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ter any language so thoroughly as by making some one good book his study till he knows it perfectly. Mr. Tarver is fully aware of the objections to a series of short extracts or scraps, which dissipate the pupil's attention, and teach him nothing at all; and he has accordingly given extracts of considerable length. Without presuming to settle the question between books containing extracts of considerable length, and the use of a single book, we have no hesitation in condemning the scrap system as decidedly bad, and we hope to see it soon abandoned. We hope also to see the practice of writing and speaking French made the chief part of tuition in that language. Compared with this, it is of small importance what kind of a book is used in reading French, for reading alone never yet gave a person the power of writing and speaking; and though to many people the power of writing and speaking a foreign tongue is of small practical use, while the power of reading is often a matter of great importance, we must not forget that he who can write and speak can also read, and we think that the readiest means of attaining the reading power will be found in the extension of the practice of speaking and writing.

Mr. Tarver has added to the value of his little work, by giving, in addition to the extracts from old established works, such as Gil Blas, Télemaque, and Charles XII., some few extracts from modern writers, Mignet, Ségur, Jouy, &c. The poetical part of the volume is, we think, too large, being rather more than one-half of the whole; and we make this objection more with reference to the real use of the book than with the view of expressing an unfavourable opinion of French poetry. Few Englishmen, it is true, relish French poetry, except La Fontaine, and that part of the language is in all points of view, as a matter of education, of very little importance when compared with the prose.

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We come now to speak of that part of Mr. Tarver's book which gives it a value above ordinary books of extracts. has marked in italics those words in which the idiomatic distinctions of the French language lie, and has thus given a help to the eye, which we think is of great utility. The following is a specimen from Ségur's Retreat of the Grand Army, p. 133.

Mais le sir Novembre le ciel se déclare. Son azur disparaît, l'armée marche enveloppée de vapeurs froides. Ces vapeurs s'épaississent: bientôt c'est un nuage immense qui s'abaisse et fond sur elle en gros flocons de neige. Il semble que le ciel descende et se Joigne à cette terre, et à ces peuples ennemis pour achever notre perte. Tout alors est confondu et méconnaissable; les objets changent d'aspect; on marche sans savoir où l'on est, sans apercevoir son but; tout devient obstacle.

The student on turning to the Phraséologie comparée at the end of the volume, will find in the alphabetical order under the word changer, some other modes of expression similar to changent d'aspect in the passage which we have just quoted. He will also find other examples of the more ordinary usage of changer, accompanied with the equivalent English expressions in an opposite column. The manner in which this is done will be best explained by giving an instance. The usage of sans with an infinitive is marked, in the passage quoted, by italics, as requiring particular notice; and under the head of sans, in the Phraséologie we find

SANS has an infinitive after it, or the subjunctive mood.

Entrez sans faire de bruit.

Tâchez d'entrer sans qu'il vous voie.

Ne le voyez-vous pas bien, sans que je vous le dise.

Come in without making a noise.
Try to come in without his seeing you.
Don't you see it, without my telling you?

See CONJUNCTIONS and PREPOSITIONS.

SANS has also the sense of had it not been for, were it not for. Sans moi vous n'eussiez pas réussi. Had it not been for me, you would not have succeeded.

By turning to this Phraséologie the student not only learns the English equivalent to the French phrase, which occurs in his lesson, but he is also made acquainted, at the same time, with other important usages of the same word. We think that a student after going through those extracts carefully, will have aquired a very competent knowledge of those French idioms which are of indispensable necessity in writing and speaking. Mr. Tarver is, however, aware that a mere reference to the Phraséologie will not teach the idioms of the French language, and he therefore suggests the following mode of using it.

-To have the prose part interleaved, and to require the learner to copy on the blank leaf such phrases, out of those given in explanation, as may be adapted to the passages printed in italics on the other side; and after having made them say the phrases thus copied, to make them the subject of viva voce practice in speaking.

This may be useful as far it goes, but is hardly precise enough. The great difficulty in all languages, and perhaps more especially the French, is to learn those modes of expression which correspond as nearly as possible to the modes of our own language. This can never be acquired by learning single words, however extensive may be the vocabulary which we treasure up, and experience daily proves that it cannot be acquired by learning the English that correspond to French phrases. We must, therefore, learn thoroughly the French phrases that correspond to the English, and this is mainly

accomplished by the practice of writing and speaking. But the practice of speaking, which Mr. Tarver very properly recommends, can perhaps hardly be commenced as soon as that of writing. We think that the Phraséologie might be made of very great use, if the pupils were required to write first short sentences, and then short narratives, in which they should introduce the phrases acquired from reading the extracts and referring to the Phraséologie. Numerous important idioms would thus be fixed in the memory by the practice of writing, and in a short time the pupil would have confidence enough to use them in conversation also. Though we admit the great importance and necessity of leading the pupil on to conversation as soon as possible, we are of opinion that he may be led to it too soon, one disadvantage of which will be, that the difficulty of the undertaking, and his want of success at the commencement, may operate unfavourably, and discourage him in his future attempts. When the real mode in which languages are acquired shall be more generally understood and acknowledged as a truth, we shall see that there is no real difference in the mode of acquiring a dead and a living language,—except in the higher degree of certainty and completeness with which the latter is attainable*.

We consider the plan of this Phraséologie to be exceedingly well adapted to facilitate the acquisition of the French language, and also likely to be useful to those who have made some progress in it, and wish to continue the labour of selfimprovement. It is a recommendation to Mr. Tarver's work, that the English idiom of the Phraséologie, though not free from errors, is on the whole good, and much superior to what most French teachers would have given us. Should, however, Mr. Tarver have occasion to make a second edition, he would find it worth while to submit that part of his work to some Englishman well versed in the idioms of both languages. We cannot commend the typographical execution of the work, which we believe to contain a great many misprints. The short extract which we gave from Ségur contains two, and in dipping into other parts of the volume, we have found such French words as grant, objects, en l'armes, les bruit, enrinonne, remplivent, empoi, &c., which may puzzle beginners.

Mr. Tarver is already well known as the author of a useful dictionary of French verbs, and his efforts are the more laudable, as they are made in a place which is always backward in adopting improvements, and seldom the first to make them.

* See some remarks on the learning of Greek.-Journal vii., p. 110.

RUDIMENTS OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE.

Rudiments of the French Language, containing Rules and Exercises on Pronunciation, Principles of Translation, with Exercises for translating French into English, and a Lexicon of Words, including Irregular Verbs, which cannot be found in any dictionary hitherto published. By L. T. Ventouillac, Professor of the French Language and Literature to King's College, London: Sampson Low, 1833.

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We have given the whole of M. Ventouillac's title-page, though rather a long one for so short a book, in order to save ourselves the trouble of explaining the nature of his work. M. Ventouillac remarks in his Preface, that it is singular, while so many grammars have been written to teach the student how to translate English into French, no book (to his knowledge at least) has yet appeared to enable a beginner to translate French into English. The exercises in the present work have been made progressive, so as to lead the pupil from the easiest sentences to the most difficult passages. To the exercises have been prefixed, under the title of Principles of Translation, a series of rules, numbered for the purpose of reference, and pointing out the manner of translating, not only the exercises in this volume, but the idiomatic expressions and difficult passages which may be found in any French book.

M. Ventouillac's work is not intended to be a grammar, but a companion to any grammar, and to be designed to introduce a beginner to a knowledge of corresponding French and English idioms for the purpose of translating the former into the latter. We shall make a few remarks on the plan and exe cution of this work, premising that we do not yet think that any of the numerous French books lately published seem to satisfy altogether the wants of a beginner. The fact is, that the living instructor does more than any book can do; and although he must make use of such implements as books, the less he makes use of them at the beginning, the better, in our opinion. Some book for occasional translation is certainly necessary; and some book of reference, in which the pupil can find a number of the most essential French idioms, with the corresponding English, arranged in a series of progressive difficulty, is also useful, and perhaps indispensable. Such a book it seems to have been M. Ventouillac's object to make.

The author, in the few introductory pages on the Principles of Pronunciation, has very wisely, in our opinion, not attempted to represent French pronunciation by English characters; and this change, though but a slight one, we consider to be of great

importance. The pupil must learn the sounds from a master; and if he be a pupil past the ordinary school age, we are of opinion that one of the best steps for him to take is, to learn to read the language first, even before he attempts to translate or understand it. Of this, at least, we are certain, that those who begin to study a modern language without the aid of a master, and when they have made a little progress call in his assistance, do not act more wisely than a man who resolves to doctor himself up to a certain point, and then to call in the physician. The most economical and the most successful plan will be to have the teacher's assistance at the beginning, and to make the pronunciation of the language the main thing at first. Words cannot be learned without their names, that is, without the right pronunciation, and the pronunciation can only be learned by imitating the human voice. Those who have learned a modern language, without at the same time learning the pronunciation accurately, never can understand that language well, for want of attaching definite sounds to the words which compose the language.

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The following is the first of the Introductory Exercises,' page 13.

REMARK. The figure attached to a word refers to the Rule in the Principles of Translation, according to which that word should be translated.

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I. ON THE ARTICLE AND THE SUBSTANTIve.
Pages 31 to 35.

Je n'ai pas de vin.

J'ai le livre. Avez-vous la plume? Ils ont les ardoises. Nous avons des crayons. Elle a de l'encre. Ont-ils de la patience? Vous n'avez pas d'amitié. N'avons nous pas de plaisir? N'ont ils pas d'ambition? Aurez-vous des oranges? La maison du père. La voix de la sœur. Avez-vous la bouteille au 6 vin? Dans le marché au poisson. Aura-t-elle des bijoux. Votre frère a-t-il des livres ? Leur sœur a-t-elle des amis ?'

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Translate and Parse.

Les maux

'Le palais du roi. de l'homme. Aux yeux 18 de la sœur. Huit sous la livre. Il n'a pas d'enfans.'

The pages referred to at the head of this extract are those in which the uses of the article are exemplified by corresponding French and English idioms.

It has always appeared to us that there is considerable difficulty in saying what is the best way to begin teaching a child French, or any other modern language. That there are many ways of succeeding is shown by the fact, that children do learn in a variety of ways, and with masters of very different degrees of skill, though no doubt some methods are both more expeditious and certain than others. In all cases much depends on

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