Exploring the French Language

Summary:
Do you know what 'verlan' or French 'backslang' is? Was President Mitterand 'câblé'? The French language is more than just a tool for communication; it has a crucial role to play in how native speakers of French think about the world and about themselves and their culture. This book helps students develop a systematic 'linguistic' approach to French. It covers the core topics, ranging from the structure and sounds of the language to discourse and everyday conversation. No previous knowledge of linguistics is assumed and a glossary of technical terms and many exercises and activities help reinforce key points. Students will find that their understanding and enjoyment of the French language is greatly enhanced by this book.

• The only truly basic introductory text covering the structure of the French language
• Lively, readable and up-to-date in its approach
• Combines the core domains of linguistics, sociolinguistics issues and a discourse approach to language study in one comprehensive text
• Examples are taken from real language sources including the French media
• R A Lodge is widely respected as the author of 'French: From Dialect to Standard'

Table of Contents:
Introduction - The layman's approach to language contrasted with the linguist's
The principal branches of linguistics
Varieties of French - The standard language
Language and society
Language and register
The Lexicon - Words and dictionaries
Where do French words come from?
Word formation
Word meaning
The Sound System - Introductions to IPA
The vowel system
The consonant system
Connected speech
Prosodic features
From phonetics to phonology
Morphology and Syntax
Derivational morphology and inflectional morphology
The morphology of spoken French
Grammatical categories
Syntactic structure
Pragmatics
Discourse
Conversational analysis
Index

Readership:
Undergraduates taking courses in the structure of French.

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