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At that time, obviously, political correctness did not exist. When in 1821, Jean-Claude Léonard Poisle-Desgranges, dit Desgranges, decided to draw up a text intended to teach the “good use” of the language and the rules of French spelling, he hardly bothered with circumlocutions . His title ? Small dictionary of the people for the use of four-fifths of France. Its subtitle? A comical and critical overview of the trivialities, clumsiness, truncated words and vicious expressions of the people of Paris and the provinces. And wham !
His work includes a dictation – the oldest known to date – “to put the presumptuous schoolboy in his place”. There are rare words like langueyer (“Examining a pig’s tongue to see if it is healthy or ugly”) or lever (“young hare”), without forgetting various traps such as the Chas (of a needle); them fonts (baptismal); cheer up (and no scatter). There are also terms whose spelling has changed: a ambush; to his unknowing ; a Judah (without -s); a clumsiness (with a hyphen), etc.
But the most interesting is elsewhere. Desgranges prefaces his dictation with a list of words and phrases on the model “say, don’t say”. And there again, as you will see, we cannot really consider him as a precursor of Montessori pedagogy…
• “tree to tree. It’s the grossest pronunciation.”
• “tease to signify torment; bother. Mistake. It is only used among the people; it is barbarism.”
• “Avanziere and forerunner are gross faults; say: the day before yesterdaywithout pronouncing the -t.
• “Bamboozle to enjoy is not French. Bambocheur is no better.”
• “I ran right away. This “I ran“ is absolutely bad. I ran is the proper expression.”
• “Could often is a scum phrase. She means nothing.”
• “Embrace (drink to excess). Barbarism. stuff yourself is a little better; and get drunk is the right word”.
• “Truffle. This is how in different provinces, we call the potatoes ; it’s wrong: ask a pig instead, he knows about it!”
Beyond its abrupt style, to say the least, this document, which has just been republished (1), is of great interest. First, he offers us a glimpse of a language he condemns, but describes. Thanks to him, therefore, we have a rare testimony to oral French of this period, at a time when neither radio nor television nor the Internet existed.
Moreover, as you will have certainly noticed, some of the errors he criticizes are no longer considered as such today. Hence this observation: there is always a part of subjectivity in the definition of the “norm” or the “true French”. “What Desgranges presents as “mistakes” in reality often correspond to variants of French”, underlines Fabrice Jejcic, a sociolinguist specializing in spelling who worked on this book. Hence this fundamental question: who, in France, has the power to decide that only one of these variants is the right one and, above all, to say which one? Response from Fabrice Jejcic: “Language is always a tool of power. In France, the norm was for a long time that of the Court. Since the Revolution, it is the Parisian bourgeoisie, said to be cultivated, who have imposed their own.”
Finally, the interest of this dictionary is sociological. As its title indicates, it is intended for “four-fifths of France”, i.e. an area much larger than Brittany, Corsica, Alsace and these vast lands of oc where, historically, we spoke of other languages than French. Which means that in the eyes of Desgranges, we also commit “mistakes” in the regions close to the capital. And for good reason ! Not only have the Orléanais, the Picards, the Lorrains, the Normans and the other inhabitants of the domain of oïl preserved strong dialect particularisms, but the variety also exists in Paris itself. Yes: if the big city is home to the dominant classes supposed to practice “good” French, it also welcomes a small population, as abundant as it is inventive, whose language deviates from the norm. Unbearable freedom for our censor! According to him, the inhabitants of the capital should be exemplary. He therefore qualifies as “verbiage”, “gibbering” and even “mud of Paris” the use of soul for “fright”, of horn for “fool”; of swallow to “be fooled”. “In reality, the language chosen as the standard by the Academy and disseminated by Desgranges is that of a very small category of French people made up of the wealthy classes of Ile-de-France. The hierarchy is therefore both geographical and social” , notes Fabrice Jejcic.
There is a final paradox that deserves to be underlined. If Desgranges’ approach is objectively purist, directive, even frankly condescending, it is also intended to be… democratic, as noted in his preface by the great dictionary specialist Jean Pruvost. With his book, Desgranges sincerely thinks to help the “lower class of the people” to rise in society by mastering “good French”. Like the Revolutionaries before him, like the promoters of public schools at the end of the 19th century, it does not occur to him that, in a multilingual country such as France then was, true equality should have been any other: allow everyone to have access to social promotion in his language, whether it corresponds to a so-called regional language or to a variety of French. Instead of which it paradoxically worked to privilege the use of the social class in power. An error of reasoning which made Alain Rey, the grand master of Le Robert editions, say: “Politically, the Revolution claimed to give voice to the people. Linguistically, it gave it to the bourgeoisie.”
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(1) People’s Little DictionaryJ.-C.-LP Desgranges, Corsaire Editions.
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