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Intensivierer und epistemische Adverbiale – Zur Geschichte von echt
Get PDFAdverbials of truth or reality such as really (en.), wirklich (de.), verdaderamente (sp.) are cross-linguistically assumed to be a rich source for intensifiers (degree words) as in: (i) Peter is really nice. The epistemic adverbial is reanalysed as a modifier of a predicative adjective in a syntactically ambiguous sentence as in (i). At the same time the emphasis on the truth of the proposition invites the inference that the property in question is amply present. This view on the emergence of intensifiers from adverbials of truth is challenged by the German intensifier echt ‘really, lit. genuine/real’ as in: (ii) Peter ist echt nett ‘Peter is really nice’. In contemporary German echt is very popular as an intensifier, a proposition modifier, a speech-act modifier and a response particle. However, a diachronic analysis of the use of echt as an adverbial in New High German reveals that the intensifier reading develops much earlier than the reading as a proposition modifier, i.e. an epistemic adverbial. The article offers a discussion of the development of echt which sheds a somewhat different light on the relation between intensifiers and epistemic adverbials, and it suggests a unified analysis of the uses of echt in contemporary German which supports Traugott’s view of grammaticalisation as also encompassing an extension of structural scope
Adjectifs qualificatifs et saturation par l’ethos
Get PDFSince the end of the 1990s, research on discursive ethos – the image of the speaker which is projected by his or her utterance – has been very active in discourse analysis. It contributes to a better understanding of how an enunciation can attract the support of addressees. But in general, this research 1) focuses on isolated texts or individual speakers, not on discursive formations, 2) does not take into account the lexicon when it does not have clear ideological content. On the contrary, this article deals with the role played by some French polysemous adjectives (simple, doux, clair) to make the incorporation (Maingueneau 1999) of readers or listeners possible, to make them adhere to the universe of meaning that is proposed to them. This point of view is first illustrated by the study of an advertising text, before being applied to large discursive formations: a religious movement (“devout humanism”) of the first half of the 17th century; and, in the political field, two antagonistic positions in France under the French Third Republic (1870–1940): the handbooks of Republican School and the monarchist movement “l’Action Française”. We are led to conclude that adjectives, by their polysemy, “saturate discourse.” Through ethos, discourse does not only persuade by the ideas it delivers: it also sets the addressee in a speech scene that partakes of the semantic characteristics of the ideological universe that discourse aims to promote
Les marqueurs discursifs du français: un regard croisé sur une catégorie controversée
Get PDFIn this paper, we discuss the question of discourse markers (DM) – a category conceived differently by theoretical and applied linguistic approaches. Unlike in applied approaches, in which DMs are considered desemantized/grammaticalized lexical units devoid of their own semantics and therefore of status in the language, we consider DMs to constitute a full-fledged category of language, having its own semantics and distribution, both of which play a crucial role in the construction of discourse (Paillard 2011, 2012; Franckel 2008, 2019). This hypothesis has been developed in theoretical linguistics and has seen little evidence from a perspective of the acquisition and didactics of foreign languages. Based on cross-analysis of linguistic theories (Benveniste 1974; Ducrot 1980; Hopper & Traugott 1993; Culioli 1990,1999; Franckel & Paillard 2008) and on distributional analysis of data of the spoken corpora, we show that the absence of specific linguistic status for DMs has repercussions at the didactic and acquisition levels: DMs are generally approached in an ad hoc manner, all functions combined, which leads on the one hand to gaps in the acquisition of French and, on the other hand, to the ambiguity of criteria for evaluation. Therefore, at the level of applied linguistics, we suggest the integration of DMs in the learning path as a full category, an integration that must be carried out on several axes – semantic, syntax and prosodic – and be based on an authentic oral corpora of the spoken language. At the theoretical level, we use transversal analysis in order to give yet another argument in favor of a semantical-enunciative approach to discursive markers
Le fonctionnement et l’oralisation des sigles de la presse contemporaine française
Get PDFThis article explores initialisms and acronyms taken from newspapers in the French press. In this article, using data from our study of abbreviated words, we attempt to answer the following questions: How can we shorten a word in French? What are the correct forms (means) of pronunciation of initialisms and acronyms? Can an initialism be considered as a separate (common) word? Before investigating the origin and function of various abbreviations in the French press, the preferred modality of each era, or even the basic rationales behind using such abbreviations, we define a term for abbreviated forms. It seems important to us to present our own definition and to illustrate in detail the problems of the subject. French uses four forms of abbreviated words to help create new words and build vocabulary. These four main forms of abbreviated words are: initials, acronyms, abbreviations, and truncations. At the same time, our goal in this article is to clarify the problem of pronunciation of initialisms and acronyms. To achieve our goal, we used a survey methodology conducted among people from different social groups and ages, in order to determine forms of oral speech and decipher abbreviations of the French daily press. Based on our research, we created a data table on the pronunciation of initialisms in French. The corpus elements and the survey conducted provide us with reliable data on the functioning, interpretation and decoding of abbreviated words in modern French. The survey results allow us to observe the fact that there are two main ways of using abbreviations in French: reading and spelling. Our analysis shows that the obligation to use reading to write an acronym depends, in part, on a number of formal conditions. One of these conditions is the syllable and phonetic structure of acronyms. In conclusion, based on the survey results, we describe the table and types of abbreviations in the corpus of our study
Dialogue interculturel en ligne: communication «ratée» dans un projet télécollaboratif
Get PDFOver the past two decades, the development of computer-mediated communication technologies has modified human communication. Increasingly, representatives from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds are disposed to a constant negotiation of meanings. The main purpose of this study is to carry out a linguistically grounded analysis of the intercultural dialogue during online asynchronous written exchanges between Latvian and Cypriot students.Based on the politeness theory of Brown and Levinson (1987), which implies that all adult members of society are endowed with two universal aspects: “positive face” and “negative face”, and using the methods of content analysis and discourse analysis, this research analyses the way learners communicate or hide their position concerning sensitive cultural issues. To attain the objective of the present research, a quantitative and qualitative experimental study was conducted. The learners’ public messages in the discussion forums were juxtaposed with their private messages concerning proposed cultural topics.
The findings show a strong interdependence between the politeness strategies used by the learners and the intercultural issue discussed. Thus, online intercultural discussions can be qualified as context-dependent and content-dependant. Discussion forum does not seem to be an appropriate environment to facilitate and encourage intercultural discussions about potentially controversial issues
La multifonctionnalité des constructions françaises avec le verbe finir : étude basée sur un corpus français-lituanien
Get PDFBased on the Corpus parallèle de Textes Littéraires (CTLFR-LT), consisting of French fiction texts and their translations into Lithuanian, the present article aims toshow the functional versatility of the French verb finir ‘to finish’. The paper focuses on the following particular constructions:S((in)anim) + finir + (GN);S((in)anim) + (en) finir de + V(inf);S ((in)anim) + finir par + V(inf);pour finir.While retaining its literal meaning, the verb finir ‘to finish’ exhibits a great range of modally marked uses. These uses, considered peripheral in the majority of French monolingual and bilingual grammars or dictionaries, nevertheless appear to be statistically very significant in the present dataset. The study shows that the verb finir ‘to finish’ can be used as a component of various constructions in which it loses its core lexical meaning and functions as an adverbial or discourse connector. The analysis of the data of the corpus Corpus parallèle de Textes Littéraires merely confirms the fact that the constructions under consideration can have a two-fold reading: the adverbial function of time and the function of a sentence adverbial.Ayant pour base le Corpus parallèle de Textes Littéraires (CTLFR-LT), composé des documents littéraires français et de leurs traductions vers le lituanien, le présent article vise à confirmer que le verbe français finir, faisant partie de différentes constructions morphosyntaxiques, peut véhiculer une grande plurivocité de sens. Tout en conservant sa signification basique de la fin, le verbe finir transmet un grand faisceau d’autres valeurs. Ces dernières, dans les grammaires ou les dictionnaires français monolingues ou bilingues, considérées comme périphériques, apparaissent pourtant statistiquement très significatives dans ces grandes données électroniques que sont lesdits corpus. Le verbe finir en tant que composante des constructions perd sa valeur nucléaire et les constructions s’apparentent alors beaucoup à des constructions adverbiales ou connecteurs discursifs. Dans la présente contribution l’attention sera portée sur les constructions suivantes:
S((in)anim) + finir + (GN) ;S((in)anim) + (en) finir de + V(inf) ;S((in)anim) + finir par + V(inf) ;Pour fini
La construction discursive des sens multiples de francophonie/francophone au prisme de la sémantique argumentative
Get PDFThis paper addresses the issue of polysemy, and more precisely of multiple meanings in the case of the words francophonie/francophone from the perspective of argumentative semantics. The aim of the paper is to examine the mechanisms that account for the multiple meanings of francophonie/francophone, i.e. the semantic and discursive mechanisms involved in the (re)construction of lexical meaning as the words occur in discourse. The data analysed in this paper consists of a set of discourse fragments about francophone identity, discourses that vary according to the speaker, the geographical location and the media support. The study is carried out within the framework of the SAP theory (Semantics of Argumentative Possibilities), following a procedure based on a pre-built reference meaning – i.e. a description of the argumentative potential of the lexeme – that will be used when analysing the discursive occurrences. First, the paper briefly presents the SAP theory and the pre-built reference meaning of the lexemes francophonie/francophone (described in terms of core-elements, stereotypes and argumentative possibilities). It then illustrates several discursive mechanisms of meaning construction. The analysis highlights a series of meaning construction mechanisms: transgressive activation of the argumentative potential, reconfiguration by scission of the core-elements or by deletion of one of the elements, modality addition, transgressive reconstruction of the core meaning, and finally core circularity. Thus, the paper indicates, from the perspective of argumentative semantics, that the multiple meanings of the words francophonie/francophone, i.e. the various semantic configurations attached to these words, can be seen as reconfigurations of a single lexical meaning. Cet article traite des sens multiples des mots francophonie et francophone et vise à examiner les mécanismes sémantico-discursifs de (re)construction de la signification attachée a priori à ces mots, stabilisant ainsi des sens discursifs. Le corpus analysé consiste en des fragments de discours qui traitent de l’identité francophone, et qui relèvent de contextes d’utilisation variables en termes de locuteur, de situation géographique ou de support médiatique. L’étude est menée dans le cadre de la théorie de la SPA (Sémantique des Possibles Argumentatifs), selon une démarche basée sur un préconstruit sémantique – visant à rendre compte du potentiel de signification en langue – qui servira comme point de référence pour l’analyse des différents sens. Après une présentation rapide de la théorie de la SPA et du préconstruit sémantique pour les mots francophonie/francophone (décrit en termes de noyau, stéréotypes et possibles argumentatifs), l’article illustre plusieurs mécanismes de construction du sens en discours. L’analyse met en relief une série de mécanismes de construction du sens : activation transgressive du potentiel de signification, reconfiguration par scission des éléments du noyau ou encore par effacement de l’un des éléments, ajout de modalisations, reconstruction transgressive du noyau de signification et, enfin, circularité du noyau. Ainsi, depuis la perspective de la sémantique argumentative, l’article montre que les sens multiples des mots francophonie/francophone, id est les différentes configurations sémantiques qui leur sont attachées, peuvent être vues comme des reconfigurations d’une signification lexicale unique
