Unit name | The French Language: Structures and Varieties |
---|---|
Unit code | FREN20044 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Damien Mooney |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of French |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit introduces students to the study of French linguistics and focuses on the techniques and problems involved in the structural, sociolinguistic, and stylistic description of the French language. Firstly, students will develop their analytical knowledge of French grammar and pronunciation through the systematic study of the linguistic structure of French. Topics in this part of the unit will cover the French sound system, phonetic transcription, the modal use of the subjunctive, the complex and changing relationships between the past tenses, word creation, and French word order. In the second part of the unit, students will familiarise themselves with the many varieties of French, covering topics in register or socio-situational variation, written versus spoken French, loan words and borrowings, regional variation in French, and French sociolinguistics.
Aims:
Successful students will have, on completion of the unit:
1 plenary hour (Lecture)
1 seminar hour
One 2000 word essay (50%) testing ILOs 1-4 and one two-hour exam (50%) testing ILOs 1-4.
Ayres-Bennett, W., and J. Carruthers, with R. M. Temple. 2001. Problems and Perspectives: Studies in the Modern French Language (Harlow: Longman).
Battye, A., Hintze, M-A., and P. Rowlett. 2000. The French Language Today (London: Routledge).
Fagyal, Z., Kibbee, D., and F. Jenkins. 2006. French: A Linguistic Introduction (Cambridge: CUP).
Price, G. 2005. An Introduction to French Pronunciation (Oxford: Blackwell).
Sanders, C. (ed.). 1993. French Today: Language in its Social Context (Cambridge: CUP).
Walter, H. 1988. Le français dans tous les sens (Paris: Robert Laffont).