HERE FOLOWETH THE FYRST BOKE OF SEVYN RULES FOR TO REDE
AND TO PRONOUNCE FRENCHE TREWLY.
THE FYRST
is howe the fyve vowels, that is to saye _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, and _v_,
shalbe sounded in redyng french.
Ye shal pronounce your _a_, as wyde open mouthed as ye can; your _e_,
as ye do in latyn, almost as brode as ye pronounce your _a_ in englysshe;
your _i_, as sharpe as can be; _o_, as ye do in englyssh, and _v_ after
the Skottes, as in this worde _gud_. These fyve uowels be consonantes
when they receyve nat their full sounde, as in this worde _jamais_ the
fyrst _a_ is a uowell, and the seconde is a consonant.
Example of _e_, as _deite_ and _mageste_, where bothe _ees_ of _deite_ be
uowels, and the fyrst of _mageste_ is a consonant and the seconde is a
uowell. Wherfore ye shall understande that the moste parte of _ees_ in
french be consonantes, save fewe with suche wordes as come out of latyn.
Example of
me, the, hym, that, of, the, do, to say,
to put, oure, your,
consonantes _me_, _te_, _se_, _que_, _de_, _le_, _faire_, _dire_,
_mectre_, _nostre_, _vostre_,
wher is never a uowel. All the _ees_ that shalbe uowels in this present
boke shalbe marked as the dyptong is in latyn, thus _e_.