Problems and Perspectives- Studies in the Modern French Language looks at a number of interesting or problematic areas in the phonology, morphology, syntax and lexis of the French language and encourages the reader to think critically about different ways of approaching, describing and explaining these issues or data.
The book is divided into two parts- the first section is a preliminary to, and contextualises, the discussion of the more specialised topics of the second part. Part two presents problematic and controversial areas in the description and analysis of the contemporary language. Where appropriate historical and sociolinguistic issues are also integrated into the discussion of modern French.
Aimed primarily at advanced students and researchers in French linguistics, the introductory sections of part one also make this book accessible to undergraduates beginning their study of French linguistics, and to less specialised readers.
PART 1: PRELIMIARIES1. French standards and variation2. Introduction to the description of French: definitions and metalanguage3. Approaches and schools4. Choice of topics and approachesPART 2: ISSUES1. Word-final consonants2. Nasal vowels3. Schwa: a maverick vowel4. Verb morphology: conjugation classes and the definition of regularity5. Aspect in French6. Past tenses: complex and changing relationships7. Mood and modality: the French subjunctive8. Pronominal verbs9. Declarative word order: French as an SVO language10. Relations between clauses: subordination, coordination, parataxis11. Negation12. Neologisms: internal versus external factors13. 'Internal' processes of word creation in FrenchReferencesIndex of conceptsIndex of names
Wendy Ayres-Bennett is a Reader in French Philology and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge.
Janice Carruthers is a Lecturer in French at the Queen's University of Belfast.
Rosalind Temple is a Lecturer in French Language and Linguistics at the University of York.
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