Challenges for the translator of old French texts 3304-2DXW-WM-WDT-OG

The lecture is dedicated to the analysis of Old French and the challenges faced by translators working with historical texts, primarily literary ones. It begins with an overview of the history of the French language—its origins and development from Proto-French, which evolved from the spoken Latin used in Gaul (so-called Vulgar Latin), covering the period from the 9th century to the mid-14th century, i.e., the classical phase of Old French. The lecture also discusses significant linguistic changes that took place in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, which gradually shaped the French language into its more modern form.
The language's evolution will be traced through selected phonetic, morphological, and syntactic processes evident in the literary legacy of medieval French, and to a lesser extent, in texts from later periods.
This is a seminar-style course that combines theoretical and practical approaches. Participants will carry out grammatical analyses of selected excerpts from historical texts and attempt to translate them into both modern French and Polish.
The aim of the course is not only to introduce participants to the grammatical challenges of Old French and the fundamental principles of textual analysis and interpretation but also to raise awareness of the complex nature of language and its historical variability.
An additional practical skill to be developed will be the ability to apply knowledge of Old French when reading and understanding historical French literature, as well as enhancing participants’ linguistic sensitivity and translation awareness.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Course coordinators

Małgorzata Izert

Learning outcomes

Knowledge: the student knows and understands:
• in an advanced manner, the place and significance of the humanities—particularly linguistics—within the system of sciences, as well as their subject-specific and methodological characteristics (K_W01),
• in an advanced manner, general and specialized terminology in the field of general and French linguistics (K_W02),
• in an advanced manner, the fundamental and complex processes occurring in language within French-speaking cultural areas (K_W03),
• in an advanced manner, research trends, directions, and methodologies in language studies, especially in French-speaking cultural areas (K_W04),
• in an advanced manner, basic and complex issues in general and French linguistics (K_W06),
• in an advanced manner, detailed principles of analysis and interpretation of texts belonging to various functional styles of the French language (K_W09),
• is aware of the complex nature of language and its historical variability,
• knows the basic principles of analyzing and interpreting texts belonging to various functional styles of the French language and other Romance languages.
Skills: the student is able to:
• independently acquire knowledge, plan their own learning, guide others in this process, and develop complex skills using various sources (K_U03),
• recognize, analyze in depth, and interpret various types of cultural artifacts (language, literature) using appropriate and complex terminology as well as proper research methods and techniques (K_U05),
• apply their knowledge of Old French to read and comprehend texts from early French literature,
• translate Old French texts into modern French and Polish while maintaining appropriate stylistic features,
• competently use specialist resources, especially dictionaries, to explain archaic expressions/structures,
• apply their knowledge of Old French in editorial work (footnotes, explanations, proofreading).
Social competences: the student is prepared to:
• critically assess their own knowledge and skills and make necessary modifications and adjustments to their attitudes and behavior (K_K01),
• show openness to individual and cultural differences and understand their ethical implications (K_K03).

Assessment criteria

Attendance is mandatory (a maximum of 2 absences allowed). The lecture will be passed based on a single final written test assessing knowledge of selected grammatical issues and comprehension of Old French texts.

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

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3304-2DXW-WM-WDT-OG in USOSweb