A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick — Page 3

Vocabulary

trop

tro — too much, excessively

fréquente

fray-kahnt — frequent, common, or to frequent a place

parmi

par-mee — among, amongst a group

nous

noo — we, us (first person plural pronoun)

sacrifiant

sa-kree-fyahn — sacrificing, giving up something valuable

les

lay — the (definite article, plural form)

pauvres

pohvr — poor, impoverished people or things

innocents

ee-no-sahn — innocent ones, those free from guilt

je

zhuh — I (first person singular subject pronoun)

le

luh — the (definite article, masculine singular)

crains

kranh — fear, dread (first person singular of craindre)

davantage

da-vahn-tahzh — more, to a greater extent or degree

pour

poor — for, in order to, on behalf of

éviter

ay-vee-tay — to avoid, to prevent something from happening

la

la — the (definite article, feminine singular)

dépense

day-pahns — expense, spending, expenditure of money

que

kuh — that, which, than (conjunction or pronoun)

honte

ohnt — shame, embarrassment, disgrace

ce

suh — this, that (demonstrative pronoun or adjective)

qui

kee — who, which (relative or interrogative pronoun)

arracherait

a-rash-ray — would tear away, would wrench or extract forcibly

des

day — some, of the (partitive or plural article)

larmes

larm — tears, drops of water from crying

et

ay — and (basic coordinating conjunction)

de

duh — of, from (very common preposition)

pitié

pee-tyay — pity, compassion, sympathy for suffering

au

oh — to the, at the (contraction of à + le)

cœur

kuhr — heart (literal organ or emotional center)

plus

plü — more, most, no longer (adverb of degree)

sauvage

soh-vazh — wild, savage, uncivilized, untamed

inhumain

inh-ü-manh — inhuman, cruel, lacking human compassion

Le

luh — the (definite article, masculine singular)

nombre

nohmbr — number, quantity, amount of something

d'

d — of, from (elided preposition before vowel)

âmes

ahm — souls, spiritual essences of living persons

dans

dahn — in, inside, within (preposition of location)

royaume

rwa-yohm — kingdom, realm ruled by a king or queen

étant

ay-tahn — being (present participle of être)

habituellement

a-bee-tü-el-mahn — usually, habitually, as a general rule

estimé

es-tee-may — estimated, valued, calculated approximately

à

a — to, at, in (very common preposition)

un

unh — a, an, one (indefinite article or numeral)

million

mee-lyohn — million, the number 1,000,000

demi

duh-mee — half, semi, one half of something

lesquelles

lay-kel — which (relative pronoun, feminine plural)

calcule

kal-kül — calculates, computes, figures out a number

qu'

k — that, which (elided conjunction before vowel)

il

eel — he, it (third person masculine singular pronoun)

peut

puh — can, may (third person singular of pouvoir)

y

ee — there, in it, to it (adverbial pronoun)

avoir

a-vwar — to have (fundamental auxiliary or lexical verb)

environ

ahn-vee-rohn — approximately, around, about a given number

deux

duh — two (cardinal number)

cent

sahn — hundred, one hundred (cardinal number)

mille

meel — thousand, one thousand (cardinal number)

couples

koopl — couples, pairs, two people together

dont

dohn — whose, of which (relative pronoun)

épouses

ay-pooz — wives, female spouses in a marriage

sont

sohn — are (third person plural of être)

en

ahn — in, of it, some (preposition or pronoun)

âge

ahzh — age, period of life, years of a person

procréer

pro-kray-ay — to procreate, to reproduce, to bear children

soustrais

soo-stray — subtract, take away a number from another

trente

trahnt — thirty, the cardinal number 30

mesure

muh-zühr — measure, capacity, ability to manage something

entretenir

ahn-truh-tuh-neer — to maintain, to support, to sustain

leurs

luhr — their (possessive adjective, plural form)

propres

propr — own, clean, proper (adjective with dual meaning)

enfants

ahn-fahn — children, young boys and girls

bien

byenh — well, good, very (adverb or adjective)

pense

pahns — think, believe (first person singular of penser)

ne

nuh — not (negative particle used with pas or alone)

puisse

pwees — can, may (subjunctive form of pouvoir)

autant

oh-tahn — as much, as many, equally (adverb of quantity)

compte

kohnt — account, count, tally; to count or consider

tenu

tuh-nü — held, kept, taken (past participle of tenir)

détresses

day-tres — distresses, hardships, states of great suffering

actuelles

ak-tü-el — current, present, contemporary (feminine plural)

du

dü — of the, some (contraction of de + le)

mais

may — but, however (coordinating conjunction of contrast)

cela

suh-la — that, this (demonstrative pronoun, referring to idea)

admis

ad-mee — admitted, accepted, granted as true

restera

res-tuh-ra — will remain, will stay (future of rester)

soixante-dix

swa-sahnt-dees — seventy, the cardinal number 70

femmes

fam — women, wives (noun, feminine plural)

Je

zhuh — I (first person singular subject pronoun)

nouveau

noo-voh — new, another, fresh (masculine adjective)

cinquante

senh-kahnt — fifty, the cardinal number 50

ces

say — these, those (demonstrative adjective, plural)

font

fohn — make, do (third person plural of faire)

fausses

fohs — false, fake; here: fausses couches = miscarriages

couches

koosh — layers; here: fausses couches means miscarriages

ou

oo — or (coordinating conjunction of alternatives)

meurent

muhr — die (third person plural of mourir)

par

par — by, through, per (preposition of means or manner)

accident

ak-see-dahn — accident, unexpected harmful event

maladie

ma-la-dee — illness, disease, sickness

l'

l — the (elided definite article before vowel)

année

a-nay — year, a full twelve-month period

Il

eel — he, it (third person masculine singular pronoun)

reste

rest — remains, is left (third person singular of rester)

vingt

vanh — twenty, the cardinal number 20

parents

pa-rahn — parents, relatives; here meaning those newly born

nés

nay — born (past participle of naître, masculine plural)

chaque

shak — each, every (adjective indicating every individual)

La

la — the (definite article, feminine singular)

question

kes-tyohn — question, issue, matter under consideration

est

ay — is (third person singular of être)

donc

dohnk — therefore, so, thus (logical conclusion connector)

savoir

sa-vwar — to know, to be aware of a fact

comment

ko-mahn — how, in what way (interrogative adverb)

sera

suh-ra — will be (future tense of être)

élevé

el-vay — raised, brought up, elevated (past participle)

pourvu

poor-vü — provided for, supplied; pourvu que means provided that

comme

kom — as, like, how (conjunction or adverb of comparison)

ai

ay — have (first person singular of avoir)

déjà

day-zha — already, before now (adverb of time)

dit

dee — said (past participle of dire)

situation

see-tü-a-syohn — situation, circumstances, current state of affairs

actuelle

ak-tü-el — current, present, existing now (feminine adjective)

affaires

a-fair — affairs, matters, business dealings

tout

too — all, everything, entirely (adjective or adverb)

fait

fay — fact, deed; makes or does (verb form of faire)

impossible

inh-po-seebl — impossible, not able to be done

toutes

toot — all (feminine plural of tout)

méthodes

may-tod — methods, ways, systematic procedures

proposées

pro-po-zay — proposed, suggested (feminine plural past participle)

jusqu'

zhüsk — until, up to (elided preposition before vowel)

ici

ee-see — here, in this place (adverb of location)