Frédéric Mistral - Poet and Leader in Provence by Charles Alfred Downer
page 35 of 196 (17%)
page 35 of 196 (17%)
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The _c_ has come to sound like _s_ before _e_ and _i_, as in French. _Ch_ and _j_ represent the sounds _ts_ and _dz_ respectively, and _g_ before _e_ and _i_ has the latter sound. There is no aspirate _h_. The _r_ is generally uvular. The _s_ between vowels is voiced. Only _l_, _r_, _s_, and _n_ are pronounced as final consonants, _l_ being extremely rare. Mistral has preserved or restored other final consonants in order to show the etymology, but they are silent except in _liaison_ in the elevated style of reading. The language is richer in vowel variety than Italian or Spanish, and the proportion of vowel to consonant probably greater than in either. Fortunately for the student, the spelling represents the pronunciation very faithfully. A final consonant preceded by another is mute; among single final consonants only _l_, _m_, _n_, _r_, _s_ are sounded; otherwise all the letters written are pronounced. The stressed syllable is indicated, when not normal, by the application of practically the same principles that determine the marking of the accent in Spanish. The pronunciation of the Félibres is heard among the people at Maillane and round about. Variations begin as near as Avignon.[5] Koschwitz' Grammar treats the language historically, and renders unnecessary here the presentation of more than its most striking peculiarities. Of these, one that evokes surprise upon first acquaintance with the dialect is the fact that final _o_ marks the feminine of nouns, adjectives, and participles. It is a close _o_, somewhat weakly and obscurely pronounced, as compared, for instance, with the final _o_ in Italian. In this respect Provençal is quite anomalous among Romance languages. In some regions of the Alps, at Nice, |
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