The Decline of the French Passé Simple

Contents
Foreword
Preface: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 A Story Needs to Be in the Past Historic. Otherwise, Nobody Knows It’s a Story …
2 A Not So Simple Past …
3 The Future of This Past …
1
Language Evolution
1 Introduction
2 Stages of Language Evolution
2.1 General Framework
2.2 Stages of Language Evolution
3 Innovation
3.1 Natural Phenomena
3.2 Artefactual Phenomena
3.3 Phenomena of the Third Kind
4 Propagation
4.1 Language Learning
4.2 Social Networks
5 Mechanisms for Language Evolution
5.1 Phonetic Change
5.2 Borrowing
5.3 Semantic Change
5.4 Reanalysis
5.5 Analogy
5.6 Grammaticalisation
5.7 Lexicalisation
6 Results of Language Change
6.1 Modification of the Stock of Units and Notions
6.2 Disappearance of Forms and Distinctions
6.3 System Simplification
6.4 Changes in the System Hierarchy
7 Evolution in the Domain of the Past
8 A ‘Dia-Model’ of Evolution and Change
2
Once Upon a Time … There Was the PS
1 From Latin to French
2 In Old French
3 In Middle French
4 In Classical French
5 In Modern French
6 Conclusions on the Diachronic Evolution of the PS
3
Favourable Factors for PS Use in Contemporary French
1 Age Grading (Personal Diachronie)
2 Geographical Variation (Diatopie)
3 Social Variation (Diastratie)
4 Gender Variation (Diagénie)
5 Variation according to the Medium (Diamésie)
5.1 Medium and Modes
5.1.1 The Modes of Speech
5.1.2 The Modes of Writing
5.2 Modes and the PS
6 Variation across the Context of Use (Diaphasie)
6.1 Literature
6.2 Journalistic Language
6.2.1 Sport Reports
6.2.2 Advertisement
6.2.3 Faits Divers
6.2.4 Obituaries
6.3 History
7 Cotextual Variation
7.1 Syntax
7.1.1 Adverbials
7.1.2 Passive/Active
7.1.3 Polarity
7.1.4 Type of Clause
7.2 Morphology
7.2.1 Person and Number
7.2.2 Syllabic Length
7.2.3 Irregularity
7.3 Phonetic Factors
7.4 Lexical Factors
7.5 Semantic Factors
8 Conclusion on the Diachronic Evolution of PS
8.1 The Position of PS in CoF
8.2 The Evolution of the PS throughout the History of French
4
The Not So Simple PS
1 Previous Descriptions of the PS
1.1 Textual Approaches
1.1.1 Hamburger
1.1.2 Benveniste
1.1.3 Weinrich
1.1.4 Conclusions on Textual Approaches
1.2 Discursive Approaches
1.3 Aspectual Approaches
1.4 Temporal Approaches
1.4.1 Reichenbach’s System
1.4.2 The Forerunners
1.4.3 Contemporary Extensions of the Point System
1.4.4 Conclusions on Point of Reference Systems
1.5 Temporo-Aspectual Approaches in the French Tradition
1.5.1 Damourette & Pichon
1.5.2 Guillaume
1.5.3 Neo-Guillaumian Models
1.6 Neo-Reichenbachian Descriptions of the French Verbal System
1.6.1 Apothéloz (2017)
1.6.2 Gosselin (1996, 2005, 2017, in Press)
1.6.3 Azzopardi & Bres (2017)
2 Defining the Specific Profile of the PS
2.1 Tools for a Model of the Verbal System
2.2 The Profile of the PS in Langue: A Global Perspective Past
2.3 The Use of the PS in Discours in Contemporary French
3 Conclusion
5
Substitutes for PS in Contemporary French
1 The Past Connection
1.1 Imparfait (IMP)
1.2 Passé Composé (PC)
1.3 Plus-que-parfait (PQP)
1.4 Passé Surcomposé (PSC)
1.5 Futur Antérieur (FA)
2 Going Global
2.1 Présent (PRES)
2.2 Futur Simple (FS)
2.3 Conditionnel (COND)
3 Looking Forward
3.1 Futur Périphrastique (FP)
3.2 Futur Périphrastique du Passé (FPP)
3.3 Devait + Infinitive
4 Conclusion
6
Methodology for the Corpus Analysis
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Corpus
3.1 Justification of the Choice
3.2 Presentation of the Corpora
3.2.1 Modes of Speech (Conversing)
3.2.2 Modes of Speech (Monologuing)
3.2.3 Modes of Speech (Reciting)
3.2.4 Modes of Speech (Speaking of What Is Written)
3.2.5 Modes of Writing (Writing to Be Read Silently)
4 Opening
7
The PS across Modes in Contemporary French
1 Modes of Speech (Conversing)
1.1 Sociolinguistic Interviews
1.2 Chat Shows
1.3 Sports Commentary
1.4 Conclusions on the Use of PS in Conversing
2 Modes of Speech (Monologuing)
2.1 News Bulletins
2.2 Fairy tales
3 Modes of Speech (Reciting): Néo-contes
4 Modes of Speech (Speaking of What Is Written)
4.1 Documentaries
4.2 Speeches
5 Modes of Writing
5.1 Obituaries Corpus
5.1.1 Synchronic Corpus
5.1.2 Diachronic Corpus
5.1.3 Conclusions on the Use of Tenses in Obituaries
5.2 Sports Reports
5.2.1 The Story So Far
5.2.2 The PS in Reports of the 2010 World Cup Final
5.3 The Use of Tenses in the ‘Written to Be Read’ Mode: A Question of Mode, of Genre or of Personal Choice?
6 The Actual Use of the PS across Modes
8
The PS in Micro-Diachrony
1 Presentation of the Corpus
2 Corpus Le Monde
3 Corpus L’Humanité
4 Corpus Le Soir
5 Corpus La Libre Belgique
6 Conclusions on Sports Reports in Micro-Diachrony
9
Conclusions
1 Chronicle of a Death Foretold
2 Some Hundred Years of Decrepitude?
2.1 A Brief History of the Tense
2.2 The PS in CoF: Quantitative Considerations
2.3 The PS in CoF: Qualitative Considerations
2.4 The PS in System
3 Living to Tell the Tale
4 On the Day They Were Going to Kill It?
References
Index of Concepts