158

The Loom of Language

(2) Nasalized E (e\ written IN, EN, AIN3 BIN, IM, AIM, e g /HI,

romam> plein (full), simple, faim (hunger)^
cfo<2?z (dog)

(3) Nasalized O (o), written ON3 OM, e g bon (good)3 corrompu

(corrupt)

(4) Nasalized U (<£)> written UN3 UM5 e g &ra/2 (brown); humble

IN- has a nasal sound when prefixed to a word beginning with a
consonant;, as in znjuste When prefixed to a word beginning
with a vowel or a mute H5 as in inutile^ inhumam, it is pro-
nounced like the IN- in English inefficient

Double N does not cause nasalization of the preceding vowel, e g
banmr (banish)

The French H is an empty symbol It is always soundless, but its
presence a*, the begmn.ng of some words affects pronunciation of its
predecessor From this point of view we can put French nouns with
an initial H in two classes In words of the mute-H class it is a dummy.,
i e its succeeding vowel brings to life an otherwise mute final consonant
of the preceding word^ or suppresses the vowel of the definite article In
a second class of words the initial H^ though silent on its own account,
protects the following vowel from a tie-up with the preceding conso-
nantj or the suppression of the final vowel of the definite article. The
second class consists of Teutonic words, largely those which the
Franks left behind them, or of Greek words introduced by scholars

DUMMY H

Fherbe
(grass)

Fheure
(the hour)

Fhirondeth
(t&e swallow)

I'hmle
(oil)

1 huitre
(the oyster)

Fhdbitude
(custom)

Fhamme
(the man)

V heritage

Vktstonen

Fhonneur*

Vhwer
(winter)

Vhoiel
(the hotel)

la hache
la hate
la hawe
la harpe
la Hongiie
le hibou
le hat eng
le hazard
le h&os
le homard
le havre

BUFFER H

(the axe)
(the hedge)
(hate)
(the harp)
(Hungary)
(the owl)
(the herring)
(chance)
(the hero)
(the lobster)
(the harbour)

The buffer H of Jieros prevents confusion between les heros and les
zerosy when other evidence is lacking
STRESS —The way in which the common people of the Roman Empire
stressed their words has left a deep mark on the modern Romance
languages Unlike the Gieeks3 the Romans never stressed the last syllable
of a polysyllabic word Words of two syllables had the stress on the fitst,
e g ptiro (pureX Words of more than two had it on the last but one if