No description available.

Thesis--Kiel. / Vita. "Benutze Werke": p. 1-4.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Françaises. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-157). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR38739

This thesis is concerned with the historical analysis of French idioms from both theoretical and methodological points of view. An idiom is considered as a figurative expression whose meaning is not equal to the sum of its components’ meanings. In the first part, after drawing distinctions between such terms as locution, expression or phrasème, I survey the key elements in the analysis of idioms: their syntax, semantics and lexical features. I discuss various theories to see how they can relate and be applied to a historical study. I deal first with the syntactic approach which describes the various grammatical features of idioms basing my analysis mostly on works by Gross. It shows that, while figurative expressions are often syntactically similar to non-figurative expressions, they do not allow much leeway in their morphological and syntactic variations because their meaning is closely linked to their form. However a grammatical description is not sufficient for a diachronic analysis of idioms. Secondly, I take a close look at semantic description as it appears in works by theoricians such as Weinreich, Greciano and Rey. In particular I show that it is necessary to put the idiom back in its context in order to grasp its real meaning. While not rejecting the rhetorical approach, this process allows us to avoid systematic assimilation of idioms as rhetorical figures. A diachronic analysis shows that an idiom can be a literary figure, a cultural figure, or a sociological one. Therefore its description must rely as much on a pragmatic approach as on a semantic one. The second part of my study adopts a methodological approach. The objective is to develop a method of analysis that can be applied to a lexicographical description of idioms. The originality of the study relies partly on the fact that the analysis is based on an electronic literary data-base as well as on formal dictionaries. Animal metaphors, nine of which are closely analysed, are chosen to illustrate the methodology. Each case study is divided into three main parts: the history and etymology of the idiom, its socio-cultural representation and implication and its linguistic description. Much emphasis is put on highlighting the ways in which the idiom becomes part of the text. In the last chapter of the thesis I develop a new descriptive model for a historical dictionary of idioms. The focus is to describe the expression with as much precision as is usual for words. The model is based particularly on works by Wartburg (FEW) and Mel’ëuk (Dictionnaire lexico-combinatoire). The main result of this study is to demonstrate that idioms need to be viewed as discrete linguistic units. For this reason they must be studied strictly in context. Another major contribution is that in many specific cases my research has allowed me to go further than other historical studies. An example is entre chien et loup whose origin can be traced back to a Hebrew text, and whose first use in a French text goes back to the very early 13th century. Lastly, the study of the idiom’s situational context shows us that phrasemes allow a connection to be made between language and culture, because they are often a linguistic reflection of a belief, saying, or folk tale.

With the emergence of Optimality Theory, where the burden of explanation is placed almost entirely on constraints, we have observed in the phonological literature a de-emphasis on the role of structural relationships that hold within and across segments. In this thesis, counter to the current trend, I argue that the most explanatory approach to phonological processes requires reference to highly-articulated representations. I explore a number of phenomena found in the first language acquisition of Quebec French and argue that these phenomena are best captured in an analysis based on structurally-defined markedness, headedness in constituent structure, and relationships between segmental features and their prosodic licensors. / I demonstrate that headedness in constituent structure must be assigned to both input and output forms. In order to encode the dependency relations between input and output representations, I appeal to faithfulness constraints referring specifically to constituent heads. Output representations are regulated by markedness constraints governing complexity within constituents, as well as by licensing relationships that hold between segmental features and different levels of prosodic representation. / At all stages in the development of syllable structure and complex segments, when more than one option is available for the representation of a target string, children select the unmarked option, consistent with the long-held view that early grammars reflect what is unmarked. When input complex structures are reduced in children's outputs, reduction operates in order to ensure faithfulness to the content of prosodic and segmental heads. Finally, in the discussion of consonant harmony, where the French data are supplemented by examples from English, I propose that consonant harmony results from a licensing relation between segmental features and the head of the foot. The differences in foot structure between French and English enable us to account for the contrasts observed between learners of the two languages.

The following thesis reports on an investigation of the attitudes of allophone children and their teachers towards different French accents. Using the matched guise technique, a total of 108 children in grades 4, 5 and 6 (5 groups) evaluated samples of French spoken with a standard accent, a standard Quebec accent, an informal Quebec accent and a foreign accent. The pupils evaluated the accents based on eight criteria related to linguistic, professional and personal characteristics. Secondly, sub-groups from each class participated in a post-experimental discussion about the accents they had heard. The children's teachers were also interviewed privately, in order to give their opinions about the accents, and share their vision of an oral model for these allophone children attending French language schools in Montreal. Findings suggest a strong preference for standard accents, which is confirmed by the analysis of the post-experimental discussions.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-122). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

"Thèse (Ph. D.)à l'Université de Birmingham, Angleterre." / Bibliography: p. iv-xix.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1911. / Also published in same series without thesis note. Bibliography: p. 162-163.