Inventive Linguistics Sandrine Sorlin
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Inventive Linguistics Sandrine Sorlin To cite this version: Sandrine Sorlin. Inventive Linguistics. France. Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée, 216 p., 2011, Sciences du langage, 978-2-84269-908-6. halshs-01271311 HAL Id: halshs-01271311 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01271311 Submitted on 21 Jul 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 1 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 1) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 2 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 2) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 3 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 3) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 Inventive Linguistics PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 4 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 4) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 Collection « Sciences du langage » Directeur de collection Jean-Marie Prieur Comité scientifique Christine Béal, Bruno Bonu et Gilles Siouffi Le champ disciplinaire des sciences du langage s'est considérablement élargi et renouvelé durant les trois dernières décennies. La collection « Sciences du lan- gage » a vocation à accueillir aussi bien des ouvrages s'inscrivant dans des pers- pectives de recherche déjà établies que des études proposant des problématiques originales et innovantes. La collection publie des monographies, des ouvrages collectifs, et accueillera favorablement des propositions construisant une transversalité entre les sciences du langage et d'autres domaines de recherche. Les langues de publication sont le français et l'anglais. PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 5 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 5) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 « Sciences du langage » Inventive Linguistics Sandrine Sorlin Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 6 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 6) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 Tous droits réservés, PULM, 2010. ISBN 978-2-84269-908-6 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 7 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 7) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 Sommaire Sandrine Sorlin Introduction ............................ 9 Acknowledgements ........................ 15 Alienation, Renunciation, Imagination Jean-Jacques Lecercle (University of Paris Ouest, Nanterre) Linguistic alienation, linguistic imagination and literary solipsism .......................... 19 Sandhya Patel (University of Clermont-Ferrand) Inventive Linguistics : Albert Wendt’s Pacific Sites of Creation ............................... 35 Andy Arleo (University of Nantes) What Happens When an Invented Language Is Set To Music ? A Linguistic Study of Dogorian ........... 47 Anett Jessop (University of California, Davis, USA) Modernisms, Pure English, and Poetry : Laura (Riding) Jackson’s « Linguistic Ultimate » ........... 61 Re-Reading, Re-Defining, Re-Inventing Gérard Mélis (University Denis Diderot of Paris 7) Parole - Discourse - Enunciative Processes : Return, Renewal and Invention ...................... 77 Sandrine Sorlin (Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier III) « Inventedness » and Inventiveness : for a Postmodern Linguistics ...................... 85 7 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 8 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 8) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 SOMMAIRE John E. Joseph (University of Edinburgh) Hermeneiaphobia : Why an « Inventive » Linguistics Must First Embrace Interpretation ............... 95 Reform, Usage and Identity Laure Gardelle (École normale supérieure of Lyon) Language Reforms in English : Gender in Third-Person Pronouns ...................... 109 Gilles Siouffi (University Paul-Valéry—Montpellier III / I.U.F.) How Inventive could French 17th century Linguistics be ? . 121 Gilles Chamerois (University of Brest) The « ’Morphosis » of Words in the « Plexity » of the World : Back-formation in Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon ............................... 135 Creativity and Inventiveness Judith Munat ((Formerly at the) University of Pisa) Creation or re-creation ? Word formation processes and word creation strategies as components of lexical creativity .......................... 147 Jim Walker (University Lumière of Lyon 2) The Ninky-Nonk and the Number One Mucker-Upper : Children’s Television and Morphological Inventiveness .................. 159 Denis Jamet (University Jean Moulin of Lyon III) Euphemisms for Death : Reinventing Reality through Words ? ............................... 173 Jocelyn Dupont (University of Perpignan) « Mad I am not » . or am I ? Poe’s Voices of Madness ... 189 Conclusion ............................. 201 Notes on Contributors ...................... 209 8 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 9 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 9) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 Introduction Sandrine Sorlin This selection of papers is the fruit of an interdisciplinary conference which took place in Montpellier March 12-14 2009, gathering linguists, literary critics and language historians all trying to make sense of what seemed the recondite notion of Inventive Linguistics. The Call for Papers discussed the idea of linguistic invention as com- pared to scientific invention, asking whether the term “invention” in regards to linguistic matters was valid, as the language we have inher- ited has de facto always preceded us. The spoken word must conform to the phono- and morphotactics of the language constraining the speaker. Chomsky would even push this constraining aspect further in his claim that each speaker is biologically equipped with a homogenized language and a set of unchanging rules that have been internalised, thus enabling her/him to produce a great number of novel sentences from a predictable productive system. What Chomsky's theory does not study is the subjec- t's capacity to break the rules and create nonce expressions. Yet individ- ual creations will only be admitted into the language if accepted by other individuals taking up, repeating and finally adopting the new expres- sion. This would tend to show that language is not merely in the mind of the speaker but is the object of interactive negotiations between speak- ers: linguistic invention can only be collective. This might be the reason why, as historians will show in this volume, the deliberate and authori- tative attempts at reforming some aspects of language have always been limited. Breaking the rules can then only be the preserve of poets or writ- ers taking the liberty to “distort” language into invented shapes. But this assertion also needs qualifying. Indeed as some linguists show here, ex nihilo creations in fiction are rather rare, creativity being more often than not rule-governed and serving a particular purpose which is fairly easily identifiable by the reader. What literary writers do manage to do how- ever, is a reshuing of existing elements which throw new and surpris- 9 PĹrĂeŊsŇsĂeŊŽ ĹuŠnĹiŠvČeĽrŇsĹiĹtĄaĹiĹrĂeŊŽ ĂdĂe ĎlĄaĞ MĂéĄdĹiĹtĄeĽrĹrĂaŠnĂéĄe— UŢnĂe ĂqĹuĂeŊsĹtĽiĂoŤn? UŢnĞ ŇpĹrĂoĘbĘlĄèŞmĂe? TĂéĚlĄéŊpŘhĂoŤnĂeĽz ĂaĹuĞ 04 99 63 69 23 ĂoŁuĞ 27. SORLINDĹuĎlĽiĹtĽtĄeĽrĂaĹiĹrĂeOK — DĂéŊpĂaĹrĹt ĹiŠmŇpĹrĹiŠmĂeĽrĹiĂe — 2010-11-15 — 10 ŘhĞ 28 — ŇpĂaĂgĄe 10 (ŇpĂaĂgĽiŠnĂéĄe 10) ŇsĹuĹrĞ 216 SANDRINE SORLIN ing light on familiar phenomena or expressions, thus elaborating novel linguistic