FREN3501: Conflict and Competition in the History of the French Language

• French Language 2 (FREN2051) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chair of the Board of Studies in MLAC or their representative.

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: French Language 4 (FREN3041). Other: see Chair of the Board of Studies in MLAC or their representative.

• None

• To explore two formative moments in the history of the lexicon of the French language (16th and late 20th-21st centuries) which saw French and its speakers in a situation of conflict and competition with the Italian and English languages.

• Topics to be covered include: 16th century: Franco-Italian relations; the development of a French national vernacular able to rival classical and contemporary languages; the defence of French against perceived foreign influence; 20th and 21st centuries: the state-sponsored campaign to resist the influx of anglicisms; polemical attacks on US political and cultural influence during the Cold War; recent linguistic legislation (e.g. the Loi Toubon of 1994).

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• detailed knowledge of changes occurring in the French lexicon as a consequence of lexical borrowing from Italian (16th century) and English (20th and 21st centuries)
• familiarity with relevant theories of lexical borrowing and code-switching
• understanding and appreciation of the techniques used by linguistic purists in polemical texts
• understanding of the role played by the French language in the formation and maintenance of French national identity

Subject-specific Skills:

• analytical and critical skills deriving from close reading of relevant texts
• linguistic skills, including the ability to understand and appreciate 16th-century French
• ability to conduct comparative analyses and to take the long view when appreciating the relevance of early modern material to an understanding of the present
• ability to synthesise and critique secondary material

Key Skills:

• critical and analytical
• essay- and commentary-writing
• structuring of arguments
• independent learning and research

• Weekly lectures will provide theoretical, linguistic and historical starting points for close engagement with the primary texts in seminars, as well as offering an overview of previous work in the area.
• Fortnightly seminars will offer the opportunity for guided close reading of extracts from the primary texts allowing for the development of appropriate analytical and linguistic skills, supplemented by tutor- and student-led sessions designed to foster group discussion of relevant issues and to develop comparative analyses.
• Summative assignments will test analytical and linguistic skills (commentary), comparative and conceptual/historical analyses (essay), and independent learning and research (both).
• Students will have the option to select their own topic for the summative essay, subject to approval by the module tutor.

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