Linguistics: Proficiency and Analysis of Standard French

lrom1111  2018-2019  Louvain-la-Neuve

Linguistics: Proficiency and Analysis of Standard French
5 credits
30.0 h + 15.0 h
Q1 and Q2
Teacher(s)
Delsaux Olivier;
Language
French
Prerequisites
/
Main themes
The course aims to develop the mastery of French grammar and orthography in their current standards. It trains  professionals in the French language, who have both a technical mastery of the norm and a capacity for critical reflection on the creation, diffusion and development of this norm. The understanding and good use of reference works (grammars and dictionaries) form part of this learning process. 
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1
By the end of the course, students will be able to :
 
¿ master the  standard spelling of a list of frequently used French words (5,000 to 6,000 words); 
¿ outline the characteristic features of the French writing system and situate them within a historical and critical perspective;
¿ master the morphology of the verb and all rules of agreement for verbs, nouns and adjectives;
¿ distinguish and name classes of words and identify through analysis what functions these classes are able to perform in simple sentences;
¿ analyse the constituent parts of complex sentences;
¿ understand and apply in a systematic fashion the rules of prescriptive grammar;
¿ develop critical thinking on the norm and its application.
 
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
The purpose of the course is the study of the rules of French grammar, as a system of coherent explanation based on the observation of the phenomena affecting the form, placement and function of words and groups of words in French. Lecture sessions will be devoted to the following points in particular:

-    analysis of the nature and function of words and consideration of the ordering of them;
-    review of a number of important phenomena relating to the morphology of verbal forms connected to the use of tenses and modes in French;
-    role of verbal construction in French syntax and types of structures of the verbal group;
-    types of sentence and various phenomena affecting their form;
-    analysis of the constituent parts of the simple sentence and the complex sentence;
-    presentation of the French writing system, of its development and of its complexity; review of a number of important points in standard spelling (double consonants, historical consonants, plurals of compound nouns, etc.)
-    review of a number of important points concerning punctuation;
-    development of a reflective approach in the study of language;
-    reflection on the necessity for and on the limits of the linguistic norm;
-    considered use of grammatical terminology.
Teaching methods
'    Formal lectures and exercise sessions.
'    Possibility of individual tuition sessions (at the student's request).
'    Continuous assessment.
Evaluation methods
Continuous assessment by means of multiple-choice questionnaires. First semester test: 25% of final mark. Second semester test: 25% of final mark. June test: 50% of final mark. In the event of a resit examination, the final mark will be that of the resit. In each assessment, a pass mark (10/20) corresponds to a minimum of 80% correct answers. In the eventuality of a justified absence at a partial test (1st and 2st semester), the final mark will be the arithmetical mean of the tests effectively achieved.
Other information
Every student will acquire a dictionary and a reference grammar following the bibliographical advice of the teacher.
Instruction in French linguistics has been designed in a progressive fashion over the three annual units of the Bachelor's degree. The first unit focuses on command of standard language at the same time as taking a critical distance in relation to the standard (LROM1111 Linguistics: mastery and analysis of Standard French). The second annual unit is devoted to the study of the French language in its variation, social or geographic (LROM1221 Linguistics: variation in contemporary French) and historical (LROM1222 Linguistics: historical approach to French in the Latin Empire). The third annual unit is a training in the analysis of the French language as it is used in context, in particular in the identification of genres (and of registers) in texts and discourse (LROM1331 Linguistics: analysis of French in context ).
Bibliography
Ouvrages de référence du cours :

1. GREVISSE, M., GOOSSE, A. Le bon usage. Grammaire française, éd. De Boeck-Duculot, 2016
2. PELLAT, J.-C., FONVIELLE, Sophie. Le Grevisse de l'Enseignant. Grammaire de référence. 2016. Magnard
3. PIRON, S. Grammaire française. Mise à niveau. 2013. De Boeck Supérieur.
4. RIEGEL, M., PELLAT, J.-C., RIOUL, R., Grammaire méthodique du français, éd. Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1994.
Faculty or entity
ROM


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Bachelor in Ancient and Modern Languages and Literatures

Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Literatures : General

Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures : General

Minor in French Studies