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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 17:1/2 (1990) ► pp.49–65

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Language variation and linguistic description in 16th-century France

 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Published online: 1 January 1990
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.17.1-2.06kib
Summary
The first French grammarians to consider the French language condemned variation – historical variation, geographical variation, and sociolinguistic variation. For the French language to be first among vernacular languages, it had to have fixity, to be governed by absolute rules. How can one determine if a lexical item, pronunciation feature, or morphological feature should be accepted? Some would study the best authors, but the list of such authors is a matter of debate. Others would define the ‘true French’ geographically, but they tend to choose their own regions. Ultimately, the choice depends on a sense of ‘usage’ which is in harmony with the ‘naïve puissance ’ of the language, the pursuit of which may ultimately lead to a reunification of word and object, a unity lost at the Tower of Babel. The grammarians’ attacks on variation serve biblical as well as political destiny.
Résumé
Les premiers grammairiens français à considérer la langue française condamnèrent toute variation – variation diachronique, variation géographique, variation sociolinguistique. Pour élever le français au premier rang des vernaculaires, il fallait le soumettre aux règles absolues. Mais comment déterminer si un mot, une prononciation, une forme est acceptable? Certains cherchent les meilleurs auteurs pour trouver la réponse; d’autres préfèrent une définition géographique – mais ceux-ci ont toujours tendance à choisir leur propre région. L’‘usage’ est l’ultime arbitre, surtout quand l’usage s’aligne avec la ‘naïve puissance’ de la langue? Par l’unification de l’usage et la naïve puissance, aura-t-on rétabli l’unité du mot avec l’objet, perdue depuis la Tour de Babel? Les attaques des grammariens contre la variation promettent de réaliser la prophétie biblique aussi bien que le destin politique.
References (37)
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Lodge, R. Anthony
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Liddle, Michel H. W.
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