ABSTRACT
PAUL PASSY. May, 1907.
(ø )
(o )
R
SOUNDS IN GENERAL 1 Sounds and noises 1 The natural sounds of bodies. Resonance chambers 4
SOUNDS OF LANGUAGE 5 Organs of Speech 6
Respiratory System 6 Structures which modify respiration 7
Formation of Speech 9 PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION 10
SECOND PART: THE CONSTITUTION OF LANGUAGE
Different kinds of variations 15 Intensity of speech 17 Distinctne0ss 19
Quality of tone 20 Accessories of language 21
Breath-groups 23 GROUPS DEPENDING ON INTENSITY 28
1. Stress-groups 28
The force of the breath 28 Stress 31
Reinforcement and shifting of stress 32 2. Syllables 38
Sonority 38 Syllables 39
CONTENTS vii
Quantity 42 Double sounds 47
Inflection 48 STUDY OF THE SOUNDS 54
General classification 54
Vowels 55 Classification of vowels 55 Normal vowels 57 Abnormal vowels 58 Detailed description of the oral vowels 60 Nasalized vowels 62 Weak vowels 64 General characteristics of the French vowels 66
Consonants 67 Classification of consonants 67
Table of consonants 71 Detailed description of the consonants 71
Vowels and consonants 85 Accessory sounds 86
Inverse sounds 86
Clicks 86 Whispered sounds 87 Whistling 88
COMBINATION OF SOUNDS 88 Glides 88 Assimilation 92 Elision 95 Liaison 96
THIRD PART: THE REPRESENTATION OP LANGUAGE
1. Texts in conversational pronunciation 104
2. Text in careful pronunciation 108 3. Text in very careful pronunciation 110 4. Text in rapid conversational pronunciation 112
APPENDICES
,, B. Different French pronunciations compared 118 ,, C. French dialects 120 ,, D. An attempt at the reconstruction of old
French pronunciations 123 ,, E. Orthoepical rules 125
,, F. Specimen of French phonetic writing 132
Table of Sounds page v
FIG. 4. The larynx, with the right shield cartilage removed.
