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An Added Dimension for Language Teaching University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1990 History of French : an added dimension for language teaching Marcia J. Hass The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Hass, Marcia J., "History of French : an added dimension for language teaching" (1990). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8207. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8207 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mike and Maureen MANSFIELD LIBRARY Copying allowed as provided under provisions of the Fair Use Section of the U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW, 1976. Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be under^en only with the author’s written consent. University of Montana Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HISTORY OF FRENCH: AN ADDED DIMENSION FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING By Marcia J. Hass B. A., University of Colorado, 1967 M. A., University of Montana, 1990 Presented in partial fu lfil liment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts University of Montana 1990 Approved by of Examiners De^, Graduate SchSÏÏ Date 7 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP39008 Alt rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Oissartation Publtshsng UMI EP39008 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Hass, Marcia J., M.A., July 1990 French History of French: An Added Dimension for Language Teaching (134 pp.) Director: Oliver W. Rolfe The history of a language is a largely unexploited and unexplored resource for the foreign language classroom. It is the purpose of this thesis to illustrate how the history of phonological, morphological and etymological developments of a language can be effectively used with language learners to stimulate their intellectual interest in the target language and its culture, foster cognitive skills and provide psycho- linguistic benefits central to successful language learning. These benefits include the raising of cultural awareness, the reduction of affective barriers and resistance to the target language and the provi­ sion of historical data on sound, form and meaning to aid students' memory. The study consists of three chapters of historical data which are pedagogically interesting and useful. The data were compiled from books on the history of the French language, from Le Robert, an alphabetical and analogical dictionary of French, and from A. Juilland's Frequency Dictionary of French Words. Chapter one presents phonological capsules which describe and illustrate the development of sound-features of French that are found to cause orthographical and pronunciation d if­ ficu lties. Chapter two consists of morphological capsules which trace the development of forms of French which students meet early and which seem to lack structural validity. Historical morphology is given to f i l l that lack. The third chapter is an alphabetized lexicon of French words. Each entry includes an etymological description, derivatives and English and Spanish cognates, if they exist. In parentheses following the main entry or its derivatives may be a number which shows rank in the 5,000 most frequent French words. The conclusion presents ideas and suggestions for the pedagogical use of the historical data of the study. Drawing from the capsules and the lexicon, it illustrates concretely how historical developments can be incorporated into the various levels of language classes and the resulting combination of intellectual, cognitive and psycholinguiStic benefits that accrue. 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Chapter 1. PHONOLOGY................................................................................................................. 6 Aspirate and Non-aspirate /h / .................................................. 7 Assibilation of Intervocalic /r/ ........................................................... 8 Lenition of Intervocalic Consonants .................................................. 8 Diphthong Shift of "oi" and "oy"........................................................... 9 Final Consonants............................................................................................... 10 Final f ^ l .................................................................................................. 14 Nasalisation........................................................................................................ 15 Preconsonantal / s / .......................................................................................... 17 Prosthetic /e / ................................................................................................... 18 Simplification of Diphthongs and Triphthongs By Assimilation.......................................................................................... 19 Uvular / r / ............................................................................................................ 20 The Vocalisation of / I / ............................................................................. 20 2. MORPHOLOGY................................................................................................................. 22 A l l e r ..................................................................................................................... 22 Adverb Formation in -MENT ........................................................................ 23 Counting by Twenties...................................................................................... 23 Faites and Dites............................................................................................... 24 The Future and Conditional Tenses ...................................................... 24 Inchoative Verbs ............................................................................................... 25 Infinitives and Past Participles, Alternation in Forms. 25 Formation of Plural with X........................................................................ 26 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 3. LEXICON....................................................................................................................... 27 4. PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATION ................................................................................... 122 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................129 Glossary........................................................................................................................................ 130 Appendix 1. Phonetic Symbols ................................................................................................ 132 REFERENCE LIST...........................................................................................................................133 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION The history of a language is a largely unexploited and unexplored resource for the foreign language classroom. It is the purpose of this thesis to illustrate how the history of the phonological, morphological and etymological developments of a language can be effectively used with language learners to stimulate their intellectual interest in the target language and its culture as well as provide psycholinguistic benefits central to successful language learning. Furthermore, historical linguistics ultimately attunes the learner to the interrelatedness of languages and cultures, that is, the past and present influence of lands and peoples on each other. Those concerned that language history teaches the learner about a language rather than the language per se are overlooking, in fact slighting, a valuable linguistic and cultural resource. Much as the discovery of structural patterns can aid a language student, so can awareness of the linguistic evolution of the target language and the internal and foreign cultural influences which have worked upon it. In hesitating or, more to the point, being unaware themselves of
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