Language and style

Lessons in Stylistics
French

By
Mohamed Nabil Nahas Homsi
Doctor of State

September 2005
 Language and Stylistics: Lessons in French Stylistics

summary
Foreword 3
- Introduction: what is Stylistics? 4
Lesson 1: Grammatical Words and Lexical Words 6
Lesson 2: The Functions of Language 10
Exercises 13
Lesson 3: Statement enunciation 16
- Exercises 19
Lesson 4: Types of Texts 22
Exercises 25
Lesson 5: Speech Acts 29
Exercises 32
Lesson 6: Language Registers 34
Exercises 39
- Leçon 7 : Péjoratifs et mélioratifs 45
Exercises 51
Lesson 8: Literal and Figurative Meaning 49
Exercises 51
Lesson 9: Figures of speech 58
Exercises 78
Lesson 10: Rhetoric of Literary Genres 82
Exercises 91
Lesson 11: Reported Speech 95
Exercises 98
- Lesson 12: Logic of Discourse: Elements of Argumentation Analysis 103
Exercises 109
Lesson 13: Sounds 112
Lessons 14: Measure and Rhythm 116
Bibliography 119

2
 Preface

After experiencing a prosperous period in the 50s and 60s, appearing as

a new discipline, stylistics found itself in the background, in the years 75-85,
compared to the explosion of other areas, to have recently experienced a sort of
Renaissance, which now makes it a dynamic and innovative discipline, a discipline
at the crossroads of the 'sciences' of language and the 'sciences' of literature.
It is true that one cannot account for the meaning of a text without observing
in a rigorous manner the object it constitutes, an object made of organized words. It is there
which intervenes in stylistics, because if the definitions of this discipline - that some
refuse to be considered a science - are divergent, all admit that
his statement is the analysis and interpretation of linguistic facts to examine,
scrutinize, isolate and study the various components of a text. Indeed, the study
the stylistics of a text involves a grammatical, linguistic, rhetorical analysis of
this one. However, due to its search for interpretation, it could not be
reduce to an applied grammar nor even to a linguistics of the text.
This work offers a study of analytical instruments that allow for the identification of
to classify and especially to interpret these language facts. The lessons of which it is composed
were taught in the form of handouts for several years
consecutive to undergraduate students at the Faculty of Languages and Translation
King Saud University, which allowed its author to measure its effectiveness and
encouraged to make the decision to have them published. If the content writing
several years ago, significant and multiple changes were made.
brought about, in light of the observations made along the way, the final objective
being, of course, to make the material less rebellious and more accessible.
Most lessons will be followed by multiple and varied application exercises.
But it is not the same for certain others, notably those that are
dedicated to the study of sounds, measurement, and rhythm for which we have
I deemed it unnecessary to overload the work with exercises that will not be of great help.
to an audience of future translators. If they are included here, it is primarily to satisfy the
passionate readers of poetry, and then because it is inconceivable that they would do
defect in a work that deals with stylistics.
We hope to have achieved the goal we set for ourselves in
conceiving this work and sincerely hoping that it can meet the expectations of
readers.

3
 Introduction
What is stylistics?
The term style (from the Latin stilus = a tool used for writing) is borrowed
in ancient instrument used to mark the wax of tablets. This word,
who designated since classical Latin the manner of writing of an individual,
of a writer, of a school or of a genre, applies today to
many fields (one can just as easily talk about the style of an armchair,
of a behavior, of a life rather than of the style of a literary work.
For the old rhetoric, style is beautiful style, a matter
of ornaments, of figures, thus of teaching. This orientation persists
dominant in France until the end of the 17th century; it was defined as
the era as 'a certain something'. Starting from the 18th century, there is a tendency
increasingly attributing style to personal genius. With the
romanticism, it becomes the mark of the individual, the group or the genre
in the use of common language. One must wait for the beginning of the 20th century.
century for this notion of style, a mark of the individuality of the subject
in the discourse, it should be refined through a scientific discipline that
give the name stylistics and is mainly interested in objects
linguistics.
What is stylistics? It is the scientific study of the use of
for expressive or aesthetic purposes, special resources of a
language: it aims to study the specific way in which a writer
use syntactic constructions or relationships of meaning or form
existing between the words. Style is defined by reference to a standard
like a gap:
a. deviation from the code.
b. deviation from an unmarked level of speech, a kind of usage
simple means.
c. deviation from the style of the genre to which the work belongs, and which
constitutes a sort of language established beforehand (one can study the
Balzac's style, for example, within the style of the novel.
In any case, it is a matter of studying stylistic effects against the background of language,
this being the sum of the means of expression at our disposal
to format the statement, while the style would be like the appearance and
the quality that results from the choice between these means of expression. Thus, by
for example, if the man on the street says 'I remember', which is a
banal expression; the cultured man chooses 'I remember it' expressing
the same thing with a pedantic expression. To these two expressions, the
the poet prefers the poetic expression 'I remember it.'
The realm of style is limitless, as all elements and processes
of expression, regardless of the grammatical category to which they belong,

4
can be the subject of choice. Thus, stylistics covers the entire field
the language and the study of linguistic expressiveness must be carried out in
function of the traditional divisions of grammar: phonetics,
morphology, lexicography, syntax, structure of the statement. Let it be the sentence
next :
I can assure you that this is true; but it might be better
that it not be.
Such a person, in such a circumstance, will pronounce: exa-c-t; such another,
or the same in other circumstances, it will say; the tone and the appearance of
The statement will be modified, and the listener will take away an impression.
different.
Yes, instead of saying I can, you can say I may, the quality of the statement will differ: I
it falls under the common and familiar register while I can emphasize
in the sense of distinction. There is thus a stylistics of forms.
One can choose between this and that; the first will be more literary, the second
very familiar; this time it's the vocabulary that is at stake.
Do we vary the construction by using, instead of the present subjunctive
let it be, which represents a tolerance of use, the imperfect was, which is
correct and learned; the quality of style becomes a function of syntax.
Finally, the word order is also an element of style, as it appears
following what I say, trivially: it might be better, or, with a
elegant inversion: perhaps it would be better.
This course aims to be an introduction to the linguistic approach to
texts or more precisely like a reading guide. Its ambition is
to develop in students a form of attention to the language of
texts often neglected or deemed a matter for technicians.

5
Lesson 1

Grammatical words and lexical words

It is very useful to present the distinction between words from the beginning.
grammatical and lexical words. This distinction allows us to
Indeed, to classify words in French into two large sets that have
very different characteristics.

I. Grammatical words
Grammatical words are determiners (articles and adjectives not
qualifiers), prepositions and coordinating conjunctions and
subordination
A young man was reading a science fiction novel in his corner.
The: definite article, determiner of a young man;
a: indefinite article, determiner
of: preposition;
in: preposition;
his: possessive adjective, determinative.
What are their essential characteristics?
B1. Grammatical words are limited in number.
The child was approaching the house.
This sentence contains three grammatical words: the definite article.
the preposition 'l' and the definite article 'la'. One can replace each.
of them in other words:
It can be replaced by some, its, one, something, etc.
can be replaced by the same words in their feminine form:
["this","her","a","some","etc."]
can be replaced by, towards...
In each case, the words that can replace each of the three words
Grammatical ones are limited in number.
B2. New grammatical words are very rarely created.
The list of grammatical words is short and is difficult to extend.
When we create a new name or a new verb when the
the need is felt. Grammatical words therefore make up a stock
of words that cannot be easily increased.
B3. Grammatical words are frequent and have a vague meaning.
The grammatical words being few in number, the same grammatical word
can be used very frequently in a text, or even in a
phrase :
One day in the afternoon on the platform behind a bus.
I see a character in line 5 who is very tall.

6
a felt portrait surrounded by a braided ribbon in place of a ribbon.
(Raymond Queneau, Exercises in Style)
In this text, it is noted that:
The only words that are used more than once are words.
grammaticaux :un(six fois),de(quatre fois),la(deux fois).
The meaning of these grammatical words is very broad:
it can mean
one unit (one and not two)
The non-precision (any), etc.
is a preposition that can indicate:
the possession (Pierre's hat),
the material (a wooden table),
the origin (he comes from the kitchen), etc.
Note: These grammatical words are short, they rarely exceed.
a syllable. They are both frequent, imprecise and short. It is
interesting to note that the more frequent a word is, the more its meaning is
large and somewhat inaccurate. This is due to the fact that it is used in a large
number of different phrases in which the other words him
give a special meaning. Similarly, it can be noted that the more a word is
frequent and its variable meaning, the shorter it is. This is explained by the fact
that the one who speaks refuses to make an effort (to use a word that is too long) if
this word does not provide precise information.
B4 Grammatical words are distributed into two groups
1. Those who determine the name: articles, non-qualifying adjectives;
2. Those that serve to connect words in a sentence: the
prepositions.

II. Lexical words

Lexical words are nouns, verbs, and qualifying adjectives.
the adverbs:
The wolf came out of the woods, looked at the poor lamb with greed and
precipitate to devour.
The lexical words in this sentence number nine:
- loup : nom,
to go out: verb
wood: noun,
regard: verb,
- poor: qualifying adjective,
- agneau : nom,
- voracité : nom,
- rushed: verb,
- dévorer : verbe.

7
The essential characteristics of lexical words?
They are in very large numbers

In the following example: The wolf saw the lamb.

The three lexical words: wolf, glimpse, lamb can be replaced.
by a very large number of other lexical words:
The wolf glimpse lamb
lion vit ewe
dog mangea peasant
boy prit child
... ... ...
2. New lexical words can be created as needed.
Language is a tool through which one can speak, write to others.
people to give them information on very different subjects.
Like all tools, language changes and transforms to adapt to
new communication needs.
Thus, when a new way to move on water was invented
with the help of a board equipped with a sail, the word windsurfing was invented.
sail. To refer to those who use this new device, a term has been created.
the word windsurfers. To evoke a new device, they invented the
motorcar. A new rail vehicle led to the creation of a
abbreviation T.G.V. (High-Speed Train).
To create new words, French has three processes:
A. Suffixation: we add a suffix to the end of a word to obtain a
new word
From flower, we form florist or flowering.
Starting from two, we form sweetness or gently.
B. Prefixation: we place a prefix in front of a word to create a
new word:
From the word 'to say', one forms 'to say' or 'to predict'.
From homework, we form to foresee.
C. Composition: we juxtapose existing words to form a
new word:
cauliflower
coffee with cream
potato
wiper
sweet and sour.
3. Some lexical words can be replaced by pronouns.
This is the case for nouns and attributive qualifying adjectives.
He took his child with him to the office. he took me with him to the
office.

8
Don't you find this child silly?
Yes, he is really too much.

4. Lexical words are distributed into grammatical classes.

different
We will group together words that can have the or the
same functions. We then distinguish:
0Nouns that can be subject, direct object or
indirect, circumstantial complement, noun complement, attribute or
in apposition;
The adjectives that can be an epithet, an attribute, or placed in
apposition ;
The adverbs that are all circumstantial complements;
The verbs that are all the core of the sentence.
It will be said that words belonging to the same class have the same nature.
Nouns and adjectives can serve multiple functions, they form
two classes of multifunctional. However, adverbs and verbs
can have only one function. They each belong to a
demonofunctional classes.

9
Lesson 2

The functions of language

The communication scheme

Verbal communication is an exchange of words or writings.
(statements, or messages), between one person and one or more
interlocutors, on a given subject, and in a given language.
Each exchange involves several factors: a message or a statement
(what is said), a speaker (the one who speaks or writes), an interlocutor (the
recipient of the message), a situation (the one in which they find themselves
the two partners of the exchange, and to which they refer), the
common language used (for example the French language or the language
Arabic), and finally a means of transmission (direct exchange of words,
letters, journal, etc.)
/II/ The functions of language and types of statement
To each of the communication factors corresponds a role, or a
particular function of language.
1. The expressive function: when the speaker expresses their feelings,
his impressions, his emotions, he involves the expressive function of
language.
a. When the statement essentially serves to express reactions
affective responses of the interlocutor (pain, concern, anger, indignation, or to the
opposite, joy, surprise, pleasure, admiration, enthusiasm, etc., it is said
what is an expressive statement. Expressive language is characterized by
interjections, high intonation, exclamatory sentences, accents
marked intensity, words with superlative value, phrases without
verb
Chic! It's wonderful! What an extraordinary boy!
Oh la la! Oh, how much it hurts! Ouch, ouch, ouch! What misery!
[Link] a text that successively gives the floor to several
characters, in direct speech (novel, theater, report) the same word
you design different speakers. The context allows them to be identified.
The expressive function is particularly manifested in conversation,
the autobiography, the recollections, the letters, the lyrical poetry
(sentimental), trust, promise, apology, etc.
2. The impressive function of language: when the speaker seeks to
to pressure his interlocutor, to obtain something from him, to
the influencer, he engages the impressive function.
This is characterized by the frequency of the 2nd person, the calls,
the imperative and the subjunctive, interjections, prayer formulas or
suggestion, questions, praise, reprimands, incentives
advertisers...

10
I would like you to pay close attention to what I am going to tell you.
Come on! Move along!
You need to tell us everything!
b. When the statement has the essential role of attracting attention
the interlocutor, or better yet, to trigger a reaction in him,
a given behavior, to encourage them to act in a certain way, we say
what is an impressively statement.
The expressive language uses interjections, apostrophes, the imperative.
the formulas of address or indignation, figurative language, etc.
Hey! Taxi!
Boy, the bill, please!
Attention, let's not move anymore!
Congratulations, my dear friend!
3- What we are talking about (the subject, or the theme, or the situation, or the referent)
The referential function of language.
When the speaker refers to another person other than themselves -
even if its interlocutor, or when it refers to an object, it
use a noun or a noun group, or a pronoun: he, she, this, that
etc.
I heard from Ibrahim. He is now working in a
bank.
I took my television to the repairman because it is damaged.
Many types of statements are often spoken or written.
in the third person: news articles, essays, technical works,
reportages, history, tale, short story, novel, etc.
These statements serve to tell events or to describe
Aspects of the world are referential denouncements.
4- The metalinguistic function of language: It happens that the exchange
focuses on the language itself, for example to ask a question or
give a clarification on the meaning of a word, ask or give a
definition. It then engages the metalinguistic function or of
metalanguage. It is the use of language to talk about language itself.
The most characteristic type of statement in this regard is the article of
dictionary.
5- The contact or phatic function: before communicating, one
use processes to create contact; during the exchange, we try
to maintain the attention of the interlocutor. This is the contact function.
Let's also think, from this perspective, about polite expressions (Hello),
to comments about the weather or about health (How are you?)
["expressions that serve to fill silences (Say, tell me, huh, hold on, you"]
So, well, then) or to draw attention (Isn't it? If you want,
Hold on.

11
6- The poetic function: finally, the message can aim for style, that is to say
to a beauty effect, artistic research: use of verses in
poetry, rare words, comparisons and metaphors, sentences
rhythmed in prose, refined turns of phrase, sonorities and cadences,
etc.
There are as many different styles as there are great writers; each
a writer is recognized by an absolutely unique writing style. But among all
the poetic function is exercised.
Attention!
There are one-way communications, or at least some
deferred exchanges, in which the interlocutor cannot respond
immediately (for example: the press, radio, television).
Each exchange involves several functions of language. The
language can also express other functions than those that
have just been analyzed. The expressive function, for example,
could be divided based on emotional affection (feelings, sensations), and in
ideological function (ideas, beliefs).

12
Exercises
/I/ Identify, in the following sentences, the elements that convey a reaction
affective, emotive, of the author. Indicate, for each of them, its particular value.

Ouch! You're hurting me!

2. Bravo! Bravo! Oh! Never have you played so well.
3. Alas! What are we going to become?
4. Not possible! You, here?
5. Ah! No, then. Not that, or not me!
You here? What a surprise!

In what way (using which expressions, which intonations) can

express the pain?

Imagine sentences where you will successively express other reactions.

emotions, such as joy, indignation, anger...

To which linguistic function do you attach each of the following sentences? From
What type of text is it extracted from?

1. Accused, rise!
I was happy to learn that you will come to see us during the
next vacation.
The curve of your eyes circles around my heart.
4. What we call the speaker is the person who speaks.
I visited the Holy Mosque this morning: What a splendor!
6. With shampoo X, change your way of life.
Subway, work, sleep.

The speaker can be referred to by other people than I. Identify, in these

phrases, the brands that refer to the speaker:

We are going to the pool this afternoon.

The signer agrees to repay this amount after 6 months.
How is my little cousin doing?
Such is our good pleasure.
5. The owner informs the tenants that work will be
carried out from October 1st.
We'll be there right away.
It is scandalous that such acts can be committed in our time.
You will do me the pleasure of cleaning your room, and faster than that!

13
/VI/ Text
For over 30 years we have been perfecting an industrial technique
of construction that allowed us to improve our products while
reducing costs.
Today we are building nearly 15,000 houses per year, we
have become the largest builder of individual homes.
If we are proud of it, it is because we are aware of
play a real social role. Indeed, the majority of our sales concern
our cheapest model.
This is proof that we allow those who thought they would never
to be able to afford a house, to realize their dream.

a. Who is the speaker in this text? How is he referred to?

b. To which function do you attach this text? For what reasons?
c. Rewrite this text in such a way that the referential function predominates;
On which elements should you make the changes?

Advertising slogan

Roquefort... A strong pleasure!

A crazy pleasure!
Roquefort first, Roquefort agreed.

Observe the advertising slogan above. What are the characteristics of

pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar that ensure its success?

/VIII/ Texts
This winter the sun is waiting for you in the United States. It will accompany you.
while you drive along the Californian Coast, from horse to
Texas and Arizona, skiing in Yellowstone Park or in the
Rockies.
This winter in Florida, the sun will also invite you to go to the beach.
Sailing, water skiing, scuba diving, sea fishing, windsurfing,
it's up to you to choose.
This winter, the United States will give you the best welcome and not
just because they offer you the sun, you will find there a
easy and inexpensive life. Some examples: car rental for 7
days, unlimited mileage, 405 F _ the flight from New York to San Francisco,
600 F for the meal, 30 F.

B. To make life easier for its clients, Crédit Agricole now has a
international payment card: Eurocard. When you are about to pay your

14
purchases, a hotel bill, a restaurant bill, you hand it over, you sign, and we
you return it with a smile. You are even.

1- Compare these two advertisements; who is the speaker in each case?

2- Who is the interlocutor? How is he designated? Is it a real interlocutor?
3- What observations can you make about the use of tenses?

15
Lesson 3

Statement and enunciation

/I/The notion of statement

1. Definition
Any sequence of words, spoken, written or printed, is a statement. Few
It doesn't matter whether this string of words makes sense or seems to have none; little
whether it is grammatical or not.
But in general, we reserve the term for a sequence of constructed words.
grammatically and meaningful: this is the most common case
in the daily practice of communication.

2. The scale of the statement

the statement can be reduced to a word: for example, an interjection
(Damn!), a call (Hey!), a command (Silence!), an observation (Midnight),
the entry of a dictionary article, etc.
A statement can be a group of words: for example, a group
nominal
Highway Accidents
A statement can be a sentence: a sentence with a verb or a sentence without one.
verb (Pilgrimage to Mecca - Amazing!)
Finally, a statement can be a sequence of sentences of varying length.
that is to say what is generally called a text. There are texts
of all dimensions: a few sentences, a paragraph, a chapter, a
whole book.

The notion of enunciation

1. Definition The enunciation is the individual act of speaking or writing,

to produce a statement, to use the language in a given situation, to
given interlocutors and for given purposes.
The one who performs the act of enunciation, in other words, who produces
a statement, is the speaker (or speaker). It is also said: the
subject of the enunciation.

2. The marks of enunciation

The content and form of the statement depend in part on the aspects
of the enunciation, which each can vary.
a. The subject of enunciation (or enunciator):
0Or he does not identify himself in the statement; he remains masked.
It is the statement in the third person (story, tale, short story,

16
 novels in the third person, report, essay, scientific text,
etc.).
Either it appears itself in the statement, through various signs:
The personal pronoun and the possessives of the 1st person (I, my).
The use of certain moods, for example the imperative, which expresses a
Disappear!
The use of interjections and apostrophes: Ouch; Oh! Hey!
The use of words that express a particular attitude, a
appreciation, a judgment of the speaker on the very content of
the utterance: for example, the phrases expressing doubt,
uncertainty, probability, will, necessity, power (with the
adverbs and the so-called verbs like perhaps, undoubtedly, certainly,
necessarily / must, to have to, to want, to be able to, etc.
The combination of all these traits gives rise to statements.
strongly imprinted by the personality and subjectivity of the one who
the pronouncements (theater dialogue, speeches, controversies, lyrical poetry,
etc.). Conversely, in some apparently objective texts, one can
discover much more discreet and subtle brands of the
presence of the speaker, of their sensitivity and their ideas.
b. The recipient of the statement.
He is also more or less present in the utterance.
In an order, in a letter, in a political speech, in the
theater, the recipient is explicitly designated in the second person
person (pronouns and possessives of the 2nd person).
In other types of statements (science, history, novel), it can
remain completely implicit.
It can be referred to in the third person: administrative texts,
announcements, notices.
c. The identification of place and time
The place
There are unlocalized statements that do not contain any markers.
allowing to identify the place where the speaker produced them: this is the case
many novels, history, scientific texts.
Other statements, on the contrary, provide indications about the place.
of broadcast, for example with the help of adverbs like here, elsewhere, over there
(which take as a reference point the location of the speaker)
demonstrative adjectives, presentation terms (here is) and even
place names (in the correspondence: Riyadh the...)
The moment
Verb tenses (present, past, future), adverbs of time (yesterday,
now, once, tomorrow, in a little while, etc.), and even the dates
explicit (Bordeaux, September 5), allow to indicate the moment

17
of the enunciation and to situate in relation to it the events that it reports
the statement.
All kinds of degrees are possible between statements that are dated and
they detail their content precisely, and the statements are totally timeless.

18
Exercises
Are all the following sentences acceptable? If not, explain why.

I am proud to be a boy.
If I were you, I wouldn’t act that way.
Tomorrow, we are going to the cinema.
We will be here in an hour.
My father has no children.
The next day we took a nice walk.
Next year, we visited England.
8. Mohamed will not come: she has too much work.

In this beginning of the article, what are the elements that depend on the moment of
the statement, which would require additional information to be clear
understood?

"After the death of two cash transporters on Wednesday, the murder of "
two peacekeepers the following night, and that of a shopkeeper yesterday
This morning, Mr. Christian Bonnet immediately summoned the high
responsible for the police.

Ask yourself the same question about these other phrases, borrowed from them.
also to various press articles?

[Link] rejected last year the agreement proposal with a

Norwegian company.

An interesting match tonight in Nantes, which will host Lens.

A zone of cloudy and temporarily rainy weather will gain

today our region, and will progress towards the east.

4. Since then, "the Canaries" had never surpassed the round of 32.
Thus, in the face of Atletico Madrid, two years ago, in the Club Cup
Champions. Thus, against Benfica last year in the Round of 32 of the Cup.
of the U.E.F.A. This season, finally, the players from Loire-Atlantique have
secured their ticket to the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup.

IV. Identify and highlight in the following sentences the words that indicate the moment.
and the place of enunciation:
Today, mom died, or maybe yesterday, I don't know.
Camus

19
2. Who are you? What are you doing here? I don't know you. And
Yet it seems to me that I know you.
3. Bear, she said, this is where our father died. Let us pray for his soul,
my brother !(P.Mérimée)
4. Knights, let me climb this high rock, to see once
still my beautiful castle.

/V/ Text
To Madame de Grignan
At Malcorne, Saturday, May 23, 1671
I arrive here, where I find a letter from you, so much I knew how to give a good
order to our business; I wrote to you on Monday while leaving Paris. Since
this, my child, I have only drifted away from you with a sadness and
a memory of you so pressing that in truth the darkness of my thoughts
made me unbearable at times. I left with your portrait.
in my pocket. I look at it very often. It would be difficult to take it away from me.
stealing at the moment without my noticing; he is perfectly
kind. I have your idea in mind; I have in the middle of my heart a
infinite tenderness for you. Here is my crew, and here is what I
goes three hundred leagues away from you.
We were greatly inconvenienced by the heat. One of my fine horses
staying in Palaiseau; the other six have held on until now. We are leaving.
from two o'clock in the morning to avoid extreme heat. Again
Today, we alerted dawn in these woods to see Sylvie.
that is to say Malcorne, where I will rest tomorrow.
Letters

1. Expliquez les mots : commerce-prévenir : faites pour chacun d’eux une phrase où
they will have their current meaning.

2. Identify, in this text, all the elements that refer to the subject of the enunciation,
to the recipient of the statement, at the place and at the time of the statement.

VI Text
On the train Paris - Rome

This train almost unknown to you - since usually it's always

The other one you take, the sleeper train to Rome will reach Rome.
meeting tomorrow morning at five forty-five, well before dawn.
... It will still be pitch dark. You will wake up with difficulty after a
sleep often interrupted, especially if you are forced to
keep this bad spot in the middle of the bench, but there is everything
similarly, quite a strong chance that you will succeed in taking
possession of one of the corners at the moment when one of your companions

20
current ones are descending, because it is impossible for all to continue until then.
Which of them six will still be at that moment in this
compartment presumably lit only by the blue nightlight,
through this small spherical and dark bulb that you can see at
the inside of the streetlight, nestled between the two other transparent ones and
piriformes. In the countryside, the lights of the houses will be turned off.
You will see the headlights of a few trucks, the lanterns of
stations; you will be cold... You will get up, you will go out, you will go
all the way down the hallway to give you some fresh water on the
eyes. ([Link], The Modification)
Which character is referred to by the pronoun you?
2. Identify in this text the words that refer to another person.
3. Récrivez le texte à la 1re, puis à la 3e personne.

21
 Lesson 4

The types of texts

Types of texts refer to different acts of communication:

to tell, to inform, to convince, to explain, to order, to make act. A
l’intérieur d’un même écrit, l’auteur peut passer d’un type à un autre.

The narrative text

He recounts a fact, an event by placing its unfolding in time.
and in space. It outlines the steps and sets the duration. The text
narrative is often interspersed with descriptive, explanatory or
argumentative.
Features: the tenses of the narrative (simple past, imperfect, present of
narration); time markers (the next day, the day before, a month later
late...) and spatial (there, at that place).
Example:
In 1593, it was rumored that the teeth had fallen out of a child aged
Seven years later, one of his big ones was replaced by a golden one.
dents. Horstius, professor of medicine at the University of Helmstad,
wrote that it was partly natural, partly miraculous, and that it
had been sent by God to this orphan child, afflicted by the death of his
father and mother, as a consolation.
Fontenelle, History of Oracles, 1686.

2. The argumentative text:

It aims to convince of the correctness of an idea, an opinion by relying on
arguments and examples that have evidential value. We call it 'ar-
"arguer" the one who argues and "argué" the recipient of
Argumentation. The idea being defended or opposed is called the thesis.
Characteristics: the present indicative; terms of articulation for
indicate the logical links between the arguments used.
Example:
Added to a car, the useful accessory (the words swear in such a way
savory) never beautifies it. Nothing that is complementary,
subsidiary, serves only the appearance of an industrial object. As for gadgets,
these thousand finds, trinkets, odds and ends that are traded on the side of
the Avenue of the Grande Armée and that I group under the name
general and pejorative of embellishers, they discredit the car that they
ironic. No exception to this rule. As its name does not indicate
Perhaps not unambiguously, the hubcap uglifies.
François Nourrissier, Auto Graphy, 1990

22
3. The explanatory text:
He seeks to inform and clarify a topic for the reader or
the interlocutor is supposed to be ignored. It has an educational function.
Characteristics: the present indicative; terms of articulation of
speech to mark the steps of the explanation (first, then...).
Example:
Gold: under this brief noun rush countless evocations where
Legend disputes reality. Nothing that pertains to gold leaves
indifferent. Over the centuries, a framework has built around this word.
prodigious building whose shining façade announces the splendors but
hide the miseries.
Jules Lepidi,L’Or, « Que sais-je ? », no 776, 1958, PUF.

4. The descriptive text: It strives to evoke a reality through words.

that the reader does not see but can imagine. It informs, about a
space, on a physical level, and can translate the impressions felt by the
descriptor.
Characteristics: the imperfect or the present indicative; markers
spatiaux pour localiser.
Example:
Everywhere there were these gutted gardens, these ruins, these giant wounds.
dug into the ground, at the top of the hill. On the construction sites, the high
grues were motionless, threatening, and the trucks had left some
mud streaks on the roadway. The buildings had not yet
finished pushing. They were still growing, biting into the old walls,
scorching the earth, spreading around them these tar sheets, these
dazzling raw cement surfaces.
J.M.G. Le Clézio, Villa Aurore, 1993.

5. The injunction text: It encourages action, realization, to do.

apply instructions. It sometimes involves order or prohibition.
Characteristics: the imperative, the infinitive, the future and the subjunctive; the
References in the second person are numerous.
Example:
Scapin.- prepare yourself to firmly support your father's approach.
Octave.- I confess that this approach makes me tremble in advance, and I have a
natural shyness that I cannot overcome.
Scapin.- One must still appear firm at the first shock, for fear that, upon
your weakness, they take the opportunity to lead you like a child. A
little boldness, and think of answering resolutely on everything he
can tell you.
Octave.- I will do my best.

23
Scapin - Let's try a little to get you accustomed. Let's repeat a bit of your
role and let's see if you'll do well, Come on...
Octave.- So?
Scapin. - Good. Imagine that I am your father who is arriving, and answer me.
firmly, as if it were to himself.
Molière, The Tricks of Scapin

24
Exercises

/I/ What characteristics of the following text indicate that it is a text

narrative?

Upon arriving in Salerno, he slowed his horse to a walk. His anxiety returned.
Maybe it was like a fever, like a spell that one can succumb to.
undoing it by passing it to others, and had he unknowingly communicated it to his
mother.
He had a hard time finding the doctor's house. Finally, near the port, in
a dead end, they showed him a house of poor appearance; a calf to
half detached was banging. At her knock, a woman appeared in
gesticulating; she asked the knight what brought him; he had to
to explain in detail, shouting to be heard; other women
they loudly lamented the unknown illness.
(Marguerite Yourcenar, Anna, Sorror…, 1931.)

/II/ Observe the following excerpt and indicate for each passage the type of text it is.
it concerns. Justify your answer by referring to the characteristics of the narrative and of
description.

Although devastated by the approaches of winter, the imperial garden does not
did not lack a certain melancholic charm. The long avenue
extended far away its red arches, vaguely hinting at
at its end, a horizon of hills already drowned in the vapors
bluish and the evening fog; beyond, the view extended over the Prater and
the Danube; it was a walk made to order for a poet.
A young man was walking down this alley with visible signs.
impatience; his costume, with a somewhat theatrical elegance, consisted of
a black velvet frock coat with gold buttons trimmed with fur, a
gray knit pants, soft boots with tassels rising to mid-
legs. He could be twenty-seven to twenty-eight years old.
The very short space in which he circumscribed his walk.
showed that he was waiting for someone, because the Imperial Garden
Vienna in November is hardly favorable for meetings.
of business.
Indeed, a young girl soon appeared at the end of the path:
a black silk headdress covered her rich blonde hair, of which
the evening humidity had slightly frizzed the long curls; her complexion,
ordinarily of a virgin wax whiteness, had taken under the bites
of the cold shades of Bengal roses.
(Théophile Gautier, two actors for a role, 1841.)

25
The two following excerpts are argumentative texts. How does the
Does the second text contradict the first? Answer in the form of a
table
Text 1 Text 2
Thesis defended
Arguments
Examples

text 1

Despite the experience of centuries that has proven that women, without
exception, is incapable of any truly artistic or scientific work,
We are being forced to accept the female doctor or the female politician.
The attempt is useless since we do not have the woman yet.
painter or the woman musician, despite the relentless efforts of everyone
daughters of concierges and all the girls to marry in general who study
the piano and even composition with a perseverance worthy of a
best success, or those that ruin oil color and color to
the water without managing to paint anything other than fans, flowers,
backgrounds or mediocre portraits.
(Guy de Maupassant, Preface to Manon Lescaut, 1888.)

text 2

That you entered first at Polytechnique, Anne-Marie

Chopinet, that you graduated as valedictorian of the ENA, Françoise Chandernagor,
that you received the Croix de guerre, Jeanne Mathez, that you have ascended to
your turn at over 8,000 meters, small Japanese from Manaslu, that
you raised your children alone through material difficulties and the
moral disapproval, you others the abandoned or single mothers
volunteers, whether you died for your ideas, Flora Tristant,
Olympe de Gouges or Rosa Luxembourg, whether you were a physicist
accomplished, Marie Curie, when you did not have the right to vote, all this
and many other heroic or obscure acts will not earn us either dignity or
security. It was said by a minister. No, not in the Middle Ages. Not in
Nor the 19th century, you are not there. In 1973. He was addressing you and
to me to remind us after so many others that every value for women
can only proceed from man.
(Benoîte Groult, So Be It, 1975.)

The author addresses the students of a high school. Identify all the signs that
indicate the presence of the argument in the text. What is the thesis developed by
Can the author captivate a young audience?

26
 It is now up to you, dear young people, to approach existence,
and soon the business. The work is not lacking. In the arts, in the
letters, in the sciences, in practical matters, in politics
Finally, you can, you must consider that everything needs to be rethought and
take back. You will have to rely on yourself much more
that we others did not have to do it. Therefore, you must arm your minds; what
does not mean that it is enough to educate oneself. It is nothing but possessing
what one doesn’t even think to use, to attach to one’s thought. It is about
knowledge like words. A limited vocabulary, but one that we
it is better to be able to form many combinations than thirty thousand
words that only embarrass the acts of the mind. I am not going to
to offer you some advice. One should only give it to very
aged, and youth often takes care of it.
(Paul Valéry, Speech on History, 1932.)

The following text is explanatory in nature. What details indicate that the will to
The author's role is not to describe but to make a functioning understood?

A windmill is primarily a house, a real house where

miller's lodge.
But this house is unlike any other. First, it stands...
solitarily away from the village, in the center of the flat cereal country. It is
often a wooden tower, placed on a masonry base in the shape of
trunk, cone or pyramid... But this tower works and, to do so,
She has wings. And she is able to pivot on her base in order to do
facing the entire rose of winds. A circle of protruding markers surrounds it.
like a sundial. The miller uses it as support to move the
the tail of the mill, and with her the whole building.
(Michel Tournier, Little Proses, 1986)

The use of tenses is one of the characteristics that allows to

differentiate the narrative text from the descriptive text. Conjugate it as he
conjugate the verbs in the following passage either in the imperfect or in the past tense.
simple.

Upon seeing the lawyer, the stranger [trembled] with a movement

convulsive similar to that which escapes from poets when a noise
unexpectedly diverts them from a fruitful reverie, in the midst of the
silence and the night. The old man [uncovered himself] promptly and [self]
lever to greet the young man; the leather that adorns the interior of
his hat being undoubtedly very greasy, his wig [stayed] stuck to it
without him noticing, and [to leave] his horribly bare skull visible
mutilated by a transverse scar that [takes] at the occiput and

27
 [come] to die in the right eye, forming a big seam everywhere
prominent.
Honoré de Balzac,Le Colonel Chabert, 1832.

28
/VII/ The descriptive text places the described object in space. Identify the spatial references.
the following text.

A cruiser was slowly crossing the bay, heading towards Italy,

the two arms of the horizon seemed to hold him in a blue apron; a
a column of seagulls rose from the shore, both still and animated;
behind the glass, a sparrow looked, in this grand frame, like a
negligence, a simple oversight.
(Romain Gary, The Lyrical Clowns, 1979.)

29
Lesson 5

Speech acts

I/ Speech and action

When we speak, orally or in writing, we perform simultaneously

Time is an act that may not be without consequences for the interlocutor.
and for oneself.
Indeed, speaking is often acting. Every time we make a promise, we ...
engages, congratulates, accuses, condemns, absolves,
that we command, that we prohibit, etc., the words we speak are just as much
acts that engage the fate of another or of oneself.
For example, if I tell a friend: I promise to accompany you to the
supermarket tonight, this promise is an act that engages in one sense
determined my future behavior. When the judge says to a defendant: I you
Sentenced to three months in prison, this declaration has consequences
(immediate) on the accused.
These are statements whose execution (the enunciation) amounts to a
act.
From there comes the importance of a good mastery of the language, allowing
to precisely adjust what we say to what we think and what we want.
Each of these speech acts can be realized using expressions.
different and equivalent, depending on its specific objectives, and the relationships between
the interlocutors. The French language has variants for the same
deed of speech.
The inventory of speech acts is infinite. But some are very
frequent in everyday life. On one hand, we can try to ...
classify according to the nature of the act, and on the other hand study the sequences
that they form by chaining one another in situations
data.

How to classify speech acts and the statements that correspond to them
correspondent?
It is necessary to distinguish:
1. The objective of communication (e.g.: getting someone to do something)
someone or let something be done by someone.
2. The act of language (to advise, to invite, to order, to constrain, to suggest,
etc.);
3. Possible statements for the same act.

30
Objectives Acts Possible statements

To make (or propose, If you came to dinner at home?

not to do) suggest Would you be happy to come for dinner at home?
you could come to the house ...
I suggest that you come for dinner at my house.

counselor I advise you to keep silent about it.

to recommend Keep silent about it, if you believe me.
Si j’étais à votre place , je garderais le silence là - dessus .
Not a word about it, believe me.

Prohibit, Do not smoke here.

to advise against No smoking.
Please extinguish your cigarettes.
Smoking is prohibited here.

to allow I allow you to go out.

authorize You can go out.
B- let it be Go out if you want.

I excuse you from standing guard.

dispenser There is no need to stand guard.
I am not forcing you to stand guard.
You may be exempt from standing guard.

3-How to study the succession of speech acts in a

conversation, a dialogue?

Every real communication situation is complex. It is built.

as a series of speech acts, exchanged by the interlocutors, according to
the rules observed by the company (greetings, introductions, questions-
responses, polite formulas, etc.). For example: a tourist in a
train station is looking for information...

Lyrics Speech acts

Hello Sir. Hello at the beginning of the dialogue
Hello Sir. What do you want? Response to greeting. Service offer.
Please, what time does the train leave? Request for information.
for Lyon?
Which one, sir, the express or the omnibus? Request for clarification on the nature of
the sought information

31
The express. Response to the previous request.
At 3:50 PM, Sir. Provision of the requested information.
Thank you. Acknowledgments.
You're welcome. Encoded response to the thank you.
Goodbye, Sir. End of dialogue greeting.

32
Exercises

I/ What speech acts do the following sentences correspond to?

Hello, sir.
My name is Salem Ahmed.
3. Excuse me, sir, could you give me a light?
4. The jury, after deliberating, awards you the degree of doctor of ...
letters.
5. Get out!
Ah! dear friend, what an artist you are!

/II/ Same exercise

I do not want to go there.

I promise to intervene with the minister.
The next flight to Dammam departs at 6:50 PM.
4. The service is included in the bill.
5. No entry.
You can visit the recording studio.

III. Identify the different speech acts performed in the following conversation.
The scene takes place on a construction site.

Hello, sir.
Hi, my guy.
Is there hiring around here?
- Why? Are you looking for a job?
Yes, do you have something?
Ah! No, my old friend. The team is complete.
What a pity!
What can you do?
I have my plastering CAP.
Listen, I have nothing to offer you at the moment. But come back later.
So in about a week, you never know.
Well, thank you. See you next week then.
Yes, hello, and good luck!

/IV/ Imagine a dialogue that will succeed the following speech acts:

Hello at the beginning of the dialogue.

Response to greeting. Service offer.
Request for information.
Request for clarification on the nature of the information sought.

33
Response to the previous request.
Provision of the requested information.
Acknowledgments.
Coded response to the thank you.
End of dialogue greeting.

Sometimes it happens that one wants to convey the opposite of what one seems.
to say: it is the mechanism of irony. How would you signify, ironically:

That's clever!
2. Quel vilain temps !
3. Here’s a missed shot.
This neighborhood is noisy.
What you are saying is not very spiritual.
What beauty!
What elegance!

/VI/ A character A requests a service from a character B. Imagine two

variants of this communication situation, indicating precisely and
likelihood of the identity, age, profession of each character, and the circumstances
of the approach.

34
Lesson 6

Language registers

The French language is not a homogeneous block. The expressions

lexical (vocabulary) and syntactic (grammar) of ideas and
sentiments are very varied.
An example. Awesome, your place! (informal), You've got a nice one.
house !(current register), You have a very beautiful home !(register
sustained)
The use of language resources varies according to several factors that
can act separately or cumulatively: age, environment, degree of
culture, the communication situation, the communication objectives,
in writing, the author's intentions.
One can distinguish three registers (or levels)
1- The standard (current) register
It's the one we use, both orally and in writing. It is less
more spontaneous than the informal register, but it is more spontaneous than the register
sustained. It is that of conversation, of life situations
daily or correspondence between people who do not have
familiar relationships, who do not know each other well or at all, articles about
newspapers, radio or television information, advertising, of
scientific discourse, conventional narrative, novel, short story
of teaching...
The vocabulary is that of common dictionaries; it is understood by the most
large number without difficulty. the grammar follows the taught rules
in the manuals. Essentially, it is the register that goes unnoticed.
There is a standard technical usage, which is that of exchanges.
professionals among specialists of a science or a technique. Their
grammar is the usual grammar, but each specialty (medicine,
astronautics, television, various industries, etc.) has its own
clean vocabulary, little known, and in any case little used by non
specialists.
2- The elevated or polished register
It is never spontaneous and requires particular efforts of attention and
of research to speak well or to write well. It is that of production
written or literary; speeches or texts delivered in public. It requires
a deep understanding of the resources of the language, both in terms of
of the syntax (complex sentences, classic rules of agreement of
time, use of certain tenses of the subjunctive...) as for the plan of
lexicon (sought, rare, literary, technical vocabulary...)

35
3- The familiar register
The familiar register is that of spontaneous speech. It is the one of the
family conversation, among friends, in everyday life, about
the stadium, in the street, at the office, etc. It is a rather oral model that
often contains mistakes in terms of correct usage. It contains him
several degrees, the use of which is related to the situation of
3.1 The popular register.
a. Vocabulary: many interjections, terms, and phrases
slang, figurative expressions (hyperbole, redundancies, etc.), of
jokes, expressive intonations.
b. Grammar: deletion within negative constructions, use
give the place to us, give the place to him, you (informal), numerous
repetitions, frequent use of the segmented phrase (So I said, so I
told me, etc.), linking of sentences by juxtaposition or by
coordination.
[Link] vulgar register: same characteristics as the register
popular, with more coarse jokes, even expressions
trash cans.
3.3. The slang register: use of coded, unknown vocabulary or
little known to the general public (specific to crooks, to “loubards”, etc.)

The lexicon The verb forms The construction of the

phrase
Common Vocabulary Register Simple times of Simple phrase, phrase
generally shared current the indicative, subjunctive length complex
present reduced
Reduced Vocabulary Register, Restricted time of Numerous sprains to the
familiar repetitive; frequent usage
the indicative: present syntax; breaks of
of the onomatopoeia; future and passé composé construction; constructions
expressive intonation; incomplete; sentences
figurative expressions; segmented; removal of
incomplete words; terms ne; chaining of
popular, vulgar and phrases by juxtaposition or
slang by coordination; use of
in the place of us
the place of him

Detailed Vocabulary Register All times, all Complex phrase often

support nuanced; numerous the modes; times long; constructions
references to culture simple and compound; rigorous and sought after;
compound words; refusal to use the numerous determinants;
"franglais", terms concordance of tenses many subordinates
recently imported

These indications seem convenient at first glance, but are in reality questionable,
because they involve a social and moral judgment about the ways of that person
who speaks. Theater and the novel often strive to reproduce the

36
various registers of familiar or popular usage, out of concern for authenticity
et d’expressivité. dans la représentation des types psychologiques et
social and various forms of communication in society
modern.
Employment in the texts
Language registers can be considered in two ways:
The normative viewpoint classifies registers into correct and incorrect.
From this perspective, there are therefore registers that we must avoid using.
as far as possible.
2. The descriptive point of view analyzes them as resources of the
language. Mastering one's language means being able to use the different
registers according to communication situations.
In the texts, one can encounter the influence of two points of view:
The author adheres to the norm and refrains from using registers.
incorrects or low registers.
The author plays on the full range of registers, depending on their
characters and the situations they find themselves in. This therefore leads him to
often playing on the marked registers, those that can be distinguished: the
familiar register and formal register. Indeed, language allows itself
only to socially situate the character and even to characterize him
psychologically. The reader must identify the passages where these registers
are employed, to assess how they fit the situations of
communication.
How to access refined language
1. Substitution of words with others of the same kind (common synonymy)
Eviction of a vulgar or common word in favor of a more
"reprimand". The verb "to yell at", for example, frequently used,
evokes the animal (the jaws being the mouth of certain animals). Not
would it not be suitable, therefore, to replace it with another verb that is less
animalistic?
Examples :
to scold familiar
rebuke current
to take back current
to reprimand current
to lecture current
housekeeper current
to admonish well-groomed
- tancer : well-groomed
chaptering well-groomed
Replacement of a verb with a verbal phrase
Examples:
to face to face

37
to help to come to help, to lend a hand
to embarrass to put in an awkward position
to harm bring harm
to resist to stand up to
satisfy donner satisfaction à
to get discouraged to give up
send send
2. Substitution of groups of words with others of the same function.
Examples to indicate a point of view:
economy question: colloquial language
economically speaking: colloquial language
at the economic level: everyday language
- from an economic point of view: everyday language
Regarding the economy: everyday language
- on the economic side: refined language
- in economic terms: polished language
Regarding the economy: formal language.
3. Noun formation based on adjectives
His reactions are quick; he avoided danger because of that. He avoided
the danger thanks to the speed of its reactions.
The exercise was simple, it surprised the students. The simplicity of
The exercise surprised the students.
Fruits are abundant in summer, it is nice. The abundance of
fruits in summer are a pleasure.
These two merchants are competitors, which benefits the
consumers. The competition between these two merchants benefits
to consumers.
He was seriously ill, he could not take his exam. The
the severity of his illness had prevented him from attending the exam.
He has a frank look. The frankness of his gaze...
His speech was brief. The brevity of his speech...
4. Adjectivation of adverbs:
Examples:
He was very tired. His fatigue was extreme.
He seemed to speak easily. His words seemed easy to us.
He often makes mistakes. His errors are frequent.
5. Verb-based nominalization
Verbs + adverb Noun phrase + adjective
We had decided to send back
definitely the workers. the final dismissal of the workers
Conjunction + subordinate clause Preposition + nominal complement
circumstantial Upon their arrival...

38
When they arrived... Thanks to his dedication...
Because he was devoted...
Complex phrase Simple phrase
And as he kept making mistakes, his incessant (repeated) errors have
was quickly dismissed. obviously trained his dismissal.
Declarative verbs + conjunctions A more expressive verb
He says that this house belongs to him. He claims ownership of this.
house.
They say he has a certain talent. He is credited with a certain talent.
He says that this accident is due to my He blames this accident on me.
imprudence. imprudence.
(complex phrases) (simple phrases)

39
Exercises

/I/ Same theme, three different languages: can you identify in the three texts
what are the common elements and the differences in style?

Text 1
Ah! What hard blows we have endured, my dear. Finally, it's here.
Heaven, up there, we are getting justice... It's about time... It's the big
upheaval in Aragon. The Aragonese are fighting almost all for
us. The dictatorship is over! And we will take back what those bastards of
the putschists have stolen from us. What a shame, this regime! And the injustices at the
"Pelle! Terminus they said, the Aragonese... And they restored the law."
Ours. They recognize their queens, the Aragonese.

Text 2
After so many misfortunes, my daughter, God finally shows favor: He has
resolved to bring us justice. The Aragonese, in their almost majority,
are revolted in our favor. They take back from our tyrants what they have taken from us.
They have taken. They break our chains, put an end to injustice and shame.
Aragon restores our laws, Aragon recognizes its queens.

Text 3
After so many troubles, finally the favorable sky
He has resolved, my daughter, to do us justice;
Our Aragon, for us almost entirely rebellious,
Take away from our tyrants what they have taken from us,
Break the shameful iron of their unjust chains,
Submits to our laws and acknowledges its queens.
Corneille, Don Sanche of Aragon, 1650.

To what register of discourse can you situate these statements?

Once, at Saint-Lazare, you know, people get off, and then you have to go
turn in place, so, you know, a bus doesn't turn like a
car... A taxi, it comes, it was going to park over there. It stops just at the edge
from me, like that.

Nadine and her mother are preparing the meal in the kitchen; dad is coming.
to arrive; he is sitting in an armchair reading the newspaper while smoking his pipe.

40
3. The moon at its decline outlined its silhouette on the edge of the horizon.
sickle in the midst of these endless sowings of shining grains thrown to
handle in space.

A gun went silent, then another. Roman came out, a bit broken, the
left hand on the belly, a Colt at the end of the right arm. The rain that
fell to him, delayed the raisin on his face. It seemed to be pissing from
skull with big bumps.

5. The responsiveness to slightly intense noises is considerable right from the

birth and the baby startles very easily. This is not a reason to
think that he is "nervous". He is simply very sensitive to noises a
somewhat strong, felt doubtlessly painfully.
Il a d’emblée une prédilection pour la voix féminine et une sensibilité
particular for certain sound ranges.
He recognizes his mother's voice from the age of three weeks, and those of
other people from the circle a few weeks later. I followed a
baby who, from the age of seven weeks, would close their eyes and tuck their head in
listening to the voice of her two-year-older brother who was constantly annoying her.

/III/ Identify the colloquial language features in the following text.

I am sixty-nine years old and I cultivate one hundred and seventy hectares.
Every morning, I wake up at six o'clock. My companions come
eat and I heat the coffee. The boss gets up after, all
slowly. While my workers have lunch, I only take some
coffee and we talk about yesterday's work, where we are, what we're going to do
to do. When they know their work for the day, I will clean my two
cows.
If I still have two cows, it's because I don't want to be a farmer and
go get milk from the neighbor. I can't tell him: 'I have no more cows'
because it doesn't benefit me. Why would he sell me milk,
so?
Treating the cows gets me going. The boss comes to pull a few.
liters of milk for the house and then, I let the calves drink. All while
While doing my work, I hear the tractors starting up.

/IV/ Observe this text by Guy de Maupassant, chosen for its colloquial style:

Here’s the thing. I was hiding at the Eperon when something happened to us.
Go through the first bush on the left, at the end of the wall. Mailloche there.
let go of a hit, it falls. And we take off, considering the guards. I can't tell you that.
What is it, since I don't know... - Is it not a deer? - It might very well be,

41
That or something else? A deer?... yes... Is it maybe bigger? Like
who would say a doe. Oh! I'm not saying it's a doe, since
I ignore it, but it can happen!

/V/ The synonyms below, grouped by series, belong either to the register
current (C), whether in familiar register (F), or in slang register (A), or in
sustained register (S). Classify them by placing a (X) in the relevant column.

C A F S
deteriorate
to damage
to break
farmer
farmer
simpleton
lover
lovers
flirt
dude
gigolo
to give birth
to give birth
to depot
praise
panegyric
dithyramb
apology
fear
fright
scare
chocolates
terror
duplicate
victim
turkey
gogo

Here is a list of common words and expressions. With the help of a

dictionary, find the maximum number of synonyms in the informal registers and
sustained. What do you observe? Which terms, which expressions seem to you the
richer in meaning?

["to be very hot","to be very cold","to beat someone","to steal (something)"]

to someone), traveling, looking at someone, eating, meeting someone.

42
/VII/ Here is a list of words and expressions from the informal register. By helping you with a
dictionary, look for the maximum number of synonyms in everyday and formal registers
sustained. What do you notice? Which terms, which expressions seem to you the
richer in meaning?

to laugh, to mess up, to joke, to get lost, to do stupid things, to mess around, there is
{"a marre":"fed up","en avoir marre de":"to be fed up with","être branché":"to be cool/in the know","gagner sa croûte":"to earn a living","un pieu":"a stake"}

potassium

/VIII/ Here is a list of words and expressions from the formal and literary register. In
using a dictionary, find the maximum number of synonyms in the register
current. What do you observe? Which terms, which expressions seem to you the
richer in meaning?

{"marri":"sorrowful","bigarré":"multicolored","essuyer un camouflet":"to suffer a setback","une célérité":"a swiftness","crâne":"skull","derechef":"again","inférer":"to infer"}

incurieux, piètre, un homme lige, un lucre, madré, mander, obsolète.

Observe these two texts. What dominant language register characterizes each one?
of them? Identify the characteristics of the dominant register in each text:
lexical, syntactic and morphological characteristics.

Text 1
Nature unleashed itself once again yesterday in the north of
Philippines around Mount Pinatubo, which erupted seven days ago
after six centuries of inactivity. A tropical storm triggered some
torrential rains causing flows of mud and ashes, while
the volcano was intensifying its activity. The enormous mass of gray-black clouds,
covered in volcanic ash, cast an artificial night in the middle
afternoon until Maille, located 80 kilometers south. The traffic
air traffic was even interrupted due to potential breakdowns that
could cause the ash infiltrated in the aircraft engines.
(South-West Sunday, June 16, 2001)

Text 2
Finally we left, all piled together in unison; this year to make sure that everything
world benefits from the car and realizes that the father had one,
No one had been sent to the colony, to hell with greed.
Dad was driving like a pig; all the other drivers on the road
pointed it out to him, and I was scared every time he tried to
overtake a car; it was an old traction that we had, he said
that it was supposed to double everything.
Every time one of those excited people stuck their dirty face out of their hardware store.
To call him an asshole, his elder flushed; he was ashamed of his father;
and from the beginning he was furious because he had never been allowed

43
touch the precious mechanism; it was a point on which the father did not
didn't give in.
Every twenty-five miles, Patrick asked to be allowed to take the wheel,
just a little, and the father replied firmly that no.
Damn, I would do at least as well as you, said Patrick, humiliated once.
Moreover, because the father had just been run over by a fifteen-ton truck.
(C. Rochefort, The Little Children of the Century)

44
Familiar, popular, and slang words and expressions

Andouille: fool, idiot / scatterbrained, distracted, thoughtless.

To have swallowed one's tongue: to keep silent.
To be lucky: to have luck.
To have a long tongue: to talk a lot.
To have a too long tongue: not to be able to keep a secret.
Having the fidgets: having the habit of moving; being accustomed to moving around,
to travel.
Avoir le bourdon: être triste.
To be anxious, depressed, or exasperated.
To be scared: to be very afraid.
Bouffer: to eat.
To break someone's feet: to annoy them.
Break someone's neck, face, or mouth: beat them, thrash them.
To kick the bucket: to die.
Lemon: head.
Cost an arm and a leg: to be expensive.
Spit: pay.
Débile: idiot, imbécile, stupide, infantile
Deflate (to): to give up doing something.
To annoy someone: to bother, to inconvenience them.
To be fed up: to have had enough.
To be in a huff: to get angry.
To be broke/not to have a penny/not to have a radish: to be without money.
To be rich / to be loaded with cash / to roll in gold: to have money.
Make money/earn a living: earn money.
To pack (one's) suitcase: to leave.
To get fleeced/to get beaten: to get stripped, to get stolen from.
Flic (un) / a chicken: a policeman.
gun: a rifle, a revolver.
Flinguer: to shoot at someone with a firearm.
Leave me alone: let me be.
Throwing money out of the window/to be a bottomless pit: to spend money.
The fleet: the water.
The big blue: the sea.
Putting money aside / being frugal: saving money.
Don't stress yourself: don't tire yourself out.
Salad bowl: police car.
Lose one's mind: to panic, to go crazy.
Pigers: understand, grasp.
For plums: for nothing.

45
 Bastard: dishonest.
Savate (a): someone who is soft, without personality.
Sucking strawberries: being old.

46
Lesson 7

Pejoratives and melioratives

A pejorative term (from the Latin pejor = worse) is a word (or a...
expression) that contains a nuance of meaning that depreciates the person, the
choose or the designated action.
Conversely, an unméliorative (from the Latin melior = better) values what it
designates.
Pejoratives and melioratives are thus distinguished by their evaluative value.
"House" is a word of neutral value. The following correspond to this word:
pejorative words like: dilapidated house, shack, hovel;
- and uplifting words like: home, residence, palace.
Pejoratives and melioratives are therefore means of expression.
indispensable: they are used to make value judgments.
When someone says a singer is screeching, there is no need to add anymore.
of comment on his talent...The word itself is sufficient
pejorative.
Conversely, it is often enough, in the advertising field for example,
to qualify a product as new or natural, or already used, so that it
achieved success. These three words now have a significantly
improving.
It is clear that the choice of words is essential as it conveys our
judgment, our thoughts, our tastes, our feelings.
The formation of pejoratives and melioratives
[Link] words are most often derived from words of
neutral value to which a pejorative suffix is added. The main ones
pejorative suffixes are:
-ard: A laggard, a braggart, a reckless driver.
-asse: fadasse, tiédasse, rêvasser.
thin, scrawny
-âtre: greenish, pretty, stepmother.
2. It can also be the word that, by itself, gives a pejorative nuance.
or improving:
{"festin":"a feast is a sumptuous meal","cancre":"a dunce is a bad student"}
3. In some cases, a term can be a pejorative doublet:
Ex. 'Hommassepour' to characterize a woman; 'femmelette' to qualify
a man.
Many pejoratives are finally obtained by borrowing.
familiar or slang vocabulary. The change of language register
suffices to discredit the object or person designated.

47
a car ["a Jew's harp","a hand drill","a car","a rattletrap"]
an old and bad car; a naive man a gogo (man)
gullible and naive, easy to deceive.
Conversely, the use of the formal register allows to highlight what
we name.
a drink a nectar; a group of buildings a residence
The degrees of appreciation
The melioratives express a positive value; the pejoratives express
a negative value.
Outstanding! Null!
But this opposition is not always so clear-cut. There are
numerous intermediate nuances. The difference in degree in value
Pejorative or ameliorative can depend:
of the person who expresses their judgment or feeling.
For example, a teacher may describe a paper as 'mediocre' and signify by
there that the duty is "average" (that is the etymological meaning). But, for a
Otherwise, the qualifier will take on the negative meaning of 'bad'.
b. of the time at which this judgment or sentiment is expressed
Until the 19th century, the word 'miserable' did not have the value
pejorative it has today; it designated one who is in misery, the
unlucky (like in the novel by Victor Hugo: Les Misérables).
It is therefore important to be precise in expressing pejorative nuances.
improving, and cautious in the interpretation of the various degrees of the
depreciation and valuation.
III The importance of context
It is sometimes difficult to know to what extent a word depreciates or
value an object or a person.
Indeed, the word can be neutral in itself, but take on a nuance.
pejorative or meliorative depending on its context.
For example, the words ambition or artist have, depending on the context of use,
a more or less positive value. The sentences: "He is a young man
full of ambition" or "He's an artist!" do not say whether the person who
the pronouncement is favorable or not to ambition, whether it despises or esteems
the artists. Only the context allows one to guess it.
This context can be:
1. the knowledge we have of the person who is speaking;
2. similar statements he has already made;
3. a comment that sheds light on his point of view, etc.
A l’oral, la nuance péjorative ou méliorative est plus facile à percevoir :
contempt or admiration will be expressed by intonation or the
mimics.

48
Exercises

/I/ In this list, which words are clearly pejorative? Which ones are not?
do they become pejorative only in a certain context? Provide two sentences for each.
which highlight their dual value.

rustaud - charlatan - mangeaille - rustique - lourd - courtisan - rêvasser -

clumsy

From the following words, what pejorative words can we form by suffixation?

crier - jaune - brave - traîner - violet - court - gueuler- geindre -

braille - soft

These pejorative words have been formed by suffixation. By helping yourself with a
dictionary, investigate their origin and the word from which they have transformed.

["rascal","infantry","gum-chewer","libertine","drizzle","scoundrel"]

To which neutral-value verbs do these pejoratives correspond? Classify them accordingly.

whether they derive from the corresponding neutral term or not.

["to dress up","to fall in love","to gesticulate","to nibble","to swagger"]

pérorer - pleurnicher - rabâcher - traînasser

/V/ In the following text, replace the words in parentheses with the pejoratives that
agree

It all began one (gray) morning. A (strange) man had entered

in Mrs. Hortense's shop by ringing the (high-pitched) bell.
He was dressed in a very fitted jacket and his complexion was pale under the
bright neon light. In a (nasal) voice and a (firm) tone, he...
asked for a pack of cigarettes. He presented a ten franc note.
that he extracted from his wallet with a (slow) gesture. Then, after having resumed
his change and said a (discreet) "thank you", he headed towards the door that he
opened and closed with (force).

Our time judges the words on this list negatively. What euphemisms
Do we replace these words today? (A euphemism is a word that softens this)
that a reality is shocking.)

- aveugle - sourd - chômeur - vieux - concierge - domestique - nègre

/VII/ Using a dictionary, see if these words were formerly

pejorative as they are today:

49
["vulgar","mediocre","poor","simpleton","wicked","a gossip."]

These words, of neutral meaning when used out of any context, can
to be used as pejoratives. What do they then refer to.

un requin - un épicier - un clou - un cornichon - un chameau- une dinde.

50
Lesson 8

Literal meaning and figurative meaning

Give me something to write with, Ahmed, please!

Here, here is a sheet and a pen
The leaf that Ahmed talks about is not, of course, a tree leaf, but
a sheet of paper on which one can write. Why the word sheet
does it refer to such distinct realities? It is because of a
certain common property, we transformed a word onto a new object
who designated another:
leaf (of a tree) weight loss sheet (of paper)
But when this term is used in relation to paper, one no longer thinks of
all to this analogy. Similarly, we "forget" that the heart is the organ of the
life to retain only the meaning of 'the totality of feelings experienced
a person.
The figurative sense is the meaning that a word can take, in addition to its
literal meaning.
to have a heart disease
Ici le motcœurdésigne l’organe de la vie. Il est utilisé au sens propre.
to have a kind heart
This expression means to be generous; the word "heart" is used in the sense of.
figured.
How to explain that the same word has a literal meaning and one or more meanings?
figure(s)?
The existence of figurative meanings in a language meets two requirements
fundamentals:
1- A necessity of economy: if each word had only one
Thus, the words of a language would be countless.
2- Le besoin qu’a notre esprit de recourir au concretquand il veut se
to represent abstractions, to imagine them. Thus, one would say of a man
the right they attach to the truth, that a writer lacks inspiration, etc.
I. The changes of meaning
The literal meaning of a word is also called: primary meaning. It is from
this primary meaning that employment has expanded to other areas and that the
word has taken one or more figurative meanings.
Sometimes, the primary meaning of the word has been forgotten; only the figurative meaning remains.
in use.
For example, the word "head" comes from the Latin testa which meant "pot of earth"!
The use of the word in a figurative sense is due to the similarity of form that
exists between a clay pot and... a head! But this association has been

51
quickly forgotten and the word only entered the language in its meaning
figured.
In most cases, literal and figurative meanings coexist, each
applying to a specific field.
Frost: meteorological phenomenon;
the arms freeze: the halt of the arms race.
Generally, we are no longer aware of the shift from literal meaning.
in a figurative sense; we use the word sometimes in the literal sense, sometimes
in a figurative sense, depending on the context, as if there were two meanings altogether
makes different.
For example, this meat is tender; this mom is very tender with her children.
The existence of a literal meaning and a figurative meaning is a particular case of
the polysemy of a word.
The passage from literal meaning to figurative meaning
The most common cases of transition from literal to figurative meaning are:
the transition from concrete reality to abstract notion.
e.g. to don a coat = to put it on one's back, to wear it
to assume responsibility = to take it upon oneself, to bear it.
the transfer by analogy or resemblance.
Ex. teeth a) primary meaning: those of the jaw;
b) figurative meaning: those of the comb, the rake, etc.
the transfer by analogy between two sensations.
A tasty show, a dry tone.
At the origin of these figurative jobs, there is most often a metaphor,
that is to say an image that connects two realities together by
implicitly comparing.
In most cases, the figurative meaning is a metaphor that has passed into
the use and which is no longer perceived as an original creation.
However, the figurative meaning can sometimes be 'revived':
There are fresh perfumes like the flesh of children,
Sweet as the oboes, green as the prairies[...] (Baudelaire)
These verses suggest 'correspondences' between the different
sensations and give the adjectives that we have italicized a
great semantic wealth (that is to say a great wealth of
signification).

52
Exercises

Using a dictionary, find the literal meaning of these words that we

we only use the figurative sense now:

Talent - scrupule - fléau - empêcher - arriver - leurrer - niais - berner .

Give the current meaning of these figurative expressions and specify the fields they belong to.
were borrowed originally:

{"Crever l’abcès":"Break the boil","être aux abois":"be at bay","revenir à la charge":"come back to the charge","être dans le pétrin":"be in a bind"}
["to be at the end of one's rope","to bite the dust","to be faced with","to beat one's"]
full

In the strict sense and in the figurative sense, a word does not always belong to the same
level of language. Study this difference for the following verbs:

["to die","to balance","to debit","to poison","to derail","to cash in"]

peel.

These words are used in the literal sense in scientific vocabulary and
["technique. Use them in a sentence where they have this meaning. Then in another."]
where they will take on a figurative meaning:

une aberration - une réaction - un cliché - une faille - les ressorts- une
entorse - une éclipse - caustique - obtus.

Use these adjectives in sentences so that they each have

a figurative sense:

Pungent - devouring - dull - cold - spicy - dry.

Replace the ellipses in order to give the expression meaning.

figured:

{"un éventail de":"a range of","un tissu de":"a fabric of","le fruit de":"the fruit of","la soif de":"the thirst for","la racine":"the root"}
["of ... - the climb of ... - a well of ... - the flower of ... - the field of ..."]

Use each word from the list below

in a sentence where it will keep its literal meaning;
in a sentence where it will take on a figurative meaning.

Ripe - light - erased - the heart - a gift - the radiance - the depth -
frapper - échouer

53
VIII/ Provide as a complement to the verbs below
a name that will keep their true meaning;
a name that will give them a figurative meaning.

Assimiler - s’accrocher - viser - rompre - nourrir - effacer - soutenir -

afficher - embrasser - amorcer - dénouer - soulever

Associate the following adjectives with nouns

a. which will keep their proper meaning;
b. that will give them a figurative meaning

["insipid","biting","thorny","flowered","brilliant","boiling","dark"]
spicy

Study the puns in the following text:

...Sir, I ask you for a moment of attention: I would like to

that you give me the departure time of the buses to Caen! Finally,
Sir, Caen, in Calvados!
It's vague...
- In Normandy! Ah! My word, you are arriving!
Ah! where the landing took place,... in Normandy... in Caen?
Here it is.
Well, take the bus.
When does he leave?
He leaves at a quarter past.
But the bus has passed!
Well, if the bus has passed, you've missed it.
- [...]
... but if you feel like going to Troyes, [...]
What do you want me to go do in Troyes?
Take the bus.
Where to?
For Caen.
How do you want me to tell you when I don't know where?
You don't know where Caen is?
But I know where Caen is;
Oh! don't shout! we will take care of you...
So he called the depot. My God, at 10 pm the bus was there;
the cops took me in at three and I arrived at the bus where I spent the night...
Here are my holidays! (R. Devos, Holidays in Caen)

54
/XI/ Identify in the following text all the figurative words and expressions:

At the doctor's
(Personnages : Marie-Jeanne - Le docteur)
Marie-Jeanne: Hello, doctor.
The doctor: Hello, miss. What are you complaining about?
Marie-Jeanne: You're welcome. I, on the other hand, am optimistic. I am also a journalist.
I come to conduct a survey. My newspaper asks me to ask you
What are the most common diseases that you treat? It's for
a statistic.
The doctor: It's very varied. Among so many patients who come to see me,
there are some with heavy hearts, others with empty bellies, others
their legs to their neck. Others burst or explode. Others
torn. There are some who are folded in four. There are others to whom we have
broken feet. Others have an enlarged spleen. Some no longer have a heart;
they are disgusted. Others have blood that no longer circulates; from the
mustard that has gone up their nose; to others, they have been turned around.
Many see red, or everything in black. Many are those who have a grim face.
of wood...or a headache; they need to be cut into four. There are the
maniacs who stretch everything to extremes. Many are on their knees.
when they are not heartbroken. others are still rotten and
corrupted. I can do nothing for those who are dead. There are the
puffed up without counting the untouchables. There are those who get out of bed with their foot
left, those who have an English foot, the feet in the dish, the feet of
Nose. I have patients who have a nose, others who do not have one. I take care of
people who are lazy or have their own agenda
head, or who lose it, who do not have their eyes in front of the holes. I have some
mental patients who have the giggles, vicious ones who lick boots,
who are overwhelmed, or who become upset, when they don't break
not their pipe. There are those who are cold-eyed and those who are all fire.
all flame. I also receive monsters, false brothers, people
who shed crocodile tears, or who have a wooden head, a heart of
ice, a heart of stone, eyes bigger than the belly, the heart on the
main, a language of the viper.
Marie-Jeanne: Are you also a veterinarian?
The doctor: Very little. One cannot cure donkeys and camels.
However, I care for the little rats of the Opera and the white geese.
Marie-Jeanne: Do you treat people with gout?
The doctor: It's their fault; they drink a drop every morning. I tell them
give drops.
Marie-Jeanne: And those who can't see a thing?

55
The doctor: I give them transfusions because they don't have a drop of
sang in the veins; I give them cold blood, warm blood, it is
according to.
Marie-Jeanne: And what if there are no blood donors?
The doctor: We give them turnip blood.
Marie-Jeanne: Do transfusions become expensive for your patients?
The doctor: It only costs them an arm and a leg.
Eugène Ionesco, Exercises in French Conversation and Diction for American Students

56
{"cœur":{"expressions":["avoir le cœur sur la main","avoir un cœur d'artichaut","cœur brisé"]},"yeux":{"expressions":["avoir des yeux plus grands que le ventre","voir la vie en rose","yeux de lynx"]},"nez":{"expressions":["avoir le nez creux","mettre son nez partout","avoir le nez dans le guidon"]},"bras":{"expressions":["avoir les bras chargés","bras de fer","tirer par les bras"]},"pied":{"expressions":["avoir un pied dans la tombe","prendre son pied","à pied d'œuvre"]},"sang":{"expressions":["avoir du sang froid","sang pour sang","faire couler le sang"]}}

Heart
Against one's will: against one's desire, one's wish.
Heart friend: a friend chosen for emotional reasons and not for interest.
Learn, recite by heart: from memory.
To have the heart at work: to be enthusiastic about a job.
To have a heavy heart: to be sad.
To have the heart on the lips: to be completely sincere.
To have a heart on one's hand: to be sincere in actions.
Having one's heart in the throat: to be anxious.
To have heart trouble: to feel nauseous.
To have something on one's heart: to have resentment.
To your kind heart: a phrase used to ask for an act of generosity.
Heartbreaker: seducer.
Heart of marble, of stone: hard, insensitive character.
Golden heart: sweet, generous character; generous person.
To know someone by heart: to know them perfectly well.
From the heart: willingly, without being forced.
Tear the heart, pierce the heart: to make suffer.
Dinner (eat, supper) by heart: do not have dinner.
To be wholeheartedly with someone: to share one's emotions.
Lift the heart, raise the heart: to disgust, to sicken.
Open your heart: confide.
Heartless: hard, insensitive.
To tighten the heart: to make sad and anxious.
If your heart desires it: if you feel like it.

The eye, the eyes:

To have someone in sight: to watch them closely.
Having one eye playing billiards and the other counting points: cross-eyed.
Accept something with eyes closed: in complete trust, without verification.
It is not for his beautiful eyes: it is not out of love for him.
To give someone a dirty look: to look at them with an unhappy, stern expression.
Close your eyes: refuse to see, through tolerance, collusion, cowardice, etc.
He opened my eyes: he made me understand what I did not know.
Evil eye: a look which is attributed the property of bringing bad luck.
To have eyes only for someone: to see only him, to be interested only in him.
Not to be cold-eyed: to have a resolute, bold, determined look.
To have nothing left but tears: to have lost everything.
Not having your eyes in your pocket: to be a good observer.
Not having one's eyes in front of the holes: not seeing clearly, being badly awake.
Don't close an eye at night: don't sleep.

57
Open your eyes: be very attentive.

Nose
At a glance: at first estimate, approximately.
To have a nose: to be perceptive, to be foresighted.
To have someone up one's nose: to hate them, to not be able to stand them.
It shows like a nose in the middle of the face: it's very
apparent.
Close the door in someone's face: to dismiss them.
Sticking one's nose everywhere: being curious.
Lead someone by the nose: Lead them as you wish.
Put your nose outside: go out.
Stick your nose, poke your nose into others' business.
Not to see further than the end of one's nose: to be narrow-minded.
To slip through someone's fingers: to escape from someone after seeming to be within their reach.
Nodding off: dropping one's head forward (while falling asleep).
To break one's nose at someone's door: to find a closed door, and fig. to experience a
failure.
To eat oneself, to bite one's nose (slang): to fight, to argue violently.
To bump into someone: to meet them suddenly;
Pulling the worms out of the nose: making someone talk, skillfully questioning.

Bras
To have a long arm: to have credit, influence.
Having a strong influence: having great authority, an inflexible will.
To have one foot in the pit, the grave: to be very old, moribund.
Give up: abandon the struggle, renounce action.
Cut off someone's arms and legs: take away their means of action, paralyze them.
of astonishment.
To be someone's right-hand man: to be his main execution agent
I'm flabbergasted: I am astonished.
Raise your arms: surrender.
To live only by one's arms: only from manual labor.
To receive someone with open arms: to welcome them eagerly.
Crossing your arms, staying with your arms crossed: doing nothing.
To fall asleep in the arms of the Lord: to die.
Extend the arm towards someone: implore their help.
To tender, to open one's arms to someone: to help them, to forgive them.
A big guy: a sturdy man.

Foot
Having one's hands tied: being reduced to powerlessness.

58
Having a foot in the pit, the grave: to be very old or moribund.
It will teach you a lesson: it will be a good lesson for you, it will teach you.
to live.
To be on one's feet: to be standing, to be awake. "He is up by 5 o'clock" or "The
The sick person will be on their feet in a few days = he will be recovered.
To move heaven and earth: to do the impossible, to use all means.
He is as stupid as his feet: very stupid.
To step on someone's toes: to be disrespectful to them.
To put your foot in it: to address a delicate issue with frankness.
Establish a business, a company: set up, start an activity.
Not knowing which foot to dance on: being in indecision.
Land on one's feet: to pull oneself out of a difficult situation to one's advantage,
address or by chance.
Getting up on the left foot: to be in a bad mood.

Sang
To have a hot blood: to be irascible, impetuous.
To have blood in one's veins: to be courageous, resolute.
To have turnip blood: to be without vigor, cowardly.
To have blood on one's hands: to have caused blood to flow.
To have something in one's blood: to have it innately, by nature, by birth.
Blood cannot lie (proverb): Blood does not degenerate, the qualities of
parents (or ironically, the flaws) are found in children.
Beings of flesh and blood: very real, alive.
The voice of the blood: family instinct.
The blood tax: military service.
Set fire and blood: to ravage, to sack by burning, by massacring.
To make oneself bad blood: to worry, to be tormented while waiting.
Blood, sweat, and water: to make great efforts, to put in a lot of hard work.
To shed one's blood for the homeland: to give one's life.

59
Lesson 9

Figures of style

The study of figures of speech is inseparable from that of rhetoric,

defined both as the art of persuasion and the art of speaking well. These are
phrases expressing an idea or a feeling through various means
phonetic, morphological, syntactic, semantic or logical,
do not dispose of the language. Figures of style are the main instrument of
the art of good speaking. The definition of the figure and the determination of
categories of figures provoke much debate among theorists. We
let's just remind:
that the notion of 'deviation' in relation to a 'norm' recurs in the
most analyses. The figures of speech are the traits, the forms.
or the ways in which discourse, in the expression of ideas,
thoughts or feelings, moves more or less away from expression
simple and common.
-considered originally as a mere ornament, the figure is
today felt like a necessary means of expression and
inevitable.
that any classification is debatable but is a convenience
educational.
-that definitions vary according to theorists and that, in a
introductory work like this, we choose to present
the one that is most commonly accepted, only listing the
most famous and commonly used figures.
We distinguish four sets of figures: the figures of diction, the
construction figures, figures of meaning or tropes, and figures of
thoughts.

1. The Allegory:

In the etymological sense, allegory consists of expressing oneself (agoreuein) in

other terms (allos: other) than those normally expected. It is in
effect a type of symbolic writing, with double meaning, frequently used
in mythical texts, fables, medieval poetry. It comes back to life
in our time.
It is a process that involves representing an idea, an abstraction, a
character or an animal, in a concrete form. For example,
the allegory of time is a skeleton covered in rags and armed with a
false. The allegory makes ideas less abstract, more accessible.
It is a type of writing that, through a series of images (often some
metaphors), refers the reader to at least two meanings:

60
 a first denotative meaning, that is to say the direct and neutral meaning of the story
narrated, from the evoked scene;
- a second meaning, connoted, that is to say suggested by the first, but
mandatory because codified.
Example: if one knows that La Fontaine writes for the education of the Dauphin,
We will decode The Crow and the Fox:

Sense No. 1, denoted Story of a crow. Story of a fox.

Meaning No. 2, connoted
Story of someone who is flattered. Story of a flatterer.
Sense No. 3, connoted Story of a king that the courtiers Story of a courtier
flattent. eager to steal the king.
Sense No. 4, connoted My lord, do not resemble My Lord, acknowledge
this king. the flatterers.

What stylistic processes characterize allegory?

Two allegorical processes are distinguished:
A. The extended metaphor, that is to say, continued.
Example: the earth awakened by Spring, in the novel of the
Rose
The earth itself delights { this first metaphor evokes the others }
From the dew that moistens it
And forget poverty
Where she spent the entire winter
The earth then becomes so proud
That she changes her entire dress;
And knows so beautifully how to do it
What colors she has, a hundred pairs.

A. Personification gives human form to abstractions,

animals, to objects, she materializes them, makes them speak. The
personification is done by metaphor (the rose is the woman), by
synecdoche (Strasbourg won = a team, an element of the whole
city of Strasbourg), by metonymy (in The Tale of Renard, the
rooster is named Chantecler = the effect for the cause (rooster).

Examples:

Universal honesty protests against these protective laws of evil.

(Hugo)

Oh my beautiful ship, oh my memory

Have we sailed enough?
In a wave bad to drink.(Apollinaire)

61
 Memory is represented as a ship that has traveled a lot on the
mers.

- Oh pain! Oh pain! Time eats life,

And the dark Enemy that gnaws at our hearts
The blood we lose grows and strengthens! (Baudelaire)

In this stanza by Baudelaire, time is the object of an allegory: it is represented

like a devouring monster, the enemy of man par excellence. It consumes life, the
heart, the blood of man and takes his vigor from him. Through this allegory, the poet expresses his
acute awareness of the passing time and its anxiety in the face of its destructive power.

2. The Antiphrase :

Founded on apparent lies and hypocrisy, the antiphrase (similarly

that irony) substitutes one meaning for another on the surface. Weapon of the moralist,
it involves the complicity and even the commitment of the reader.
The antiphrase consists of saying the opposite of what one thinks but
so that the discerning reader understands the allusion. The antiphrase
provokes and supports irony.
The antiphrase often provokes feelings of sadness, of tragedy,
of bitterness and indignation.

Examples:

The society would be poorly made if money went to talent, if the

honors went to merit, positions to ability. Where would equality be
Social? It would always be everything for the same people. A scandalous accumulation!
What would become of Dupont? And Durand? And Machin, whom we know?
everyone. (Alexandre VIALATTE, chronicles of the great)
Micmacs, 1989.

Alexandre Vialatte believes that society is functioning poorly. Money does not reward.
talent, just like honors, does not reward merit nor do positions
responsibility is not assigned to competent individuals.

I am told that, during my economic retreat, it was established in

Madrid a system of freedom on the sale of productions that extends
even to those of the press and that, as long as I do not speak, in my
writings neither of authority, nor of worship, nor of politics, nor of morality, nor
people in place, neither bodies in credit, nor the Opera, nor the others
glasses, nor of anyone who cares about something, I can do everything
print freely under the inspection of two or three censors.
(Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, Act V, Scene 3, 1784)

62
Beaumarchais criticizes censorship of religious origin and censorship of origin
politics. He criticizes the lack of press freedom, denounces the impossibility
to address certain topics or to talk about certain high-ranking individuals in the
social hierarchy

- To an ugly woman, a wicked one will cry: "Oh admirable Venus, the
"The pockets of your eyes attract my gaze."

- What did you swear this on? - Ah! On nothing,

Little things after all! Your father's head!
This can be forgotten.

3. The Antithesis:

We make two terms of opposite meaning coexist within the same context.
statement. The antithesis highlights a conflict that may be at the center of
the work. The opposition between two realities, two characters, two ideas,
two feelings are thus highlighted.
The antithesis can systematically oppose, two by two, the words, the
propositions, the sentences of a paragraph or a text.
The antithetical structure is inherent to the tale and melodramas.
(psychology of characters). It is common in presentations.
didactic, argumentative texts, the dissertation. In poetry, it renders
account of the great oppositions of the cosmos and human nature:
["life/death","summer/winter","day/night","youth/old age","etc."]
The language offers us several normative possibilities.
to express oppositions:
1. Antonyms. These pairs of opposites (allow/forbid,
known/unknown) express the opposition.
2. Circumstantial complements of opposition. Introduced by a
preposition, they are of an antithetical nature: Despite his fatigue, he is
distributed.
3. The circumstantial subordinate clauses of opposition.
conjunctions or phrases that introduce them are already bearing
of opposition: Even if it were true, I wouldn't believe it.
4. Opposition by coordination or juxtaposition. One chooses
segments or phrases with opposite meanings:
He speaks, but says nothing.
He is rich, eats sparingly, he is stingy.

Examples:

You hold us by joy, and above all by tears,

63
Young man, you are cursed, we adore you, old man. (Hugo)

A thousand white flags are suddenly unfurled, which attest not

not of a capitulation but of a victory.

But vice has no mother in science,

And virtue is not the daughter of ignorance.

It is noteworthy that in these last two lines, each of the two phrases occupies a
they oppose term by term, in the same place

I adored him while he was alive and I mourn him now that he is dead. (P. Corneille)

Opposition between two states: life and death, and between two feelings: love and
sadness.

Present, I flee from you, absent, I find you.([Link])

Opposition between two realities: presence and absence, and between two situations: the
leak and the meeting.

Innocents in a prison, angels in a hell.

They work. ([Link])

Opposition between two realities: innocence / angels - and imprisonment

Neither seen nor known

I am the fragrance
Living and deceased
In the wind that has come! (Paul Valéry, Charmes)

Whatever my love may discuss in your favor,

My generosity must match yours:
By offending me, you have shown yourself worthy of me;
I must, through your death, show myself worthy of you.
(Corneille, Le Cid, tirade of
Chimène

In the first two lines of Corneille, we have an opposition between

circumstantial opposition and the main one. Duty imposes itself against love, hence
these antitheses and this paradox of verses 3 and 4.

What kind of chimera is man? What novelty, what

monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a marvel! Judge of

64
all things, fool earthworm; depositor of the truth, cesspool
of uncertainty and error; glory and refuse of the universe. (Pascal, Thoughts)
In this text by Pascal, we observe the presence of antitheses by opposition.
["exclamations: what a monster, what.../what a marvel; some antonyms:"]
depository/sewer; glory/refuse. These antitheses highlight the condition
humane: man is a being and a place of contradiction.

One does not come into the world by being born (antithesis and paradox). One is born some
years later, when we become aware of being. I was born around
at the age of five, (antithesis and paradox) if I remember correctly. And to be born in
this age is being born too late, because at this age one already has a past (antithesis and
paradox), the soul has form. No sooner is a butterfly born than it tries its
wings.[…]
Alas! I was not a butterfly. I was a buffalo.
(R. Ducharme, The Swallower of Swallowed, Gallimard, 1966)

4. The Euphemism:

Some images are so cruel to us, or at least so unpleasant, that

we shy away from the term that would express them too bluntly. At this
softening of expression, for reasons of feeling, sometimes of tact and
As a matter of politeness, we use the term euphemism. It is therefore a matter of employing...
the place of a word, another word or an expression that mitigates its meaning.
The euphemism has the effect of concealing a brutal or deemed idea.
inconvenient, to mitigate unpleasant, cruel ideas or feelings,
rude, aggressive. It's a kind of understatement that mitigates impressions
unfavorable, hateful. He respects the pain of others, spares his
susceptibility. Very used in diplomacy, it resembles hypocrisy.
Euphemism is a particular case of litotes.
Euphemism is often linked to other stylistic devices, for example, the
metonymy (take the door = cause of the desired effect: to exit).
Euphemism is the mark of obedience to social censorship and
taboos. He respects the pain of others or spares the sensitivity: a
tuberculous parent has something in the bronchi; another, cancerous,
suffers from a serious illness or a long and incurable disease and goes
undergo surgery. If he dies, we will accompany
in the cemetery, not his corpse, but rather remains, or ashes. In
referring to the death of a person, one says that they are no longer here, that they have
lived, that she has gone away, that she has left us; we say the third
age to refer to the elderly / It is a falsehood = it is a
lie / He is not great = he is hardly intelligent.

65
Examples:

We all thought that the end (death) was coming.

This apple juice is not the best{=it is worth nothing.}

I am not very satisfied with your work.

We expect Mr. the Marquis to pass at any moment now.

die}

We are entering a recession.

euphemism that conceals a state of crisis. Its use is common in the world
from today.

She lived, Myrto, the young Tarentine. (A. Chénier)

The servant with the big heart that you were jealous of.
And who sleeps his sleep under a humble lawn.

5. The grading:

Gradation accumulates terms by ordering them according to a progression.

of increasing or decreasing intensity to create an effect of
dramatisation. When each word adds a complement of
meaning of the previous, the grading is ascending. In the case
inverse, it is descending.

Examples:

Here we exult; we burst forth; we intoxicate ourselves with all the senses. (Gide.)

They climbed, grave, threatening, unperturbed…(Hugo)

Ten, twenty, a thousand soldiers appeared.

At this sight he shuddered, began to chatter his teeth, and fell stiff.

Pierre was walking among these people, more lost, more separated from them,
more isolated, more drowned, in his tormenting thought, than if he had been thrown into the
the sea from a ship, a hundred leagues offshore. It brushed past them, hearing
without listening, a few phrases; and he saw, without looking, the men
talking to women and women smiling at men.
(Guy De Maupassant, Pierre and Jean, 1888.)

66
Maupassant uses a progression of increasing intensity: separated/isolated/drowned.
expresses thus the immense solitude of the character cut off from others, whom he brushes by without
touch, that he hears without listening and sees without looking. Pierre does not enter into
communication with no one.

Diphile starts with a bird and ends with a thousand: its house is not one.
not brightened, but polluted. The courtyard, the room, the stairway, the vestibule, the
rooms, the cabinet, everything is an aviary; it is no longer a chirping, it is a
wake me up.[...] He finds his birds in his sleep: he himself is
bird. It is crested, it chirps, it perches; it dreams at night that it molts or
that he broods over it. (La Bruyère, The Characters)

Diphile begins... thousand: ascending gradation. The court... the cabinet:

enumeration. He himself is a bird... that he broods: ascending gradation. The two
gradations have such satirical excess that after provoking a smile they
fades at the moment when passion transforms into a true psychosis. The enumeration
has a similar effect: it is indeed the entirety of the space occupied by the birds.

"Nevertheless, life will be elucidated."

For at twenty, you choose enthusiasm, you see red, you burn, you
arques, you grab, you seize, you click, you burst, you
ruffled, you beat the snow, you rage in the straitjacket, you protest, you
you wander the moon, you drink the new frothy milk, you have breakfast on the branch,
you set off to explore, you visit the fields, the ruins
metropolises (...)
At forty years old, I find you gnawing at your brake, you are rushing towards the
sympathy, there is a black circle around everything, you undress with your gaze, you
you covet, you premeditate, you arrange your chances, you position yourself, you place
your smile your phrases your bouquets your collars your sofas, you estimate, you
discounts, your businesses, you run on silver prices, you push yourself in
the circles, you speak ill of the third and the fourth or do flat according to the rank, you
roses (...)
At sixty, you date, you babble, you lose your grip, your hearing, your teeth.
you need a heart, your legs are trembling, you fall into weakness, again one
little and you fall back into a childhood deeply affected.
(H. Pichette, the Epiphanies, ed. Gallimard, 1947)

On his plate he had taken: a plate of sliced tomatoes in

slices, sprinkled with parsley. A mayonnaise egg. A plate
containing a piece of roasted chicken (thigh) and potatoes
fries. A glass of water. A yogurt. Three packets of powdered sugar. A
a crusty loaf of bread. A knife, a fork, a tablespoon,
a teaspoon. A fine paper napkin on which was written:
"Enjoy your meal!" or something like that.

67
Besson tried to swallow the tomatoes and cut the chicken. But the
the food was hostile, it slipped on the plate, refusing to be chewed
you swallowed. The water flowed from the glass onto the chin, as if a prankster
had made a hole in the container.
The egg was slipping into the mayonnaise, and the chicken was moving. Everything was
repulsive, undercooked corpse, dead roots, taste of earth, and perhaps
even already of excrement. (J.M.G. Le Clézio, The Deluge, Gallimard, 1966.)

6. The Hyperbole:

Hyperbole is a stylistic device based on the substitution of a word.

or from an expression B to a word or expression A normally
expected, in order to exaggerate: B says more than A. Example: We offer this
téléviseur à un prix incroyable(B) =intéressant(A).
Hyperbole can double another process. Thus, in the sentence
advertising "the hurricane blows on prices", hurricane is both
metaphorical and hyperbolic. The hyperbole tries to convince and/or to
to make laugh.

6.1 Adynaton: is a hyperbole so exaggerated that it seems

fallacious. In short, it's a hyperbolic hyperbole. For example: He has a
appetite to swallow whole cows, raw ostriches, and even piles
of bricks.
Hyperboles and adynatons are obviously present in advertising since
Every product must seem extraordinary.

Examples:

It weighs two tons.

Strong as an ox.

I send you a million kisses.

It is the greatest film in the history of cinema.

They rushed to attack the opposing goal.

hyperbole and war metaphor. Effect: sport is a bit like war.

The Romanian basketball giant has crucified the unfortunate Racing.

metaphor

68
Never such a spiritual, touching face, never such freshness,
never so much grace nor more spirit, never so much cheerfulness and
of amusement, never a more seductive creature.
II)

7. Irony:

Irony is an antiphrase whose purpose is mockery. It implies the

the convenience of the reader. Irony is often sarcastic, triggers the
smile, laughter and serve humor. Applied to a single word,
Irony is called antiphrase. Ex.-It’s very clean (= it’s the height of
dirt)

Examples:

To a shameless person who occupies a huge space, we will say: 'I do not you
Don't disturb too much?

Nothing was as beautiful, as light, as bright, as well-ordered as the two.

armies. The trumpets, the fifes, the oboes, the drums, the cannons,
formed a harmony such that there had never been one in hell.
cannons first overturned about six thousand men from each side
side; then the musketry removed from the best of worlds about nine to
ten thousand scoundrels who infected its surface.

In this famous text by Voltaire, the effects are indignation in the face of the...
war stupidity and the indifference of those in charge towards the massacred soldiers,
Irony is easily decoded, word for word: you must understand the antonym each time.
For example, beauty leads to ugliness, harmony to chaos, the best of worlds to the worst.
worlds, mischievous brave people. Agile, bright, orderly are the indicators
tragic events of the revolt of Voltaire.

8. The Litote :

Litotes is a paradigmatic deviation (= in the choice of words).

diminish an idea with a weaker phrasing, often using the negative form.
Through litotes, much more is expressed than what is said. It is the opposite of
the hyperbole. Ex.: She is not indifferent to me, means I love her.
The litote is often associated with other stylistic devices such as the
metonymy (e.g., the player received a yellow card = committed a foul).
Advertising willingly uses litotes. It is enough for it to have the image of a bag of
main and a slogan like 'We only have this item to sell you.'
The item for sale is photographed or drawn, and the text pretends to downplay.
the qualities of the product, plays the hypocrite modesty.

69
Examples:

You don't starve here.{we eat well and too much}

Courage is not his strong suit.

slack person

He didn't invent lukewarm water.

In this humorous litotes with metonymic value, the replaced term is stupid man.
There is a metonymic relationship between the cause (stupidity) and its manifestation or its
effect = no invention!

The Moors, a nomadic people, made a stop lasting eight centuries in

Spain.
Instead of eight centuries, one must understand a very long occupation.
litote is of a humorous nature: the speaker pretends to confuse a stop for nomads and
warrior occupation

He was sending me looks that lacked tenderness.

resentment or anger.

Colin owed the day to a brave plowman who, after paying all his
taxes, did not find himself powerfully rich at the end of the year.

He was far from belonging to an aristocratic family.

popular

It's not bad.{= it's very good}.

What was least admirable about him was being the most ...
better done and the most beautiful.

Go, I do not hate you at all. (Corneille)

This boy is not foolish, and I do not like the maid who will have him.
Marivaux

It is not a bad fate to be young, beautiful, and thin. (Giraudoux)

Great modesty is not apparent in the coats of arms.(H. Michaux)

the pretension (the sufficiency) of man appears in the coats of arms.

70
9. Metonymy:

Metonymy, a stylistic device based on substitution, allows for

mark the links of contiguity and causality between elements of reality.
It is a deviation by which a linguistic sign is normally replaced.
expected A by another B, according to a report of contiguity or cause to
effect between A and B.
Example: to run into a bone(B) means to encounter a problem(A). The
The report is cause and effect.
Metonymy allows for a more vivid designation and a concentration.
of the statement. It is common in spoken language.

Types of metonymy:

1. The container for the content:

It was the whole inn that was moving, one in underwear, the other in
inn.{The term inn, properly applied to a building, refers here
all its inhabitants. It will also be said: The house rejoices, the city is in
Liesse, the house is in turmoil, the room is applauding loudly, he is smoking a pipe.

2. The sign for the signified thing (signifier/signified): the throne for
the royalty the king; the crown for royal power; the minaret for
the mosque
All the crowned heads of Europe were there.
A thousand white flags are suddenly raised, which attest not
of a surrender but of a victory.

3. The cause for the effect: reading Balzac {Balzac = the cause}for the novel
= the effect}
There is not a single shadow on this hill {shadow = the effect for the cause}
= tree}.
to live off the results of one's work {the money earned through working}.

4. Abstract/concrete: the fair sex, happiness of my life, its strength us

crush, a transparent thought. And vice versa: Concrete/abstract:
to refer to servitude.

5. The instrument / object for the user: a violin for a

violin player. An excellent pen = a skilled author in the art
to write.

6. The place for the object it represents: a bottle of Zamzam,

The Quai d'Orsay. He ate some Cantal. He left us for the grave.

71
7. The body for the morale: It's someone who has a good nose.
The intuition). It's a man who has no heart (of kindness).

10. The Oxymoron:

We make two terms of opposite meaning coexist within the same

group. The oxymoron creates a new reality: this is the essence of poetry.

Examples:

This obscure clarity that falls from the stars

Finally, with the flow, we see thirty sails. (P. Corneille)

A dreadful black sun from which the night radiates. ([Link])

I am the perfume
Living and deceased
In the wind that has come.

11. The Paradox:

The paradox amazes and questions, entertains or worries. It is a way

to think and write contrary to habit, to received ideas, to values
generally accepted, so it does not leave the reader indifferent.
Hence its use in the press, controversial texts, advertising and,
Of course, humor.
The "moral" of La Fontaine's Fables often takes on the appearance
paradoxical: 'Those who are most to be feared are often the smallest' (The Lion)
and the Moucheron). The polemicists are fond of paradoxes: "The opinion
from the majority, it is the consensus of the ignorant
(P. Gripari, Reflections and Reflexes, l’Âge d’Homme, 1983).

Examples:

A blind man who saw clearly.

Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. (Rousseau)

Of what my love may discuss in your favor,

My generosity must match yours:
By offending me, you have shown yourself worthy of me;
I must, by your death, show myself worthy of you.
(Corneille, Le Cid, Chimène's speech)

72
In the first two lines of Corneille, we have an opposition between
circumstantial of opposition and the main. Duty imposes itself against love, from where
these antitheses and this paradox of verses 3 and 4.

One does not come into being by being born (antithesis and paradox). One is born a few
years later, when one becomes aware of being. I was born around
the age of five, (antithesis and paradox) if I remember correctly. And to be born at
this age is being born too late, because at this age one already has a past (antithesis and
paradox), the soul has shape. As soon as a butterfly is born, it tries its
wings.[…]
Alas! I was not a butterfly. I was a buffalo.
(R. Ducharme, The Swallowing of Swallows, Gallimard, 1966)

12. The Periphrase:

To refer to a being or an object, we use an expression instead of the

specific word. That is to say, we replace this word with several others that it
define. The periphrase creates an expectation, draws attention to a
quality. Life, according to Lamartine, would be 'This chalice mixed with nectar and
"the oak, according to Lamartine, is the giant of the hills."

Examples:

From the remains of our woods, autumn had strewn the earth.

The founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (King Abdulaziz Al-

Saoud

The hero of the Battle of Hattin. (Saladin)

The capital of Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)

The holy places of Islam (Mecca and Medina)

The City of Light (Paris), the Eternal City (Rome), the Holy City
(Jerusalem), the Venice of the North (Amsterdam).

The Roof of the World (the Himalayas).

Black gold (oil).

The sea of all vices (Unemployment).

73
The messenger of spring (the swallow).
13. Personification:

It is a process that consists of making an inanimate being or an idea

abstracts a real character, endowed with life and feelings. She creates
the impression that things live and think, that ideas have a
autonomous existence, independent from humans.

Examples:

Suddenly the storm rushes in

With its big purple boots
He tramples the begonias, the wheat, the meadows.
He walks on the oaks. (Raymond Queneau)

In these verses, the storm is personified with the words rushes, big boots, tramples,
march. The storm becomes a kind of giant that tramples everything with purple boots.
What are lightning.

Everything is sick; in the mist

The air becomes hoarse and the tree catches a cold.
The cloud is torrential.
The hurricane coughs at adventure. (Hugo)

These verses by Hugo contain a personification of the surrounding landscape: it is

a sick person.

Towards the Rosemonde palace at the bottom of the dream

My dreamy barefoot thoughts go out in the evening. (Apollinaire)

The poet's thoughts become women who go to the ball. The words indicate
this personification: dreamers, barefoot, go to a party.

14. The Synecdoche:

Synecdoche is a stylistic procedure of substitution by which one

replace a normally expected word A with another B according to a ratio
inclusion. It proceeds from the particular to the general or from the general to the
particular.
Example of a particularizing synecdoche: The bust survives the city.
Gautier). The bust, element B replaces the entire sculpture A, which
gives a close-up impression, emphasizes the bust element.
Example of generalizing synecdoche: He wears a hat. The element
feltB replaces the elementhatA. The semes of hat are

74
included in the felt set. Effect of recoil, distancing,
generalization.

The types of synecdoche:

1. The singular for the plural, and vice versa:

-the opponent for the opponents.

Man is mortal.
He has a lip on fire.
We need some De Gaulles...
She stops at the edge of the streams. She sings.
She runs She lets out a long scream towards the sky (Hugo)
I sold him my lands. (one are)
the daily bread for food.
It's someone who is talked about in the newspapers. (in the media)

2. A special feature/a quality of something serves to

designate the set:
my Citroën, my 4 horses, my six-cylinder, my six-seater. (my car)
I don’t even have a dime.

3. The part for the whole:

a red skin for a man with red skin.
We are short on manpower.
I ignore the fate of such a dear head. ([Link])
It was a confusion, a jumble of heads and arms flailing.
(of men and women). (E. Zola)
This man is entirely just a gaze.
This obscure clarity that falls from the stars
Finally, with the flow, we see thirty sails.

4. The substance for the object or the being:

This bronze is not successful.
His sword has broken in two. (his dagger...)
The ground smokes under the iron. (The plow)

4. A proper noun for a common noun or vice versa: one

Harpagon for a miser, a Tartuffe for a hypocrite
balkanization...

5. the gender for the species and vice versa:

-The bovid for the cow, the bird for the sparrow...

75
It's someone who is talked about in the newspapers. (in the media)
The meat of this animal is not tender.

15. COMPARISON AND METAPHOR

Comparison and metaphor serve to create images. It is about

to bring together a comparandum and a comparator that belong to two different universes
different. The common point that brings them together attracts the reader's attention.

A. The comparison:

The process of comparison relates two realities. Three

elements are necessary in the statement: the compared, the tool of
comparison and the comparator. The comparison tools are varied:

The names The verbs The Adverbs The

adjectives and expression prepositions

resemblance to resemble similar to, like, as well as In, of, 'a nose
similarity to seem, similar to, More than, less than, on trumpet
in the form of, to seem, telephone as well as
sort of it looks like... analogous to

Examples:

- Beautiful as the day.

- The unfortunate woman was screaming like a madwoman.

The sky that had turned from blue to white had now turned from white to gray.
would have said a large slate.

- I loved the whole countryside, dotted with small woods and crossed by
streams that ran through the ground like veins, carrying blood
to the earth.

- The red sand is like a sea without limits.

And who burns, mute, collapsed in her bed. (Leconte de Lisle, The Elephants.)

76
The only somewhat warm testimony was the table in front of the window,
the narrow plateau, like a schoolboy's desk, was stained with spots
of ink and graffiti engraved by the tip of the pen.
(Didier Decoin, The Chambermaid of the Titanic, 1991, Ed. Du Seuil.)

These falling leaves always seemed like tears, big ones.

tears shed by the great sad trees that wept day and night
at the end of the year, at the end of the mild dawns and the gentle
twilight.

Guy De Maupassant

It was autumn. On both sides of the path, the bare fields

stretched out, yellowed by the cut wheat that covered the ground like a
badly shaved beard. (Guy De Maupassant)

You will both lead a calm and untroubled life... like

two sheep grazing in the same meadow.
(Eugène Labiche, The Jackpot, Act I, Scene 6, 1864.)

This excerpt from Labiche contains an evaluative comparison that creates an effect
comic devaluation of the characters.

I love the moon, burning and red like gold(Hugo)

But the travelers are those who leave.
to depart, light hearts, like balloons. (Baudelaire)
Old words like bouquets of wilted flowers.!(Verlaine)
My heart stutters in my chest
Like an old clock.{common point: irregular noise}(Francis Jammes)

B. The metaphor:

Le procédé de la métaphore associe deux réalités. Le lecteur perçoit une

resemblance thanks to an effort of interpretation. The metaphor does not use
no tool word. In the announced metaphor (or in praesentia), the
the compared and the comparator are expressed and linked grammatically. In the
direct metaphor (or in absentia), only the comparing element is expressed. The
A sustained metaphor is a series of metaphors on the same theme. The
The first metaphor generates others in the continuation of the text.
Example of a sustained metaphor:
Shepherdess, the Eiffel Tower, troop of bridges, beautiful this morning. (Apollinaire)

Example of a metaphor announced (in praesentia):

77
I bathed in the Poem of the sea (Arthur Rimbaud)
What is common between the poem and the sea is the bath,
the immensity, the dream, the journey.

Example of a direct metaphor (in absentia):

The doctor of statues. The common elements between doctor and repairman (=
the compared ones) are numerous (man + conservation + restoration,
etc.)

Examples:

- Every soul is a sepulcher where a thousand things lie.

- The sea is the forest.

- The air is filled with a breath of rose.

(breathe) expressed.

- Thesegolden hair are the ties, Madam,

Don't fuck my surprise freedom first.
remove the freedom

The green insect that lurks,

- Luit, living emerald,
- Under the blades of green grass. (Hugo) {common point: green color and shape}

The branches of trees caress my face. (Maupassant)

- My God! Happiness is such a rare pearl in this ocean of life!

You had given it to us, celestial fisherman, you had drawn it for us from
depths of the abyss, this invaluable jewel…(Musset)

- The sky leans over the earth and does not recognize it. (Superville)

Oh pain, Oh pain, time eats away at life

And the blood we lose grows and strengthens.

The functions of comparison and metaphor

The explanatory function. The two stylistic processes render
concrete an abstract idea. They help to make it more understandable.
idea.
The creative or poetic function. By replacing a word.
awaited by another, comparisons and metaphors create a

78
 surprising gap. Thus a second universe develops, often
wonderful or fantastic. These comparisons and metaphors
intervene in novelistic descriptions and poetry.
The evaluative function. Present in the strategy.
argumentative, they are means of valorization and
devaluation likely to provoke emotional reactions such as:
1. Amusement through caricature, notably zoomorphism
(man=animal);
2. Admiration through idealization (choice of a positive comparator);
3. Disparagement by exaggeration or mitigation (choice of a
negative comparison). These comparisons and metaphors occur
in advertising, political speeches, novel dialogues or
of theater.

79
Exercises
In the following examples, distinguish between comparison and metaphor. In which cases
Can we talk about personification, allegory?

Ah Mort, the common port, the comfort of men,

Come bury my pains, I beg you with joined hands. (Pierre de Ronsard)
His beard was silver like an April stream,
Her garb was neither stingy nor hateful.
[...]
And always on the side of the poor, overflowing.
His bags of grain looked like public fountains. (Victor Hugo)
Young people, time is ahead of you like a runaway horse.
Who seizes it by the mane between his knees who tames it
He now only hears the noise of the hooves of the beast he rides.
Too much in this new fight to think about the end of the journey.
Louis Aragon

In each of the examples from exercise /I/, distinguish the compared and the
comparing. Indicate what effects their rapprochement produces.

III/ Explain the meaning of the following metaphors that have entered the language
current

{"un rat d’hôtel":"a hotel rat","une tête de turc":"a punching bag","un appétit d’oiseau":"a bird's appetite","un bouc émissaire":"a scapegoat"}

/IV/ In the following examples, distinguish between metonymy and synecdoche, and explain.
What logical link exists between the term used and the term replaced.

He is part of the Red Crescent.

the badge for the organization.

He was confined to Sainte-Anne (psychiatric hospital).

He is put in chains.
I ignore the fate of such a dear head.
We were expecting a reaction from the White House after the decision yesterday.
from the Kremlin. The Elysee, for its part, has made no statement.
5. Your sex is only there for dependency;
On the side of the beard is omnipotence. (Molière)
6. Stranger whose sail has long sailed along our coasts. (Saint-John Perse)
The stern in open sea moves away from the shore.
She left us for the grave. (Victor Hugo)
The whole country celebrated the victory of its national team.
The deafening street around us was screaming. (Baudelaire)
11. It was a confusion, a jumble of heads and arms that were waving (Zola)
12. Man is mortal.

80
In the following examples, distinguish between antitheses and paradoxes and study them.
the.

To banish the enemy whom I idolized,

I suffered the sorrows of an unjust stepmother.
I wanted, in dying, to take care of my glory.
And to snatch from the day a flame so black.
[Link] a text to mock literature is to make fun of it.
literature.
We call this poetic beauty jargon... which consists of saying little
things with big words. (Blaise Pascal)
Since one cannot be universal by knowing everything that can be known
above all, one must know a little about everything (Blaise Pascal)
This obscure brightness that falls from the stars.
One has never used so much wit to make us stupid. (Voltaire)
I embrace my rival but it's to suffocate him. (J. Racine)
He has climbed to the top, he longs to descend. ([Link])

In the following examples, identify the periphrases and study them.

And the vaporous chariot of the queen of shadows

The mountain already rises and whitens the edges of the horizon. (Lamartine)
But today, finally the old age has come,
Under my false blonde hair, already all grizzled,
A jeté on my head, with its heavy fingers,
Our complete lusts, mixed for three years... (Boileau)
The sun, with its shining rays, warmed the whole country.

/VIII/ In the following examples, distinguish the hyperboles, gradations, litotes,

euphemisms and study their effects.

The young widow

The husband of a young beauty
Departed for the other world. By his side, his wife
He cried out: 'Wait for me, I am coming; and my soul,
As well as yours, is ready to fly.
The husband makes the journey alone. (J. de La Fontaine)
I do not hate you at all. (P. Corneille)
He had just read the tale of a lover who, in the sorrow of not being
beloved point, filled the forests with its tears. (Marivaux)
(About Cyrano's nose)
It's a rock!... it's a peak!... it's a cape!
What do I say, it's a cape,... it's a peninsula! (Edmond Rostand)

81
Ah! Oh! I am hurt, I am punctured, I am perforated, I am administered,
I am buried.

/IX/ Exercise: Rewrite the following statements in the form of polite litotes:

This dish is poorly cooked.

This young man is a fool.
3. He/She is an ignorant person.
This story is absurd.
Your story is boring.
The party was as dull as can be.
This suit does not suit you.

/X/ Classez d’un côté les phrases qui comportent une comparaison, de l’autre celles
which contain a metaphor. Then develop the metaphors to transform them
in comparison:

She was a strong woman, very wrinkled, with a thick mane.

2. The articles arrive at the counters like the greengrocers of fruits and
vegetables in the markets. ([Link])
3. The homeland of countless redskins and large herds of
bison coming and going like the ebb and flow of the sea. (B. Cendrars)
4. A land with a lean, harsh, miserly, unyielding slope. ([Link])
5. Gardens, you resemble otter sleeves, to handkerchiefs of
lace. (L. Aragon)
And time engulfs me, minute by minute (Baudelaire).

Identify the figures of rhetoric contained in the following text excerpts.

Deep down in our hearts, our blood has frozen.

b.I represent the vast field of sciences as a large ground
scattered with dark places and lit places. (Diderot)
They make life cease before we are dead. (La Fontaine)
[Link], run, fly and avenge us. (Corneille)
Three thousand six hundred times per hour the Second Whispers: Remember!
Baudelaire
He is sober and moderate among them, who only gets drunk on wine.
Heather)
After describing a dirty and dilapidated 'bourgeois boarding house', Balzac presents the
owner of this boarding house: This room is in all its splendor at the moment
where, around seven in the morning, Madame Vauquer's cat precedes her
mistress.
h. Rome entirely drenched in the blood of its children. (Corneille)
The planetary vessel today carries 4 billion men.

82
Listen to your clock, and tell yourself that there is every second two
mouths to feed.
Every second, 500 airplanes take off in the world.

Exercise: This poem by R. Desnos accumulates metonymic expressions drawn from

the popular language.

He was a good friend

He had his heart on his sleeve
And the brain in the moon
He was a good buddy
He had his stomach in his heels.
And the eyes in our eyes
He was a good buddy
He had his head upside down...
When he took to his heels
He was sticking his nose everywhere.
He was a charming buddy
He held a grudge against Étienne...
To your health Étienne, to your health my old friend
It was a boyfriend's love
He didn't hold his tongue.
Neither the hand in the neighbor's pocket
He never cried in my vest.
He was a friend
He was a good buddy. (R. Desnos, Body and Goods, Gallimard, 1953)

83
Lesson 10

Rhetoric of literary genres

The study of a text assumes knowledge of the literary genre to which it belongs.
belongs. It is clear that one cannot analyze in the same way a
page of a novel, an excerpt from a play or a poem. Each text refers
to a set of rules characteristic of a genre, even if sometimes it
deviates from these rules. Beyond the traditional major divisions between
novel, theater and poetry, one can go into detail and distinguish
different registers more or less codified to which the works
refer to: the comic, the pathetic, the tragic, the epic, etc. These
registers are not characteristic of the novel, theater, or poetry.
There are novels, tragic or comedic poems just as there are
tragedies or comedies in theater. The boundaries between genres
and the boundaries between the registers are therefore not insurmountable. On the contrary,
the blending of genres and the reference of a work to texts of
different traditions are common. However, it is essential to
master the vocabulary of this rhetoric of literary genres.

The narrative genre

A. The narrator
To help the reader easily follow the plot, it's necessary to set the story in
the author/character system and choose a type of point of view (we
tell and describe from a certain point of view.
The one who tells the story is the narrator. According to the reports that he
interview with the author and the characters, four narrative situations
are possible:

Pronouns used Genres

Situation 1 Predominance of the law. Roman

The narrator, the author and They appear when autobiographical,
the heroes are the same the narrator speaks about confession
person other characters.

Situation 2 Predominance of duje. Work of

The narrator and the hero They appear when testimonies, certain
are the same person the author speaks about others press articles.
characters (a narrator tells)
the author's life

84
Situation 3 * Prevalence of the most general case:
The narrator is the author she. Lejepeut intervenes novels, tales,
for the reflections news, stories of
(= explicit narrator or personal experiences of the narrator. press.
present)

Situation 4 Predominance of the special case:

The narrator is not she. Lejepeut can intervene the author presents a
the author (= narrator for the reflections narrator to whom it
implicit or absent personal details of the narrator. lets the word.

B. The point of view

Studying the point of view in a narrative involves answering the question:
Who sees?

We distinguish:
1. The 'external' or 'objective' point of view
The narrator is external to the plot. He recounts and objectively describes this.
that he is supposed to see and hear, it is a mere eyewitness, who
does not interpret events and does not know the thoughts of
characters.
Example: A man burst out of Saint-Antoine street running, crossed the square,
toured the large enclosure of the July column, and slipped between the fences until
under the belly of the elephant. ([Link])

2. The 'internal' or 'subjective' point of view

The narrator describes what a character does, feels, thinks, as if he
he lived there. The vision of the events and the other characters is one of
of a character who participates in the story and interprets it in their own way.
Example: Fabrice heard a sharp cry; it was two hussars who fell hit.
by cannonballs; and, when he looked at them, they were already twenty steps away from the escort. what
he looked terrible, it was a bloodied horse that was struggling...(Stendhal)

the omniscient or global viewpoint

The narrator seems to have all the powers. His knowledge is not limited by
no limit. He knows everything about the characters, their thoughts, their
intentions, it describes scenes that take place at the same time in some
different places. It establishes connections between events that are very distant in
time and space; it enters into the souls of the characters.
Example: (Zadig and Semir) saw armed men coming towards them with swords and
arrows. They were satellites of the young Ocran. (this one) had none of the graces
there are virtues of Zadig; but believing he was worth much more, he was desperate about

85
to not be preferred. This jealousy, which came only from his vanity, made him think that he
loved Sémire passionately. (Voltaire)

C. The arrangement of the narrative

Every narrative or significant part of a narrative links one to another.
situations, events, as well as a sentence, in its syntax,
links words and groups of words to each other. Some of
these events are particularly important and form nodes
of the narrative, essential phases of its development:
1- The initial situation.
2- The rupture of this situation.
3- The imbalance.
4- The action of a reverse force.
5- The restoration of the initial balance.

D. The characters of the story

Every story features characters who can act, either separately or
together, and what are its constituent units, such as the different
word classes (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) are the units of a language.
1- The hero, the main character, bearer of the most passionate desires,
and the most valuable roles. He acts with the aim of obtaining a good or fulfilling
a mission.
The hero's mission, for example the loved woman, or a
treasure or glory, or power, or freedom, or justice, etc.
3- The beneficiary (or recipient) of the hero's action, it can be
another character other than the hero, or the hero himself.
4- The holder of the object or value desired by the hero: he can
give or refuse this asset to the hero or to another beneficiary.
5- The hero's helper, who assists him in his endeavors.
6- The hero's opponent (or adversary), who opposes and seeks to
ruin his businesses.

E. The various types of narrative

According to the goals sought by the author, the places and times mentioned,
psychology and the intentions of the characters, the narratives can be
classified as follows:

1- The realistic narrative

The narrator seeks the maximum objectivity in the depiction of reality.
He must therefore provide precise information about the places, the time,
social environment. The same precision in the study of the psychology of
characters.

86
2- The historical narrative
The narrator wants to revive a more or less distant time and a
or several historical figures from that era. It must therefore evoke
faithfully the locations, the time, the costumes, the actions of the characters.

3- The adventure story

The narrator presents unexpected situations and actions or
extraordinary events that generally take place in distant countries
what the hero explores.

4- The detective story

The hero, a policeman or a detective, must conduct an investigation based on
of an enigmatic fact, of a theft, of a murder. This kind of story addresses
mainly to the intelligence of the reader who must also imagine some
clues, search for motives and evidence.

5- The fantastic narrative

The narrator introduces strange and troubling facts contrary to the
norms of our universe and to our reason. Supernatural, irrational,
suspense, anxiety, fear, and panic are essential elements of this
genre of stories.

6- The science fiction narrative

The narrator relies on scientific and technological progress to
imagine new universes subject to strange laws.

F. The description in the narrative

A straightforward narration that consists of representing actions or
of events, one can oppose the description, representation of objects,
of places or characters (in the latter case, we speak of portrait).
1-The primary function of description is essentially aesthetic:
it constitutes an interruption and a more or less extensive ornament of
narrative. This function can aim to create the illusion of reality,
as often in realistic novels.
The second function is symbolic: the description of a place, of a
series of objects, moral or physical traits of a character, acts
as a revealer of the character in question, of their actions, of the environment
in which it evolves. This social symbolic function allows to situate
the socially prominent characters.

87
When the description is attached to two different moments, at the same
space or the same character, it allows one to measure the evolution.
3-when the object or being described is seen through the gaze of a
character, the latter often gives the description a character
subjective: the description then translates the feelings or judgments of
this character. In such a case, we speak of expressive description,
especially since the descriptor uses figures of speech (comparisons,
metaphors...) that express his state of mind.
The description finally allows for the dissemination of knowledge or information.
that the novelist acquired during field investigations or readings.
It is the informative function.

The vocabulary of description

Verbes Adverbs Adjectives Prepositions

see, catch sight of *elsewhere, around, Immense, after, before

glimpse, distinguish ["around","inside","outside","excessive","ample"] in, since
guess, observe, above, below, here, there - spacious, cramped behind, since
spy, contemplate bas, là, loin, près narrow, imposing in front of, between
examiner, monitor, everywhere, nowhere grandiose... to the left, to
scrutinize, follow of somewhere, down here, in right, among, at
regard, take a look face enormous, ["beside","across"]
to the eye, to discover, gigantic around, at the-
to identify *so, then, excessive above, at
today, yesterday monstrous, inside, at the bottom
*to stand, to spread tomorrow, immediately, colossal, oversized from, on top of, at
to extend, to unfold, long time, the day before disproportionate from, in order to, at
appear, rise the next day, unlimited... default of...
to manifest, to emerge before...
to show oneself, to emerge...

The vocabulary of the portrait

The aspect
The eyes The hair The mouth physical The character
general

chestnuts, blacks, blondes large, étroite, grand, petit, brave, courageous

blues, blacks brown, chestnut, small, split slender, stocky reckless
verts rebels, pulled in pinch, laughing, lean, fat valiant, skull
vivid, brilliant, back, courts, expressive square, big reserved, discreet
shining, long, straight ["sensual","fine","corpulent"] unpredictable,
sparkling, (like some disdainful, massive, heavy shy, coward
piercing, fixed, sticks of ["close","muffled","robust","strong"] fearful,
dull, dreary, drum), thick, to remain silent hail, frail coward, cowardly
dark, cold brush, wavy, bee, close slender, thin froussard

88
globular, frizzy, curly sewn weak coward
prominent, who twilight, rare sassy skinny, hypocrite, cunning
coming out of the head, sparse, incredulous... whiny, mean
haggard, burning, silky, fine lips filiform mischievous,
flamboyant, soft, woolly earrings, skeleton, no honest, upright
mobiles vigorous fines, minces, only having faithful, loyal,
mischievous, abundant thick, the skin on the sincere, upright,
sly, thick, dense, fleshy, os, fuselage, proud, modest
directs, rounds, flat, smooth, gourmands slender, generous legs
laughing, frank, dishes, tousled... endless proud,
fleeing, muscular arms pretentious
sad... ... vain...

Which tenses to use?

Narrative and description

Simple past and narrative present Imperfect for actions that last
who better restores life. Or do they repeat themselves for the descriptions?

Text
Comment
A moment, the shells of the Prussians, It is always possible to report to the
better led, caused confusion. presents past events. That's what we
It stumbles over two boxes that call the historical present. It is a means of
burst, killed, injured make the event closer and therefore more
many people. The drivers of striking. The process is particularly remarkable
chariots hastily pulling away from when he intervenes abruptly, like in the
the explosion, a few battalions text below, in a narrative in the past. Here, the
seemed to begin to become troubled. The presents see, shape and make are presents
misfortune wanted it again at that moment event for life, shape, fit.
a bullet killed the horse The imperfect presents facts as spreading out.
from Kellermann and throw it on the ground. Heof a duration more or less long on the axis of
remount another one with a lot time. It often marks the duration or the
with calmness, strengthen the lines repetition: "some battalions seemed
floating. start to become troubled.
It was time. The Prussians, leaving The simple past presents the facts outside of any
the cavalry in battle to support consideration of duration. Two privileged moments
the infantry formed it into three of an action calling for the simple past: the moment
columns, that marched towards the plateau where something begins to be and the moment
from Valmy (around eleven o'clock). where something leads "the shells fell from the
Kellermann forces movement, shape confusion. Ilstombèrentsur deux caissons qui
also three columns opposite and tell burst, killed, injured many of
across the board: 'Do not pull, but world
wait, and receive them with the bayonet.
He wants a moment of silence.
(Michelet)

89
The dramatic genre
The dramatic genre (from Greek: drama = action) brings together all the
forms of writing and theatrical representation. The text of the play
consists of two distinct parts:
Stage directions: a set of theatrical indications concerning the
sets, the era, the costumes, the objects, the gestures of the actor, the
intonations of his voice and sometimes the lighting and sound illustration;
The text that the actors must pronounce.
In this text, the line, that is to say each element of the dialogue
that an actor must say, perhaps more or less long.
When a reply is long, we talk about a tirade.
A monologue is a line that a character says to themselves and that only the
the spectator is supposed to hear.
A monologue is a line by a character alone on stage.
addresses himself (or addresses the public).
In the sequence of lines, the interruption marks
the incompleteness of a replica (the interruption can be deliberate or
Subie).
In the overall structure of a play, one will distinguish:
the action: a set of events and acts that lead to the
achievement of one or more objectives;
the plot: a set of incidents and combinations
imagined by the characters, who advance the action or sometimes the
retardant
the situation: state of relations between the characters (or the forces)
acting) of the play, at a certain moment of the action;
the misunderstanding: a situation that results from a mistake (which can relate to
the identity of a character
the twist: brutal reversal of the situation;
the dramatic knot: the set of relationships between the characters and
circumstances that lead the action to its climax;
l’exposition: présentation (souvent au premier acte) du nœud dramatique,
of the main characters and events that prepared the action;
the outcome: completion and resolution of the action.
Note: The action is generally divided into acts, into scenes (one changes)
scene when a character enters or exits) or tables (we switch to
tableau by changing scenery, what machines constantly
improved have made it easier.

90
/III/ The registers
1- The comic
A vision of reality expressed through laughter, comedy has forms.
varied.
Irony consists in mocking by implying the opposite of what one intends.
it.
Humor reveals the comedic aspects of situations or characters.
serious.
parody resides in an imitation that evokes laughter.
the caricature consists of exaggerating beings, things, and situations in
the aim is to make laugh.
In the theatrical field more specifically, we distinguish:
the comedy of situations, for example, when an actor finds himself
locked in a closet;
the comic of characters, for example, the jovial comedy of the
characters of Gaouar Al Tocheh and Hosni Al Borazan in the
comedies by Doureid Laham.
the comic gestures, for example, the gestures of a clown;
verbal comedy (wordplay), for example, puns,
puns, frequent curses in the comedies of Adel Imam.
2- The pathetic and the tragic
The pathetic expresses feelings carried to the highest degree of
passion in order to move the reader or the viewer. One can say that the
The spectacle of suffering is pathetic.
The tragic is the feeling of man who becomes aware of forces
social, moral, and political factors that dominate and often crush him.
Thus, the consciousness of the death row inmate is a tragic consciousness.
3- Lyricism
Lyricism is, originally, the song that the poet accompanies with his
lyre (musical instrument among the Greeks).
Today, we call lyricism the expression of personal feelings.
The Epic
The term epic comes from the Greek word 'epos', in the primary sense 'words celebrating'
the exploits (often military) of a hero.
The epic style is essentially characterized by:
amplification, that is to say the enlargement of beings and things, the
recourse to the marvelous, to the supernatural.
simplification, that is to say the organization of the narrative around symbols
which represent the collective values of a society.
5- Didactics
We are talking about didactic discourse when its purpose is to instruct.
didactic genre, initially moral and practical, is now focused on

91
domain of science or everyday life. For example, the notice or
the user manual of an electrical device is written in a style
didactic
The didactic style makes use of specialized vocabulary, with an organization of
the sentence, an overall composition marked by logical rigor,
the use of phrases expressing advice, an order.
6- Oratory eloquence
Rhetorical eloquence characterizes the speech whose purpose is to
convince through speech. It is the politician's discourse to the
tribune of an assembly, the speech of the lawyer defending his client.
Speech that addresses both reason and heart, and which, by
consequently, implements the means to strike its audience
frequent use of apostrophe, metaphor, and hyperbole,
rhythmic amplification of the phrase in 'oratory period', etc.

92
Exercises
Of what kind of stories are the following sentences extracted:
It was six eighteen when the fire broke out.
We went out to dinner last night at a lovely place.
3. The passion for glory, for war, and for revenge,
prevented him from being a good politician.
4. After 1,000 years and more of war, the wolves made peace with the
ewe.
5. The emperor's son was getting married and there were festivities.
general.
Two roosters lived in peace: a hen came
And there you have the war ignited.

The characters in the following fable are animals: determine their role.
A fox slipped among the sheep and took one of the lambs.
dodus, but seeing a dog coming, he pretended to pet
the lamb.
What are you doing here with that lamb? Asked the dog.
I cuddle him, and I play with him, replied the other.
Let it go right now, and leave, or I will give you dog cuddles.
To the attention of the clumsy deceivers! (Aesop, The Fox and the Dog)

Study the function of the characters in the following fable:

A hunter was asking a forester if he had seen the tracks of a lion and
in which direction one could find the beast. 'I will show you the
"The lion himself," replied the forester. Immediately, the hunter turned green, then pale.
and started chattering his teeth: "it's only the track that I'm looking for,
he said, it is not the lion.
Hard in words, cowardly in action, many people resemble
this hunter. Learn to recognize them. (Aesop, The Hunter and the Forester)
/IV/ Same exercise for the following narrative:

coming back from running errands, two little girls, Delphine and Marinette,
they meet a blind dog and decide to take him with them.

As they all three got up, the little ones saw, on the road, a
bandit from the area, who made a living by watching out for children in
commission to take their baskets from them.
It's him, says Marinette, it's the man who takes the commissions.
Don't be afraid, said the dog, I am going to make a face that will take away his...
the desire to come look in your basket.
The man was walking quickly and was already rubbing his hands, thinking.
to the provisions that inflated the basket of the small ones, but when he saw the

93
the dog's head, and when he heard it growl, he stopped rubbing his hands. He
he crossed to the other side of the path and greeted by lifting his hat. The
the little ones had a hard time not laughing in his face.
You see, said the dog when the man had disappeared, I may be
Blind, I can still be useful.
The Tales of the Perched Cat

Determine the characteristic of the narrator (Implicit/absent or explicit/present)

in the following passages:

Are they strange, these memories that haunt you without one being able to
undo them?
That one is so old, so old that I can't understand how he is
remained so vivid and so tenacious in my mind. I have seen so many things since then.
disasters, moving or terrible, that I am surprised to be unable, a single
day, without the figure of Mother Tinkerbell being traced before my
eyes, as I knew her, a long time ago, when I was
ten or twelve years.
There was an old seamstress who came once a week, every
mardis, raccommoder le linge chez mes parents. (Maupassant, Tinkerbell)

Then a beauty appeared in the living room, which caught the eyes of everyone.
world, and one must believe that it was a perfect beauty, since it
a woman of admiration in a place where we were so accustomed to seeing
beautiful people. She was from the same household as Madame de Chartres
and one of the greatest heiresses of France. Her father had died young, and
had left her under the guidance of Madame de Chartres, his wife, whose
Well, virtue and merit were extraordinary.
Mrs. de La Fayette, The Princess of Clèves

/VI/ Distinguish the viewpoint adopted in each of the following excerpts:

With the liveliness and grace that were natural to her when she was
Away from the eyes of men, Madame de Rênal was leaving through the door.
living room window that overlooked the garden, when she caught sight near the
the entrance door features the figure of a young peasant, almost still a child,
extremely pale and had just been crying. He was wearing a shirt well
white, and under her arm she had a very neat purple terry jacket.
The complexion of this peasant was so pale, his eyes so gentle, that the mind a bit
Madame de Rênal's Romanesque first had the idea that this could be
a young girl in disguise, who came to ask for some favor from Mr.
Maire... Julien, facing the door, did not see her approach.
he flinched when a soft voice said close to his ear:
What do you want here, my child?

94
Julien turned sharply, and struck by the gaze so filled with grace of
Madame de Rênal, he forgot part of his shyness. Soon, surprised by
In her beauty, he forgot everything, even what he had come to do.
The Red and the Black

Today, mom died. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I have

Received a telegram from the asylum: 'Mother deceased. Burial tomorrow.'
Distinguished sentiments." That means nothing. It may have been yesterday.
The old people's home is in Marengo, eighty kilometers from Algiers. I
I will take the bus at two o'clock and I will arrive in the afternoon. Thus I
I will be able to watch and I will return tomorrow evening. I requested two days of leave.
I asked for leave from my boss and he couldn't refuse me with an excuse.
similar. The Stranger

3. We were in the Study when the Principal entered, followed by a new one.
dressed in bourgeois style and a schoolboy who carried a large desk.
Those who were sleeping awoke, and each rose as if surprised in
his work...
Staying in the corner, behind the door, so that we could barely see him, the
He was a country guy, about fifteen years old,
and taller than any of us. He had short hair
right on the front, like a village chanter, with a reasonable and strong air
embarrassed. Although he was not broad-shouldered, his jacket coat of
green coat with black buttons must have bothered him at the seams...
Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

/VII/ Texts

Christophe's uncle

He is small, thin, frail, and a bit hunched. One does not know his exact age. He does not
should not have passed forty; but he seems to be fifty years old and
more.
He has a small wrinkled figure, rosy, with nice very pale eyes like
slightly wilted myosotis.
When he takes off his cap, he shows a little bare skull, pink and
conical shape, which brings joy to Christophe and his brothers.
He is a small street vendor; he goes from village to village, carrying on his
you have a big ballot, where there is everything...
Several times, attempts were made to fix him somewhere, to buy him a little
funds, a bazaar, a haberdashery. But he cannot do it: one night he
Get up, put the key under the door and leave with his bundle.

95
We go months without seeing him. Then he reappears: one evening, we hear scratching.
at the entrance; the door creaks open, and the small bald head, politely
discovery shows itself with its good eyes and shy smile.
He says: "Good evening to all the company," takes care to wipe his shoes.
before entering, greet everyone, starting with the eldest, and go
sit in the most modest corner of the room. There, he lights his pipe
and he lowers his back...
Christophe loves his uncle because there is always something good.
to expect from him: a treat, an image, a fun invention.
The return of the little man is a joy for the children, as he brings them
always some surprise. However poor he may be, he finds a way to bring
a memento for everyone; and he does not forget anyone's celebration in the family...
(Jean Christophe, Mrs. Hélier-Mallaurie)

Questions
Distinguish the point of view adopted in the narrative.
2. Identify the details that allow for a physical depiction of the uncle.
3. What was the uncle's profession and how did he move around?
4. Among these adjectives, which ones can describe the uncle:
["good","severe","tall","shy","kind","rude","unpredictable","modest","generous"]
What is the value of the present indicative used throughout the text?

96
Lesson 11

Reported speech

In a narrative, it happens that one has to report the words or thoughts

of one or more characters. This can be done in three ways
main: direct speech (or style), indirect speech and the
free indirect speech.

Direct speech reproduces the words of the characters as they are.

Here is the following dialogue:
Ahmed said to Samer: 'Where can we go tomorrow?'
Samer replied, 'What if we went to Abha?'
It is noted that the words of Ahmed and Samer are reported.
verbally. These words, which are found in quotation marks, are called
Direct speech constitutes an interruption.
in the narration, marked in oral language by a pause and, in written language
written, by punctuation (the colon). The quotation marks certify
the objectivity or authenticity of the reported statements. This process is very
used in the novel to make a character speak.

2. Indirect speech reproduces the words not as they are, but

using a subordinate clause or an infinitive
supplement. Let's take the same example in indirect style:
Ahmed asked Samer where they could go the next day. Samer
responded that they could go to Abha.

2.1 Transformations in indirect discourse

a. Transformation of people:
When the introductory verb is in the 3rd person (he says, she says), the 1st
the person of direct speech changes to the 3rd person in reported speech
indirect
"I want to take a quick look," says Ahmed.
Ahmed says that he wanted to take a quick look.

b. Time transformations:
In a narrative in the past tense, the tenses of direct speech are subject to the
transformations from direct speech to indirect speech:

Direct speech Indirect speech

Present Imperfect
Imperfect Imperfect or pluperfect

97
Past participle Past perfect
Simple past Simple past or past perfect
Future Present conditional
Future perfect Past conditional
Conditional Conditional
Imperative Infinitive or verb
of obligation + infinitive/subjunctive

{"c. Transformations des adverbes":"c. Transformations of adverbs"}

The adverbs that indicate time and, to a lesser degree, those that
indicating that the place also changes, from direct speech to reported speech
indirect
"We will come back here in a few years," he said.
He said they would return to the same place a few years later.

Direct speech Indirect speech

here the day before
the day before yesterdaythe day before yesterday
last week the previous week
today that day
tomorrow the next day
the day after tomorrow the day after the day after tomorrow
next year the following year

3. Free indirect speech is mainly used in literary narratives.

It resembles both direct speech and indirect speech. It makes
understand the character's words without quoting them verbatim, like
in echo in the narrative. It retains the form of subordinate clauses of speech.
indirect and the liveliness of direct speech.
Like direct speech, free indirect speech reports the words
or thoughts in independent statements (without conjunction or word)
of relationship).
Like direct speech, it reproduces questions, exclamations,
interjections, response words, intonations.
b. But like indirect speech, it transforms people, the
verb tenses, and adverbs of time.

Direct speech Indirect speech Free indirect speech

Are you doing well? She asked him if he He was not feeling well. He
I'm not doing well. was doing well. had a headache
I have a headache in the morning. He replied to her that he morning and he was obliged to

98
I am forced to take it badly, that he take medication.
medications. had a headache
morning and that he was obliged
to take some
medications.

4. Indirect questioning: Indirect questioning is used after

verbs that implicitly ask a question: ignore, not
know, ask, search...
Unlike direct questioning, it excludes the inversion of the subject.
the rise of the tone and the question mark.
4.1 The total indirect question: The question concerns the whole
phrase (responseyes, ifno)

Direct interrogation Indirect interrogation

Did they have lunch? I would like to know if they have had lunch.
Will you come? He wants to know if you will come.
Are you sick? She asks if you are
sick.

4.2 The partial indirect question: it excludes the yes or no answer.

It relates to the identity or nature of people, objects, or phenomena.
designated by the subject or the verb complements. It is constructed with
an interrogative pronoun (who, what, with whom, etc.), an interrogative adjective
(which), or an interrogative adverb other than (how, why, where,
from where, when, etc. :

Direct interrogation Indirect interrogation

- What is this instrument used for? - The child asks what it is used for.
instrument.
Who wrote on the board? The professor wanted to know who had
write on the board.
What is your name? I ask how you are called.

99
Exercises

/I/ Transpose the following sentences from direct speech to indirect speech:

A.
The teacher tells the students: 'the exam will take place on May 25.'
The employee replies to the traveler: "I can reserve a seat for you on
the flight on Saturday.
3. The two tourists explain to the police officer: 'We...'
we took the wrong direction and we don't know how to get back to
the hotel.
B.
The child kept saying, 'I don't want to go to school.'
I dialed the wrong number. A recorded voice said: "There is}
No subscriber at the number you are requesting.
6. The Dumas replied to us: 'We thank you for your
invitation and we are pleased to accept to come for dinner on Saturday evening.
My brother told me on the phone: 'I will come to pick you up at the airport.'
The expert stated: "This painting is a fake."

/II/ Transpose the following sentences from direct speech to reported speech.

Model:
Today, the weather is nice, we went to Versailles.
That day, the weather was nice, we went to Versailles.

A.1. Today, he works all day long.

This evening, we are going to a friend's house.
3. Demain, je pars pour Zahran.
The program includes an excursion to Bureida.
Yesterday, he went to the Louvre.

B.1. The holidays are ending; we are returning next week.

He was supposed to arrive next Tuesday.
Next month, I will take my exams.
4. Classes don't start until next week: I have time to
to organize myself.
5. We believe that we will be able to buy an apartment this year.
next.
6. The village is isolated: here, I find the silence I need.
My parents will arrive in a few days.

100
C.1. It was nice today, but will it be nice tomorrow?
This year has been excellent; will next year be as well?
This month, I haven't worked much: next month, it will
need to make up for lost time.
We already had dinner at this restaurant last week.
Last year, I traveled a lot.
I wrote to my parents last Thursday.

/III/ Transform the following sentences from direct speech to indirect speech:

Model:
The teacher tells the students: "Get out!"
The teacher tells the students to go out.

The seller told the customer: "Read the instructions before you use it.
of the instrument.
The police officer ordered the driver: 'Do not park your '
car here!
My father recommended me well: "Don't drive too fast and
Call me as soon as you arrive!
4. The park keeper told the children: "Don't play ball on the
lawn!
5. The librarian asked the student: "Don't forget to return
the books next Wednesday!

/IV/ Put these sentences into indirect speech by varying the situations and the verbs.
introducers (these verbs will be in the past):

Model:
Take the bus instead!
The Parisian advised the tourist to take the bus instead.

Have you reserved your seat?

I came as quickly as I could.
Do you remember your promise?
4. The results of the analysis will be available tomorrow evening.
5. Yes, it is indeed me who summoned you.
The weather will be gloomy over most of France.

/V/ In the following text, distinguish between the speech (dialogue) and the narrative (passages)
narrative or descriptive). Study the verb tenses in the speech and in the narrative.

101
Sitting on the terrace, Jacques and Julien were reading the newspaper in silence.
the day was beginning to decline. On the path, at the bottom of the valley, a
man was walking slowly, with a steady and heavy step.
Anne brought glasses, bottles of syrup, and ice cubes. Julien
fill the three glasses.
Tomorrow morning, he declared, we will have to leave very early.
What time, she asked.
By five o'clock at the latest.
Hello!
Is it too early for you?
She burst out laughing:
But no! It will be wonderful to see the sunrise!
On the path, the man continued to walk at his steady pace.
Anne looks at him for a moment.
It looks like he's coming this way, she said.
I don't think so, replied Julien.

Rewrite this text in indirect style (Pay attention to changes in pronouns, of

temporal markers and the concordance of tenses.

Mohammed, who is taking a French course in Paris, called last week.

last to his parents. He told them: "I have three hours of classes per day on
In the morning and afternoon, I am free to work or play sports.
They also told: 'Last weekend, I went to Versailles
with my classmates. We will go back there on the weekend
next.

/VII/ Same exercise

One day, during the holidays, my mother went on strike. She had told us...
already said several times: "One day, I will go on strike!", but that day she
declared "I won't touch a rag, not a pot anymore!" and she
he explained to us: "since you do not know what the division means
work, you will manage on your own: you will go grocery shopping,
will organize the menus, prepare the meals, do the housework, etc.; she
we announced at the same time: "this afternoon, I am going out with a friend, I
I will probably come back after dinner.
"Is she really going to do it?" my father asked, concerned about her.
new responsibilities.

From the given elements, construct indirect questions.

présent (il me demande) puis au passé (il m’a demandé - il me demandait ).

He asks me: "Does Ahmed always arrive on time?"

102
He asks me: "Did Ahmed arrive late?"
3. He asks me: 'Will Ahmed come tomorrow?'
He asks me: "Is Ahmed coming tonight?"
He asks me: "Did Ahmed just leave?"
He asks me: 'Is Ahmed studying his lessons?'

Build indirect questions from the given elements.

[Link] rang the bell? (go and see/He went to see).

2. When will he come back? (He didn't say it/He hadn't said it).
3. How long will you be absent? (You didn't tell me)
you didn't tell me.
What day should he come? (I forgot/I had forgotten).
5. Where will they retire? (They don't know yet/They didn't know)
again).

/X/ The same exercise using WHO or WHAT

What is happening? (Let's go see).

2. Who broke this vase? (I wanted to know).
3. Who can give me this information? (I didn't know it).
What is happening to him? (He did not understand it).
5. What hurts you? (Tell me).

Same exercise using WHAT or THAT.

What did he say? (I didn't hear).

2. What is true in all of this? (We were asking ourselves).
3. What are we going to become? (We did not know).
4. What pushes him to act this way? (I would have liked to)
to know).
5. What do you think you will do? (Did you tell him/her?)

/XII/ The following sentences are written in free indirect speech. Transform them to
indirect speech by adding an introductory verb (SAY - SCREAM - ASK -
ASK - EXPLAIN - ADD.

1. When he was told that he was going to spend his vacation by the
the child jumped for joy: he was going to see the sea!
The days went by, empty and monotonous, without the slightest
distraction; was he going to live like this, without purpose and without hope?
He apologized for not accompanying his friends to the restaurant: he was at the
diet and could not afford any excess.
He refused to leave: we had plenty of time, it was only ten o'clock.

103
She didn't feel like going out: what need did he have to spend the nights
Outside? With a good book, we felt at home!

104
Lesson 12

Logic of Discourse
Elements of argumentation analysis

We call it a speech: the written or oral presentation of ideas, reflections,

sentiments, developed and ordered in order to convince.
The discourse is to be distinguished from the narrative. Indeed, in discourse, the one who
speak or write does not seek to fade behind its subject but wants, at
contrary, to establish an explicit communication with its reader or its
auditor.
In any case, he guides his thinking and seeks to steer it along the
demonstrative course.
How to analyze the logic of the speech?
by outlining the argumentation of the speech: its purpose, its method,
his objective;
as a student of the composition of discourse: its starting point, its
development, its conclusion;
by highlighting the articulation of the discourse: its movement, its
progression, its logic.
Where can we find argumentative texts?
In economic, social, political, and educational speeches;
in-depth articles from the spoken or written press, presentations of ideas, etc.
One might also be led to use the resources of argumentation.
in a presentation or a report, in a debate or a discussion, etc.
I The argumentation
Argumentation is the reasoned development of an idea, organized and
formatting with the intention of persuading the reader or the listener.
The guiding idea that we want to defend is the thesis. To support this
In a thesis, we provide evidence and reasoning: these are the arguments.
The arguments are themselves most often supported by
examples, which can be of two kinds:
they simply come to illustrate the point by giving it more life or
more credibility;
They themselves are the proof that supports the demonstration.
It is the value of the arguments and examples that a presentation of ideas is based on.
draws its main persuasive strength.
/II/ The composition
One can convince by using the brevity of slogans, or the succession
formulas and images. But if one wants to develop a discourse
Rational and progressive, one must organize their argument.
The main steps of an argumentation are:

105
the introduction where the thesis that will be developed appears,
problems it poses, the directions the demonstration will take;
the conclusion that brings together the arguments by summarizing them and makes it
update on the developed reflection.
Between these two poles (starting point and finishing point), take
the development where the arguments are exposed. It is the place of
the discussion, of the progression of thought.
In the course of development, the transition allows for moving from a
argument to the other, to go through the stages of the demonstration. She
restate the idea already presented and introduce the next one.
In general, the layout of a text in paragraphs highlights its
composition.
/III/ The logical links
A. Grammatical Marks
In an argumentation, ideas are connected to one another by
logical relationships expressed through grammatical tools
like:
["adverbs or adverbial phrases: then, however, by"]
consequently...
- the coordinating conjunctions: but, or, therefore...
- les conjonctions de subordination :bien que, comme si, pour que, de
provided that, since, while, although, on the condition that, unless...
B.A written, punctuation - the comma, the semicolon, the period, the
two points, parentheses, quotation marks, dashes, periods of
suspension, the question mark, the exclamation mark - assures, she
also, the articulation of a text, by strengthening the logical links between the
phrases, propositions and groups of words.
The comma can be used to separate different elements of the
she pauses without lowering her voice.
The comma allows, within a group, not to repeat the
coordinating conjunction. The latter only appears with the last
coordinated word:
The father, the mother, and the child had disappeared.
Subject group
He ate the candies, the cakes, and the chocolates.
COD group
Inside a sentence, the comma allows for the insertion, particularly between
the subject and the verb, elements that provide information about the
subject. It then indicates that the verb will appear as soon as the explanation
regarding the subject will be completed:
The man, tired from his long walk, finally sat down.
subject information on the subject verb

106
The comma allows separating clauses by indicating that the
events that they evoke occur one after another (in
chronological succession) or at the same time:
I see him, I run, he turns around and recognizes me.
chronological
I was arriving, they were leaving. (at the same time)
The comma can indicate that the two clauses are linked by a
logical relation (cause, condition, etc.):
I scold him, he starts to cry (= he cries because I scold him).
If you hit me, I will tell my father.
father).
In the case of highlighting by displacement of an element of the
, the comma indicates the detachment of this element:
The child was calling his father from the other side of the street.
At the other end of the street, the child was calling his father.
This is also the case when a pronoun is emphasized:
I would never have accepted such a thing.
The semicolon separates two propositions. It indicates that one
take a pause a little longer than with a comma, without for
as much as the voice completely fades between the two separated elements.
Most often, the two statements have a relationship with each other.
logic:
He worked incredibly hard; he absolutely wanted to succeed in his exam.
(he worked extremely hard because he wanted to pass his exam).
The period indicates the end of a sentence. It marks a descent.
complete the voice and an important pause before the voice rises again
for another sentence:
- Marc sat on the café terrace. People were passing by on the boulevard.
without rushing. In the sky, the first stars began to shine.
Most often we use a period when expressing a new idea.
which does not have a close relation to that expressed in the sentence
previous.
When, in a text, one really wants to indicate that one is changing
theme, we put a period and go to the next line. We start a new
paragraph.
The period is also placed after every word written in abbreviation: P.T.T. (Post Offices,
Telegraphs, Telephones.
Colon allows:
1. to indicate what elements make up a set: The cities the
The most important cities in France are: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, etc.
to quote or to report someone's words: He turned around and said:
Did you call me?
3. to express an explanation:

107
Sometimes we heard strange noises: it was the wind that
was lifting the tiles.
the parenthesis integrates an additional detail to the argument:
He stepped forward and said (and besides, everyone suspected it) that he was going to
leave permanently.
- But what is this? (it was her favorite expression),
he repeated it non-stop.
Quotation marks enclose a sentence or a group of words that
do not belong to the one who writes but are borrowed from someone
other.
He turned to me: 'Do you have something to say?'
Notes: When quoting one or more sentences from an author at
with the help of quotation marks, we must ensure to faithfully respect what
the author wrote. If one removes a part of the quoted sentence, one
it will indicate it with ellipses enclosed in brackets: [...] If
when a word or a group of words is highlighted, it will be noted at the bottom of the page.
by the formula: highlighted by our care.
When one uses a word in a sense that is not its usual meaning,
when we want to give a word a particular nuance, we put it
in quotation marks. This is also the case when using a foreign word.
Dashes enclose a phrase or a segment of a phrase, they play
a role similar to parentheses:
He looks at me, hesitates - cruel dilemma - and turns away without a word.
In a dialogue, the dash is used to indicate a change of speaker:
Are you coming?
Yes, I will arrive in five minutes.
But what do you still have to do?
Ellipses occur in a list that
one does not want to extend. They then have a meaning similar to etc.:
Of course, the whole family was there: the father, the mother, the brothers, the
sisters...
They also intervene when the one who speaks or writes wants to imply.
a continuation, a comment, a conclusion, etc. understandable for
the one who listens to it or reads it:
Don't worry, he understood very well...
We went to Paris: it rained a lot...
The question mark is placed at the end of a sentence.
interrogative. It is only used with direct questioning:
Did you tell him to come have dinner with us? (direct question.)
Do you know your lesson? (direct question)
I wonder if he has gone.
I didn't know if I should believe him.

108
 The exclamation mark is placed at the end of a sentence in which
the one who speaks or writes expresses an order, a wish, surprise,
exasperation, admiration, etc.
Come here now!
Enough lies and flattery!
So it was you!
- What! You would weep for me dying for my country! (Corneille)
C. The main logical relations in argumentation
.The concession expressed by: although, no doubt, certainly, even though,
although, etc. The author notes that there are facts or arguments that
oppose his thesis, but he maintains his opinion and continues his
reasoning.
We live in the countryside. Obviously, it’s tiring for my
Mary who has to make the drive every day to go to her
work, but the children are so happy here!
The opposition expressed by: but, on the contrary, on the other hand,
while, whereas, nevertheless, yet, however, etc. It allows for
confront two facts or two arguments by highlighting their differences.
Maupassant often had lunch at the Eiffel Tower restaurant, which
yet he did not like it: it is, he said, the only place in Paris where I do not
you don't see. Indeed, in Paris, you have to take infinite precautions to not
not seeing the tower; regardless of the season, through the mists, the half-
days, the clouds, the rain, in the sun, wherever you may be,
whatever the landscape of roofs, domes, or foliage that you
separate from her, the Tower is there.
(Roland Barthes)
.The cause expressed by: because, indeed, given that, thus, because
that, on the pretext that, since, given that, etc. The author presents the origin
of a phenomenon, the explanation that is generally given or that it
give himself to the questions asked.
He feels isolated because he doesn't speak the language well enough.
of the country.

We cannot predict anything since we do not know the dates of the holidays.
.The consequence expressed by: therefore, that is why, consequently, of
["there","from","in such a way that","so that","etc."]
The work was becoming too burdensome for him. Thus he was forced to
retire early.
The financial situation of the company has become catastrophic. Hence
the set of measures taken by management to save her.
The addition or the gradation expressed by: and, furthermore, in addition,
above all, first, then, finally, besides that, etc. A new argument is
added to the previous one(s).

109
A breath, a shadow, nothing, everything gave her fever.
fountain
D. The implicit links
It happens that the logical connections of thought are not
expressed by grammatical tools.
The logical link is then implied. It is up to the listener or the reader to
to suplly for this absence, which can be easy in some cases:
because the succession of sentences or paragraphs assumes
necessarily such a relationship between them;
because the author's point of view, expressed earlier,
logically leads to such deductions;
because the knowledge that we have of the theses addressed,
the author who defends them, of the school of thought he represents, establishes
an intellectual complicity between the speaker and the listener.
Education is not limited to childhood and adolescence.
Education is not limited to school. [...] Throughout life, our environment
is our educator, an educator who is both strict and dangerous. (P. Valéry)
/IV/ The vocabulary: substitutes
To avoid repeating the same expressions from one sentence to another,
when we revisit the previous theme or statements, we can use:
a. Personal or demonstrative pronouns (he, it, this one) or
possessive determiners (his, her).
b. Synonyms: either absolute (city and town), or adding a nuance
different (house and residence).
c. General meaning substitutes: they include the term that one does not want
do not repeat. Ex.:
England = this nation / the rose = this flower / the words England and
rose consists of subsets of the words nation and flower.
d. Periphrases:
they are neutral: they are simply a synonym for the first term.
The French = the citizens in France.
They are descriptive: they add certain information to reality.
designated.
France = the hexagon.
* be appreciative: they express the judgment of the speaker on the
designated reality.
Ex. Victor Hugo = the great writer.

110
Exercises
/I/ Logical links can be expressed either by syntax (subordination,
coordination or juxtaposition of two sentences) either by vocabulary (this fact
Identify in the following sentences the terms that highlight relationships.
logics between facts, and explain the nature of the link:

Bad harvest and unsold goods had the same effect: purchasing power
the masses were decreasing.
2. However urgent it may be, this measure can wait two days.
If you give alms so that you can be seen and praised, your
charity is vain.
The matter of our future is too serious for us to take it lightly.
light.
Our mother loves us so much that she would sacrifice her happiness for us.
ours.
You will achieve success, provided that you work hard and that you
you were persevering.
If poverty is the mother of crimes, the lack of spirit is the father.
8. A storm having broken out, we had to delay our departure.
9. Since we plead and we die, and we become ill,
Doctors are needed, lawyers are needed. (La Fontaine)
10. Flee from bad companions: they would lead you to evil.
11. Let wealth be seductive: it is nonetheless powerless to
make us happy.
He is a student who lives in an unstable family environment, which
explain his poor results.
13. Our teacher never raises his voice, yet he is obeyed.
14. It's better not to use this word: it is vulgar.
15. This information contradicts itself; it is utterly incomprehensible.

Identify the steps of the argumentation present in the following excerpt

The very nature of the information provided by what is called in

hexagonal French the "mass media" opposes the approach
scientific: sensation opposes observation. The search for
sensational aims to trigger reflexes, immediate impressions,
instinctive, irrational, which not only do not favor, but
paralyzing the effort of reflection. By continuing the audience of the greatest
name, contemporary information is obliged to the most expressions
simplistic, the closest to instinct. She comes to give priority and
the same exclusivity to these spectacular "new" things that are wars,
the uprisings, the fights, the embraces and the breakups, the
assassinations, hostage takings. A hijacking will have the

111
one of all the TVs and all the newspapers in the world, and
will impress more than a serious study on violence.
(Jean Fourastié, Economy and Society)

Reflecting on the usefulness of machines for human beings, Lanza del Vasto
Critique several arguments of proponents of mechanization. The 1st list presents the
arguments of his opponents, the 2nd list presents the objections of Lanza del Vasto.
You will associate each argument with the appropriate refutation.

1st list: a) Machines save time.

They save trouble.
They produce abundance.
d) Elles ont multiplié les échanges.

2nd list: 1. It should not be surprising that the said peoples experience it.
each other an unprecedented irritation. It is enough that I am
to come into contact with someone against my will or against his so that I start to hate
this certain one, and him me. Perhaps it is regrettable, but it is human.
2. How is it that in countries where machines
reign, we only meet hurried people who never have the time
. While in those where man does everything by hand, he finds the
time to do everything and time moreover, as much as he wants, to do nothing
to do.
How is it that where they reign, there also reigns,
in such a well-hidden neighborhood, the most atrocious and strange misery?
(...) Overproduction and unemployment have logically accompanied the
progress of machines as long as we haven't gone to war or found a hole
to throw in the excess.
4. Why is everyone so busy where they are?
reign, tied to thankless, fragmented tasks, hastened by the
movement of machines to tasks that wear out man, constrain him,
they frighten and bore them? (according to Lanza del Vasto, The Pilgrimage to the Sources)

IV. Observe these texts. Identify the thesis and summarize it. Provide the number and study it.
the value of arguments. Highlight the place and role of examples.

Let's first try to understand why the child feels the need
to waste. First reason: simply because he is a child;
that is to say curious about everything, having a need to multiply attempts and
experiences to know 'how it is made'; because, like everyone
the children, he is scatterbrained; because he lets himself be carried away by his
impulsions.
Another reason: the example of the adult. We know the bitter remarks of
the garbage collector: "If you only knew what I find in the trash!"

112
people throw away what burdens them or what they no longer like, and which
could still be useful. (E. Grigny, Weekly Life, 1978)

You know it, but you may not have meditated enough on how
Is the modern era speaking? Our cities are covered with
gigantic writings. The night itself is filled with words of fire. From the
In the morning, countless printed sheets are in the hands of passersby,
travelers on trains and lazy people in their beds. It is enough to
turn a knob in his room to hear the voices of the world.
As for books, they have never been published in such quantities. They have never been read so much.
or rather so traveled! Paul Valéry

3. Look at the busy people running in the streets. They do not look at
neither right nor left, looking concerned, eyes fixed on the ground, like some
dogs. They rush straight ahead, but always without looking in front of them, because
They make the route, known in advance, mechanically.
Dans toutes les grandes villes du monde, c’est pareil. L’homme moderne,
universal, it is the hurried man, he has no time, he is a prisoner of the
necessity, he does not understand that something may not be useful; he does not
doesn't understand either that, in the end, it is the useful that can be a
unnecessary, overwhelming weight. Eugène Ionesco

113
Leçon 13

The sounds

I Sounds and Meaning

The sound elements that make up the language are called
phonemes. For example, the word 'heavy' has three phonemes that
one notes thus in the phonetic alphabet: l u r .
Note: It is important not to confuse the signs of the alphabet.
orthographic and those of the phonetic alphabet. Thus the phoneme u
is written in the form of an association of two letters 'ou'; the phoneme
nasalized is sometimes written as 'in', sometimes as 'ein', or even as 'ain'. It
it is still the same sound.
In everyday language, the relationship between the sound produced by a statement
and the meaning of this is most often arbitrary. However, in certain
case, there is a relationship by phonetic imitation between the sounds of a
statement and the thing it evokes.
We talk about onomatopoeia when the sounds of a word suggest the noise.
produced by the thing he names (the tick-tock of the clock, the
(roaring of the engine) Onomatopoeias are characteristic of
language of the comic strip.
We speak of imitative harmony when the repetition of sounds in a
the statement suggests a particular noise. Advertising messages use
sometimes this process.
"Tick, tock, tick, you've got the chic ticket, you've got the shock ticket" in an advertisement for the
subway
In a statement, the sound echoes between the words invite one to put these
last in relation: thus a double relationship of sound and meaning is established
that it is interesting to study.
a. The repetition of the same vowel sound or sounds is called assonance.
neighboring vowels, for example, a and wa in a statement in verse or in
prose.
Everything afflicts and harms me and conspires to do me harm.
( Assonance in i in this verse by Racine.
Nothing makes us greater than a great pain.
(Assonance in in this verse by Musset.
It weeps in my heart
As it rains over the city;
What is this languor?
Who penetrates my heart?
(Assonance in oe in this stanza by Verlaine)

114
b. Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound - consonant,
example, t and d or from the same group of consonants. Let's identify
alliteration in v in this stanza by G. Apollinaire:
My beautiful ship, oh my memory
Have we sailed enough
In a bad wave to drink
Have we navigated enough
From the beautiful dawn to the sad evening.
and in m in this stanza by P. Verlaine:
I often have this strange and penetrating dream
From an unknown woman, whom I love, and who loves me.
And who is not, each time, quite the same
Neither completely another, and loves me and understands me.
The study of sounds in a text in verse or prose can follow the steps
following:
[Link] the text carefully to identify the assonances and the
main alliterations.
[Link] the words with the same phonemes.
c. Study the semantic relationships that exist between these words. The words thus
Sounds that are related sometimes belong to the same lexical field.
For example, the words: sail, ship, vessel, all contain three
the phoneme [v] belongs to the lexical field of navigation.
But, often, the words that normally have no relation in meaning,
can be grouped by the phonemes they have in common.
Ex. :
And the sea and love have bitterness to share,
And the sea is bitter, and love is bitter,
One can drown in love just as in the sea,
To love and to be in love are not without storms. (Marbeuf)
To study, if necessary, the suggestive value of certain phonemes.
Ex. :
I had fallen asleep at night near the shore.
A cold wind woke me, I came out of my dream,
I opened my eyes, I saw the morning star. (V. Hugo)
In these three verses, the alliteration in v and f evokes the breath of the wind
who awakens the poet.
The study of rhymes
Rhyme is a particular case of sound echo. It is one of the
characteristic elements of regular poetry, but it is also
often present in free verse.
Assonance et rime
Assonance: identity of the stressed final vowel, that is to say strongly
pronounced, but not the phonemes that follow it.
Ex. : fille / ami- rude / brut.

115
Rhyme: phonetic identity of the stressed final vowel and the
phonemes that may possibly follow it.
shore/ storm - love/ always.
Quality of the rhyme
A hierarchy can be established based on the number of common phonemes.
which are in the final of the two considered verses.

Poor rhyme Sufficient rhyme Rich rhyme

one common phoneme = Two common phonemes: three common phonemes and more:
the accented vowel and this dream / finishes random/ strange
who follows it: sovereign/ chevelure/ brûlure aster/ disaster
main

Alternation and arrangement of rhymes

Alternation: it is necessary to alternate between feminine and masculine rhymes.
masculines.
Feminine rhyme: the ending of the verses is a vowel or an 'e'
mute.
Ex. : poésie / fantaisie aunt - mariée / variée.
The masculine rhyme: the ending of the verses is a consonant phoneme.
Ex. : renard / tard {"pur":"pure","dur":"hard"} night / shines.
The arrangement: the alternation can be carried out in three ways, depending on the
arrangement of rhymes.
The rhymes in couplets (or continuous) of the type: aa bb cc
Ex. :
One hour is in Venice, - hour of serenades, a
When around Saint Mark under the dark arcades, a
Feet in the dew and his mask in hand b
A spring night plays with the morning. b
(A. de Musset)
Cross rhymes of the type: abab
Ex. :
I've left you all alone for a long time now. a
However, here I am bringing you my lie. b
Poet, be joyful, you look like a shroud a
Look at me, it's me, I am not a dream. b
(G. Apollinaire)
The enclosed rhymes of the type abba
Ex. :
The gypsy knew in advance a
Our two lives crossed by the nights b
We said goodbye to him and then b
From what well did Hope emerge. a
(G. Apollinaire)

Studying rhymes means observing their arrangement but also analyzing the
the relationship of meaning that exists between rhyming words. Sometimes this relationship is

116
simple (the rhyming words are neighbors in meaning or on the contrary
they oppose each other), but it can be more complex.
Ex. : Jealous moments, can it be that these moments of drunkenness,
Where love pours happiness on us in long streams,
They fly away from us at the same speed
What about the days of misfortune? (Lamartine)

In this example, the words 'intoxication' and 'speed' are associated by the
rhyme and by sense. On the other hand, the words "happiness" and "misfortune"
associated by rhyme, are opposite in meaning.
We talk about internal rhyme when a word is placed inside a verse
rhymes with the words placed at the end of the line.
The stanza is a set of verses corresponding to a type of rhyme.
complete: aabb, abbaouabab.

117
Lesson 14

Measure and Rhythm

One should not confuse measure and rhythm. Measure is a

Constraint, the rhythm is a freedom, but a freedom that is difficult to exploit.
Rhythm is a musical component of language (prose and poetry). It
allows to emphasize certain words, to establish correspondences of meaning
and sounds between the highlighted terms.
In daily life, advertising messages are frequently used
the different possibilities of rhythm.

The measurement of rhythm

In language, some syllables are more stressed than others.
["high school","window","novel"]
The bold syllables are called stressed or tonic syllables. The
others are called said tones.

Rules of accentuation
When a word ends with a syllable that has a silent 'e',
the stress is placed on the penultimate syllable. These words are called
words with feminine endings.
storm, tempest
In other cases, the tonic accent falls on the last syllable.
Words are called masculine ending words.
["garden","house"]

The rhythm is the return of the tonic accents that create the rhythm: we them
stress on the last syllable of a word or a group of words that forms
a grammatical unit.
Just heaven! All my blood freezes in my veins.
This verse by Racine has 4 accents, hence 4 rhythmic groups or
measures delimited by cuts.

The place of cuts

The cut (/) is placed immediately after the stressed syllable.
1. The term 'cesura' (//) refers to the pause that divides an alexandrine (line of poetry)
twelve feet or syllables), in two hemistichs (halves) of six syllables.
When a word ends with an unstressed syllable, the cut
separate this last syllable from the rest of the word.
The ships gliding over the bitter waves

118
The measure or syllabic count
a. The digital verse
The measure is the main characteristic of the digital verse. Measuring the
rhythm, it is to calculate the number of syllables contained in each
measure.
Note: When the last syllable is unstressed and therefore separated from the rest of the word by
the cut, we count it with the measurement following this cut.
Hare is poisonous but pretty in autumn (Apollinaire)
2 4 3 3
I will love you / cry out to you // like a wounded bird (L. Aragon)
3 3 6
Note: Certain syllables may be counted as two in the case of the diaeresis.
(ex.: o-di-eux, instead of o-dieux).

b. Even verses and odd verses

1- Even verses are 12-syllable verses (alexandrines), 8 syllables.
(octosyllables), 6 syllables (hexasyllables), 4 syllables.
These are symmetrical verses (two hemistichs of equal length
well-balanced.
2-Odd verses are verses of 9, 7, or 5 syllables.

EX.: Poetic Art

Music before anything else
And for that, prefer the odd,
more vague and more soluble in the air,
With nothing in him that weighs or poses.

The study of rhythms

The binary rhythm. The verse or the two halves of a verse are divided into
two equal measures.
Ex.: His gaze / is like // the gaze / of statues. (P. Verlaine)
3 3 3 3

The ternary rhythm. The verse is divided into three equal measures.
Ex. I will walk / my eyes fixed / on my thoughts. (V. Hugo)
4 4 4
In this example, the return of the accent suggests the regular movement of
the walk or a feeling that lasts (e.g.: boredom)

The increasing rhythm. The measures of the verse are getting longer and longer.
Ex. : Thus / little by little // grew the Roman Empire
2 4 6
This rhythm often evokes a movement or a feeling that is amplifying.

119
The cumulative rhythm. The number of tonic accents is greater than the
average (above 4 for an alexandrine).
The milk falls / goodbye, / calf, / go / cow, pig, / brood. (J. de La Fontaine)
3 2 1 1 3 2
This rhythm often reflects accumulation, succession, a movement.
disordered, or the intensity of a feeling.

/III/ The rhythm in a prose text.

One can profitably analyze the rhythm in a prose text and one
note that the writer often derives effects from it.
The unit to be studied is no longer the verse but the sentence. The rhythm arises from:
the length of successive sentences.
the relative length of the groups in the phrase whose arrangement
create rising, falling rhythms...
the repetition of syntactic constructions that sometimes creates a
binary or ternary rhythms.
As with the verses, we will look for the relationships between these effects of
rhythm and the meaning of the text.

120
 Bibliography

1. Adam (J.M.), The Narrative Text, Paris, Nathan University, 1994.

2. Adam (J.M.)-Petitjean (A.), The Descriptive Text, Paris, Nathan University,
1995.
3. Aquien (M.) - Molinié (J.), Dictionary of Rhetoric and Poetics, The
Pochothèque, 1996.
4. Bailly (Ch.),Traité de Stylistique française, Paris, Klincksieck, 1951.
5. Crépin (F.),Français, méthodes et techniques, Paris, Nathan, 1996.
6. Cressot Marcel,Le Style et ses Techniques, Paris, P.U.F., 1969.
7. Eluerd (R.),Langue et littérature, Paris, Nathan, 1992.
8. Eterstein (C.)-Lesot (A.), Practice of French, Paris, Hatier, 1988.
9. Fromilhague (C.),Les Figures de style, Paris, Nathan Université, 1996.
10. Fromilhague (C.)-Sancier-Chateau(A.),Introduction à la Stylistique, Paris,
Dunod, 1996.
11. Gardes-Tamine (J.),La Stylistique, Paris, Armand Colin, 1995.
12. Herschberg Pierrot(A.),Stylistique de la prose, Paris, Belin, 1995.
13. Kokelberg (J.),Les Techniques du style, Paris, Nathan Université,1993.
14. Le Her (Y.), Stylistic Analyses, Paris, Armand Colin, 1965.
15. Marouzeau (J.),Précis de Stylistique française, Paris, Masson et Cie.,1969.
16. Moeschler (J.), Argumentation and Conversation: Elements for an Analysis
pragmatics of discourse, Paris, Hatier, 19985.
17. Molinié (G.),La Stylistique, Paris, P.U.F.1997.
18. Molinié (G.), Elements of French Stylistics, Paris, P.U.F. 1991.
19. Peyroutet (C.), Style and Rhetoric, Paris, Nathan, 1995
20. Peyroutet (C.),La Pratique de l’Expression écrite, Paris, Nathan, 1993.
21. Robrieux (J.J.), Elements of Rhetoric and Argumentation, Paris, Dunod,
1996
22. Suhamy (H.),Les Figures de style, Paris, P.U.F., 1995.
23. Superville (J.), History and Theory of French Versification, Paris,
Editions of the School.

121
122