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May God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the apostles and all the saints not take umbrage at this time of Christmas, but I consider The historical dictionary of the French language like one of the bibles in my library. Created by the late Alain Rey in the 1990s, this work constitutes an extraordinary dive into the great adventure of our language, and this for at least two reasons. First of all, it has the merit of going back upstream from Greco-Latin etymology.
We all know that pink just rose ? Certainly, but did you know that this Latin word itself comes from the Greek rhodon (hence rhododendron) and before it from Iranian wr da (which I leave it to you to pronounce)? And the best is yet to come: this incomparable dictionary not only gives the origin of a word: it also describes the changes in meaning over time. We learn that “man”, for example, has meant, according to the times, “reasonable creature”; “living human being”; “creature of God”; “soldier” ; “male human being”; “husband”, “male being having reached maturity”; etc Something to measure the evolution of our collective mentalities and our imaginations.
Is it a coincidence? This completely crazy scientific project has no equivalent either in France or abroad – not even for the English language. This shows how much he owes to this tireless worker that was Alain Rey, whose last years were devoted to updating what he considered to be his great work. Checking off, crossing out, crossing out, adding, removing, completing, modifying countless entries while multiplying searches to create new ones, he thus gave it an increasingly personal twist over time. Hence this latest version just published by Le Robert editions (1), enriched with the latest nuggets unearthed by the great lexicographer. Here are some examples.
Conspiracy comes from ball! No a priori connection between the innocent ball of the aptly named Basque pelota and “a secretly concerted project to harm someone or an institution”. And yet… Because a ball is made of a “ball of cords assembled very tightly and covered with skin”, these three constituent elements – “assembly”, “tight” and “covered” – are found in the idea of ”gathering of people closely linked by a secret project”. “In the twelfth century, conspiracy had the concrete meaning of ‘compact crowd’ before specializing with the modern value of ‘conjuration'”, specifies Bérengère Baucher, the editorial director of the French language department of the Robertwho collaborated with Alain Rey for ten years.
Alert launcher. It is rare that one can precisely date the appearance of a neologism. However, such is the case for the expression “whistleblower”, coined in January 1996 to designate “an individual, a group or an organization who stands up against an established order to reveal a danger, a scandal.” Its creator is the sociologist François Chateauraynaud who, to designate citizens acting in favor of the common good, wished to avoid terms with negative connotations such as “whistleblower”, “sentinel” or “vigil”.
Scud. It is sometimes forgotten, but when we “scud” someone – in the sense of “boxing, winnowing, verbally tackling” – we are referring to a code name invented by NATO to designate a tactical missile family. The word gradually left the military register through video games and today has taken on the figurative meaning of “verbal aggression”.
From cloister to cluster. Many French people were rightly annoyed by this: when the Covid appeared, many thought it wise to replace our good old “source of infection” with Anglicism cluster. The funny thing is that cluster is… itself derived from a very French word: cloisterfrom Latin cloister, “fence”. The connection between these two terms? “If the cloister designates the part of a monastery closed by an enclosure, the cluster refers to a contagion zone, strictly delimited and restricted to a given space”, specifies Bérengère Baucher. And to note with mischief: “Cluster has kept the original -s mark, characteristic of French in the Middle Ages, a shame for the language that today embodies modernity!”
Scroll. Anglicism again – even “Californism” – with scroller, which means “to scroll, browse on a screen”. Only the verb remains to scroll is itself derived from Old French cheat, which denoted a strip of parchment or scroll, hence imprison (“register in the nut, in the register”). Passed into English through the intermediary of the Norman aristocracy installed in power in London following the victory at Hastings of William the Conqueror in 1066, it gradually evolved across the Channel into scrowethen in scroll. Like scrolling a text on a screen is more or less like unrolling a parchment.
No untimely croaking, however: The historical dictionary of the French language reminds us that our cheat himself comes from Frankish, a Germanic language imported by Clovis and his family…
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(1) Historical dictionary of the French language. Editions LeRobert.
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French, “despised patois”, revives in Louisiana
Fluently spoken until the beginning of the 20th century in this American state, French almost disappeared there after being rejected from school in favor of English. Surprisingly, it is experiencing a certain revival today and several thousand students are learning it again, as this article by Slate.com
In the territories he conquered in Ukraine, Putin is trying to impose Russian. The Kurds speak Kurdish, but have no state. These two examples show it: languages are always political instruments, whether they are languages imposed by central powers or languages of resistance. Questions at the heart of this book which calls for respect for the right to be different.
Geopolitics of Romance and other languages, by Gentile Puig-Moreno. Preface by Paul Molac. Yoran Editions
A group of MPs in favor of regional languages
A “regional languages and cultures” parliamentary group has just been set up in the National Assembly. It will be co-chaired by Paul Molac (Morbihan, LIOT) and Karine Le Bon (Reunion, Nupès)
Do you know the site Between languages ?
Between languages is a university information site on the languages of France, edited by Mélanie Jouitteau, researcher at the Iker laboratory of the CNRS. It offers a complete inventory, with documented information on their vitality as well as a bibliography devoted to their sociolinguistics and their grammar. Finally, it lists the various research projects on these subjects.
Arabic language: forget the received ideas
Introductory courses, round tables, shows: until December 18, the Arab World Institute opens its doors to Arabic speakers, to those who wish to become Arabic speakers and to the simply curious. A good opportunity to go beyond the clichés circulating about one of the most spoken languages in the world.
Corsican language: a new tool for learning to read and write bilingually
Girà u mondu est an innovative educational tool designed to teach students to read and write in French and Corsican. “You only learn to read once. And you learn to read better with two languages”, underlined Jean Duverger, National Education Inspector and specialist in bilingual education. It is from this conviction that the network Canopy of Corsicaanimated by Marie-Hélène Menozzi, Rose-Marie Ottavi, Pasquale Pergola and Marie-Hélène Tomas set up this project.
The National Committee for Monegasque Traditions has just republished the French-Monegasque and Monegasque-French dictionaries as well as a grammar. With free downloadable files.
Dictionary of Gascon expressions
Expressions, phrases, proverbs, idioms: Hubert Dutech has brought together the characteristic turns of phrase of Gascon in his latest book.
Diccionari deus torns de lenga gascon, by Hubert Dutech, €29. To be ordered from the author: [email protected]
TO LISTEN
What remains of the language of the Gauls?
According to Jacques Lacroix, our Celtic heritage would be undervalued when he would have bequeathed to the French language about a thousand words – and not 200, as we often read. He has just published a book, titled The irreducible Gallic words in the French language (Lemme Edit) to “restore consciousness to this Gallic unconsciousness”.
A call to teach regional literature in schools in France
A petition is circulating asking that French writers who write or have written in regional languages be studied at school. Listen to the arguments of sociolinguist Philippe Blanchet on France Bleu Pays basque (section 8:15, “the guest of 6-9”).
TO WATCH
With Yannick Jaulin, discover rock in Poitevin-Saintongeais
Yannick Jaulin is an extraordinary storyteller, nominated for the Molières for his formidable show entitled My mother tongue is going to die and I can’t talk to you about love. He is also a singer and will be in concert at L’Européen, in Paris, on January 12 and 13 before a tour in the rest of France. He will present his “Saint Rock project”, songs composed in his language, Poitevin-Saintongeais, “to work on her body, on her self-esteem, to make her words terluzer and regouler images.”
Vote for the Occitan song of the year
The Virasolelh agency is organizing a consultation to designate the best Occitan song of the year. It’s up to you to vote!