Aims

By the end of this course, students should have:
- revised the fundamentals of Latin phonetics and morphology, though the object of the course is not the study of Latin in itself
- have a sufficiently good knowledge of the phenomena which characterize Old French phonetics and morphology to enable them to work on the ancient texts
- have a good knowledge of the phenomena which have affected the development of the phonetic system and the morphology of modern French

- have a good knowledge of the sociolinguistic context in which French developed.

Main themes

- This course is one of a number, including ROM 1421 Synchronic Approaches to the French Language (first semester) and the syntax and lexicology courses given in the third and fourth years, which together aim to demonstrate a variety of approaches to the study of language.
- Taking as its starting point the phonetic system and morphology of modern French (a topic of this first year course), the course traces the phenomena at play in their development from Latin, common Latin and Old French.

Content and teaching methods

The aim of this course is to describe the phenomena affecting the development of Latin in the Gallo-Roman period, in particular the phonetic system and morphology. The main components of the course are:

- the sociolinguistic context of linguistic change
- a revision of the fundamentals of Latin phonetics and morphology, given that the object of the course is not the study of Latin in itself
- detailed analysis of the main characteristics of Old French, intended to give students easier access to the ancient texts
- in-depth analysis of the phenomena which have affected the development of the phonetic system and the morphology of modern French
- theoretical lectures and accompanying exercises

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Evaluation: Written examination

Course material:

- Pierret, J.M. (1994) Phonétique historique du français et notions de phonétique générale. Peeters

- a range of documentation (available on the iCampus website created especially for the course) and reference works.

Other credits in programs