French Linguistics I : Analysis of Contemporary French [ LROM1221 ]

FLTR1530 "Introduction aux sciences du langage"

Course activities are articulated around three axes:

- acquisition and manipulation of theoretical concepts useful for the formal description of linguistic facts linked to the different fields of language;

- practical application of linguistic analysis methods applied to contemporary French on the basis of remarkable linguistic phenomenon (ex. French liaison);

- reflection on French as a mother tongue, its communicative resources (production and reception) and its modes of operation.

By the end of the course and exercise tutorials, students will be able to:

- apply the analytical methods of the the main fields of linguistics (phonetics/phonology, morphology, lexical analysis, syntax,) within formal (structural, functional and generative methods) or variationist (esp. sociolinguistic) approaches to contemporary French; these methods must be applied to attested or created (introspective) data;

- distinguish scientific and normative points of view on language and take a critical stance towards value judgements about French usage;

- to relate this metalinguistic knowledge to the development of linguistic and discursive skills in French.

Active participation in the course and practical work

• reading: to send a one-page summary by e-mail
• preparation of the practical work
• revision exercises

Written exam

• duration: 2 hours
• knowledge : questions on definitions of linguistic notions
• application: exercises similar to those done during practical work
• analysis: treatment of an analysis question on a unseen case

30 hours of lectures + 15 hours of practical work.

5 ECTS, i.e. about 7 hours of work a week (2 hours of course + 1 hour of practical work + 4 hours of personal work).

Introduction  Attitudes to language. Standard French and variations
Chapter 1. Phonetics and phonology (Basic concepts of phonology. The phonological system of contemporary French. Schwa. Liaison)
Chapter 2. Writing and spelling (The graphic plurisystem of French. Variation in spelling.  Practices of the norm)
Chapter 3. Lexicography (Types and structure of dictionaries. Regional lexical variants. The dictionary of Belgian French words, a differential  dictionary. Belgian French words in French reference dictionaries.
Chapter 4. Syntax (Phrase and syntagm, the basic units. Syntactic categories. Grammatical categories and verb complementation. Syntax of distance / proximity language.)

See course material

Course material : (1) Syllabus available at DUC; (2) DVD "Parole & Langue. Parcours et exercices de linguistique" (2009) (on sale at DUC)