Some will still say that I take advantage of the slightest opportunity to talk about my beloved Béarn, but too bad, I accept it. Is it also my fault if, in the heart of sublime landscapes, we produce Ossauone of the best berbis cheeses in the world?
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Oh, I already see some people laughing and asserting, peremptorily, that I made two mistakes in the previous sentence. Let them be wary, because the etymology pleads in my favor. “Cheese” actually comes from the Latin formaticus – and no fromaticus -, for the good reason that all cheese is “made in a form” (hence the “fourmes” of Ambert and Montbrison). As for “sheep”, it is the heir of popular Latin berbix – and no sheep. Besides, “berbis” and “formage” were frequently encountered in medieval writings, so, eh, camembert!
Linguists have given these upheavals the scholarly name of “metathesis” (from the Greek metáthesis “displacement, permutation”). A phenomenon to which, moreover, we found a very simple origin. One day, an individual modifies a pronunciation to make it more convenient. It is then enough for his discovery to be validated by the speakers present around him for this new order to gradually become the common rule. The writing subsequently draws the consequences with these traveling letters which, in turn, change place within the words.
Here are other illustrations:
Mosquito is nothing other than a faulty adaptation of Castilian mosquito (small mosca, “little fly”). It is possible, experts say, that we must see the influence of the tick, another creature that we would think was invented to ruin our lives!
Espadrille. This rope-soled shoe takes its name from the Latin spartum (“rush used to make mats”). An etymology to which Gascon Spain and Catalan espardenya remained faithful while in French, the [r] and the [d] were reversed.
Crush replaced “écarbouiller” quite recently since this word still appeared under this appearance in the first dictionary of Pierre Larousse, published in 1871. It undoubtedly took on the contours that we know under the influence of “craze”, of which it reinforces the intensity. And for good reason. Don’t we sometimes, every summer, desperately want to slay those damn mosquitoes with big blows of espardilles?
Cagibi comes from the Norman term cabigi – where the [b] is placed before the [g] – and this is logical since this word means “cabane modest”. It was upon arriving in Paris that it underwent a transformation to lead to its current presentation. This shows that Norman is in no way distorted French, as some ignorant people maintain. In this specific case, this would even be rather the opposite…
Crocodile. Until the 17th century, it was common to encounter in French the term cocodrill. Note, however, that in this specific case we witnessed a sort of return to basics since this word comes from the Greek krokodiloshimself the originator of classical Latin crocodilewhich later drifted towards the form cocodrillus. A rare case of “counter-metathesis”, if you forgive me this neologism, even if mischievous minds will say that it’s the same thing…
Fierce. Here, it is the vowels that have had ants in their legs. Fierce corresponds in fact to the evolution of the old foraschewhich meant “wild” (from the Latin forasticus“foreign”, “outside”).
Gourmetfor its part, is the contemporary form of the old groumet, the “valet responsible for driving the wines”. The evolution can be explained either by the attraction of the adjective “gourmand” (scientists’ hypothesis) or by the too pronounced penchant of said groumet for the dive bottle (very personal theory).
Above all, do not believe that metathesis is exclusively a matter of ancient history because the phenomenon still occurs today. Not only do many children say pestacle instead of “spectacle”, but many French speakers confuse “infarction” and infractus ; “aéropage” and areopagus ; “hypnotize” and hinoptize ; “remunerate” and renumerate… So many uses stigmatized because they fall within the popular register, but of which nothing says that they will not become the norm of tomorrow, like their predecessors cited above.
That said, is the order of the letters really that important? At the risk of surprising, this is not so certain, as shown by this humorous text cited by the excellent Projet Voltaire site. “As a University of Cambridge University, the order of the ltteers in a word has no meaning, the sole reason is that the first and last are the same.” It would seem that the human brain does not read each letter one by one, but embraces one or more words at a time.
Madly!
FIND VIDEOS DEDICATED TO FRENCH AND THE LANGUAGES OF FRANCE ON my youtube channel
Sources:
– Historical dictionary of the French languageunder the direction of Alain Rey, Editions Le Robert
– Dictionary of modern Béarnais and Gascon, by Simin Palay. Edicions Reclams
– The secrets of wordsby Jean Pruvost, Editions Librairie Vuibert.
– Words and expressions by Pierre Larousse. Editions Larousse.
– Weird, did you say weird?, by Françoise Nore, Les Editions de l’Opportun
READ ELSEWHERE
French Academy: the Spanish example
After my newsletter expressing surprise at the absence of linguists at the French Academy, I received from my Quebec colleague Jean-Benoît Nadeau an article devoted to his Madrid counterpart. Where we learn that the Royal Spanish Academy is made up of a majority of linguists. And that – this perhaps explains it – the Hispanic world regularly evolves its spelling rules.
A resolution to promote French at the Olympics
Encouraging the use of French during press conferences, in communication and in arbitration documents: these are some of the measures included in the resolution adopted by the National Assembly on May 2. Objective: promote the use of the French language at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Should we ban the name vegetable steak?
No, replies with humor this article written with an alert pen in reaction to an amendment debated in the National Assembly aimed at defending cattle breeding. Or else, he quips, we will have to ban beetroot chips, tuna rillettes and beef heart tomatoes at the same time…
When the European Parliament promotes inclusive writing in France
Surprise ! While government directives prohibit the use of the midpoint in official documents, it is used by the European Parliament in documents addressed to French voters.
The real history of the at sign
Some time ago I devoted a newsletter to the origins of this strange little character that has become one of the symbols of the Internet. Paleographer Marc Smith publishes a new edition of the work that inspired it, with additional information.
The true history of the at sign, by Marc Smith. Editions of the National School of Charters.
“Poulamon”, “divulgâcher”, “sloche”: the new entries in the Quebec dictionary
Here are some of the 150 new entries in version 2.0 of the Historical Dictionary of Quebec French which has just been put online.
A 1,700 kilometer relay race for the Breton language
The ninth edition of the Redadeg, a relay across Brittany aimed at promoting the Breton language and financing projects in its favor, is getting ready. This 1,700 kilometer (!) race will take place day and night between Pointe du Raz, on May 17, and Morlaix, on May 25. A way of showing the population’s attachment to its historical culture.
The fifth Alsatian and Platt song competition is launched
The Office for the Language and Cultures of Alsace and Moselle (OLCA), France Bleu Elsass and France 3 Grand Est are launching the fifth edition of the song competition in Alsatian and Platt d’Stìmme. It is aimed at all artists, amateurs and semi-professionals, on the double condition of singing in one of the regional languages of Alsace and Moselle, and of having never released an album. Registrations are possible until May 21.
Take part in the Salinelles meetings
The Salinelles Meetings (Gard), dedicated to literature and the creation of current ocs, will take place on May 24, 25 and 26. On the program: theater, concerts, readings, conferences and even poetic naps!
TO WATCH
A little history of the ampersand
Many brands use this sign containing the conjunction “and” in their name or logo. This very educational video traces the history of this character, long considered the 27th letter of our alphabet.
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