Table Of ContentTHE BERLITZ SELF-TEACHER:
FRENCH
THE BERLITZ
SELF-TEACHER:
FRENCH
BY TKE EDITORIAL STAFF OF
THE BERLITZ SCHOOLS
LANGU~EES
OF OF AMERICA, INC.
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT @ 1949 by THE BERUTZ SUiOOLS
OF LANGUAGES OF AMERICA, MC.
ISBN: 0-448-01421-1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or meciianical, induding photo-
copying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from The Berlitz Schools of Languages of America,
Jnc.
1976 Printing
PRINTED IN THE UNTTEU STATES OF AMERICb.
The oldest man in the United States undoubtedly remembers the
time-worn joke about the tourist who returned from a trip to France
amazed at the extremely high IQ of the French people. "Why," he
exclaimed, "even little tots of three and four speak Frenchl"
This ancient witticism points up the very profound principle of
language teaching upon which the Berlitz Schools of Languages have
based a 71-year growth-from a one-room studio in Providence,
Rhode Island, to a globe-circling institution with over 300 branches.
In a word, you learn to speak a language by speaking it-and in
no other way. That is how French tots do it, and that is how you
learned English.
You will succeed with the BERLITZS ELF-TEACHtEoR t he extent
that you speak. Do not deceive yourself into thinking you have
"arrived" when you find yourself able to read or translate the French
text. You master French only in the degree to which you can express
your ideas in it. The ability to interpret the thoughts of others is
only the first step.
One way of using the BERLITSZE LF-TEACHiEs Rto pair off with
someone else, or to organize a small group. After reading over the
lesson in advance for meaning and pronunciation, each student then
reads aloud, direct from the French text. The lesson is divided into
convenient portions by agreement among the students. After eacb
vi THE BERLITZ SELF-TEACHER: FRENCH
student has practiced reading aloud, one of them assumes the role
of instructor and questions the others from the exercises called
"Thinking in French." When all can answer these questions with-
out hesitation, each student should invent ten or twelve new ques-
tions, based on the same or preceding lessons, and then put these
questions to the others. Afterwards, answers to the exercise questions
should be written out and corrected from the keys in the appendix.
When a group of you are learning together, do not succumb to
the "community-sing" temptation. Each student must speak indi-
vidually, so that he can hear himself and the others, and profit
thereby.
Make no mistake, however1 This book is designed primarily for
the student working alone. He must do exactly what pairs or groups
do, covering each operation for himself. If you are embarrassed by
the sound of your own voice, hide in the pantry! Put a sack over
your head! No matter what form of defense mechanism you set up,
see to it that you speak out! Do not mumble or whisper.
The authors have enjoyed preparing the BERLITZS ELF-TEACHER,
because they are confident: that, properly used, it can provide you
with a flying start toward a warking knowledge of French-and an
extra dividend of good, dean fun.
ROUES OM PRONUilWCiATNON
HAVEY W NOTICED that many foreigners, particularly Frenchmen
and Italians, have some difficulty in learning to pronounce the
English th? They say tink for think and dis for this. The reason is
mat the ih sound does not exist in French or Italian. Until he sees
and hears an English speaking person pronounce th, he cannot
know how to arrange his tongue, teeth, and jaws to reproduce the
sound.
You may expect a similar experience in dealing with French
pronunciation. In developing a phonetic system for this book, we
have sometimes compromised with strict accuracy to gain simplicity,
because, no matter how many symbols we dream up to indicate
shades and tones of sound, you can still not be sure until you have
heard the sounds spoken.
Here are some tips on the more important French sounds:
VOWELS: A E ~ I O U
ah ay uh eh eh ee oh ew
The ew is arbitrary; the sound of U is made by pursing the lips as
if to whistle and saying EE. It may sound a bit "cute" at first, but
you will get used to it.
vii
viii THE BERLITZ SELF-TEACHER: FRENCH
NASALS: Our phonetics for the nasals are arbitrary and purely
suggestive. Practice them now, being careful to keep your mouth
open and your tongue motionless. Then:
for AWNG-try to say AHN as in English;
for AHNG-try to say AN as in English;
for OHNG-try to say OWN as in English;
for UHNG-try to say UN as in English.
THE FRENCH R: This is best described as a dry gargle.
THE LIQUID L: LL after I is what we call liquid. With only a
few exceptions, pronounce the "ill" (sometimes "il") like the Y in
G (before "e" and "i") and J: Pronounce like the "a" jn "ieisure"'
or "pleasure". We represent it as ZH.
Qu'est-ce que c'est?
Kess kuh seh?
What is this?
Le crayon le livre le papier la plume
Luh kreh-yohng luh leew Iuh pahp-yay lah plewm
The peadl the book the paper the pen
la boite la c16
lah bwaht lah klay
the box the key
Est-ce le crayon? Oui, monsieur, c'est le crayon.
Ess luh kreh-yohng? Wee, muss-yuh, seh luh kreh-yohng.
Is this the pencil? Yes, Sir, it is the pencil.
Est-ce la boite?
Ess lah bwaht?
Is this the box?
Non, monsieur, ce n'est pas la boite, c'est le crayon.
Nohng, muss-yuh, suh neh pah lah bwaht,seh Iuh kreh-yohng.
No, Sir, it is not the box, it is the pencil.
REMEMBER: The difference between LE and LA. Tho=
words that take LE are said to be masculine, and those that
take LA are called feminine.
1
2 THE BERLITZ SELF-TEACHER: FRENCH
THAT the word "not" is expressed by ne.. . .....p as, and that the verb
is placed between them. Before a vowel, n' is used instead of ne.
THAT c'est means "it is", "this is", or ''that is".
la chaise la Iampe la table Est-ce la lampe?
lah shez lah Zawmp lah tahbl Ess lah lawmp?
the chair the Imp the table Is this the lamp?
Non, madame, ce n'est pas la Iampe, mais la table.
Nohng, mah-dahm, suh neh pah lah lawmp, meh lah tahb'i.
No, Madam, it is not the lamp, but the table.
le tableau la porte la fen6tre
luh tah-bloh lah pohrt lah fuh-nehtr
the picture the door the window
le mur le plafond le plancher
luh mewr luh plah-fohng luh plawn-shay
the wall the ceiling the floor
Qu'est-ce que c'est? C'est le tableau, la porte, le mur, eti.
Kess kuh seh? Seh luh tuh-bloh, lah pohrt, luh mewr, etc.
What is this? It is the picture, the door, the wall, etc.
Trks bien, monsieur.
Treh b'yahng, muss-yuh.
Very good, Sir.
un deux vois quatre *q
uhng duh tnuah kahtr sank
one two three four five
Y
HINTS on pronunaation: Words like non, plafond, crayon,
uave a nasal sound; i.e., the on syllable is pronounced as
though you were holding your nose. The nasal sound is
suggested by adding "g" in the phonetic spelling. Do not
pronounce it full-gr.
The u between two consonants, as in plume and mur, is pronounced like
"ee" with the lips plused as in whistling. We suggest this sound by "err",
