Linguistics Course III (with and without credit): An Overview of the History of the French Language with Fundamentals of Translating Old French Texts 3304-1DX3W-KJ-24
The seminar is devoted to the analysis of the Old French language and the difficulties encountered when working with early texts, primarily literary ones. The starting point is the history of the French language – its origins and development from Proto-French, which evolved from the spoken Latin of Gaul (so-called Vulgar Latin), that is, from the 9th century to the mid-14th century, the period of classical Old French. Important linguistic changes that took place during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, leading to the emergence of a form of French closer to the modern language, will also be discussed.
The evolution of the language will be examined through selected phonetic, morphological, and syntactic processes visible in the literary heritage of medieval French, as well as, to a lesser extent, in texts from later periods.
Participants will carry out grammatical analyses of selected excerpts from early texts and attempt to translate them into contemporary French and Polish.
The aim of the course is therefore not only to provide participants with a theoretical introduction to the grammatical difficulties of Old French and to the basic principles of textual analysis and interpretation, but also to make them aware of the complex nature of language and its historical variability.
An additional practical skill acquired during the course will be the ability to apply knowledge of Old French to the reading and comprehension of texts from early French literature, while also developing participants’ linguistic sensitivity and translation awareness.
The seminar covers the following topics in Old French grammar:
1.The evolution of Latin and the emergence of the Romance languages. The most important phonetic, morphological, and lexical changes in spoken Latin; the formation of the lingua romana rustica; and the linguistic situation in Roman Gaul. The Serments de Strasbourg as the oldest text in Proto-French.
2.The most important processes of phonetic evolution affecting vowels (including diphthongization, palatalization, nasalization, and vocalization) and consonants (processes of assimilation and reduction, and the role of inflectional -s). Old French phonetic spelling and traces of historical pronunciation in the spelling of modern French.
3.The inflection of nominal parts of speech, mainly the noun and its determiners, as well as the adjective, viewed as a transformation and simplification of Latin inflection. The gradual disappearance of inflectional forms. The historical explanation of so-called irregularities in the formation of gender and number forms in modern French.
4.Verb inflectional forms in Old French as an explanation of the modern system of conjugation (conjugation groups). The functions of tenses and moods based on the analysis and translation of selected text excerpts.
5.Word order in the simple sentence and its differences in relation to modern syntax.
6.Phonetic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical changes from the 16th to the 18th century.
Course coordinators
Mode
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student:
Knowledge:
• knows and understands in an advanced way the place and importance of the humanities, especially linguistics, within the system of sciences, as well as their subject-specific and methodological characteristics (K_W01);
• knows and understands in an advanced way the terminology of general linguistics (K_W02);
• knows and understands in an advanced way the main linguistic processes in countries of the Francophone cultural area (K_W03);
• knows and understands in an advanced way the research directions and methodology in language studies, especially in Francophone contexts (K_W04);
• knows and understands in an advanced way key issues in general and French linguistics (K_W06);
• knows and understands the basic concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and copyright law (K_W13);
• has knowledge of types of dictionaries, the types of information contained in dictionary entries, various types of dictionary definitions, and the uses of different types of monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual dictionaries.
Skills:
The student is able to:
• apply basic theoretical concepts appropriate to general and French linguistics in research planning (K_U01);
• identify, analyze, and interpret various types of cultural products (language, literature), using appropriate terminology and research methods and tools (K_U03);
• express their own views with reference to different sources and basic theoretical approaches, and argue their point of view (K_U04);
• plan and prepare oral presentations in French, referring to basic theoretical approaches in linguistics (K_U05);
• independently acquire knowledge and develop skills using various sources (K_U09);
• work in a team, including in intercultural contexts (K_U10);
• apply advanced knowledge in the field of linguistics (K_U12);
• use advanced information and communication technologies to acquire knowledge and communicate in linguistics (K_U13);
Social Competences:
The student is prepared to:
• critically assess their own knowledge and skills (K_K01);
• be open to individual and cultural differences (K_K02).
Assessment criteria
Attendance is mandatory (a maximum of 2 absences allowed), active participation in class discussions. The lecture will be passed based on a single final written test assessing knowledge of selected grammatical issues and comprehension of Old French texts. The course is graded.
With regard to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in classes and in the preparation of any written assignment, the rules set out in Resolution No. 42 of the Teaching Council for the Roman Philology degree programme, dated 15 April 2024, apply.
Resolution: https://romanistyka.wn.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/RD_uchwala_42_15-kwietnia-2024_wytyczne_SI_.pdf
Appendix: https://romanistyka.wn.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/RD_uchwala_42_15-kwietnia-2024_wytyczne_SI_ZALACZNIK_1.pdf
Bibliography
Blanco Xavier, Bogacki Krzysztof, Introduction à l’histoire de la langue française, Université Autonome de Barcelone, 2014
Bogacki Krzysztof (2003), Anthologie de l'ancien français, LEKSEM, Łask
Bogacki Krzysztof, Giermak-Zielińska Teresa (1999), Introduction a la grammaire de l'ancien français, Publications de l'Institut de Philologie Romane, Université de Varsovie, Warszawa
Buridant Claude (2000), Grammaire nouvelle de l'ancien français, SEDES
Dauzat Albert, Dubois Jean, Mitterand Henri (1971), Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique et historique, Larousse, Paris
Greimas Algirdas Julien (1987), Dictionnaire de l'ancien français, Larousse, Paris
Trésor de la langue française (informatisé). http://www.cnrtl.fr/
Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, par Frédéric Godefroy (1881). http://www.lexilogos.com/francais_langue_dictionnaires.htm