This study sets out to consider the terms used to designate buildings and agglomerations in Old French literary texts dated from c. 1150 to c. 1300. It begins with a definition of the field of vocabulary under review and a chronological enumeration of the texts from which our observations are made. There follows a discussion of various former and current theories on the possible semantic treatment of such a field of vocabulary. It is proposed that the field be considered as a structured whole; the units making up this structure are identified from textual examples, and the different relationships obtaining between the units are defined and illustrated. An onomasiological study presents all the terms which may occur within each unit, making special reference to their relative frequency, meaningfulness and stylistic nuance. Next, treating each term individually, there follows a semasiological study. This consists of commentaries on the conception of each term hitherto held and on the new conceptions which result from the closer definition made possible by our structural approach. Consequent lacunae in the Old French dictionaries are pointed out. The advantages of this kind of approach are next discussed, and the possible practical application of this study illustrated by means of a number of critical essays on the defined field of vocabulary in individual texts. The aim of this thesis is to present this section of Old French vocabulary as a whole and in relief, and our claim is that it will enable compilers of dictionaries and of glossaries to individual texts to assess each term in the field against the background of a structured and clearly dimensioned whole.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:703976 |
| Date | January 1966 |
| Creators | Neave, Dorothy |
| Publisher | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://repository.royalholloway.ac.uk/items/e439d1fe-01e9-4d5f-bfe4-6ccbcae369f8/1/ |
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