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Hélène BLONDEAU (Floride, Etats-Unis)Hors de LA norme point de salut ? La piste montréalaise de la variation des hypothétiques en si
(No salvation outside THE norm ? The Montreal study of variations in hypothetical si-clauses)2012, Vol. XVII-1, pp. 55-66Through the panel study of twelve Montrealers from 1971 to 1995, this article examines the variation between the conditional and the imperfect morphology in hypothetical si-clauses. The two variants, well in place in the spoken French implicit norms system, are in opposition when given values in the normative debate. The analysis indicates the influence of the distance and the event potentiality. Due to vacillations in usage frequency according to the year, the study cannot confirm the hypothesis of a change in favor of the conditional morphology. This case study documents the individual variation across the lifespan and its connection to community change.
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Julien EYCHENNE (Groningue, Pays-Bas)Le programme Phonologie du français contemporain : bilan et perspectives
(The Phonology of Contemporary French program: results and perspective)2012, Vol. XVII-1, pp. 7-24This paper offers an overview of the work that has been done within the Phonologie du français contemporain : usages, variétés, structure (PFC) research programme. We first critically assess the relation between phonological research and data. We then move on to describe PFC's methodology and the coding schemes that have been devised for the analysis of schwa and liaison. We finish off by showing how the PFC programme makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the phonology of French, by widening the scope and breadth of empirical descriptions and by offering new insights into theoretical problems such as the analysis of liaison or the role of usage frequency in grammar.
Variation