silent in Proper Nouns of archaic spelling:-Davoust, Chasles; Vosges, Isle de France, Despréaux. [but all masc. (2) most Proper Names in as, ès, is, os, us, ns : Arras, Gil Blas, Léonidas, Cérès, Isis, Argos, Brutus, Fleurus, Rubens, etc. Also in-Reims, Sieyès (Siès). (3) in a few words fully assimilated to French :-Le cens, fils, laps, maïs, les mœurs (or mœurs), la vis, ès, hélas, jadis, gratis, oasis, etc. Obs. Tous, used substantively: nous tous. le sens, sense, direction; butle lis, lily; obus- obuze. plus, term of addition; so also in- il y a plus, etc. SILENT. In almost all cases bas, mes, suis, nos, jus, corps, temps, attraits, gens, mesdames, etc. But see V. Liaison (p. 118). Z. SOUNDED. (3) xss in : = soixante (and derivatives); Auxerre, Auxonne, Bruxelles (x also ks), Luxeuil, and a few others. also final in six, dix, Béatrix, Cadix. (4) x = z in:-deuxième, sixième, dixième, dix-huit, with their derivatives. also in liaison: deux hommes, etc. (5) x silent, if final, in most cases :la paix, voix, noix; le flux, houx, etc. les maux, les choux, je veux, deux, etc. Obs. 1.-The sign of soft c before a, o, u is ç:-je perçai, n. perçons, reçu. The sign hard c before e, i, y is qu :-publique, que je vainque. Obs. 2.-c=g, in second. Observation.-Le uhlan, la ouate, le yacht (yak), ouïr, un (numeral), oui, le onze, le onzième, are treated as if they had an aspirate h. MEDIAL AND FINAL: ASPIRATE, exceptionally in :enhardir, enharnacher; and in exclamations:-ah! bah! etc. SILENT in all other cases <bonheur, envahir, luth, zénith. (2) Exceptionally in some words of chaos, choeur, écho, choléra, archange, etc. garde, goutte, Gustave, gland, grand, geler, gigot, gymnase, collège, agir, aiguë, flegme, égal, suggérer (first g hard, second soft). gn=nj (i.e. liquid) in most cases :— gn hard, exceptionally in most foreign le cygne, signal, règne, seigneur, words not fully assimilated to French : agnat, diagnostic, igné, inexpugnable, magnat, stagnant, stagnation. la ligne, montagne, Cologne, répugner, etc. Initial gn, hard in :-Gnome, Gnide. g silent in— signet. |