29.3570, Review: French; General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Text/Corpus Linguistics: Parussa, Timelli, Llamas-Pombo (2017)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-29-3570. Mon Sep 17 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.3570, Review: French; General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Text/Corpus Linguistics: Parussa, Timelli, Llamas-Pombo (2017)

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Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2018 16:37:10
From: Lionel Mathieu [lmathieu at bu.edu]
Subject: Enregistrer la parole et écrire la langue dans la diachronie du français

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/28/28-3773.html

EDITOR: Gabriella  Parussa
EDITOR: Maria  Colombo Timelli
EDITOR: Elena  Llamas-Pombo
TITLE: Enregistrer la parole et écrire la langue dans la diachronie du français
SERIES TITLE: Scriptoralia, vol. 143
PUBLISHER: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG
YEAR: 2017

REVIEWER: Lionel Mathieu, Boston University

SUMMARY

Written entirely in French, ''Enregistrer la parole et écrire la langue dans
la diachronie du français'', is a collection of seven chapters focused on
unraveling the interrelationship between the phonic (spoken) and graphic
(written) form of the French language in the course of its evolution. The
introductory chapter contextualizes the focus of inquiry by briefly
chronicling the primacy of the written text in the diachronic study of French.
Before presenting the content of each chapter, the introduction also briefly
touches on a relatively young domain of scholastic activity that offers a
systemic approach to orthography and punctuation from a diachronic as well as
synchronic perspective. 

The first chapter, ''Sur les aboutissements rr et r de tr/dr intervocaliques
en ancien français'', examines the phonetic evolution and outcome of the
singleton/geminate rhotic in Old French (OF; e.g. la:'tro > lere v. latro:'ne
> larron). The authors, Tobias Scheer and Philippe Ségéral, follow previous
work by Fouché (1966-1973) in asserting that the opposition [r/rr] can be best
analyzed with reference to the vocalic length of the preceding vowel: the
intervocalic sequence [tr/dr], after neutralizing to [ðr], yields [r] when the
preceding (stressed) vowel is long in proto-French, and [rr] when the
preceding (unstressed) vowel is short. The authors contend that this phonic
reality is, despite some variation, directly transcribed in writing and that
the conditioning factor giving rise to this complementary distribution appears
to be the compensatory lengthening (or not) of the preceding (un)stressed
vowel. Their analysis rests on an autosegmental conception whereby stress
provides syllabic (CV) space/slots (Chierchia, 1986) onto which vocalic
lengthening/spreading may occur, thereby affecting the gemination (or not) of
the rhotic consonant (once the initial stop has disappeared after first
spirantizing). The analysis extends to the case of the OF diphthongs [ie] and
[ue] where following [r] and [rr] are both attested (e.g. petra >
piere/pierre). Such configuration is explained by the optional glidification
of the initial element ([je] and [we] respectively), leaving the second vowel
short, resulting in following [rr]; if the diphthong remains stable, [r] is
then attested.  

The second chapter, ''Graphie et ponctuation du français médiéval. Système et
variation'', by Elena Llamas-Pombo, offers a theoretical framework to account
for graphemic and punctuational variation in Old and Middle French writing.
With a constant attention to the intricate link between the spoken medium and
its written manifestation, the author articulates her variationist theory of
spelling and punctuation around four major parameters: the diamesic parameter,
concerned with the relations of dependence, independence, and interdependence
between the phonic and graphic contents of language (at the levels of the
word, the proposition, and the text); the enunciative parameter, concerned
with the relation of the written material with the reported or ''direct''
speech; the diastratic parameter, concerned with orthographic renditions of
sociolectal and diglossic variation; and the conceptional parameter concerned
with the varying expression of punctuation depending on whether communication
is immediate or distant, in typologically diverse texts (e.g. verses, prose,
diplomatic documents, etc.). Each parameter is thoroughly described and
exemplified with excerpts from various medieval manuscripts. They serve to
provide a taxonomic enterprise to the treatment of heterographic forms (both
in spelling and punctuation) and their correlation with the oral substance of
medieval French. 

The third chapter, ''La vertu ou la puissance de la lettre - Enquête sur les
fonctions attribuées à certaines lettres de l'alphabet latin dans les systèmes
graphiques du français entre le 11e et 16e siècles'', by Gabriella Parussa,
probes the status and function of the graphemes ''u, n'' (and to a lesser
extent ''v'') in Old and Middle French manuscripts. Set primarily at the level
of the grapheme, Parussa's corpus study first discusses the allographic
confusion (due to identical ligatures) between ''u'' and ''n'' that arose in
old cursive writing, occasionally blurring the lines regarding their putative
phonetic value(s). Specifically, the author investigates the choice of the
alternating diagraphs ''on/ou'' (e.g. ''monlt/moult) and ''en/eu'' (e.g.
''jen/jeu'') in literary and documentary texts and offers a renewed
perspective on the function of the letter as a marker of vocalic quality
(where in her analysis ''n'' / [n] may have indicated a preceding
nasalized/closing [o] approximating an [u] sound, as well as a more closed,
centralized, and even labialized preceding [e]; [ø, œ] = ''eu'' in modern
French). A more attentive examination of the phenomenon of nasalization
therefore serves to account for these differing spellings that may actually
transcribe a finer phonetic reality than previously envisaged (further
supported by 16th and 17th century grammarians' testimonies). Parussa's study
also confers a more prominent role/function to individual graphemes in a
restraint system (the latin alphabet) of graphemic values. 

The fourth chapter, ''L'automne d'une scripta'', by Aude Wirth-Jaillard,
tracks the decline of a scripta in the Lorraine region between the 14th and
16th century. By comparison with previous work (Trotter, 2009), and based on
accounting records, registering precise information regarding the identity of
the scribe, the locality and datability of its production, Wirth-Jaillard's
study meticulously inspects the evolution of eight linguistic traits: the
feminine definite article ''lai/la'', the masculine definite article
''lo(u)/le'', the feminine possessive ''mai, sai/ma, sa'', the infinitive in
''-eir/-er'', the sequence ''nr/ndr'', and the words endings ''-auble/-able'',
''-aige/-age'', and ''-ei or -ey / -i or -y''. This comparative work between
two linguistic varieties of the Lorraine region, one in the Department of
Meuse, the other in the Department of Vosges, highlights the fact that the
meusian scripta abandons its regional features earlier than its vosgian
counterpart, but that not all linguistic innovations are chronologically
adopted. Besides alluding to the possible notion of a subscripta, this study
also underlines the fact that a scripta is oftentimes the reflection of the
idiolect of its author(s).

The fifth chapter, ''Les dialogues dans les 'Cent nouvelles nouvelles' -
Marques linguistiques et (typo)graphiques, entre manuscript et imprimé'', by
Maria Colombo Timelli, considers the linguistic and punctuational indexes
signaling speech acts or dialogues in the first ten short stories of a 15th
century manuscript and incunabulum (printed book). By comparing the means to
transcribe and record oral exchanges in two versions of the same text, the
author remarks that the linguistic markers used (e.g. verba dicendi ''verbs of
speaking'', terms of address, interjections, alternating verbal forms of P1,
P2, P5) do not differ much between the handwritten and printed piece. By and
large, the same observation can be made regarding the use of punctuation marks
to delineate the passages of reported speech, even though the manuscript
features fewer punctuation elements than the incunabulum. The close inspection
of the typographic system used reveals that while both the scribe and the
printer were sensitive to the same linguistic features characterizing dialogic
exchanges, some individual habits can nonetheless be detected. Together then,
the linguistic and typographic systems accord with one another to limn
reported speech acts and facilitate readers' recognition and interpretation of
the text as such.

The sixth chapter, '''Ponctuation noire', 'ponctuation blanche' et 'contes
bleus'; l'évolution du codage des discours directs dans 'La Barbe bleue' de
Perrault (1695-1905)'', by Claire Badiou-Monferran, chronicles the evolution
of white and black punctuation in multiple editions and reeditions of Charles
Perrault's 'La Barbe bleue' in the period from Classical French (17th-18th
century) to Modern French (19th-21st century). Borrowing the terminology of
white/black punctuation from Favriaud (2004), and in light of previous work by
Arabyan (1994) on another tale by Perrault, the author shows how white spaces,
line breaks, paragraph breaks, and page breaks, as well as periods, commas,
(semi)colons, exclamation and interrogation marks, ellipsis, etc. all
concurred to materialize and reflect the orality of the text to be restituted
out loud. However, while both types of punctuation first encoded the oral,
enunciative substance of the text (such as its rhythmic cadence and breathing
pauses) in the Classical French period; they later metamorphosed in the Modern
French period (and more so for black punctuation) into staging instruments of
a fictive orality, partially divorced from the oral performance of the text.
Over these periods then, the encoding of direct speech, the genesis for the
evolution of white punctuation, is progressively subject to increasing
codification that travesties its vocal, discursive nature. 

The seventh chapter, '''Une pouce de largur et un pouce de profondur' - Le
français régional dans les manuscripts basques des 18e et 19e siècles'', by
Manuel Padilla-Moyano, focuses on the linguistic characteristics of a
south-western variety of French found in various documents (such as theater
plays and epistolary correspondences), written by bascophone speakers with
marginal knowledge of French orthographic norms. From the perspective of
historical sociolinguistics, the author first retraces the evolution of the
diglossic situations in the Basque Country, then details the phonological,
morphological, syntactic, and lexical attributes of this
Basque/Gascon-influenced regional French.

EVALUATION

This volume is composed of seven article-length chapters (except for Chapter
2), organized based on an extensive chronology spanning the periods of Vulgar
Latin to the 20th century. All of the articles are geared towards a readership
of trained linguists with a particular interest (and some prior knowledge) in
historical phonetics and graphemics. Each article stands as its own study, and
little cross-referencing is noted. Together however, they offer a panoramic
view of the scholarship at the orality-orthography interface in the diachrony
of French.

Chapter 1 presents a highly technical analysis in the domain of historical
phonetics that requires a solid background in phonology as well as an
understanding of phonetic change in late Latin and proto-French. Furthermore,
while the chapter's analysis is heavily grounded in historical phonetics, its
connection with the orthographic correlates appear to be secondary and
somewhat tenuous given the varying graphies observed (and the fact that some
are the outcome of other processes like analogy). As a first chapter, it may
therefore leave the reader wondering about the attention and status allocated
to the orthographic material in subsequent chapters. Nevertheless, Chapter 1
is very well structured in sections that first lay out the empirical
generalizations before presenting the analysis.

Chapter 2, the longest of the seven chapters, features a lot of rather lengthy
footnotes (34 total) that can frequently detract from the text. It is also
heavy in terminology, definition, and reference to other authors' own
terminology. The study presented is thorough yet complex. We can note one
typographical error in the text, on page 53, section 2.3.1: ''puis qu'ils >
puisqu'ils''.

Chapter 3 is notable in that it displays actual photographs of old manuscripts
to illustrate its claim and offers the reader original documents to observe.
This is particularly welcomed in a book dealing with the orthographic
substance of ancient texts. Chapter 3 also provides interesting perspectives
on the decision-making process of medieval editors, copyists, and grammarians
in their attempt to restitute the old forms of the language, while at the same
time facilitate readability of the text and/or adhere to an emerging norm.
These reflections are not only at the heart of the philological work presented
in this volume, but also enable the reader to appreciate his/her own
relationship with writing and textual material.

Chapter 4 is also noteworthy in that it offers the reader an insight into the
challenges faced by the researcher, as well as some of the methodologies
deployed, to make sense of the linguistic material drawn from (sometimes)
incomplete sources. Hence, based on the nature of the document(s) at hand,
some language forms may not be displayed, as for instance, in the case of
accounting records, certain vocabulary items (e.g. those pertaining to
philosophy or poetry) or certain verb tense and/or mood (e.g. the
conditional). Nevertheless, due to their consistency in language forms, these
documents possess a wealth of material for the diachronic study of a regional
scripta. This chapter is therefore important in that it departs from the
others by its quantitative approach and treatment of linguistic forms. It
however establishes little connection with the spoken medium of the language
and focuses primarily on its written materiality.

Chapter 5 is another chapter that suffers from numerous and at times lengthy
footnotes (41 total) that impede reading. The contribution is however
interesting in that it compares the same textual material in two different
media: a handwritten manuscript and a printed publication. With the advent of
printing at the end of the 15th century, the (typo)graphical systems of
numerous manuscripts/incunables underwent some transformations and their study
can be informative of the way scribes and printers rendered the written
language and interpreted its spoken reality. Chapter 5 therefore offers a
unique perspective on a pivotal moment in the history of the French language:
its transition to a printed medium that necessitated well-defined
(typo)graphical norms.

Chapter 6 finds its merit in that it solely focuses on punctuation, both white
punctuation (in other words, the textual layout on the page; 'text formatting'
in contemporary parlance), and black punctuation as typographical elements
encapsulating the delivery of oral speech. As mentioned in the introduction to
this volume, the history of punctuation has become a fruitful avenue of
research in the past decade and this article certainly contributes to this
growing trend. 

Chapter 7 nicely complements this set of articles for a couple of reasons.
First, the study relies on fragmentary statements found in secondary documents
drafted by semi-literate writers. The language samples are written freely,
with little adherence to (or knowledge of) the orthographic norm, thereby
providing us with an unfiltered testimony of the speech variety of these
untrained writers. The research presented here therefore embraces a ''language
history 'from below''' (Elspaß et al., 2007) that favors unconventional
writings and sources, as opposed to more literary or otherwise highly
standardized texts. Second, this article presents language excerpts crafted in
a multilingual context, where regionalisms and code-mixing are commonplace.
>From a historical perspective, such focus opens new perspectives on the
relation between the spoken and written language in long-standing language
contact situations. We can note one typographical error in the text, on page
174, section 6.1.1: ''/œ/ e /y/ > /œ/ et /y/''.

In sum, this book is to be commended for its breadth of coverage and
methodology (both qualitative and quantitative), and by the fact that it
addresses all aspects of the linguistically-relevant material found in old
documents: the graphophonic content as well as the elements of punctuation.
Specialists in the field will undeniably welcome this volume as a worthy
contribution to the conscientious study of French in the course of its long
history.

REFERENCES

Arabyan, Marc (1994) Le Paragraphe narratif. Etude typographique et
linguistique de la ponctuation textuelle dans les récits classiques et
modernes, Paris, L'Harmattan.

Elspaß, Stephan, Langer, Nils, Scharloth, Joachim et Vandenbussche, Wim
(éds.)(2007) Germanic language histories 'from below' (1700-2000), Berlin-New
York, de Gruyter.

Chierchia, Gennaro (1986) ''Length, syllabification and the phonological cycle
in Italian'', Journal of Italian Linguistics, 8, p. 5-34.

Favriaud, Michel (2004) ''Quelques éléments d'une théorie de la ponctuation
blanche - par la poésie contemporaine'', L'information grammaticale, 102, 1,
p. 18-23.

Fouché, Pierre (1966-1973) Phonétique historique du français, 3 vols, Paris,
Klincksieck.

Trotter David (2009) ''Ensuirre toutes les variétés: la variation au Moyen 
ge, une approche quantitative'', in Dominique Lagorgette, et Olivier Bertrand
(éds.), Études de corpus en diachronie et en synchronie. De la traduction à la
variation, Chambéry, Université de Chambéry, p. 159-176.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Lionel Mathieu holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Arizona. He
currently teaches French in the School of World Studies at Virginia
Commonwealth University. His research interest focuses primarily on the
phonology-orthography interface in second language acquisition, bilingualism,
loanword adaptations, and historical linguistics.





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